Tag: Writing

community

I love to write. I’ve been scribbling since I was tiny.

And it hurts.

And heals.

Creating is a paradox. We read to become better writers and we write to become better readers, all in the service of moving and navigating through this space, this world.

I came across this (at) threads:

View on Threads

And it hit me hard. I am not Mormon; I do not, and have not, had a community like this outside of my job, except for the rare occasions I worked with the now-defunct Puget Sound Writing Project (National Writing Project). But now I feel isolated, siloed, and micromanaged, and it’s not healthy. It’s not healthy for me or my students, which some folks don’t understand; it’s not healthy for them, either.

At this juncture, I am desperately seeking allies and community. I can count on many friends and family members who support me and my work and others who support the communities around us. Also, my anxiety and pattern recognition of danger is through the emotional cortisol roof. I remarked the other day that I do not understand my district’s culture, or perhaps I do, and I don’t want to see it or speak it out loud.

My ask: if you are interested in building a community with me, a community that supports inclusion, diversity, equity, knowledge, love, and action, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me privately, start your own WordPress blog, come make zines with me, let’s hang out and write our congresspeople, drink coffee and eat snacks. I am open to ideas.

I am promising now: I do not care who you voted for*; I only care about your actions. If your actions harm me and my ability to provide for my family and students, I will gather my community and work to make things right.

This is a boundary. Not a threat.

PS What fresh h e double hockey sticks is this?

And so it begins…

[image or embed]

— Tim Smyth (@historycomics.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 9:26 AM

*I care, but I must compartmentalize that and focus on the current situation. Your vote for him is a massive obstacle to peace and love. Either help fix what you broke or get out of the way, please.

Summer Series of Saves #2024: dismantling the essay

I am unsure where the wheels fell off the bus this year, and I can’t pinpoint the moment—maybe I was trying to do too much, or maybe the students are still recovering from 2020, perhaps? (And also, as an aside, I went to look up prior posts about this, and WordPress has done this weird thing with some of my links. I shall deal with this later.) Some students went to my prinicipal and complained about a few things, one of them being I gave them “too many essays” to write. Now, some of these “essays” were focused on parts of an essay, trying new things, and quick writes. I told them time and again this is what they need to know how to do now and for the rest of their academic careers.

They took it personally.

One of the grand and perpetual expectations of we ELA teachers is we teach how to write essays, and there is no shortage of advice, materials, books, PD, from the creative to the formulaic, we have mentor texts, learning targets, dissection of the whole and constructing the deconstructed.

So what’s my plan for this year? Again, try to organize it in a way that students get it. I am focused on the success of a few students sprinkled throughout the day, from GenEd to Honors, who used the graphic organizers and materials I provided and pushed through them to truly get how they help and scaffold essay writing.

But moreoever, I am exhausted by the individuality of teaching: the whole-class instruction does not seem to be working, and there is no one cause or factor. Setting up partner groups immediately for workshop might be one fix to this– more on this later. (Thinking Dr. Catlin Tucker’s work on stations…). I have had great success with the Puget Sound Writing Project/National Writing Project’s workshop model for years, but this year…oof. Maybe it was all that time isolated from other humans?

The plan: this post is somewhat of a placeholder for my thoughts and a launch pad: next I’ll organize the calendar of what happens when, and why, for students. Stay tuned.

https://www.rethinkela.com/2016/12/essays-every-high-school-student-should-read/
Essay List

Some other posts about essay writing:

Essay, that’s what I say
2023 Summer Series of Saves: next year…
Summer Series of Saves: Disrupt the Essay, Continued. (IV)

Building more RAFTS and Drabbles

The Best Ideas…

I just had an epiphany: if I spent as much time actually making art and writing as I do collecting ideas, supplies, and instructions I would be the Queen of All the Things now.

Okay, appreciate that. I’m also in the mode of “what will I do differently, the same, or better next year?” but that’s a post for another time.

Here are a few ideas that passed my line of sight recently:

First is a drabble idea: While I’ve done sensory image focus on drabbles in the past, I am going to reshape it based on @seeceeread’s idea to focus on character building through smells. I won’t mention the alcohol in my instructions, though, because, you know, Rule No. 1: “Don’t get Mrs. Love fired.”

Post by @seeceeread

View on Threads

The second idea is for RAFTS: use Josh Johnson’s routine as a mentor text for reviews for all kinds of things:

These ideas are now archived in this most excellent blog I’ve been writing for…ever.

