Thoughts+on+teaching+of+Writing

//** Thoughts on the Teaching of Writing **//

Joanne Hindley, a respected educator and author who teaches at the New Manhattan School in New York wrote this excerpt in her book, In the Company of Children,

"...well, writing just stories and then having a writer’s notebook is kind of like the difference between driving on the highway and taking the scenic route. You see, when you drive on the highway you kind of go by everything so fast that you don’t really have time to think about it-it’s a blur because all you are really thinking about is getting to the final destination. When you take the scenic route, you slow down and pay attention and probably notice things that you’ve never even noticed before. Things look different. You enjoy the trip as much as you enjoy the destination. A notebook is the scenic route."

Our lives are filled with precious moments, stories, objects, memories, reflections, fears, and dreams. In every child and adult are volumes of great literature only waiting to be explored and shared. Writer’s Workshop is a place where we declare our lives as meaningful and significant.

The basic format of any given day of Writer’s Workshop consists of a mini lesson, a block of sustained writing, and a share time. However, my philosophy and approach to writing goes far beyond the confines of an hour in the morning. Students will keep writer’s notebooks...treasure chests of ideas, phrases, and images that they create from their own lives. It is from these entries that students will build published pieces in many different genres.

In the adult world, we write from our own lives. The great writers and authors whose books line our shelves all begin with moments in their own experience and create something significant and meaningful. As writers and authors, students and I will delve into great literature and unlock the mysteries of our favorite writers. Those authors will become our mentors while working on our own craft. We will live life "wide wake" and seek out the meaning and mystery in the pockets and shoe boxes of our lives.

In order to “live the writerly life", our notebook will become a fixture...something that will always be with us. Students will write at home and in school. My hope is that soon, your child will be bringing their notebook most places s/he goes or rushing home to jot something down that s/he noticed during the day so as not to forget a word that held something beautiful or something intriguing. // D. E. Chase Beecher Road School 2006 // Back to For Parents