As I was reading the 2nd chapter, the phrase “celebrate risk taking” was a new idea to me. With my writing lessons being only 30 minutes each day, I often feel so rushed. We don’t get a lot of time to have discussions about our writing. I like the idea of have a 5 minute debriefing at the end of each time to share out what risks we took and what things we are going to try for the next day. My students have DEAR journals that they make entries in each day and then we have a “walk and talk” session afterwards to spark interest in other students about the books we are reading. The students really love having this chat time. I am thinking I could do something similar with writing.
The chapter also mentioned about writing with a real purpose and to a real audience. I love this idea! It would be taking the RAFTS activity to the next step! Instead of it being fictional, students would be writing for a genuine purpose. I am thinking maybe students could write to state representatives about education funding and how their lives are currently being affected by the budget cuts. Talk about a passionate letter!
That would be a great idea for students to write state representatives! That would be "black and white" in kid's handwriting. It might speak louder than our wordy, lengthy pleading.
ReplyDeleteHow powerful would it be to have children involved with helping to educate the public about the state of education. I keep trying to share real examples with people in my family so they understand exactly what the budget cuts mean - larger class sizes, fewer resources. If you get the chance to do this activity, please share some examples with us.
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