Baseball and Writing
I grew up playing baseball. From T-ball through high school, one of the first things we did when arriving at the field was to throw the ball to each other – lots of throws. The coach would hit hit us pop-ups, line drives, and ground balls– I can still hear “Stachura –it’s coming to you”. I lived close to an elementary school playground and we neighborhood kids spent many an afternoon playing baseball. I spent hours throwing the ball against the cement walls in my basement. And, as I moved up through the age categories, I played with different players and learned under different coaches. But the one constant through the years of playing baseball – play the game. And, the more I practiced and played in real games, the better I got.
Consider a talent you have more or less mastered –a cook, maybe you are a bridge or poker player, a tennis player, an artist – whatever – you got good, by doing it.
So how do kids become proficient writers – they need to write and write routinely.
So this week I ask you to consider - Did my coach know my weaknesses and strengths as a player? Not always and certainly not at first. But he watched and he coached. When I made a mistake, he encouraged me. When I struggled to hit a curve ball, he walked me through the steps of anticipating the hook. And, above all, he got me off the bench and playing – and playing in every game.
Lucy Calkins would remind us that strong writers have extended time to write, and they write each and every day. Don Graves, the Pulitzer prize winner journalist in writing instruction for children, said “that if writers couldn’t return to a piece of writing at least three times a week, it wasn’t worth doing it all. The kids would be just too far away from their writing to remain committed to it”.
And, my baseball coach got better at his job throughout the season as well. He gradually learned that Stachura needed one-on-one on how to hold the bat. He held mini lessons with several players who needed the same skill. He coached from the side lines and the dugout. He stood by the first baseman who needed some extra tips. And, the coach got better at coaching.
Writers – just like baseball players – need to understand at what makes a good piece of writing – planning, revising, moving, deleting, using techniques. But for this week, consider just this one aspect – look over how much time your students are writing. Let’s all be honest about that. To become good writers, kids need lots of opportunities to write. Additionally, you are the coaches, and the more you coach writing, the better you will become at being teachers of writing.
Let me finish with this link: Some 70 ideas about what to write
Have a good evening,
Marty
Consider a talent you have more or less mastered –a cook, maybe you are a bridge or poker player, a tennis player, an artist – whatever – you got good, by doing it.
So how do kids become proficient writers – they need to write and write routinely.
So this week I ask you to consider - Did my coach know my weaknesses and strengths as a player? Not always and certainly not at first. But he watched and he coached. When I made a mistake, he encouraged me. When I struggled to hit a curve ball, he walked me through the steps of anticipating the hook. And, above all, he got me off the bench and playing – and playing in every game.
Lucy Calkins would remind us that strong writers have extended time to write, and they write each and every day. Don Graves, the Pulitzer prize winner journalist in writing instruction for children, said “that if writers couldn’t return to a piece of writing at least three times a week, it wasn’t worth doing it all. The kids would be just too far away from their writing to remain committed to it”.
And, my baseball coach got better at his job throughout the season as well. He gradually learned that Stachura needed one-on-one on how to hold the bat. He held mini lessons with several players who needed the same skill. He coached from the side lines and the dugout. He stood by the first baseman who needed some extra tips. And, the coach got better at coaching.
Writers – just like baseball players – need to understand at what makes a good piece of writing – planning, revising, moving, deleting, using techniques. But for this week, consider just this one aspect – look over how much time your students are writing. Let’s all be honest about that. To become good writers, kids need lots of opportunities to write. Additionally, you are the coaches, and the more you coach writing, the better you will become at being teachers of writing.
Let me finish with this link: Some 70 ideas about what to write
Have a good evening,
Marty
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