Writing+Strategies+That+Work!

=**The purpose of this page is to provide resources that can help you answer that question. The need for new forms of communication is growing exponentially, while the ability to process what you read at the same time is a standard expectation of each individual by the world at large. On this page, you will find resources to use in class in order to link the world "out there" (internet, analog demands, visual media) to our world "in here" (the classroom). **=

==Richard Garriott became the sixth "paying customer" on a Russian spacecraft in 2008. He is the son of an astronaut, and grew up with dreams of space flight. For him, the stories his father told him of the cold, vast place beyond our atmosphere were as real as his own hands. Why is it important to know that? __//Our students come to us with different stories, many of which have their origins in the lives of those who raise them.//__ It's important to "dig" and coax the stories from them, as most students aren't even aware of what lies within them. How can those stories lead us to life-changing choices? Have your students write journals about the different things they remember...a toy they were fascinated with when they were small, their crib, their first pet, the first time they remember pain, the first family holiday image they can recall...**Create a "memory bank" in their Writer's Notebooks that they can refer back to another day.** Then, they can take out that small moment they put in their "Memory Bank" and live it with their readers...Barry Lane calls it "Exploding the Moment"...==

==// Show your students this video of Richard Garriott after you've given them the background above. Ask them what they might try to do if they knew, KNEW that they would not fail. Now, ask them what they would most love to try, despite the possibility of failure (which is, after all, part of the path to success). //==

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// Teaching "truisms" about life helps students to find both richness in their writing and a focus for their idea development...Check out Gretchen Bernebei demonstrating the strategy: //
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