SOL 16: 31 Days of Stories
"I already know what I'm going to write today," K said with a smile as she ate lunch in the cafeteria.
K has been excited about this day for weeks. She recruited several friends from her class to write with us during this year's Slice of Life Challenge.
"Already?" I tease. "I'm not a bit surprised." I pause. Wait. "What will you write about?"
"Owls," she beams. Her smile widens, "And I already know what my starting sentence is going to be."
"I know what I'm writing about today too, but I have no idea what my starting sentence will be yet. Hmmmm. I'm going to have to think about that," I add.
She shares her opening line, and we banter for a bit. I realize that I'm going to have to step up my game for my students. They already have lists for their writing. They're planning their posts during the day before they even sit down to write....and it appears they are planning their leads too.
Today is the first day of the Slice of Life Challenge. I've enlisted students from our school who are brave enough to try writing for 31 days. Our group will meet each Tuesday after school. During this time we will check in with one another, cheer each other onto the next post, and learn along the way. New students have joined our first through fifth grade club, and old students have returned. One student shared how her participation last year led her to writing for a magazine regularly.
We have 31 days of writing ahead of us; thirty one days of collecting stories in our spaces. I wonder what we'll discover along the way.
"I wonder what we'll discover along the way." Love that you meet with slicers after school. Maybe I'll tackle that some year. Love the dialogue in your slice. Made me smile just thinking about the conversation.
ReplyDeleteI would love to do this with students. I can't wait to hear your slices with them. I hope you make your space to write especially for you ....with cookies.
ReplyDeleteClare
Oh, I love this. The excitement just permeates this post!
ReplyDeleteMade me smile too! Just love this slice ... and wonder if she'll ever know that she was the topic of your first slice!?! Such joy and celebration of words with students is always exciting. Of course you know that I'm always excited to join you on any adventure -- here's to a month of stories and poems and words!
ReplyDeleteIt's really great that you have a mixture of ages in your "slicing" club, & that they already know about planning in the head, getting ready to write. This is the inspiration all of us should have, Cathy. Thanks for your story.
ReplyDeleteEvery year, I promise myself that I will write with students the next year, but I never quite pull it off. I so admire you for slicing with your kids. Can't wait to see how it goes!
ReplyDeleteEvery year, I promise myself that I will write with students the next year, but I never quite pull it off. I so admire you for slicing with your kids. Can't wait to see how it goes!
ReplyDeleteSo exciting, Cathy! Love how you have this club for kids across the grades!
ReplyDeleteIt was so fun popping into your group last night. You could feel the excitement in the air! I look forward to hearing more stories over the next month. :) Happy writing!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I know which student this is and I can't say I'm these least bit surprised with this conversation. I'm so thrilled to see so much excitement, both by you and the students, surrounding the SOL challenge! Can't wait to see where this leads!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite time of the year!! I love reading all the stories. Thanks for letting me share this special time..
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