Learning Important Things-not just about writing

           Time for the Tuesday Slice of Life Sharing at the Two Writing Teachers blog. Come over to read and enjoy everyone's post!

       I've already written two other times about my poetry retreat last week (last Friday & Saturday), & as you can see from the badge on the right, I've also been writing in an online poetry class in September. I'm trying to focus on several things I can share as takeaways for teaching writing (teaching writers) in the classroom. I've written about happiness in finding one's passion, gratitude for people who really listen, and in this final post, want to emphasize the importance of being surrounded by beauty. Here are some photos, and thoughts about connections to a classroom.

A special space in a classroom can mean much
to a student who needs to be alone to write.

                  Looking out a window for one beautiful thing
among the rest is something writers do.

Following a path around our school can be
meaningful to a student looking for a metaphor.

Discovering changes in nature or in the school
building is something to write about.

There is a line in a poem, "looking long", that
I've used when my class has written, sometimes
with magnifying glasses, sometimes with
microscopes or eyepieces.

Starting with the "wide view" of a camera lens allows
the writer to see the whole picture.

Looking for new ways to get somewhere can be
a needed exploration.

I've had students watch sunsets for many days, noting differences,
practicing different words and styles of response.

Weather changes can inspire mood descriptions, and
a different look at the word "beauty". 

Like the first photo, finding a unique place to write is good
for students to discover about themselves. 

This and the photo below is a writers' garden, with rocks strewn
filled with words to inspire. I used to hide slips of paper in a
certain area of school for students to find, and then to write. A few
shrubs, trees with rough bark for tucking, or taping to a wall will do.

Beauty found specific to the writer is the challenge.
One thing I've done is to have students take photos,
then print & write.

A special place for gathering and eating nourishes everyone.
I kept a big pile of old blankets for the class to carry outside
to eat lunch together on the grass.

This is just me sharing my last view on the way to
the airport. Gorgeous view.

         A long time ago, I read about a famous writer, whose name I no longer remember, who used to keep a "pretty table" in his living room on which he placed things he thought "pretty". Eye of the beholder and all that. So I did this in my classroom, free for anyone to add to, which held things found in nature (tree cones, rocks, shells, insect shells, skulls), created (small drawings, marble eggs, tiny boxes with some picture on them, jewelry), pictures from magazines, and words. I had a bucket of rocks on which students could paint words they loved. This "pretty table" inspired much writing, and connecting to other memories, once students wrote.

         I know it's impossible to create my week away, a week with few other obligations. It truly was a "getaway", yet as I lived through the week, I kept thinking how each part that inspired me could be connected in some way back at school. I hope you'll find some inspiration here too.