Drabble-A-Day December

There are some teaching traditions I love to keep — and writing a ‘suite of drabbles’ is one. This year I put together prompts based on names of colors. You’re welcome to comment and ask for more ideas, or the structure of this; however, it’s simple. Students write nine drabbles, choose their favorite one, and “share it’ with others. They get credit for writing all ten.

https://wakelet.com/wake/sy9Kl9R6d5Mswur5fXoO0

Here is a link to the Wakelet, with an example:

https://wakelet.com/wake/sy9Kl9R6d5Mswur5fXoO0

Drabbles of Decembers Past:

'tis the season: December Ideas
December Drabble-A-Day
The longview.

Summer Series of Saves: Genius!

Important update: Josie reminded me it’s this creator, another amazing one! Seriously — how much do I think sharing teachers rock!?

@strategicclassroom Replying to @R3_Rachel #greenscreen Shoutout to Nicole for sharing her Soup, Salad, or Sandwich slides with everyone! I 🔗ed them in my b!0! #teacherresources #teachertok #firstweekofschoolactivites #classroomcommunity ♬ original sound – Jen | Teacher Time Hacks
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js

Thanks once again to Chanea Bond introduced to another brilliant educator, jwoz_teaches
Josie | JWoz_Teaches·5h ago (TikTok) and while I dream of a world where I’m working side by side amazing ELA teachers like these women, alas, I will have to settle for digital hugs. Chanea alerted me to Josie’s Jenn’s “Soup, Salad, or Sandwich” question and during summer school last week we debated tacos. I’m leaning heavily toward sandwich, but can make a case for salad.

I’m going to take credit for the writing territories idea (even if she got it from multiple places)

Because this is am amazing idea:

@jwoz_teaches Replying to @Lisa Renee transition to formal essay #teacher #teachertok #englishteacher #eduprotocol #middleschoolteacher #writingteacher ♬ Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Single Version – Tears For Fears
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js

And when paired with #writingterritories (no, I do not remember who gave me the idea, but I’ve tweaked it over the years, and pretty sure it came from a sessions with the Puget Sound Writing Project (National Writing Project). Kelly Love’s Writing Territories Graphic Organizer

Look, my friends, I miss being on Twitter, but I am never going back, especially now. I miss the conversations I had easily, and readily on that app, and @threads jumped onto my personal Instagram. I have no brand, no identity, and am all over the place. I share ideas all the time, but clearly never get a Kofi tip because my lemonade stand of awesome ideas was built using haunted lumber from a fungus-infested and used Dixie cups. The lemonade is delicious, but no one wants to take those chances in this chaos of a blog. I guess I’m just trying to say, I’m good at a lot of things, but packaging my ideas for market isn’t one of them. In the meantime, I’ll just share what I do, what I learn, mistakes and successes, and hope you stick with me.

2023 Summer Series of Saves: making the best

I am honored to be virtual friends with Angela Stockman — there are a few I’ve met along the way I truly consider kindred spirits, and she is right up there. Her vision is clear and enchanting to me: I see it, and how it can be incorporated into instructional moments. It’s my goal this summer to figure out how to bring these practices, and many of my past magical practices, back to my classroom. I mean, for goodness sake: look at this one!

Words are elusive this morning; not sure why. Perhaps it is the constant sawing, hammering, and shouts across rooftops from the construction of million-dollar homes across the street from us, interrupting any flow or traction. (And I am grateful for the skilled workers who are here, and not working in the exhausting, hostile heat of states like Texas or Florida.)

What I’m trying to say is complicated: I am an artist from the beginning (one of my favorite memories of my dad is him buying me art supplies when I was about four). As an artist, I see and do teaching a little differently, and I thought I was an oddball. But there are other creative educators out there who understand that content areas are not bound by imaginary, limiting constraints. I’ve been working on my own teaching/writing/art book for about four years; “working on” is kind of a lie– thinking about, trying, struggling, procrastinating, and sabotaging myself is more accurate. So, this blog serves as my scrapbook.

One of the insights/narratives I share with students is how to start writing: when I was getting my BFA, one of the best and most effective ways to get over blank-canvas fear was to mix up a batch of black paint with solvents and wash the freshly gessoed canvas. Just make a mark. No fear. Get started. And the benefit of the dark wash on the canvas is all colors, layers, and light become richer, more interesting, and

An artist my husband discovered is Jessica Brill: we love her simple and powerful lines, subject matter, and color. Her work evokes David Hockney and Edward Hopper, and yet it’s all her own. An artist for GenXers like us. Poolside discouragement, Holiday Inn mediocrity, and an overwhelming sense of loneliness and isolation. And maybe she captures what I feel as a teacher sometimes: that those connections I long for are forever out of reach. I will never be the martyred ELA teacher spending hours with my red pen grading essays. I learned early on about single-point rubrics, playlists, and the work of the National Writing Project.

