Slice of Life: When there's too much to write...

Every Tuesday, the writing community of Two Writing Teachers hosts Slice of Life. All are welcome to participate by linking up posts or commenting on other participants. 

Last week I wrote about how around this time of year, the pace of life gets going and it sometimes all feels like too much. This week's theme and topic unintentionally echoed last week's. 

There are weeks when I sit down to write something for the weekly Slice of Life, and I can think of nothing to write about. And then there are weeks when the abundance of potential blog posts is completely overwhelming, and I can’t get started on a post because there’s simply too much. I can’t focus. This week, I can’t focus. There’s too much. There are culminating activities--Capstone presentations, performance assessments, the Relay for Life that my daughters spend their year working on. There has also been the homecoming of college students and the approach of major birthdays in their lives. (Larkin turns 21 on June 3, and she is chomping at the bit to walk into the local wine store and buy a bottle!) There was a field trip today with 100 students to a somewhat very disorganized convention, (increasing my own anticipation for Larkin's wine-buying legality.) And there have been some important doctor appointments, athletic events, and achievements on the parts of all four of my daughters, as well in my life, too. How do I decide what to focus on and write, staying true to the concept of a slice of life?

Maybe my slice today needs to spin into and out of the ritual of sitting down in my writing chair, fingers on the keyboard, and deciding what to write, what to share with the community. Maybe my slice needs to include some of the empathy and understanding I have for those students who sometimes just can't get going. As I work with one of our special education teachers to develop a meaningful RTI system for written expression, sitting down and just getting a post out reminds me of how hard writing can be. Sometimes we get bogged down with the volume of word production and the correctness of grammar and conventions when the real challenge is sorting through ideas and just. getting. going. 

Happy Writing,

Slice of Life: My Husband's Duckling

Slice of Life is hosted by the inspiring community oftwowritingteachers.wordpress.com. Everyone is welcome to read, post, and comment every Tuesday. Feel free to stop over and join us!

I have been writing a lot this summer, aware of and attuned to all of the stories that swirl and whirl in my decadent summer life, and slices of life have been rolling in! Here are the contenders for the week:

• my sister-in-law's 88 year-old mother doing jello shots at her birthday party. (no, we did not make them very strong and yes, she like them!)
  
• deciding that we never want to ride horses on Block Island, as it is much more fun and worthwhile to hike through Rodman's Hollow (one of the most spectacular places in the United States) and spend the money at Rags in the center of town. (Or on mudslides at the National.)
• receiving the somewhat backhanded compliment from an 18 year-old boy that I am much better at providing tubing rides than he would have guessed. (I am proud to say that I dumped him in the harbor four times. Yes, FOUR.)
• watching one of my husband's friends sweat his way through his first hot yoga class. (My husband won't go.) At one point I'm sure that his eyelashes were sweating when I looked over at him. 
• Having to hear about (and not see for myself) the six-foot shark that the morning beach walking crew saw on the beach on the ONE morning that I opted out of the daily walk. The shark was alive and managed to get back into the water!

But the winner for the week's slice of life, the one that may one day end up as a children's book, has to do with the duckling that my husband brought home from his golf outing. (Plot spoiler: this slice of life is sad.) Despite my advice against naming the tiny bird, he was dubbed Waddle. At first I only saw pictures of the little guy, because I have been mostly staying at the beach. Garth found the duckling on the third hole, and my husband, softy that he is, carted Waddle in the basket of his pull-cart for the remaining fifteen holes, not knowing what else to do with a softball sized lost bird. 

Garth did everything right for this little duck. He called the nature center and was told that if he could find a family of ducks with young about the same size as Waddle, he could slip Waddle right in. The mother could be momentarily confused, but the nature center expert reassured Garth that the family would adopt his duckling. Garth drove all over searching ponds for ducks with families. July is not the usual time for ducklings to hatch. Foiled in his quest, he found a place to adopt Waddle, but the duck adoption agency was only open on weekdays. So Garth brought Waddle to our Rhode Island house, planning to take the duckling to his new home on Monday morning. 

Maybe it was the throngs of people, the overstimulation, overfeeding, overwatering, hypothermia, or just the course of nature, but Waddle died the next morning. Poor Garth was devastated. He dug a hole in the back yard and marked it with a stone from the beach. I tried to console him with how hard it is to keep wild animals alive, how maybe there had been something wrong with him in the first place, how he had done a great job keeping the duckling alive for 48 hours, how I really will write a picture book about Waddle (although I am struggling with whose perspective to take and I am REALLY struggling with the ending...)

