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The "Write" Stuff

The kids are writing right now.  They are taking their Unit 3 writing test.  As I look up I see a sea of pencils moving back and forth, people adjusting themselves in their chairs.  Some kids are deep in thought only to quickly jot down those thoughts.  I see kids "mouthing" the words they are writing, then turning their pencils over to erase something that doesn't seem right.  Every so often one of them gets up to sharpen a pencil.  Occasionally they will stretch, take a bite of their snack, or a drink of their water bottle.  At times, they will get e fresh piece of paper as they have much to say with this prompt.  

The room is quiet.  The tapping of my computer keys as I write this reflection is one of the only sounds that float across the room.  The sliding of a chair every so often accompanies it.  The familiar sound of pencils scritch-scratching along the paper provides a soothing hum for the room.  Heads are scratched, necks are craned in a stretch, and feet tap to some internal rhythm of the writer.  With some irregularity students will find their way to the shelf that contains the Thesaurus and take one...searching for that "perfect" word.  

I enjoy reading their writing as they have shown themselves to be creative in their approaches.  It's not easy taking an expository prompt and turning it into a piece that is both enjoyable to read as well as informative, yet this group seems to take the challenge and run with it.  


Mr. Casten
Dec. 7, 2012

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

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