One of my favorite 7th-grade writing assignments is inspired by Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Students brainstorm words about themselves and things they love on an ABC grid before writing their entries.
Yesterday was drafting day, and my first section of students had a double ELA block – 110 minutes. Class began with the daily free write and checking homework. Next, I reviewed the writing assignment instructions, put on some instrumental guitar music, and set the timer for 30 minutes. Then something amazing happened! The room fell silent, and EVERY student was engaged in writing for the ENTIRE 30 minutes.
When the timer went off, there were groans because the students didn’t want to stop writing! Far be it from me to upset their writing mojo. They wrote for another 35 minutes and spent the last ten minutes of the period sharing their writing with a friend.
I wonder if they noticed the HUGE smile plastered on my face?!?
SOLSC#26
DAY 5
Rita DiCarne 
Sounds like you had a great day! I know this is what you probably dream of as an English teacher!
“Rita Book” is still going strong!!
BTW…Love AKR also! I gave all my grandchildren her Dear Girl and Dear Boy series!
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AKR was a treasure, gone far too soon. I need to find this book and add it to my TBR stack. Thanks for sharing.
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That’s awesome Rita! These kids are sooo lucky to have you ❤️
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This is pure teacher joy! I love that book! I am teaching a creative writing class for the first time. I may have to get that one out and take a look at it for ideas.
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It’s always magical when the kids want to keep writing. Cheers!
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You can’t ask for anything better. I bet your students’ smiles matched yours.
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What a genius idea! You’re post took me back to my teaching years (especially when I had my own classroom and was able to give my students the time to continue a writing assignment when they were “into it!” It was magic and like you, made my heart sing. Enjoy these special moments and endorse yourself for creating them for your students. Looking for an idea for today’s slice. Perhaps I’ll writing about writing with students.
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That’s the best! When everything goes as planned, even better than planned. You can feel proud of achieving it.
As teachers we need to promote successful learning interactions because negativity abounds.There are great things happening in classrooms all over.
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