It's Monday? Write Again! #8
Submitted by kim on Mon, 11/12/2012 - 13:25 in Homeschooling, Writing
I am doing a case study this month of a young man who is a published author. I've spent time watching his writing process and discussing his drafts and finished pieces of writing. Yes, I've spent hours sitting next to him just watching him write! You can learn amazing things about writing by watching people write and reading case studies of individual writer's processes to get words on paper.
My friend has a personal goal of 500 words and two hours of writing a day. As I observed him writing a short story for publication, I realized his writing strategies are exactly the ones our writing community has been working on. When he was stuck, he took one word from the paragraph and used it as a spring board for more writing. Or he reread what he had written to find places to expand. Or he resorted to a prewriting exercise to help him center his thinking again.
Students can not use these skills when tackling a writing assignment unless they've developed them through free writing.
The writer's notebook has been the foundational tool for participants in the Write Next to Me© Writing Community to develop this daily practice of writing.
If you haven't started using writer's notebooks with your children yet, I encourage you to do so today. Writing daily with your children is not reserved just for homeschoolers. I have a family following many of the Write Next to Me© suggestions in their "aftershooling" program. Here are two printables to get you started or keep you writing!