Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Stories in Your Head

Writing is simply stories in your head. I remember so well when Donald Davis uttered those profound words during a workshop. Young children are full of stories. There is so much going on in their heads. School, baseball games, football, soccer, cheerleading, friends, neighbors, and funny situations just to name a very few. If teachers can just tap into these stories by creating an easy transition from stories in the head to stories on paper. I wish someone had explained writing in these simple terms to me as a young child.

1 comment:

  1. Yay, Mary Ellen! You have written the first non-Kim post! I agree with you-- children are not aware that they have stories that are worth sharing. That's where we come in-- I have just read about "heart mapping"-- where students write down all the things that are close to their heart (all the things you mentioned in your post) and they can see all the great ideas for stories they already possess. I read about it on www.twowritingteachers.wordpress.com. I have written it up and will post it so that maybe folks can use it at the beginning of next year.
    Thanks for getting the ball rolling, Mary Ellen!

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