7 Minute Writes

I can think of a few times in my life when I got involved in a project – and, more or less, got lost in the execution of the project. One such time was the building of jumbo size Jenga game – (Jenga being the game of starting out with a sturdy tower of wooden blocks and players take turns removing a wooden block – one at a time – with a steady hand until the whole stack crashes down). I found a blueprint on-line and used a miter saw to carefully saw and then sand two by fours to create a fairly large Jenga tower to play with my college buddies.  I remember the intensity and the satisfaction of the experience.

Are there writing teachers out there who have created similar conditions like the conditions I am describing in my Jenga project – conditions that foster passion and stick-to-it-ness for their young “authors” to create a writing piece they are committed to and proud of – and want to share? 

A former colleague, Caroline Colletti recently shared such resource below – it reflects a space in the day when students are exploring and experimenting with their ideas in written form.  The featured teacher is certainly helping her students build stamina and experience in their writing abilities; the technique is called: 7 –minute writes.