Screen Free Classroom

We just wrapped up our standardized "testing season." For the last two weeks, I did my best to keep my classroom screen free because I wanted them to save screen time for the hours of testing. We worked on a creative project, wrote some fun stories, and played word games.

Friday, the final day of testing, I only had my afternoon classes because of the testing schedule. I decided to give them free time, which they know I do not do very often. I was catching up on my to-do list after missing almost two weeks of school due to the passing of my mother, and my only requirement was that the noise level had to be tolerable. 

Fifth period, I looked around and couldn't believe what I saw. Every single student had chosen to NOT be on their computers. Instead, they were playing games and having fun with each other. Some sat around one desk while others sat on the floor. It was glorious.

This made me wonder what if we gave students more opportunities to be screen free. Would they choose no screens on their own? Would not being on computers help them focus when they do have to use them? 

This experience has certainly given me something to think about...and to smile about.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

A Literary Hug

When a writer sends words out into the world, she never knows upon whose heart they may land.

A comment on my mom's online obituary began a serendipitous trail. 

Let me back up to March 24th, where I was wrapping up my slice of life challenge. My writing group had a journal club meeting, and one of the prompts was about a hiding place. I wrote about a mulberry tree that I used to play in with my childhood best friend. I turned that entry into a poem and posted it as a slice the next day.

As I was reading the comments on the obituary, I saw one from this childhood friend. She wrote about how my mom always included her even with all my mom's responsibilities. I was touched by the comment because I have not seen this friend since we graduated high school over 40 years ago.

A few days later, my sister sent a text showing me a post by my friend. Apparently, she Googled me and found my blog.

And found the poem I wrote about her.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.

Another Post about Comments

During the slice of life March challenge, I wrote a post about commenting. Commenting on slices is similar to giving writing feedback to students. It really is an art.

And I am not feedback artistic. It is something I constantly work on.

I currently teach an education class at our local university. I love it, but I still have so much to learn about teaching at that level. It is definitely not middle school.

Last week I was teaching about quick writes and the many different ways teachers can use them in classrooms. I had them write an admit ticket, and to show them a way to apply accountability, I had them share their exit tickets and write a comment or an add-on to the writing.

I could tell right away this was something they were not comfortable with although I can tell some of them put some thought into their response.

And then there was the one that made me think I need to add feedback to the syllabus for next year!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating 
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.