Mr. Nut is a notebook that travels home each night with a different student. Learn how to implement this easy and effective class routine to build community!

Write, share, give.

Write, share, give.

Write, share, give.

On the last day of this week's Finding Common Ground Blog Series, learn about the difference between demonstration texts and mentor texts. Both types of text have an important place in writing instruction.

Write, share, give.

This week is crazy busy. I feel like I keep saying that, but it keeps happening. I keep thinking “Just get through the week.” I do my giant to-do list but always have more. I came home from work and did more work for hours. I made dinner (it’s my husband’s turn tomorrow), finished another session of LETRS training, wrote a few baby shower thank you notes, finished my April newsletter for school, and read my assignment for my night class tomorrow.

Post your slice and cheer our student writers down the homestretch!

Share your slice, then read and comment on student slices!

We had a wonderful baby shower in Dallas with my husband’s family today. We were gifted baby blankets from two different family members. One is store-bought. It’s light blue and soft as can be. The other side has that super-soft white Sherpa material. My friend Maddie’s baby loves fluffy blankets like this. Feeling the blanket makes me think of him wrapped up like a marshmallow!

Write outside your door! Place-based writing encourages creativity by connecting writers to their environments.

Warning: vomit ahead. I’m sitting on a brick retaining wall outside my in-laws house. My head between my knees. An acid taste in my throat. A puddle of vomit between my shoes. The breeze helps. And I prefer looking at the grass instead of looking into the bowels of a toilet. Who knew the nausea came back in the third trimester? Yet another fun and unexpected symptom.

“Cracked Windshield?” “JESUS IS THE ANSWER.” “America’s Golden Age is Just Beginning.” “All roads lead to Seth Wadley.” Cows. Lots of cows. TRUMP. “Oklahoma’s Little Italy for 100 Years” “Confederate Museum: 10 miles” “Stockyard Traffic: Next Right” I have some (strong) opinions about some of these billboards, but today I chose to look out the window as a writer and documenter.

The SOLSC is really (and finally!) taking off at my school. Fifteen classes are participating (in notebooks- unfortunately you can't read their slices). This year, I wanted to get more adults involved, so I tried an idea from Jess Carey. I hung up a March calendar and asked teachers and staff to sign up for just ONE day of writing, in the hope that we could collectively write every day in March.

In honor of our first Classroom Sunday, I'll share how it's going with the Kindergarteners after 1 week of the Classroom SOLSC. In Print We are once again slicing in notebooks. I prepare and print the notebooks ahead of time, writing the date on each page and adding a section for comments. There are lines for writing and space for drawing.

Post your daily slice and share some comment love with student writers today for our first Classroom Challenge Sunday!

I found something to write about! Kandace Connor wrote this post using the “before that” format. Before that, I was staring at a blank Wordpress page. “Start typing…” The page invited me. Easier said than done. Maybe if I go read some slices and give some comments, I’ll get an idea. Before that, I spent the afternoon laying on the couch.

I almost forgot. A sudden spring out of bed. On day 5! The shame.

Since the 2nd - 5th grade students in our school's Author's Club are participating in the Classroom SOLSC, they have the option for "Wednesday Writers' Lunch" in my classroom this month. It got a little loud, but in the best way.

Leah shares an update on Author's Club in the hope that these reflections might inspire others to create a space for passionate young writers of their own.

The collective expertise of teachers working together to problem-solve and respond to learners is what brings any curricular resource to life.

Students of all ages love the March Classroom Challenge and connecting with young writers from around the world. Just like exercise, writers get stronger the more they work their writing muscles. By the end of the month, students will be able to reflect on their growth as writers! Learn about how to make the Classroom SOLSC work for your class!

At my NCTE presentation, I shared strategies for boosting writing engagement, using the ICEL Framework as a guide. Some key recommendations include increasing involuntary student participation, being flexible with curriculum demands, fostering a supportive writing community, and getting to know students as writers and people.

Taking conferring notes shouldn't feel harder than the conference itself, but for me, it often does. Finding a system that lets you focus more on students and less on note-taking makes all the difference.

A short belief statement inspired by Daniel Pennac.

Identity influences whether we engage with writing or not. Spending time on routines early in the year to help students develop a unique writing process and build a writerly identity pays off! Learn actionable steps to try this year, no matter your curricular resource.

Come along with me for a marathon that didn’t go the way I hoped or planned.

Yesterday, I created a timeline of my writing life.