Not What I Had Planned by Wendy Chaulk

This summer I had huge plans. I was going to Washington DC to tour on my own and then attend a teacher's conference where I would get to visit places like Monticello, Mount Vernon, etc. I was also planning to write every day in a Wonder Woman journal that a student gave me. Well, little did I know, my plans would change.

The day school let out I decided to surprise my brother and jump on his back. He lost his balance. We both fell backwards. My head bounced off a corrugated metal wall, and my brother’s head smashed into my face. I went to the ER the next day only to find out that I had an orbital blowout fracture. I have double vision. Sometimes my peripheral vision is not very good. I am in constant pain and have swelling and numbness on the right side of my face. In a couple of weeks, I will have surgery to repair the damage. Because we don't know how long healing will take, my plans for going to DC are on hold.

Doing anything that requires me to look and concentrate for long periods of time increases my pain level. that means reading, watching TV, checking Facebook, and writing are almost impossible to do. Instead, I will have to learn to use technology to help me write. However, I am so grateful that there is technology available that allows me to voice type (which is what I did to write this)! I am able to experience the joy and frustration some of my students as they use voice typing.

While it doesn't feel like I am actually writing, I know that I am. I will have a journal solo voice typing on Google Docs that I will be able to share with all of my students once school starts up again in August. I can show them but if you really want to write, you will find a way.

My Wonder Woman journal may remain empty, but my writing life will continue, no matter what!



Wendy Chaulk just finished her nineteenth year as a teacher. She has taught fourth grade in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; second grade in Jacksonville, NC; K-5 special education in Rio Rancho, NM; 4-6 special education in Gillette, WY; and currently teaches in a fifth and sixth-grade looping classroom in Gillette, Wyoming. You can connect with Wendy on Twitter (@wluvs2teach). Wendy and her husband of five years enjoy cooking, camping, traveling, and being outside with their dog, Yogi. 

How to Keep Up With a Second Language During the Summer by Casey Chon

As an educator trained in teaching Arabic, I’ve seen many different ways that foreign languages are taught at schools. Maybe the Spanish teacher travels around from classroom to classroom with an easel, or maybe students are taking French for 50 minutes every day. Perhaps students are tasked with a choice of a foreign language, or they are required to take the one that is offered. Whatever the case may be, what happens when summer comes around and students may no longer be exposed to the language they are learning?

I’ve found that when I write and make sentences in a second language, I’m much more likely to retain more knowledge than if I was using flashcards or another method. My summer writing goal is to write a page every day on a random topic I’ve chosen previously in Arabic. The topics range from weather, food, transportation, to more complex ones like my opinion about the state of higher education in the United States. By writing the topics myself I am able to stay within my level of Arabic, while also exploring different kinds of words - such as different verbs, settings, etc.

My summer writing goal may seem really simple, but even two weeks into doing this project, I’ve found myself looking forward to writing! If you’re looking for a way to keep up with a second language this summer, try writing every day!

Casey Chon obtained her Masters of Arts in Teaching Arabic from Boston University in May 2019. She graduated from Hampshire College in May 2018 with her BA. She loves delving into topics surrounding education such as equity and inclusion, and would love to connect with you! Find her at @UstaazaCasey on Twitter.

This is My Challenge by Michelle Stein

Although my students and I are not yet done with our school year, I find myself imagining my locale a few weeks from now. Crystal clear Gulf Coast waves, the sounds of terns, pelicans, and sandpipers, the heat bouncing off the sand all conspire to convince me that I should be permanently at the shore. On the beach, the pace is slower. The words come more easily when uninterrupted by the growing to-do list that governs my days.

How can I capture this serenity that allows creative musings to flow so easily from the keyboard or pen?

This is my challenge.