Having once hatched ducklings, I know how much work they are and I wasn't on board for keeping Waddle, but he really was a cute little guy and I SO wish that he could have made it to a place where he could have become a full-grown mallard. As my daughter tweeted, rest in peace Waddle. 

Happy writing,

Appreciating the Sharing Coming Out of NCTE!

Each week the Slice of Life is hosted by the writers and teachers of Twowritingteachers.wordpress.com. Many bloggers write slices each week that you can read by following the links from the comments, or feel free to join in on the slicing!

First of all, I want to thank all of you who have blogged about your experiences at NCTE. I have spent the time that I should be writing curriculum reading many of your posts and reflections. Good it's a long weekend...

I loved reading Tara Smith's post and hearing about some of the wisdom that educators shared as they paid tribute to Don Graves. What a legacy he leaves and thank you, Tara, for sharing so much of what was said by so many other education idols.
http://tmsteach.blogspot.com/2013/11/slice-of-life-tuesday-ncte-13.html?showComment=1385514374747#c178111583790080589


Linda Baie always has a way of tying learning together with what is really important and mattering at this moment. While it was wonderful to hear a little about the adventures of roommates Tara and Linda, thank you also for sharing some of the thoughts of nonfiction authors. I'm looking forward to reading about more of your NCTE reflections.
http://www.teacherdance.org/2013/11/slices-of-pumpkin-pie.html?showComment=1385514865210#c6400258569478026194

I laughed at some of the reflections of Gigi McAllister. If I make it to NCTE on an airplane, I will definitely remember her advice to pack an extra bag or to think about shipping all of the ARC books. I will also make sure that I bring my motrin and my granola bars.
http://thelatebloomersbookblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/slice-of-life-surprises-at-ncte-13.html

Catherine Flynn shared a wonderful poem and her thanks to many of the presenters. Knowing Catherine, this will be the first of several NCTE reflections and I can't wait to read all about Catherine's learning experiences. She's a wonderful sharer of learning!
http://readingtothecore.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/slice-of-life-ncte-edition/

There were also so many meaningful tweets coming out of Boston all weekend, and when I had time, I checked in as much as I could. I have also spent time tonight going through the #NCTE13 hashtag. There are many links and words of wisdom in these, so if you are not spending the entire weekend cooking and shopping, I recommend scrolling through some of them. I'm sharing some of my favorites so far...

Thanks again for sharing some of the learning with the non-attenders. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Day 21: #SOL16- Reading and slicing about a truly outlook-changing post

Today I am truly doubling up my Slice of Life post with my Monday Reading post. The Slice of Life Challenge is hosted by the inspirational writers of Two Writing Teachers. Each March, they invite people to join them in a commitment to write every day. Today, I am doubling up on my slices with my Monday reading. Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye and Ricki Ginsburg at Unleashing Readers cohost It's Monday! What are You Reading? weekly on their blogs.  To see what others are reading and recommending each Monday, or to participate, be sure to head over to these blogs.

Over the week, the majority of my reading life has been reading blogs within the Slice of Life community. Yes, I have read several picture books--I struggle to walk by the library shelf of featured ones. I also had a wonderful time reading Encounter by Jane Yolen to a group of fifth graders, issuing them a challenge to generate their own questions. (If you've never read Encounter, go get your hands on a copy.) I also did some reading about Alzheimer's Disease and dementia to support my daughter as she tries to complete her Senior Capstone Project. (Wouldn't be my top choice for my reading life!) But, mostly, and happily, my reading life has been about sharing the daily lives and posts of the amazing community within the Slice of Life. 

I have read about learning experiences from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, I have read booklists, travel experiences, special family moments, and Clare Landrigan has repeatedly touched the core of my soul with her posts that honor her mother and contain important messages about living, grieving, and celebrating. Here is a post that no one should miss. Seriously. Read this post. (Yes, I've linked it twice.)

Happy reading and happy slicing,

Slice of Life: A Super Bowl To Remember

On Tuesdays, the community of Two Writing Teachers hosts the Slice of Life. Join the incredible community by writing a snippet of life, or even join with just a comment or two. Everyone is welcome!