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

I do, however, spend an inordinate of time creating, writing (this blog), and thinking. Not sure where it’s getting me. (Just a mood I have right now– it’ll pass.)

Oh, wait: I’m here.

Essay, that’s what I say

These are a fraction of books about writing I have collected over the years.

Great conversations happening regarding writing and the teaching of writing — here are some of my current noticings/wonderings, and attempts at supporting students craft their writing lives.

Every student who asks, “How many sentences does it have to be?” has been exposed to either Jane Schaffer or another prescriptive writing curriculum. There is nothing inherently good or bad in Schaffer’s program: some need a paint-by-number mode of writing instruction, and the product serves the purposes. But we teachers, and I mean all teachers, will be forever stuck in the siloing of teaching writing poorly across content areas. And when I say “writing,” I don’t necessarily mean typing out lengthy tomes: writing can be many forms and avenues. Across content areas, teachers should focus on the Role of the writer, audience, the form, the topic, and strong word choices.

Here are some Sunday-morning-I’m-still-sleepy resources:

Moving to the comprehensive high school, I’m currently teaching two periods of 10th grade, one 9th grade honors ELA, (and yes, have already had a debate with one young student about the merits of the What It Says graphic organizer– my sweet summer child, I know you), and two periods of 9th grade ELA. And yes, after being somewhat scolded about how they’ve used Jane Schaffer forever, I had another deeper conversation with my evaluator about how it was okay that I looked and researched the materials, and then collaborate with my PLC about instructional methods. Cool, cool, I can do that. I totally can. And, I can also go back through my previous blog posts and share them again, along with other resources:

focus/writing advice from Jason Reynolds
Writing: Voice
Dismantling Essays: essays in the wild
Summer Series of Saves: Written Reminders
Writers’ Workshop

Again, this is just a fraction of resources, and it can be overwhelming. My instructional advice is to start with fostering students’ ideas; ultimately, this is what serves them and their creative growth. You may find a different path that meets your students’ needs, and that’s the joy of this process.

a plan, of sorts

just making a list

@kellylove100 #duet with @ted_alexandro #standup ♬ original sound – Ted Alexandro
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js

Just trying to capture some of the ideas before they fly out of my head:

Summer Reading:

Note: want to re-read Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler: I read The Handmaid’s Tale around the time it was published in 1985 and it truly scared the soul of out me: Parable was published in 1993, and many have said Atwood got so many things wrong and white-centered in Handmaid’s, and I need to look at Parable/Butler with a keener eye. And while I never read Beloved, I did see the movie, and that’s not enough. It’s long past time.

Akata Witch Novel Unit

For next year, a colleague in another building wants to collaborate with me on a novel unit for Akakta Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. Stay tuned: this is my passion and joy.

Multimodal Unit

Pst: kelly …yeah…don’t forget to save your work that you did on the multimodal PD, mkay?

Write that book.

Plan equitable portfolio and project practices.

try to get some rest

Visit your dad in Texas

Writing: TikToks as Storytelling

How to think of TikToks as short story formats

Years ago my friend and mentor Holly introduced me to RAFTS — Role, Audience, Form, Topic, and Strong Verbs. Using the RAFTS format for teaching writing and writer’s craft helps students break away from the ‘blank page’ and word count fears. And, my friend Jennie finds the most amazing TikToks, and shared this one this morning:

@michaelmyersofdecatur

My camping nightmare!!! #youreanidiot #camping https://etsy.me/3dTVK0m

♬ original sound – Sabrina Zimmerman
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js

Here is one possibility in deconstructing this RAFTS:

You’re the wife of Michael Myers, the notorious serial killer from the Halloween series. You have two small children, and now live in a suburb of Chicago. For a family vacation, you go on a camping trip to a somewhat crowded campground though you’re concerned Michael might be up to his old ways.

  • Role: Wife
  • Audience: your TikTok viewers
  • Form: short TikTok film
  • Topic: camping trip embarassment
  • Strong verbs: defy, ignoring, yelling

Resources:

273 Strong Verbs That’ll Spice Up Your Writing

Google Slides of RAFTS (this is old, so feel free to update)