Hooray and Phew!
When I decided to join Slice of Life 2016 I wanted to notice, gather ideas, and collect stories. I decided to use a notebook and mechanical pencil in hopes of making the gatherings of ideas a habit. I found taking notes in a list format my preferred method. As I typed my posts, I would add white space - do some editing and tweaking. Then I tried to share nuggets and/or why I wrote/gathered these notes. I began sharing my writing - my readers who left comments referred to my slices as poetry, quite often. I was surprised. I did play a bit with white space and words but never intended to write poetry. I'm still not sure any of my slices are poetry. They are just notes and thoughts; Snippets for/of stories. However - writers can't ignore feedback and their readers, so maybe I need to ponder the ideas of my slices as poetry.
I really did see the value of gathering my thoughts in a notebook - two slices made writing mini lessons easier the next day in class. I leave this monthly community with two more thoughts I've read, heard, and now can attest to. To be a teacher of writing, you need to write. Using a notebook is a tool for idea gathering, collecting, and rehearsal.
Thank you Two Writing Teachers!
Great thoughts!
ReplyDeleteTotally think it is poetry!!! Love your takeaways -- I am really thinking more about how to help kids play and discover more in their notebooks. Glad I am up to read your last slice!
ReplyDeleteClare
I really need to start a notebook, as I write slices just sitting at the computer. Noticing and noting is best practice.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. To be a teacher of writing, you have to write. And you do!
ReplyDeleteI knew you were not intentionally creating poetry but it seems that short lines with key words to build images brings the reader to think poetry. Perhaps you've created a new form of poetry, accidental poems. What a good way this could be to get kids started writing poetry. Just a thought. 😃
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments this month. Glad I could clear up the mystery of who this stalker person was in your life. 😃 Someday we will have that coffee.
It has been a great month of writing! I enjoyed your posts. I am thinking that we need to help kids find the playfulness of a notebook (or some other form of collecting ideas). Thanks for your thoughts.
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