There's been a lot to write about this week, and I've envisioned posts about several different topics for this morning. March is a long month, and I will be taking the annual Slice of Life Challenge. I'm sure all of my ideas will have their moments in the writing spotlight. This morning's post goes to the Patriots.

We are Patriots fans, so there was a lot to love about the 51st Super Bowl. 

We began the night excited and looking forward to great food and a great game. Like many fans, we are superstitious about our game day behavior, and we always watch with the same friends. We had our traditional food spread, our garb, and our cocktails. We were ready.

We weren't ready for the first half, though. Given our tradition of sipping Limoncello whenever the Patriots score a touchdown, our bottle remained unopened. By halftime, the fun factor was way down, the commercials were disappointing, and our daughter in Italy texted that it was 4 am and she was going to bed. "She can't give up," Bill said. "There's plenty of time left."

Larkin stayed up, and even though there wasn't plenty of time left, there was enough. I know there's a lot to say and a lot to learn about resilience, teamwork, and effort as it relates to the Patriots, not just during the game, but also throughout the season and the seasons before that. Bill Belichick, the head coach, shared some of his thoughts about the team and the season after the win:

"It certainly wasn't always perfect, but it was always a lot of effort, a lot of toughness, and a great will to improve and get better, correct mistakes, and just become a better player and a better team."    Bill Belichick after being presented with the trophy for winning the Super Bowl LI

I know his words would resonate in any classroom I work in.  (You can see more of his comments here.)

I also really admired the reflections of Lance Salyers who wrote about the Patriots in Forbes Magazine on Monday morning, and you can find his reflections here.  I'm sharing a screenshot of the Forbes Magazine's quote of the day from Receiver Julian Edelman. Edelman caught a pass in the fourth quarter that defied all odds and started the rally that led to one of the most amazing comebacks we'll ever see.

No question that the lessons from the result of the Super Bowl span well beyond the football field.

Happy Writing!

Slice of Life- Lost in a Great Book

Each week the Slice of Life is hosted by the writers and teachers of Twowritingteachers.wordpress.com. I came close to missing this week's slice, as I have been distracted by an amazing book, but I'm writing a quick slice before I shut down my computer. 

When I read a good book, the rest of my life suffers. I have had a lot to do for work, family, and life overall, so I have sort of avoided a novel thicker than a picture book. Professional books I can read in parts, but I have a tendency to get lost in a good narrative.

For the last three days, I have been reading Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan during any free time I could find (and not free time, as well). When my oldest daughter got home tonight at 8, I told her I'd hear about her day in 40 pages. Then, as I sat at the kitchen table finishing this book, I cried and two of my other daughters laughed at me.

"Is it really that sad, Mom?" Cecily asked.

The truth is that Counting By 7s is really that sad, really that wise, really that happy, really that everything.  I can not wait for others to read this book and share the experience with me.

I don't have time for another slice of life that is 378 pages long any time soon, but for anyone looking for an amazing book of wonderful characters and insights and a distraction from their real lives, read Counting By 7s. And please, let me know that you did.

I'm late with my slice, but happy to share and be part of this tradition,

Slice 31 of 31-#sol17: My top ten reasons for taking the challenge

This is the 10th year that Two Writing Teachers has hosted the Slice of Life Challenge. Day 31 of this 31 day writing challenge!

 

Some of you may have participated whether by creating or watching the Flipgrid that Kathleen started. If you watched Brian Kissel's video, you will understand where I got my inspiration for the top ten benefits or reasons the Slice of Life Story Challenge is so important to me as both a writer and a teacher.

Here they are: my top-ten list for taking the SOLSC of 2017

10. I go to yoga more. I find that I draft inside my head during several of the poses, so I get myself to class more often in March. Therefore, I'm physically stronger than I was on March 1st. That feels good. 

9. When my daughter slices also (which she's done in 3 1/2 of my 5 years, I get a window into her daily life that is wider than the texts and pictures she shares. Some of you have gotten to know Larkin through her slicing--thank you to all who have encouraged her on her writing path. She's minoring in writing, and I know it has a lot to do with this community. 

8. I've made connections I can't imagine ever losing all over the country and even the world. I've met many slicers in person, and they are just as special face to face as they are when they are sharing their lives through writing and commenting and on mine. I've learned about other cultures and other places by reading the daily slices of contributors within our community.

7. During March, I feel more connected with the people I've met. I read what they are doing on a daily basis, and I picture them in their worlds with their families and friends.

