Doing vs Being: Connections Matter
Erica Johnson Erica Johnson

Doing vs Being: Connections Matter

I reached out to some of my former students about what I had said or done to inspire them to continue being writers outside of the classroom. Below are four ways you can help your students BE writers, according to students.

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Write Off the Bat: Heart Maps
Erica Johnson Erica Johnson

Write Off the Bat: Heart Maps

I like to call heart maps creative lists. This is a great writing activity to generate ideas for any age group. Students can then look back at the maps as they decide on a topic to write as a poem, narrative, memoir, and even nonfiction throughout the year.

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Write Off the Bat: One Little Word
Erica Johnson Erica Johnson

Write Off the Bat: One Little Word

It's become a bit of a tradition in my classroom these past few years and I make sure to practice it with my students as well. I enjoy this as a way of both getting them to write and building community from day one.

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Writing Beyond the Boundaries
Erica Johnson Erica Johnson

Writing Beyond the Boundaries

When is writing not actually writing?

Lately I have been re-evaluating what it means to write or more accurately what counts as writing.

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