They say variety is the spice of life…while my days as a literacy coach can be busy, they’re usually interesting. I love getting to bounce from kindergarten to fifth grade and everywhere in between. Somewhere around noon today, I realized just how many different genres of writing I had coached into, which gave me this idea…to share my day by genre.

9:00 Poetry

I worked in a second-grade classroom that were working on writing copycat poems based on Zoe Ryder Wbite’s Inside My Heart. I mostly worked with a few reluctant poets who “had nothing” in their hearts.

9:50 More Poetry

In a different second grade classroom, I worked with kids as they studied mentor poems with a partner. The teacher and I huddled to discuss next steps and decided a menu of poetic options would be helpful. As the kids shared their noticings, the menu began!

10:45 How-To

Our kindergarteners are just beginning How-To writing and are in the immersion phase. Today we brainstormed possible ideas for How-To Books and the students drew covers to prepare for their first few books. I never remember to bring my phone, but I got the teacher to snap a few pictures for me. I love kindergarten writing!

11:30 Feature Articles

A quick stop in fourth grade, where I found students in various stages of their feature articles. I met with two students who were co-authoring a two part piece. There was a lot of negotiating about who would write each part. I think they have a plan for writing…tomorrow. Not sure how much I helped.

12:15 Writing About History

The American Revolution is taking over our fifth grade. The students are deep in the research phase, busy with taking notes. I checked in with a group of students I had met with earlier this week to see how the strategy we had practiced was going for them. Then, I met with another writer who I convinced to go back to her book to gather relevant details to support her main idea. It’s best not to guess when it comes to history!

1:00 A little lunch duty thrown in, just to keep things fresh

Lunch duty was bursting with energy today…I was happy to return to writing.

1:40: Book Reviews

I got to pull a few students into a small group in my room today. They happened to have the same name. We called it the “John Group.” We orally rehearsed pages of their book reviews on The Great Eggscape and Who Would Win? Killer Whales or Great White Sharks. The Johns wrote a lot today and we reflected on whether or not it was easier to write in a quiet space. They both insisted that noise helps them. I may disagree.