I haven’t yet found a way to integrate daily writing for wellness and pleasure into my routine, despite previous attempts. One year, I committed to the #Oneword program. The word was vision. Another year, I worked through The Artist’s Way, diligently letting go of emotional baggage I no longer needed. I wrote three pages, longhand, religiously. I was working part-time then. Now? I am at school by 6:30 a.m. During the summer, when the pace is languid, I am able to devote time to write. But reality calls to me and my writing time gets shoved under a pile of must-completes for home and work.

How do teachers, consummate caretakers of others, prioritize caretaking of self? After all, that’s what writing is all about: allowing ourselves to process, to be metacognitive, to reflect, to heal. Summer is the perfect time to build a routine. I know the challenge to maintain a writing program once school begins anew will be mighty. For me, I think success will depend on a reasonable goal. Write once a day. No minimum, no topics. Just write.

I think I can do that. Want to follow my progress? Once a week, I will post on my blog how it’s going.  Let us support one another in our drive to be exemplars for our students.




Michelle Stein has been teaching at the Davis Academy Middle School in Atlanta, GA for over 17 years. She loves to grow her PLN via Twitter @steinatdavis. You can find her class blog at www.tdams6thla.blogspot.com and her professional blog at www.steinology.weebly.com. 

New Summer Resolution by Mario Kersey

Every 1 January many people want to start fresh by making resolutions for the new year.  Many, if not all, fail before the month of January has ended. But what if your resolution has a shorter period, say ten weeks.  Well, that’s what I’ve done.  My writing goals for the summer are my resolutions.

The summer break looms in the distance like some grand dirigible ready to take flight, but I’m burdened with the baggage of self-doubt. The usual routine of school will be absent for a few weeks which, ironically, gives me more time to fail. Some of you may hear the unenthusiastic timbre of Eeyore’s voice in these sentences, but I assure you I’m not that pessimistic.

I dispel my doubts by setting resolutions for my summer life before the school year ends.  As of this writing, I have several deadlines I intend the meet before the summer even break starts.

For me, the most important thing is keeping my goals realistic.  In the past, I have written two feature-length screenplays in one summer.  That was easy.  The revisions were the real challenge, but I did accomplish my goal.

This summer I intend to exercise more because I need to be healthy.  Speaking of exercise, I think of making summer resolutions as a sprint versus the marathon of year-long resolutions. Like my essays, I can see the ending of the summer a lot faster than the year.  I’m more focused in the summer since I don’t have school.

Besides better health, I intend to gather up a few dozen poems and revise them. While poetry may take the better part of my summer writing, I will work on a few non-fiction pieces as well as a screenplay to round things out.

My ultimate goal is to reach parity between summer and the school year.  I have shown signs I am carving out more space for writing through the school year much to benefit of my sanity.  This will be a great summer of writing and living.  I hope you do the same. Happy New Summer!



Mario Kersey teaches English to twelfth graders.  Writing has been a part of his life since the first grade. 

Always Writing by Karen Filewych

Ah… summer writing...

Fortunately or unfortunately, I am an early riser despite the time of year. Even during the summer months when I stay up late and will myself to sleep in, no can do. It just doesn’t happen. So that early morning time - coffee in hand and candles lit, before the house has stirred - becomes precious writing time.

When I’ve spent a few solid early morning hours immersed in words, other times throughout the day also tend to become writing time.

I am often writing when I’m walking and when I’m reading. Sometimes, dear friends and family, I am writing when I’m with you, too. Take the other night: during an evening performance of my mom’s choir, I was engaged and listening, but I was also writing. In fact, an idea materialized that I expect will transform my current manuscript.

The more I dive into the writing life, the more I realize that writing time does not always imply pen in hand or fingers on keyboard. However, I cannot simply wait for these moments to occur. I must first be diligent in carving out time when I actually do have pen in hand or fingers on keyboard. Then, the magic happens and ideas materialize at unexpected moments.

Just as our students benefit from the routines we establish in our classrooms, my writing self benefits from the summer routines I put into place. Since my internal clock wakes me early, I build my routine around that time. And if it means I need an afternoon nap, so be it!



