Friday, November 29, 2019

OUR WRITING GROUP #2...

Reading over Muriel's previous post reminded me to say a few words about our writing group. Once a writer, always a writer, I guess. The Writing Project gave me the freedom to write for myself, and in every situation where I've worked with teachers, I have encouraged them to write for themselves. There is something about having to puzzle through finding the right word or expression to make my thoughts clear on paper that creates an empathy in me for others who write. This is critical in working with students.

I can't emphasize enough how helpful it is to try out the writing prompts you give your students before or at the same time you assign them. Where do you struggle? They undoubtedly will stumble in the same way. Did you have trouble creating an exciting introduction? Your students have the same problems and can benefit from seeing how you tackled the prompt. Or you can be brave and share your rough draft and ask for their input. Tell them what you are struggling with and implement their help.

Back to our writing group, we bring a piece of writing we have been working on during the past month or so. We try to bring fresh work each time we meet. My writing has been all over the place from a factual biography of my grandmother to an editorial on ageism. I generally look back to short pieces I have written in various workshops or something that is nagging at me in my daily life. I'll post a few in future blogs.

The format of our sessions doesn't vary much from time to time. We usually start out with a prompt that we all write to for 5 minutes. We follow this with individual sharing. Next, we share the writing we have brought from home. Generally there are 4 or 5 of us and we, individually, read our texts aloud. Feedback is given if requested, otherwise, the writer generally talks about what inspired the piece and where she wants it to go. We generally end in 2 hours.

At the moment, I am sifting through letters written to me by friends and family after my first year in college. I'm hoping my writing group can help me find a way to fit them together. More later.
OUR WRITING GROUP #1...

Last week I hosted a gathering of our “retired” Minnesota Writing Project teachers.  We organized our group a couple of years ago, and we try to meet bi-monthly to share our writing.  We have found the group to be especially rewarding, and I couldn’t agree more with a recent post from NWP.  Here is part of that post:
"NWP teacher-leaders say it all the time—discovering the NWP was a defining moment in their professional lives.

It opened doors to new ways of thinking and teaching. It gave them the professional home they deeply desired and provided them with a platform to extend their leadership beyond the classroom door.

Perhaps that's why the NWP Legacy Study showed that over 90% continued to work in education throughout their careers.

In a time when so much in our country and our world feels unpredictable, the Writing Project remains committed to the values and beliefs we have held dear for 45 years.

  • Writing is an essential skill in our digital age, central to communication, learning, and citizenship.
  • Teachers’ knowledge can be put to work to improve the teaching of writing.
  • Teacher leadership makes it happen.
The National Writing Project has been a powerful professional home for teachers K–university and across the curriculum for 45 years.
-MURIEL

Friday, November 8, 2019

ANN PATCHETT IN PERSON...

Okay -- I should have written this post sooner!  Ann Patchett was a delight.  She did the entire program by herself -- first informing us that we didn't need to take any notes because the writers/books she would talk about, we could find listed on her website. annpatchett.com  She owns a bookstore at the Nashville airport and has the opportunity to read/meet many authors.  She also receives requests to travel to various locations to interview them.  Thus she has formed many wonderful relationships -- she related such entertaining stories of Alan Alda, Tom Hanks, Kate DiCamillo, among others.

She also shared the difficulties of writing The Dutch House without telling the story.  With a contract to produce a book for a September 2019 launch, she encountered many obstacles.  During that time she became somewhat obsessed with writing children's books that germinated from mishearing the word landslide to writing a children's book about lambs sliding!  Needless to say, she kept us entertained!

Then the next week I had the opportunity to hear Phyllis Root.  Her most recent children's book The Lost Forest, illustrated by Betsy Bowen, relates the amazing story of the lost forty, a pine forest allowed to grow untouched for nearly 100 years.  Although it is a children's book, it contains detailed sketches and information about the history of this area and the life of surveyors. https://phyllisiroot.com/