Slice of Life Writing

One of my favorite parts of OWP classes is the time for pleasure writing.  It's such a good habit to get into, but always the first thing tossed to the side when life gets busy.  And yet, so important to practice as teachers of writing!

Here is a piece I wrote last week.  It still needs a little tweaking, but in the name of practicing what I preach, I thought I'd go ahead and share it.

One fateful day I was helping my students with independent reading projects.  Rachel B. came up and asked for help in cutting a box.  I grabbed an Exact-O knife to make the cut she wanted.  And promptly sliced into my left pointer finger. 

The pain was immediate.  And being in front of a classroom of students, I tried not to curse or cry or be too dramatic.  I walked over to the sink to wash it off and told one of the students to get our support ed.  When she came into the room, I told her to look at it for me, as I hadn’t yet been able to.  She took one look at my finger and wrapped it back up, telling me to go down to the nurse, she would watch my class. 

My students were so sweet as I left the room, telling me to be brave and that it would be okay.  C.C. even said, “Miss Sheets, I just got stitches and they didn’t hurt at all!  They’ll put this special goo on your finger to numb it and you’ll be good to go!”

            As soon as I got out into the hall, I dropped my brave façade and cried my way all down to the nurse’s office.  I remember walking into her room, probably paying no mind to the actual students who were in there, and telling her I needed attention.  She took one look at it and said, “Yep, you need to go get stitches.” 

At which point I cried even harder.  When she asked who she could call to drive me to the hospital, I let out an inconsolable, “I don’t have any family in the area!” 

“That’s okay.  I’ll get a principal to take you,” she reassured.

After a few minutes of my pity party and with my finger wrapped up tighter than Fort Knox, I had calmed down enough to drive the two miles down the road to an Urgent Care.

I filled out the paper work, including the forms on workers’ comp (They didn’t have a box to check labeled, “I’m just a klutz!”), all the while holding my left hand in the air to stop the bleeding (which in my mind was I’m sure gushing out of me at a much faster rate than in reality).

 

The nurse took me back to the doctor surprisingly quickly and both were so incredibly kind and calm.  The doctor told me, “I want to do a really nice job with these stitches because that will be your ring hand some day.” 

To which I again wailed, “I’m never getting married!”

The best part was I got to go home right away and even got Chipotle on my way home.  And the next two days brought two snow cancellations!

            Which was great until I started getting emails from worried parents with traumatized children!  My favorite said, “Rachel is really worried about you after you cut your finger off.  Are you okay?”

           

            My sweet Rachel, not only am I okay (and even getting married after all), but I will never forget you!

What I Wish I Had Known...

This week ended my OWP Class.  I had such a good time learning alongside these teachers about literacy in our classrooms. 

To cap off the class, we had a writing marathon (read about it in my classroom here).  I was blown away by the pieces these teachers shared.  They were heartfelt and real and powerful and funny.  And it's always so nice to have time to be inspired to write and share with colleagues.

One of my favorite prompts was generated by a lovely teacher from the Dayton area.  She asked, "What is one thing you wish you had known when you started teaching?"  Below is my response.

One thing I wish I had known when I started teaching is how hard it would be.  I thought if I could get my classroom cute enough, and know my content, and get my lessons organized enough, everything would be okay. 

No one told me that often parents don’t follow through and maybe they don’t even really know how to be a parent.  And that colleagues don’t always agree and that other teachers can sometimes be really negative and sometimes you don’t have the energy to fight for what you believe in.  And the work just never ends.  And weekends and summer is a myth.  And the emails and calls keep coming and there will never be enough of me to go around.

But one thing I have realized is how great it is.  It’s the parents or students who tell you what a difference you made.  Or the light bulbs you see illuminate for the first time.  Or getting to not only tell, but show a kid just how much you believe in them.  Or getting to watch younger teachers grow in skill and confidence.  Or problem-solve with a team and really know the work you are doing is having an impact.  Going to work each day knowing I will never be bored, and even when I think, “Why am I here?,” I know my day was never wasted.