Karen Filewych is a language arts consultant and writer in Edmonton, Canada. She is passionate about the power of words! Her website, www.wordschangeworlds.ca, includes her blog and weekly children’s book reviews. Follow her on twitter @KarenFilewych and find her on Facebook, Instagram and Goodreads. 

Anything is Possible in the Summertime by Jennifer Floyd

Summertime. 

Those three syllables are filled with endless possibilities and opportunities when it comes to writing.  Whether it’s writing early in the morning before anyone else is awake, writing in front of the air conditioner in the hot, humid afternoons, or writing in the midnight hour, there always seems to be time to write in the summer. 

I personally find that I write more late at night during summer break.  I’m not sure why, but sometimes the words written in those late hours seem to sound better and flow faster.  I don’t judge the words on the page as harshly as I do during the day.  I’m not distracted by social media, my favorite websites, or television shows.

Summertime allows us to explore new things and challenges as writers. 

This summer, my goal is to write more fiction.  In the past few years, most of my writing reflected a professional focus, but once, a long time ago, I wrote a lot of fiction. I have notebooks filled with stories in my basement and ideas for stories always seemed to be bouncing around in my head. 

I think that I stopped writing fiction after a discouraging experience in a class and as a result, fiction became a nemesis that I didn’t think that I could conquer.  However, avoiding fiction is going to change this summer.  I’m already jotting ideas in my notebook and look forward to participating in the Teach Write Focus on Fiction workshop. 

Anything is possible in the summertime and that’s what is so magical about summer writing.



Jennifer Floyd is a K-5 reading specialist in Rockbridge County, Virginia and an adjunct instructor at the University of Virginia.  She is the President of the Virginia State Reading Association.  She blogs at wahooliteracyteacher.wordpress.com and classroomnextdoor.com and can be found on Twitter @jen4literacy and on Instagram @vsrajennifer.

Setting My Writing Spirit Free by Fran Haley

Summer sets the spirit free.

For a short while, at least, for a teacher.

As a teacher who writes (or a writer who teaches), summer brings a sense of throwing off chains, sudden buoyancy of an indescribable intensity, a beckoning of azure skies, a wild invitation from something without to something within.

Time for freewheeling.

In the summer my youngest son and I visit our favorite theme park. Our primary mission is riding roller coasters. We banter about which ride is best based on the duration, smoothness, height, speed, the aerial view, being worth the wait of standing in line. Each coaster is its own unique experience; we step in with our own unique anticipations.

I write in my mind as I ride. This is as natural to me as the pounding of my heart, my hair whipping about me, the reflex to grab hold of the harness as I come out of my seat with the coaster’s leaps and plunges. I have a sense of being astride a galloping horse or that I’ve mastered the power of flight - that mysteriously inborn human desire. The sensations stitch themselves into bits of story. That they are random does not matter; somewhere, somehow, I will use them. I will use images mentally photographed from this rare perspective: A deer feeding in the sun-and-shadow-dappled grass below the coaster track, the blissful coolness of an abrupt tunnel, albeit completely black and alarming until I burst out into the light again, the vast, silver river stretching to the misty rim of the world, sparkling like the sea as I reach the highest coaster’s crest.

No fear, only awe, exhilaration, for the ride and its offerings.

It’s not about safety. It’s about the experience.

Summer. Writing.

Made for freewheeling.



Fran Haley is a K-12 English Language Arts educator currently serving as an elementary literacy coach. Writing is her favorite thing to do and to teach; she loves helping people of all ages discover the power of their own writing and fall in love with the craft. She facilitates writing workshop training for teachers in her district and authors the blog Lit Bits and Pieces: Snippets of Learning and Life. Connect with her on Twitter: @fahaley.

An Invitation to Share by Connie Spyropoulos

This past school year, I’ve had a short story and a creative nonfiction story published. I have two short stories that I’m editing and getting ready for publication. As exciting as it is to have other people read my writing and see the world from my perspective, it’s also terrifying.

