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Writer’s Craft

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Jackie James Creedon shares a map of future soil testing sites in western New York State. Jackie James Creedon is the founder of Citizens Science Community Resources, an organization that is committed to promoting science-based activism and empowering grass-roots environmental justice and health campaigns. In 2014, Jackie received an award from the Environmental Protection Agency for her courageous efforts to lead an investigation in our community that took down Tonawanda Coke, a local factory…

More and more often, I’m invited to work not only with school districts, but with other organizations that are interested in telling their stories. Stories matter. They center us. They propel us forward. They change the trajectories of our work and our lives and the lives of the people we serve. They’re bigger than branding, and they’re far more than marketing tools. That’s why it’s important to value the story writing process as much as…

Last spring, several groups at the WNY Young Writer’s Studio made a careful study of dialogue. Rather than charting the ideas that might have emerged from my teacher-driven mini-lessons, writers researched this topic using varied tools. They looked for evidence of these stratgies in beloved mentor texts, and they interviewed real writers. Then, students added their findings to the chart below. This small shift in practice was incedibly rewarding. How are you making your writing workshop more student…

Here’s a snapshot of the grid that some writers plan with at the WNY Young Writer’s Studio. And here’s another of a bulletin board near it, which provides new writers very basic approaches to try as they get acquainted with making writing in this way. These aren’t my ideas. Studio writers shared most of them. And here’s something that’s hard to portray in those photos or in sketchbook shots: the MOVEMENT of the sticky notes.…

Some of the best learning I enjoy emerges from my study of writers at play. In 1932, Mildred B. Parten was the first to distinguish one form of play from another, making a contribution to the field of education that has sustained the test of time. My awareness of these classifications often prompts me to consider the relationship between play and the development of writers. Many similarities appear to exist. Take a peek at the…

We spent part of last month’s Studio sessions talking about creative theft. Many agree that this is one of the most important skills that we can teach young writers. How do we do this, though? The tool below supports this simple approach: select multiple texts, study them with a very distinct lens, illuminate just this aspect of each text, and capture what you learn about craft. Then, use what you discover to inspire your own…

I designed this document yesterday for intermediate level teachers who are leading their students through a narrative writing unit. It includes the best of what we all know about adding great detail to this particular type of writing, and it was inspired by another document that always fabulous Amy Ludwig Vanderwater designed specifically for teachers. This is a kid-friendly version, and it includes guidance, slices of mentor text, and prompts to support young writers. Once…