Back Again?

Another little mini-break there but I was glad to get back to school today.  The first thing I wanted to do  once we got started this morning was show the class a bit of something I read this week.  Many of you may not know this about me but I am a gigantic Kansas Jayhawk fan.  Both my parents raised me this way so the blame lies solely in their court.  That should explain why I found this little nugget of writing:

Two weeks ago, who could have envisioned this? Two weeks ago, Kansas was 9-4, sliding down the national rankings after a 4-4 stretch in November and December. Two weeks ago, the Jayhawks weren’t finding ways to win. Two weeks ago, Kansas coach Bill Self kept imploring his team to play with more passion.

Now, this.

(I added the picture I could not help it)

This writing came from a piece written by Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star on Tuesday.  I love so much about how this article was written.  Mr. Dodd puts so much craft into the article which made it a joy to read (and not just because it was about Kansas blowing out Baylor).

I want our students to work on finding and sharing their favorite writing with me.  I created a little sheet and gave it to the class where they can find and share this writing.  I hope that the students will start hunting for writing that makes them stop and notice all the craft of the author.  

I am hoping that this hunting for great writing will have two effects.  First I want the students to recognize how authors use words and string them together in interesting ways.  Hopefully the students will be able to find writing that is excellent and they will begin to appreciate the beauty of the writing.  Second I want the students to find this type of writing so they can try it in their own writing.  Authors learn from other authors.  I have been reading and watching lots of interviews with authors and the one thing that I hear repeated over and over is that good writers read.  When you read, you can expose the tricks that authors use to make their writing better.

In fact earlier this year we had seen this same trick that Mr. Dodd used by Cynthia Rylant.  In her book Scarecrow Rylant wrote:

So he doesn’t mind that there is always a smile on his face or that his eyes are always open. He doesn’t mind being up high. He doesn’t mind staying there

Rylant repeats the line, "he doesn't mind" just like Dodd repeats the line, "two weeks ago."  Our writers can take this technique to make their writing better.  If you would like, ask our students to share this "Great Writing" sheet with you.  You could also find some writing that you love and share it with our students.  If you find something amazing, send me a link or let me know in the comment section.  I would love to keep sharing amazing writing with our authors.

I hope you are all having a great week.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/01/20/4765060/halftime-report-kansas-37-baylor.html#storylink=cpy