What if they don’t like my ideas?

What if this makes no sense?

What if no one can connect to what I’m trying to say?

But pushing aside the “what if’s?” has made me a better writer, and has helped me get published twice this year.

In my language arts classes, peer review and reading our work out loud are integral parts of the writing process. But about a few weeks ago, I thought about something that transformed my mindset as a teacher and a writer.

How can I expect my students to ask for feedback and share their writing fearlessly if I’m afraid to do that myself? Writers need a community in order to grow. And I need to practice what I preach.

So my summer writing goal (and fall writing goal, and basically my forever writing goal) is to write my acknowledgments pages.

At the end of a book, the author never writes, “I did this ALL by myself!” *high five* and ends it there. So many people are involved in the creation of a great story, not just the author. It’s not going to be easy to keep going, and to keep improving if I don’t have my support system.

I plan to write a lot this summer. And I want others to see what I have written! That starts with all of you (hi everyone!). Whether it’s blogging, social media posts, publishing, or even sharing my writing process with my students--I want others to be part of my writing journey, and on my acknowledgments pages.

As you work on your writing goals this summer, be vulnerable and show people your work. Thank them for looking at your work. And don’t forget to write a nice paragraph about them on your acknowledgment pages.



Connie Spyropoulos is a 7th-grade literature/language arts teacher in the Chicago suburbs. She also coaches cross country and boys’ volleyball at her school. When she’s not teaching and coaching, she’s writing (of course!), fishing, and spending time outside. You can connect with her on Twitter at @MsSpy95

Summer -- When the Writing is Free by Tracy Vogelgesang

Ahhh, summer vacation!  Those precious weeks when I celebrate certain freedoms, such as a less hectic schedule, juggling fewer tasks at one time, and possibly most importantly, going to the bathroom as needed! 

I also celebrate another freedom.  The freedom to write whenever, however, and whatever I want. 

As teachers, we write copious amounts during the school year.  Lesson plans, parent notes, report card comments...The list could go on and on.  I find it hard to squeeze in my own personal writing.  I try, but it often takes a back seat to all of the other writing I must do.

The first day of summer break, though, signals the movement of my personal writing to the front and center.  My main writing goals during the summer are simply to write for myself every day and to take advantage of opportunities to grow my writing.

I write in my journal.  My favorite summer writing space is outdoors in the backyard. 
I play with different genres of writing and/or draft ideas for blog posts. 
I read books and blogs about writing.
I discuss writing with my writerly friends. 
I seek opportunities to improve my writing craft, such as those opportunities offered by Teach Write.

The freedom to write and learn feeds my soul and restores my sense of peace. 

Ultimately, it also serves my students.  When I re-enter the classroom in August, I will have fresh ideas and understandings about writing to share with them. It’s a win-win.

What will you be doing with your writing during summer break?

Tracy Vogelgesang currently teaches a writing community of third, fourth, and fifth graders.  She has been teaching for 25 years and loves helping students discover their voices and realize their strengths and gifts. When Tracy isn’t teaching and writing, she spends her free time building memories with her husband, children, and grandchildren. She also reads, creates, and spends time outdoors. Tracy can be found on Twitter @Mrs_T_V and at https://everydaycounts.edublogs.org/.

Reinventing Myself as a Writer and the Power of Narrative by Amy Rasmussen

I’ve had a hard time writing lately -- honestly, a hard time writing for about a year. Maybe because of stress, juggling too many plates, or being out of the classroom. Maybe because I just couldn’t find the words to say anything I thought worth reading.

Lousy excuses for someone who calls herself a writer.

Here’s the thing:  I know how to teach writers to find words. I know how to teach writers to find ideas and how to grow in confidence. I am confident in those things as a teacher of young writers, and I’ve been writing myself for decades -- some just for myself in stacks of journals, some for others on my blog. I just struggled to apply what I know to actually doing it. And I knew I needed to do something to get my writing mojo back if I ever hoped to continue my life as a writer. I needed a plan of attack, a process for my own reinvention and my desire to write.

