I spent this week working on planning our first 9 weeks of school. I have learned through the years that creating a year-long plan is important but even more important is to take the first quarter to learn about the students in the room. I have key elements I need to cover this year, but taking time to really learn about their goals and hopes, and their challenges and fears will make help me to support and create a more successful, productive and positive learning environment. As promised, I am taking you all on our journey this year in creating this new program. The first week together we spend time getting to know each other. Some of us are returning from the year before, and there will be new faces. Always new faces. Poetry is and always will be a critical component in our time spent together. I have several students who have already requested poetry books and have introduced me to both Spoken Word poets and those who share words on the page. I love high school poets, their passion, and truth rise to the surface in ways my words cannot.
This year we are going to be both journal and digital writers. I have pens, pencils, journals, and laptops waiting to be filled with student thoughts. Blank journals frankly bring a lot of angst to many of my students. They are used to being told what to write, and the idea of hundreds of blank pages to be filled can be overwhelming. I do structure the journal a little bit because I have found if I don’t, we become lost in the pages. I will share a sample in a later post.
The first few writing prompts are short poems or responses. They enjoy reading poetry but are challenged to write it on their own. We start with short, bite-sized pieces so all students can feel successful. My life in a sentence. The Six-Word Memoir. I have been writing a few this week to share that in six words you can learn a lot about a person. I put myself out there right away, writing alongside my students because if you don’t walk alongside your writers, they will have no faith in your practice and will write for you, instead of growing to write and read to explore ideas themselves. So here is a glimpse into my life at the moment, in six-word phrases.
You never feel all grown up.
They keep talking about next chapters.
The mirror doesn’t reflect my spirit.
Aging gracefully is definitely a myth.
And then you realize, life’s short.
Stop judging, I’m not done yet.
Fifties are not the new thirties,
Coffee and wine, in that order.
One day I woke up changed.
Wine and coffee, girlfriends and laughter.
Become Fearless, you will be limitless.
Time passes anyway, follow your heart.
Marry your best friend, it matters.
Just breathe, everything will work out.
Believe in yourself, you’re still here.
Beauty comes from strength and passion.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Ok, not six words but great advice.
So I may not share all of these, but it is a start. How do you begin to build a writing community?