Calkins

Chapter 1: Making Meaning on the Page and in Our Lives
This chapter really hit home with me. As a child, I had a teacher that emphasized that we were authors ourselves, and what we had to say was very important to her, our peers, and the world. My first and second grade teachers both allowed me and my peers adequate time to think about, wonder upon, and develop our ideas. Even if we had one sentence, that was good enough. They had faith that it was important and that it would turn into a masterpiece. After days of drafting and rewriting and perfecting, my teacher helped me publish my stories into wallpaper books. We then put all our books in the library we had in the classroom. We were authors. We were in a library. We were right next to all the other authors that made their living by writing. What we had to say was important. It was an art, not just a process. It was meaningful, it was grown, and it made sense.

Chapter 2: Tap the Energy for Writing
"When students become deeply involved in their writing, they don't need motivating activities." Teachers expect students to not want to write. This is obvious by the way teachers introduce writing activities by saying, "No one is going to read it...It's only five minutes...Spelling won't count..." These statements imply that what the student has to say is not important. This takes out the thrill of having others read what you write and hearing what you have to say. It is important for teachers to write so they know the power of it as well. Don't teach what you cannot set an example of. If you expect your students to write, you better be writing, too. Only with first developing your own passion of writing can you then pass it on to your students. Let students write about what they are passionate about, and let them read it in an author's chair. Let others experience their work.

Chapter 3: Rehearsal
Write, write, and write some more. Make sure its meaningful, but keep writing. A person who is constantly writing sees themselves as more of a writer than one who does not, obviously. Have kids use a writer's notebook. Have them keep it with them everywhere and write what they want in it. Rehearsal is so imporant. If you don't use it, you'll lose it. Once again, allow the students to see you, the teacher, writing in your own writer's notebook. Example is the best teacher. Writing involves "wide-awake" lives, though it can include planning, brainstorming, and mapping to help organize this "wide-awake" chaos known as our thoughts.