What Does a Great Author Look Like?

This afternoon we created a picture in our writing journal of what a great writer would look like.  We then brainstormed a list of words that would describe a great author.  The list is good, but the conversation was even more impressive.  I was very pleased with things like great writers ask questions or great writers love to read.  This really is a great class!  I feel like I won the awesome student lottery.

I know this blog post is late, but maybe if you catch it in the morning you can remind your student that I asked them to try to think of a word or quality that describes them that would help them be a great writer.  I have never been the best technical writer, but I overcame it with enthusiasm and creativity.  I teach writing with that same enthusiasm.  My goal is to make writing fun and exciting so that students really like what they write.  If they learn to love their writing, they will naturally want to learn to revise and make it better.

Tomorrow we will be doing our second page which will be titled, "I am a great writer!"  I believe in filling kids with so much self-belief that they don't have an option to fail.  My general philosophy is that you get the best out of kids that feel good about themselves.  I am really pushing self affirmations this year as a way to build confidence.

We had a talk today during our morning huddle that came from a comment by a student that was worried about affirmations in a mirror.  He stated that his family was taught to not think about themselves, but to think about the other members of the family.  I thought that was awesome that he had internalized this selflessness!  I talked to the class that self affirmations where you say "I am a great person" are not meant to make you feel you are better than other people, but they are to fill you with confidence so you can share those positive feelings and love with others.  I love having kids who are so caring and thoughtful.  I also love to see that my students are really listening and thinking about these character building lessons.