You can’t edit a blank page.
—Nora Roberts
An Elixir for Writers
Giving space to talk is one of the secret weapons of teachers of writers. I used to believe that writers needed silence. The silence was loud in my classroom, and truth be told, it was uncomfortable. Writing was painful for everyone in those days.
I was worried that if I offered time to talk, students wouldn’t be on task, and time would be wasted. I worried about a lot of silly things when I first started teaching. So day after day, silence weighed heavy in our classroom, bogging down fingers and stunting the words moving to the page.
If kids aren’t writing, then it is difficult to teach writers. Something needed to be done to loosen the words on the page. There are a lot of gimmicks that promise to do this. They are tempting in their guarantees to get kids to write, and provide teachers with “stuff” for students to do. Yet I wasn’t convinced my students needed more busywork. They needed to write.
The more I investigated how writers work, the more I realized that most writers talk about writing. They might not verbalize every single plot twist, but most writers have a buddy or two with whom to talk about their ideas and figure out the snags.
In a prepackaged world it may feel counterintuitive to simply give space for students to talk as writers. You don’t need a fancy slide with bulleted questions or a cute worksheet to record questions and responses. All you need is a routine designed to get students talking as writers.
Talk is an elixir for writers. Having a few moments to chat lets the words slide onto the page more easily when students are given the time to write. It’s simple but true. This week’s collection of articles encourages us to engage in this simple practice of giving time to talk—plus more, as always.
Shine on!
Ruth Ayres
Editor in Chief
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills are longtime contributors to Choice Literacy. They met while co-teaching a fourth-grade class, and experienced the powerful effects of professional collaboration on both themselves and the students in the classroom. Tara is now a middle school literacy teacher, and Kate is a K-5 literacy coach. Though they’re no longer in the classroom together, they still depend on each other for professional reflection and growth, and meet up for weekly runs. You can find them on Twitter, @taraandkate.
Listen in on the podcast as Ruth Ayres, Tara Barnett, and Kate Mills discuss this week’s theme.
Dana Murphy finds one of the most important tools in her coaching arsenal is transcription. She explains when transcription is effective and gives tips for effectively recording student conversations. (This Leaders Lounge article was first published in 2015.)
Tara Barnett and Kate Mills help young writers move away from seeing editing as “adding more details,” and toward developing more specific language for the revision process. (This article was first published in 2016.)
Stella Villalba shares practical tips for helping young English language learners collaborate with classmates and receive feedback during writing workshop. (This article was first published in 2012.)
We’ve put together a playlist for the Choice Literacy Book Club inspired by The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali, and Hatem Aly. Join the Choice Literacy Book Club and read along with us this month.
NOW AVAILABLE! Don’t miss Better Student Feedback: Giving, Receiving, and Using Student Feedback with Ruth Ayres. This course is free to Literacy Leader members and available to purchase.
Ruth Ayres shares a wealth of resources from Choice Literacy contributors focused on the power of giving and receiving student feedback. This course is divided into four short sections, each tackling a different aspect of giving, receiving, and using student feedback.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Julie Johnson reminds us of important mindsets to adopt to allow students the space and permission to talk while composing. When students talk as writers, they have opportunities to create new understandings, build relationships, and validate each other.
Julie Cox offers three questions to determine authentic audiences for high school students to share work.
In this encore video (2017), Katrina Edwards preps her students for lunchtime chats with classmates to foster more social and conversation skills.
New members-only content is added each week to the Choice Literacy website. If you’re not yet a member, click here to explore membership options.
Suzy Kaback engages in the power of novelty to uproot dissatisfaction during curriculum meetings. It begins by asking, “What do teachers need?” and then providing time to meet their needs.
In this Coaching Minute video, Inga Omondi encourages instructional coaches to get to know teachers in order to build trust.
In this encore video (2016), Heather Fisher plans a lesson with a first-grade teacher as part of a cycle focused on improving classroom talk. This is the first video in a two-part series.
Kyleen Gray offers tips for supporting teachers during standardized testing season.
Stella Villalba teaches us how to discover, honor, and share student stories throughout the school year. With special attention to English learners, Stella walks educators through a process to intentionally honor the past and present of all students.
Quote It:
We are nourished by novelty. Too much sameness and the world goes gray . . . We [look] for things to notice, alert to the ways in which our days might be different.
—Melissa Kirsch
That’s all for this week!
