Tina, Crystal, and I read The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy Calkins Section 1 on the Essentials of Writing. This section discussed how to get the students excited about writing and how "writing is not deskwork but lifework." Calkins talked about how writing matters when it is personal and interpersonal. We like how she compared writing as taking a seed (idea), grow it into a story, speech, or book. Students should jot down things they notice, what they wonder, memories, and even if it's just one word. We all three liked the example of Isoke, a teacher Calkins refers to. She had a writer's notebook she shared with her students that she carried with her and cherished. She brought this enthusiasm into the classroom. She would jot down a memory, or something she notices, or wonders. Calkins refers to this as the "Rehearsal." She had her students do the same and she started a "ritual" for students to take their notebooks home every day and do the same and bring back to school in the mornings. Calkins says the goal of the first few days of introducing writer's workshop is to fill the students with a sense of "I've got so much to say" "My life is full of possible stories." We also discussed how she talked about revision as not repairing a draft but using the writing you've already done to see more, think more, and learn more.
This book I feel will be very beneficial since Tina and I will be teaching writer's workshop this fall for K-2. I am excited about teaching writing a different way. I have been guilty of making writing "deskwork" and giving my students a sheet of paper and a topic. I think this way of teaching writing also creates a sense of community in your classroom because you are getting to know your students and they are getting to know you as well. Calkins also stresses the importance of sharing. Many times we write and then don't allow time to share. We send papers home and the student's writing never gets shared. This basically tells the child that their writing is not important.
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