As I reflect on this summer and begin to think about this new school year, I am reminded of bravery again and again. I spent my summer with my two daughters, a one and a half year old and a six month old, and witnessed bravery at its finest! My toddler is immersed in new experiences everyday. This summer, the scariest experiences involved water. So when I broke out the splash pad in the backyard, she was called to be brave again! But do you know what helps us all muster up more bravery? A companion! Daddy to the rescue! When Dad jumped onto the pad and showed us all how fun it was, my daughter's fear diminished. She started to have fun!
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| Friends make new experiences less scary. |
We, as teachers, ask our students to be brave everyday in our classrooms. One way in particular is writing. Writing is so personal! I'm reminded of this each time I confer with a student. The students' eyes are big with anticipation and a little fear as I talk with them about how they're growing as a writer and their writing pieces. How are we diminishing their anxiety just as my husband did with my daughter and the splash pad? Well luckily we have wonderful writing curriculum with great resources that will help us accomplish this. As the beginning of the year approaches, we can think the structures in our writing classrooms that will help build a safe writing community. Here are some ideas on how to build a writing community that can ease the anxiety of new writing experiences.
Routines and Procedures:
Writing time should be predictable. If the routines and procedures are explicitly taught at the beginning of year and then deliberately reinforced throughout the rest the year, students are able to focus completely on learning to write. They are not as easily distracted by where to find paper, when to sharpen their pencils, what to do when they're "done". It also frees us teachers up to do the teaching!
Here are some great resources on routines and procedures for the writing workshop.
- Minilesson Infographic - Try teaching your students the parts of a minilesson and what to expect during each part.
- Pages in Guide to the Writing Workshop
Writing Partnerships:
A friend makes experiences less scary. A friend can also make new experiences more fun! Setting up intentional partnerships is an important aspect of the writing classroom community. Here's an article from Two Writing Teachers that beautifully explains the importance of writing partnerships.
A friend makes experiences less scary. A friend can also make new experiences more fun! Setting up intentional partnerships is an important aspect of the writing classroom community. Here's an article from Two Writing Teachers that beautifully explains the importance of writing partnerships.
At Cherry Tree we are very good at "Beginning With The End In Mind." Our ultimate goal as writing teachers is not only to help our students become better writers, but it is also to foster life long lovers of writing.
Need a little inspiration? Look for a post in the next week or so with videos and pictures of teachers here at CTE setting up their writing classroom communities.
