Our Writerly Community

After going through the Red Cedar Writing Project Summer Institute in 2016, the way I teach writing has changed drastically. The summer institute was the best professional decision I have ever made.

This school year I have the opportunity to teach writing to all four sections of fifth grade, and I couldn't be more ecstatic about it! On the first day of class I asked each group how many of them saw themselves as writers. Out of the 91 students that I questioned, a total of 11 students raised their hands.

Eleven.

How is this possible?

I told them not to worry though. By June, all their hands would be raised.

This short conversation led to two questions: What do writers do? and What will our writerly community look like? The first question was a natural segway into the second. Listed on the white board in the back of the classroom are the characteristics of our writerly community.

And it wasn't more evident than today during my third class. In their writer's notebooks the students were coming up with external and internal character traits about themselves. We then took some time to share. During our sharing session, one specific girl was struggling to find internal character traits to describe herself. Using this as a teachable moment, I relied on the other students in the class to help her out and taught them how to do this. The girl next to her didn't know this student well but said in the week they have been in the same class she felt she was very kind. Another struggled to describe what she was thinking. These two had been in the same class the previous year but after letting her talk it out  and asking a lot of questions, she came up with calming. The girl who couldn't think of any characteristics to describe herself relied on the writerly community to help her.

With each day the students become more confident in their ability to write. Their stamina is increasing and often I catch them trying to add more and more while I am teaching.

It has only been three days since I met these 91 fifth graders and our writerly community is already taking shape. I can't wait to see how they develop as writers throughout the year and to ask them the same question the last day of class:  How many of you see yourself as writers?