6. I'm a better commenter. Some comments inspire me. Some comments do nothing for me. Some comments even leave me confused or defensive. (Those last types are VERY rare in this community.) I've learned that sometimes the best feedback is an emotional reaction. Writers want to know their work matters. 

5. I'm a better teacher. The commitment to slice every day is also a commitment to try out the work we ask students to do, and I pay close attention to how it feels inside my head and what it's demanding my brain to do.

4. I'm also a better teacher because of the amazing ideas other people share in this community. I have no doubt that some of the best educators in the world link into the commitment to write every day. Everyone is so generous with their idea and strategies that empower and inspire learners. 

3. I'm a better writer. I've studied other people's craft moves, and I've tried many techniques out in my own posts. Sometimes people's comments let me know they're working. Sometimes, I just have to know in my own head that my new techniques and strategies are developing. Also, we get better at anything by doing it, and during March, I write. A lot. 

2. I'm a braver person.  I've shared earlier in the year, as well as throughout the month, that my One Little Word for 2017 is brave. Writing still takes so much courage for me. There have been posts I've written where I've felt vulnerable because of the content or insecure because of the craft. The responses and reactions of this community encourage risk-taking. If courage is being brave and scared at the same time, it's a community where I've practiced that almost every day, and the rest of my life benefits well beyond just the writing part of me.

1. Writing makes me a better person. I spend March paying much more attention to life, whether it's in classrooms, relating to my daughters, or spending time outside watching the birds. Even though I spend a lot of time on writing and commenting in March, I slow down, as well. I know I've had realizations and reflections I would have otherwise missed, and those insights have mattered.  

Thank you to all who have grown alongside me--reacting, commenting, and sharing throughout the 31 days of March. I'll look forward to keeping up with you on Tuesdays.

All good things,

#Slice 2013: 31 of 31- Reflections on Daily Writing

Today is the final day of March, so it is also the last day of daily slicing, a challenge hosted by Stacey and Ruth at twowritingteachers.wordpress.com.

I am so glad that I participated in the Slice of Life Challenge throughout the month of March for many personal and professional reflections. This morning, before I go hide 300 Easter eggs and make lunch for seventeen, I will try to list some of them.

• I wrote creatively. I have spent so much time over the last year with a new blog writing about the practice of teaching that I left my private writing life and I didn't realize how much I miss it until I re-visited it this month. To honor the mission of the professional blog that I share with Melanie Swider (tworeflectiveteachers.blogspot.com), I started a new blog for my stories and more personally-oriented work. I will continue to write as much as I can at justwritemelanie.blogspot.com.

• Audience matters. The connections to a world of writers propelled me. Even though I belong to a writers' group, we meet monthly at best and the instantaneous response in the world of the Slice Challenge felt great. This reflection has an impact on my ideas about teaching practices. I didn't always want to know what I can do better in a piece; I wanted to know that someone had read it and thought enough of it to say something.

• Writing begets writing. I have heard people compare writing and reading to exercise in that the more we do them, the easier they become. I never had that experience with running--it always stays hard!-- but I did have that experience with writing. Daily writing became part of my day.

• Reading other people's writing inspires writing. I found inspiration in other people's posts all the time--what they did during the day that became important through documentation, memories that they shared, important people. I wonder about this last two realizations and our practices as writing teachers. Do we have time in the workshop set up for reading and responding to each other's work? Is the typical five minutes enough? There were definitely days when I spent more time reading and commenting than on writing.  

• Alan Wright's blog is called Living Life Twice because, he writes on his blog, "People who write get to live life twice - in the moment and in retrospect. That's what sets writers apart. I rarely go anywhere, or do anything without the shadow of my writing self being part of the adventure. Every experience provides opportunities to harvest writing ideas. It is a lens through which to view the limitless possibilities of the moment."  I have thought of his words many times throughout this month because I really have noticed life differently, given the pressure of a daily slice. In the classroom, I wonder about teaching more of the noticing that goes along with writing. I could not just sit down at the computer and concoct my post; I noticed and nurtured a thought, memory, reflection, or moment before the actual writing. My writing life encompassed much more than the hour or so  that I wrote, read and commented. What does this mean for our teaching practices?

I have learned more, but I know that there will be many reflective words to read today as we all finish our month of daily writing. Thank you to Ruth and Stacey for creating this experience, thank you to all of the people who have helped, and thank you to all of the people who have read and commented on my work throughout the month. I will miss the routine but will certainly continue on a weekly basis and I look forward to next March.