Writing Prompts

This week I am teaching a class for the Ohio Writing Project on content-area literacy (more on that later).  I just love the energy I get from an OWP class.  It's such a wonderful time of thinking and reflecting and re-energizing my teaching.

One of the added bonuses (and a core tenet of the National Writing Project) is time for my own writing!  Here are some prompts that have been inspiring me to write:

 And my own "Guarding your Benches" prompt.

In my classroom, I have a bin full of prompts generated by students over the years from our writing marathons.

I hope you've found time for some writing this summer!

Girls' Writing Weekend

This past weekend I was honored to be included in my sweet friend Lisa’s “Girls' Writing Weekend.”  We went to a quaint country cottage down in KY and relaxed and talked and wrote. 

I worked on a few projects for personal writing.  We also did a writing marathon just like I’ve done in my classroom in the past, but no one wrote prompts about a teddy bear apocolypse like my students did this spring. 

Check out sweet Lisa’s lovely documentation of our dock lounging.

 

 

I promise there WAS writing… just less documentation of it.

I hope we can do this again.  What a great reminder of the importance of writing time—especially when it’s not for teaching or grad school or a workshop or project. 

 

from Artsyville on etsy

Writing Marathon

Tomorrow is the Flying Pig Marathon, one of my favorite days in Cincinnati! In honor of the race, we did a writing marathon.

A writing marathon is a great way to practice writing fluency and creativity. It was first introduced to me in a creative writing class in college by professor Don Daiker.

At the start of the activity, each student writes down a prompt idea on an index card...from serious to crazy. How did you like these prompts?

Yep, teddy bear apocalypse and people turning into zombies... Hey, they got kiddos writing!

I pull 3-4 prompts per round and students can either write about one, a combination, or their own idea. The only rule is they have to be writing.

We do 3 or 4 rounds, depending on stamina, then have a massive sharing time. I love how excited students get to read their work.

I keep all of the prompts, whether they were read or not, in a basket in my room for stumped journallers. They love seeing student-generated topic ideas. And it's totally free & easy!

We've done a few writing marathons year and students actually cheer when I announce we'll be doing one.

In fact, it cracked me up when one of my students walked in yesterday, looked at the board with our agenda and said, "Oh, so we're just having fun today?" I love that a half an hour of writing and an economics activity made it into the "fun category!"

To end our week of testing, we also had a tasty visit from the ice cream truck! What a fun day :)

Have a great weekend!

 

Challenge Accepted

Blogger Chelsea at wheredidthebirdgo.com is incredible. Inspired by her daughter's autism diagnosis, she created a forum for moms to encourage and inspire one another.

She has issued a challenge, not just to moms, but anyone who loves kids, to create letter in just 25 words. It can express love, wishes, affirmations, and more. Whatever comes from the heart! Think of how this simple act and a few minutes can impact the lives of children. And maybe even change the world.

I took the challenge for my students. I'm going to read it to them soon and have them try the activity writing to someone they love as well. Are you with us?

Whole Class Journals

A few weeks ago I came across this blog, and her brilliant and EASY idea of whole class journals, including FREE printables and directions.

So I created this quick set of eight notebooks to get it started right away in my classroom.

 

So far they have been a big hit and gotten students excited about writing.  Plus, stickers are involved:)

Each writer signs his or her name and then puts a sticker on the cover to show how many entries the journal has.  I'm hoping they last a few years and develop a great collection of student work.

Plus I'm counting on them being worth a good deal of money when my little authors start publishing books someday!

I Am Lucky!

Check out our latest project:

Thanks to our snow day last week, I came across this super cute project from Sunny Days in Second Grade.  Her project was adorable and totally adaptable to fifth graders.  On Monday we journaled in response to the question, "How are you lucky?"  Then I gave students a copy of a shamrock and some pretty open ended directions to complete it at home.

I encouraged students to work on it WITH their families and be as creative as they wish.  The rule was that it had to include some writing.  How cute are the final products?!

My example.  Don't you love "Pose C" from my school pics?  Ha ha.

 

Have a LUCKY day!