Authentic Writing Assignments

I was recently asked to present to my district's curriculum team about how to incorporate writing throughout the curriculum.  As a librarian speaking to a room full of English teachers, I felt a little bit like I was preaching to the choir.  But, as our planning conversations continued, I realized that our teachers were asking questions about how MUCH writing students should be doing and how OFTEN students should be engaging in writing activities.  For me, the answer to both questions is, in a word, "constantly." 

However, there also seemed to be a preoccupation with the good old five-paragraph essay, and I wanted teachers to see that there there were so many others ways to "hide the vegetables" and have students practice writing skills while simultaneously engaging with 21st century skills.  With this in mind, I turned to Twitter as well as my Google Drive, looking for writing assignments that felt authentic and blended aspects of choice reading and inquiry.  I had some amazing ideas from @TeachWriteEDU, @aschoenborn, and @melannpero; that's what I love about my Twitter PLN--there are so many amazing educators who are so willing to share!

While sharing these ideas on writing, I also wanted to draw attention to the American Association of School Librarians standards, so I used the four main domains of the AASL Standards (Think, Create, Share, Grow) to structure a collection in Wakelet of authentic-feeling writing assignments that could work with many different units.  Check out the Wakelet collection of ideas here, and please comment with any other ideas that have worked for you and your classroom; I would love to continue to help my district's English classes  make authentic writing an integral part of each day.

I hope your days are filled with not only amazing books but words to fill your own pages.  Until next time!

Love,

Your Library