Positive Input

Hello Writers! This is Becky Lamb, and I've been where you are! Many times, I still am! I know how stumped you can feel when it comes to Writer's Workshop, but don't give up! I have been reading Lucy Calkin's book, The Art of Teaching Writing, for 3 years! I reread it every year, hoping to gain more insight into what I need to do for my First Graders. It has been a blessing having Melissa come into my classroom and flesh out so much of what Lucy teaches in her book. I'm beginning to get it! I've discovered my expectations were way too high, so I got frustrated! Having come from the upper grades, I was looking for writing that I could immediately have kids edit and revise! "NOT YET!" I must tell myself! Let them have the freedom to learn to be writers. Affirm their efforts at every turn. They know so much. I am the one who must teach them, show them, how to express themselves on paper. They have the stories. I must gradually teach them how to put there stories down in "writing". Not necessarily with whole words and/or sentences on the page. I must first let them know they each have the most remarkable stories to share. It takes time...lots of time and a different kind of "writer's eye", where I look and listen to them tell me about their lives. Please be patient. You'll get it, and gloriously, so will they! Charge!!