Have a wonderful day,

Slice of Life: Thinking About Social Justice at Teachers College

Every Tuesday, the writing community of Two Writing Teachers hosts Slice of Life. All are welcome to participate by linking up posts or commenting on other participants. 

Sometimes my work takes me in to New York to hear the reflective, provocative, and brilliant thinking of the people who work for the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. While I had other ideas about today's slice of life, I feel far too compelled to share some of the wisdom, ideas, and insight from today's session with Cornelius Minor and Natalie Louis. I've tried to capture my notes in the form of categorized provocative questions and/or statements.

Ideas and questions to begin the thinking:

• We can/must teach children to look at what’s different and find beauty.
• When we don't understand each other, sometimes we assume we do. Before we give advice we should either ask to be asked or wait to be asked. 
• Think about the word diversity as it appears within your district documents? Do we want diversity or do we want inclusion? How do we see the differences? 
• What’s really important for young people to do? look at things that are different and find beauty in things that are different.
• Justice has never been achieved by waiting for a leader to act first. If we want kids to be change agents, then we have to be change agents first. 
• What do you want people to say about you when your career is ending?
• Schedules are a moral document; we are where we invest our time. 
• Engagement isn't a kid problem; it's a system problem. 

Thinking about social justice:

• Who has power? 
• Who is choosing to stay silent?
• How do we take responsibility to hear everyone?
• How can we make an impact?
• How do you differentiate social justice? What is the level of injustice that that kid is ready to embrace? 
• What would you outlaw if you could outlaw something to decrease the chaos in life?

Teaching empathy-Questions to ask students, especially within the context of read-alouds:

Questions for teachers:

• How do we actively teach kids to build relationships?
• Where in our day to we teach empathy?
• How do you think about your curriculum for read aloud? 
• What do the books we read say about class, gender, race, socio-economic status...?

Questions for Students:

• Who will you be in a moment of conflict?
• Who would you be in this read aloud?
• Why does the book end on an earlier page? 

Thinking about what we ask students to do:

• Be comfortable with discomfort. 
• Persistence is a skill that can be taught. The ability to persist through a no is a skill we can teach kids.
• Complexity of the task and complexity of the text changes, but not the skill, not the goal.
• How do we find issues that matter to kids? Justice projects can take a lot of different forms. Engage them in things that matter to them. 

So much to think about in these statements and questions, and this is my distillation of about eight pages of notes. If you are reading this, you are probably someone who has already given thought to many of these issues. Thank you. How do we get others on board with the responsibility and power that we have as educators in a chaotic, unpredictable, and unjust world?

Peace,

Slice of Life: It's not my story!

Every Tuesday, the writing community of Two Writing Teachers hosts Slice of Life. All are welcome to participate by linking up posts or commenting on other participants. 

My slice of life is happening even as I write. 

My teenage daughter is working on a personal narrative that she will receive a stakes grade on, and it's due tomorrow, and she keeps asking me for help. I've reminded her (and me) that it's not my story. Plus, I have a mantra, and many of you share it, as it comes from Lucy Calkins: Teach the writer, and not the writing. 

I'm trying. I'm really, really trying. 

I'm struggling. I'm really, really struggling. 

She's working on a google doc, and that complicates the issue for me. It's SO easy to make comments on those docs, and where's the line between teaching the writer something that will be transferrable, and telling the writer something to do on that one piece of writing? I made a comment where I told her to think about four ways to stretch the important moments of her stories: action, dialogue, description, and inner thinking. 

"Well, where should I do that?" she asked. 

You can bet she rolled her eyes when I suggested she's really the one who should decide on the important parts. 

"It's your story," I said. "It's not my story."

She rolled her eyes again when I asked if she had a rubric or a set of expectations from her teacher, and she opened up her classroom. Sure enough, there was a rubric with a list of clear learning targets. I have to say that I don't love that she's writing a story that will receive a  ___/50 total points, but I do appreciate that the list of clear expectations are there for the students. 

"I don't really have any of this," she said, and I could tell she was close to tears. "I hate writing narratives. I hope I NEVER have to do this again."

An invisible dagger sliced through my heart, but I agreed stories can be hard, and we had some ways we could think about revision that could work with all narratives just in case she ever has to write another story. 

