Today was a writing kind of day.
On Friday we began celebrating the National Day on Writing with a field trip and a puzzle piece that I wrote about here.
But today was the cherry on top of the writing sundae.
Our morning began with a version of a chalk talk. My teaching partner taped white butcher paper to the wall ball court and posted a few questions for students at our school to respond to: How do you use writing to connect? Where do you like to write? and Who are your favorite authors or what are you favorite books?
With markers in hand, our students started writing.
They wrote about places they love to write: writing on couches, on the beach, and in libraries. They love Shel Silverstein, Beverly Cleary, Roald Dahl, and J.K. Rowling. They write letters, texts, emails, books, notes and more.
They wrote and wrote and wrote. And when they weren’t writing, they were reading the writing of their classmates on the wall.
Our school-wide puzzle was also on display in the wall ball court today.
And students enjoyed reading what other classes at our school wrote for their puzzle piece (and finding their own and reading it again!).
And then we went on with our regular classroom activities…and more writing! Our students have been drafting a just-for-fun piece of writing about an animal of their choice. And they were applying what they have been learning about using figurative language (similes), specific and interesting verbs, and sensory imagery (sound, movement) to write a “moment” featuring their animal. Today they took some time to give their writing a “check up” (you know like the doctor does to make sure you are healthy). They reread their writing and looked for the features mentioned above…and then went back to their writing to make it even better.
And the best part of the day was that these writers enjoyed writing, sharing writing about their writing on Twitter, and even revising their writing…because they are writers. And today was all about writing.
Thinking Through My Lens 