Last Class

If you’re going to teach him how to write,

first you have to love him.

If you can convince him of that,

there’s nothing you can’t teach him.

–Avi

If not for the cat,
And the scarcity of cheese,
I could be content.

–Jack Prelutsky
If Not For the Cat

If not for courage,
Knowing thyself and learning,
What would teaching be?

–Beth Frye
Inspired by Jack Prelutsky

Journaling and Writer’s Notebooks…

Journaling-What It’s All About

“I journal to understand my life as I’m living it. I use my journals as a place to put the things that spill out over the edges of my life: photo negatives, scraps of paper, poems I have heard and loved, my sorrow, and epiphanies, the true and the questions. My journals have become guideposts for my life. Maybe it’s the same way for you, and so I invite you inside my world. With this journal, you can create the book you most want to find.”

- Sabrina Ward Harrison

Writer’s Notebook-

A Writer’s Notebook gives students a place to write every day…to practice living like a writer. The purpose of a notebook is that it provides students the practice of simply writing. It’s a place for them to generate text, find ideas, and practice what they know about spelling and grammar. It’s the act of writing — the practice of generating text and building fluency– that leads writers to significance.
Aimee Buckner

Stephen King and HOT Blogging …

HOT Blogging and Writing Circles…

How about these for HOT questions?

What do you notice about Stephen King’s writing? What does he write about? How does he invite us to pay attention to his words?

Stephen King writes, “This is not an autobiography. It is, rather, a kind of curriculum vitae–my attempt to show how one writer was formed. Not how one writer was made; I don’t believe writers can be made, either by circumstances or by self-will (although I did believe those things once).” (p. 4).

From Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Based on this first reading, discuss how SK’s life has “formed” who he is as a writer. We will continue to come back to this…

Describe any personal connections.

“The use of simile and other figurative language is one of the chief delights of  fiction–reading it and writing it, as well. When it’s on target, a simile delights us in much the same way meeting an old friend in a crowd of strangers does. By comparing two seemingly unrelated objects…we are sometimes able to see an old thing in a new and vivid way. Even if the result is mere clarity instead of beauty, I think writer and reader are participating together in a kind of miracle.“ (p. 176)

Getting started…Class 3

Create a new post on your blog. Title your post Planting Seeds for Discussion-Class 3. Please respond to the following:

1. Write down several jewels/nuggets of wisdom about writing…what have you really taken to heart. Pull from your readings and previous class discussions. (Think about yourself as a writer as well as teaching writing).
2. Regarding blogging in your classroom…what are your thoughts? Pull from your readings. What are you currently doing? Plans for the future?
3. Stephen King…write down passages you wish to discuss in Writer’s Circles. Page/Paragraph #s are sufficient.

Vocaroo and Vimeo Test

Here is a link to Vocaroo…

Vocaroo Test

And also VIMEO:

Coolest Tree Ever… from Beth Frye on Vimeo.

Interesting Article…What do you think?

The Future of Reading

Are We Engaging our 21st Century Learners?

What are your thoughts?