Together, we sketched a story mountain of her story, and then I taught her about an emotional arc. That helped her change some of her plot points in ways that even she had to admit made better sense. 

As I write, she's still sending screen shots of some of her revised scenes, working hard to get me to better her writing. As I write, I'm trying to think of answers and responses that nudge her to do most of this thinking on her own by looking at the rubric and self-assessing whether she's met those targets of if she could do more. 

Have I mentioned how hard this is??? I'm still trying...still struggling...

Happy writing and slicing to all of you (and to my girl!)

Slice of Life: Sometimes it's about more than the game...

Thanks to Stacey, Dana, Tara, Betsy, Anna, and Beth, the amazing writers and thinkers who host the Slice of Life community every Tuesday. Everyone is welcome to join with posts or comments at twowritingteachers.wordpress.com!

I spent my day collecting ideas for my slice of life post. I should have written it yesterday when we had an unplanned "rain day"--nothing about it warranted a school cancellation. Somehow, I managed to find enough to make my day of nothing really busy. I thought I would have time to write my slice before my daughter's basketball game. I'm glad I didn't. Nothing that I collected over the course of the day compared to the halftime show.

In Farmington, we have a strong unified sports program and many, many of our students are involved with our students with special needs. Tonight was the Unified Alumni versus Current Students Game, and I have known several of the athletes who played since they were in preschool. During the halftime of an intense varsity game, all of the fans from both towns cheered as people with a wide range of disabilities shot, scored, dribbled, defended, rebounded, passed, laughed, and celebrated themselves and each other. There was an incredible amount of joy on the court during halftime!

When the opposing team returned to the court, they could have been annoyed that they couldn't warm up. Instead, they all sat on their bench and cheered with us. And when the game ended, our varsity team high-fived the players, as all of the fans gave them a standing ovation. Wait. It keeps getting better. The other team, a highly competitive rival of ours from a neighboring town, joined the Farmington teams in the center of the court to congratulate and give one last cheer for the halftime players. My picture doesn't do justice to the sportsmanship, acceptance, and positive spirit of these teenagers' actions as they all shared the court. #soproud.

Over the next few days, I will be sharing some of teaching moments that I collected today. Tonight I am sharing a celebration.

Happy Slicing,

Revisiting Five Minutes

Thanks to Stacey, Dana, Tara, Betsy, Anna, and Beth, the amazing writers and thinkers who host the Slice of Life community every Tuesday. Everyone is welcome to join with posts or comments at twowritingteachers.wordpress.com!

Two months ago, coming home from the headiness of NCTE, I initiated Five Minute Writes at our dinner table, writing about it here. Basketball season and the other pressures of life with a seven-person household definitely get in the way of this becoming a daily practice. However, whenever we can, we write.

Last night, I reflected on the impact writing in short spurts has had on my family members:

• My husband has learned the value of a slice of life. He doesn't always try to solve world problems and over-analyze a life mystery. He picks a moment from the day. Last night, he made us all laugh describing our youngest daughter slipping in the snow. (She was fine, so it's okay to laugh!)
• My high school junior doesn't stare at the blank page as much. She still rolls her eyes and she still complains about needing to do her homework, but she gets started much more quickly. Even though she rarely shares her work, she leaves her notebook on the table with the pen still marking her spot. I think she knows (wants?) that I read her pieces, and she has a definite theme that has emerged.
• My high school sophomore writes in all different voices for all different reasons. Songs, poems, arguments, lists, narratives...she has written them. 
• My seventh-grader has used her 5 minute writes as launching pads for bigger pieces of work. I LOVE that!
• My mom has begin to share some of her pieces. She used one piece to make sure that we would all try a new recipe, describing a futuristic event of people really liking her beef brisket. She also used one to express her hope that we can all leave our shoes in the mudroom. (We're working on this...)
• And my dad? That's another story for another slice. Maybe a really thick slice...

At school, I have a sixth-grade student I have taken on and whenever I can, I have him come into my office in the mornings and just write. I don't try to teach him much. I just want him to discover that he has important ideas and thoughts to share with the world, so I just give him my iPad and five minutes. Within the first month, he began to write more. When I first started working with him, he would only write a sentence or two. Just before Christmas, he wrote his homeroom teacher a letter of thanks: 

Dear,Mrs._____ .Thank you for being a good teacher to me and having my back and helping me on my work,trying to challenge me on a lot of things so i can go to the next level.When i was in 5 grade we got along with each other and we used to make jokes. but when it was time to start 6th grade i wanted you because i knew you could help me on my work.

