All posts in Uncategorized

Reggio Reflections: Complexity and Contemporaneous Activity

20 Apr 2018 / No Comments

Dr. Diane Kashin was the first to challenge my thinking about pre-cut materials and activities. My study tour of Reggio Emilia schools deepened my understandings as well. This week, I’m reflecting on […]

It’s Here! Hacking the Writing Workshop is Now Available at a Discount to My Subscribers

23 Feb 2018 / No Comments

This morning, I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, Hacking the Writing Workshop: Redesign with Making in Mind, is now available. I’ve also asked my publisher, Mark Barnes, to […]

Make Writing: A Webinar for the Saskatchewan School Library Association

03 Nov 2017 / No Comments

Greetings to all who plan to join me on Tuesday, November 7th for a quick conversation about making and writing and learning from our students! If you’re interested in participating […]

Five Emergent Curriculum Design Practices that Give Writers More Control of the Workshop

19 Oct 2017 / No Comments

Each new year in the writing workshop begins with relationship building. We establish routines and rituals that establish predictability and trust. We sink into conversations and writing experiences that help […]

Synthesis and the Sticky Note: Reflections on Emergent Curriculum Design

12 Oct 2017 / No Comments

In recent years, I’ve learned that it’s not enough to have vision. In order to make it a reality, we must define the learning targets that will help us achieve […]

Emergent Curriculum: How Might We Design a Vision that is Truly Shared?

03 Oct 2017 / No Comments

Last week, I shared some thoughts about emergent curriculum design and specifically, the important role that constraints might play in getting it right. In my experience, how we pursue vision […]

Emergent Curriculum: The Power of Constraints

26 Sep 2017 / 2 Comments

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to work through the design process and contemplate the relationship between making and writing with a brilliant group of teachers in Atlanta, […]

The Writing Workshop Launch: An Iterative Process

12 Sep 2017 / No Comments

It’s launch time in most of the schools that I support. Teachers are welcoming writers into new spaces, establishing routines, and filling their hearts and minds with renewed promise: This […]

False Confidence and the Conforming Young Writer

29 Aug 2017 / No Comments

I’ve just returned home from an incredible week with writers and teachers from Chappaqua Central School District. They hosted a Make Writing Pop-Up event that brought all of us into […]

What do rich learning experiences look like in writing workshop?

24 Aug 2017 / No Comments

Earlier this week, I shared this matrix for designing rich learning experiences, and a bunch of people asked what each dimension of the 2×2 might look like inside of a writing […]