Creating+Conversations+and+Classrooms+Where+Students+Want+to+Write

=Creating Conversations and Classrooms Where Students Want to Write=

Jen Haberling - jhaberli@hpeagles.net

 * First of all, their website has a whole bunch of great lesson plans. Pretty much everything they talked about
 * What we need to do is get kids into a flow experience, which is when you lose yourself in what you are doing, and lose track of time.
 * Always engaged in Real-World Writing with students - ask yourself: would REAL writers do this??
 * Remember that writing is not alway s putting pen to paper - discussion is a huge part of the writing practice.
 * The "This I Believe" essays from NPR (I have the book if you want to take a look) are a writing activity waiting to happen. What are our students' essential understandings about life and humanity? "This I Believe" is best listened to, as that's its original purpose as it was recorded for radio. "Be Cool to the Pizza Delivery Dude" is a great one to start with. Then, have your students write and use Mixcraft to record their own "This I Believe" essay.
 * Research needs to be something students can relate to. Here's an idea: try a research paper written as a narrative. This assignment is on the website.
 * Check the website for the Presto-Changeo-Gameo. This was fun, and it'll be something students love, plus it'll teach a great lesson about why revision is important.
 * Not much to say other than that, because everything you need is on their website. This was a really good session, though, and they have some really great ideas that I will definitely try in my classroom.