Not perfect, but I'm not letting perfect get in the way of good... On January 16th, just a few weeks later, he wrote about his dad, a person we never hear about:

Last Sunday my Father called my mom and said he wanted to talk to me. When my mom gave me the phone he said that he got new car.Also he said he has two jobs now to support me when i see him at his new house.My father got the 2015 cadillac,and a new pet.He got a lizard that has spikes on the side of his body all the way to his tail.I told my dad congrats on his car and pet i also said i love him and that i like how he is approving a lot of goals that he told me.So now im proud of my Father.

Okay, I got a little teary here. We have so much power when we write. I love sharing it with the people around me.

Happy slicing,

Slice of Life: Sharing our writing

Every Tuesday, the writing community of Two Writing Teachers hosts Slice of Life. All are welcome to participate by linking up posts or commenting on other participants. 

Because I love to write, I have always invented ways and reasons for my family to write together. Now that my four daughters are between 14 and 20, I can't tell them what to do as much as I can model what I do and why I do it. Over the last 24 hours, both of my college-aged daughters have shared their work. Julia, a freshman, has been working on an essay about the intersections of songs and poetry (love this!) while Larkin, a junior, has been working on a wordless picture book. 

Many of you know my daughter Larkin either through her participation in the Slice of Life Challenge or because she has drawn several of the pictures that go with my blog posts. About a year ago, she told me that she was not only going to major in art, but she was also going to minor in writing. I can't tell you how fun it has been to share writing projects together!

For several years, I have worked on a middle grade fiction book, and some of the characters in it are fairies and squirrels. Larkin has contributed events, conversations, and descriptions--sometimes I get emails or pictures of her notebook pages where she has envisioned or created a scene from my story. Her divergent thinking always pushes my imagination, and I know she has both made me a better writer and my book a better  story. 

This fall, Larkin asked if she could use my basic plot line to create a wordless picture book for a class she is taking. Ummmm. Yes! Absolutely!!! She has shared some of the pages as she's painted them, but she finally sent the entire work to me yesterday. I'm sharing just a few screenshots of her paintings--there are actually 24 of them!

I'm also sharing this story because it's such a testament to the power of writing to bring people together. I sometimes wonder about the impact of my writing on my daughters, and Larkin's beautiful picture book is incredibly affirming to the importance of sharing our work with people we love.

Happy Writing!

Slice of Life: If students can't do the work without us---

Every Tuesday, the writing community of Two Writing Teachers hosts Slice of Life. All are welcome to participate by linking up posts or commenting on other participants. 

I thought about skipping the slicing life tonight. Truth be told, I've been writing all day. I've worked on my first three chapters of my novel, I've revised my query letter, I've edited some descriptive paragraphs for summer programs, and I've written a critique of a book proposal. I've also made charts and written some demonstration pieces. All in all, there's been a lot of writing done today, and sometimes it gets in the way of a good slice.

Then, almost simultaneously, one of my favorite (I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but) teachers texted asking if I'd take a look at some of her students' recent on-demand writing samples, and a tweet came through my feed from #tcrwp.

Of course I'll look at the writing samples, I texted right back. She went on to share how disappointed she was with the quality of the writing. I responded with the standards. They met the state standards--just not her standards. And now in our upcoming unit, we have a new bar set, and that is one where they go above the basics and into the realm of independent demonstration of all of her great instruction.

 We teach well beyond the standards, and sometimes the work we see in process pieces exceeds the work students produce in an on-demand situation. Let me revise that statement. Sometimes the work we see in process pieces exceeds the work we ALL produce in an on-demand situation. That being said, I think it's crucial that we are constantly and continually assessing students' internalization of our instruction because yes, if they can't do the work without us, they can't do it.

So here are some questions to help us build independence and repertoire regardless of unit and regardless of level:

• How long can the student sustain productive work without adult intervention? Is that amount of time increasing?
• How strong is the scaffold, and what is the plan for removing it? 
• What is the student's understanding of the work they are doing?
• Are we valuing the process and growth more than the product? 

When left to their own devices, sometimes students will wow us and sometimes they will disappoint us. Our job is to give them the instruction, power, motivation, and pride in becoming independent writers, regardless of their level.  

And now, I've completed my writing for the day, including a slice!

All good things,