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Bring The Power: Start Off Write

In Fall 2023 all of this will continue to be true but yesterday I kicked off the semester by writing into community and students reflected on the power of the experience. Did your first day of classes do that? This year my entire being is focused on creating a joyfully authentic community of writers. What’s your focus?

What’s Really New? As expected, poetry played an important role throughout the fall semester and in the selection of my #OneLittleWord for 2023: Perspective! As I note in that blog post, Emily Dickinson’s Tell all the truth but tell it slant inspired both my teaching and my writing as we created a wide range of artifacts throughout the semester for both first year writing and professional writing classes. Throughout our journey together I worked hard to invite the writers in my classes to embrace writing in community. I have big plans for bringing the power of authentic writing to my Spring 2023 classes, do you?

What’s New? One of the most important I brought the power to my first year writing classes during the 2021-2022 academic year was to center poetry. We wrote together every class and every one of those writing invitations centered poetry. We also crafted poems together and individually:

Poetry inspired our thinking and writing. Poetry informed the shape of our narratives as well as the form and function of our language. Poetry inspired us to experiment and play as writers.

Poetry in Comp Class?

I also leaned heavily into the lessons gleaned from leading writing marathons for years and focused every class session around Jam Sessions!

I am excited to harness the power of the writing marathon to invite my students to write with me and become writers.

Jam Session or Writing Marathon?

This semester (Fall 2022) I am centering joy in all our writing from having fun during our in-class writing jams to developing passion projects as our deliverables. How will you bring the power this school year? If you are looking for writing prompts to bring the power of writing into your classroom then check the prompts I use with my students and adult writers. I hope they can inspire you to spark writing in your classroom.

Original Post: I believe in the power of writing to improve humans and human communities. This is why one of the first things I ask students to do in my classes is write. This is why I often start meetings with a writing prompt as well. I believe in the power of writing to help us learn about ourselves, about others, and about the world which is why bell ringers feature so prominently in my classes. If you teach a writing class, if you want to teach writers, or you just teach humans then it is essential that writing play an important role in your classroom from the first day to the last.

Starting off write sends a clear message to your students about the importance of writing, but it is also a great way to build class community. I know that many members of my #PLN agree and have offered their own inspiring takes on starting off write. While I hope that my strategies inform your methods, you should handcraft your own icebreakers and bell ringers. Perhaps these rules might help you kick off write. For years I have combined icebreakers with community building and used that writing to jumpstart our work for powerful introduction activities.

For my graduate classes where teachers will be doing a lot of personal writing I offer the freedom to explore, remediate, and undo their identity or simply share their origin story with the intent of both building community and providing inspiration for future writing. My professional writing students break the ice, build community, and learn new tools by kicking off with infographics. My first-year writing students introduce themselves, build community, and connect with our theme for the semester by using snaps.

Writing is a powerful tool for every content area and students at every level of education. Writing together is a very human bonding experience that benefits any community of learners – especially now. The regular practice of writing is a tremendous learning experience. Just remember that this writing is about learning and bonding, not demonstrating learning. Do not make the mistake of linking it to a grade. Teach your students that writing can be a tool for reflection and connection. Making writers in this way will pay untold dividends.

Writing to reflect about ourselves and our identity is a powerful experience. Writing to build community is a powerful experience. Writing to learn is a powerful experience. Don’t forget to bring the power to your classroom every day.

Author: Deanna Mascle
#TeachingWriting and leading #NWP site @ Morehead State (KY): Passionate about #AuthenticWriting, #DeeperLearning, #PBL, #Ungrading, and #HyperDocs.

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