Saturday, January 22, 2011

Lighting the Writing Fire...An Update

I mentioned that one New Year's Resolution was to excite my boys about writing. I've hugely changed the way writing looks in our school day, doing much less with specific assignments and a lot more with writing workshop time, providing lots of choice, relaxed suggestions, etc. It seems to be making a big difference.

On our first day on the Penguin Unit, ds8 wrote in his "travel journal", talking about what he'd seen on the first day visiting Antarctica. (Text shown as written in journal.)

Today we landed in antarctica. We saw all kinds of Peguins today. It is sometimes 0 degrees in the summer in antarctica. We came in a plane with no windows or heat. There is no freash food on antarctica, all the food came from hillecopters in other states and provinces. 

For my son, this marks a big change in writing, from short, simple, "let's get it over with" sentences, to more interesting, thoughtful content. I'm pleased.

Now I just need to keep up my other resolution...to write 250 words/day myself. And NOT on my blog. :)

4 comments:

  1. I started teaching a creative writing class at co-op in hopes of getting myself motivated to write more. I have also thought about joining a writer's workshop. I took a creative writing class in college last summer and I got so much writing done during that short period. I loved it!

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  2. @Pretty...I'd love to take a creative writing course. It's been so long since I've done anything official to improve my writing. Meanwhile, I try to write each morning, just for the experience.

    Good for you for teaching the class. Can I take it? ;)

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  3. That is an awesome change in his writing. Good call in shaking things up!

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  4. I really like the idea of a pretend travel journal, and I also like how you put less pressure on DS4 to write. I am curious to see his progress too, as I have a reluctant writer too.

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