My first step was to join in Sarah Donovan’s #verselove2019. For the month of April, I wrote beside poetry prompts and inspiring poems, mostly written by other teacher-writers. I struggled every day to find words, and some days the words eluded me, but I challenged myself to read more poems and collect beautiful language that inspired me. I finally had a breakthrough when I wrote a poem about my mother and her garden.

Then, I remembered the power of writing beside family memories. In a course I took at the University of New Hampshire Literacy Institute several years ago with Thomas Newkirk, I remembered writing beside family photos. Newkirk used excerpts from Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories by Jon Scieszka and encouraged us to write our own tall tales and almost true stories.  I wrote about my children, our home,  and the menagerie of pets that have lived (and died) over the years. I laughed and cried as I penned stories.

There’s power in writing beside photos and power in remembering and writing down the memories. This is a power I will nurture as I continue to reinvent myself as a writer this summer.

I believe in the power of narrative and how it can influence and add clarity and impact to other modes of writing. As I learned from Newkirk:  there’s a give and take, a scratch and itch, a conflict that needs resolution in all good writing. I want to explore and practice all of this in my summer writing.

So -- I’m looking at family photos that I will write beside. I think I’ll start with this one of my oldest granddaughter. I’m sure I can find words.

Amy Rasmussen lives and writes in North Texas. She’s taught all levels of high school English, except AP Lit (on her bucket list), and she currently works as an independent literacy consultation, facilitating professional development and helping other teachers move into a readers-writers workshop pedagogy. She writes at the blog ThreeTeachersTalk.com. Follow her on Twitter @amyrass.

This Summer, I Will Write by Donnetta Norris

This summer, the summer of 2019, I have decided to embark on an adventure that is completely out of my comfort zone.

Upon perusing my favorite social media site, I happened upon this opportunity to write.

I’m not talking about writing a reply to a tweet or a responding to a post. No, I am daring to travel down the road of writing for a blog. Needless to say, I am extremely nervous. Do I have what it takes to write something worthy of reading? Do I possess the vocabulary required to not “write like a third grader” (actual quote from one of my Master’s professors)?

I honestly don’t have the answers to either of these questions, but I know I can’t live my life fearing the what-ifs, so here I go. I plan to make the most of this opportunity and learn to be a writer.

This summer, I will just start writing.

Maybe I will carry a notebook everywhere I go, and write what inspires me. Maybe I will spend some time in a secluded location, alone with my thoughts. Or maybe I will just keep referring back to the email I received from the blog contact and respond to each of the “Ideas to get you started” prompts.

Either way, this summer I will write.

Maybe at some point during this escapade, I will actually begin to consider myself a writer.



Donnetta Norris is a second-grade teacher. You can follow her on Twitter at @NorrisDonnetta

Balancing Summer Writing by Erika Romero

During the school year, I tend to focus so much of my attention on lesson planning, grading, and creating new resources for my students to use when they seem to struggle with an element of my courses. Unfortunately, these activities tend to push writing my dissertation wayyy into the background of my academic life.

Now that summer has arrived and I’m no longer teaching any classes, I’ve given a lot of thought to how I want to set up my summer writing routine. During the academic year, I’ve been able to maintain my blogging schedule, but not my dissertation writing schedule. Now that my schedule is so open, it’s time to find a balance that works for me.

What’s my plan?

Alternate “fun” writing with “serious” writing on a day-to-day basis.

It’s summer, so I do want to make sure to take plenty of time to replenish my energy reserves. For me, this means only writing during weekdays.

Since I tend to get tunnel vision when writing and designing my Ever Educating blog posts, YouTube video scripts, and Instagram content, I’m planning on using these writing tasks as both catalysts and rewards.

Two days a week, I’ll start my writing routine by working on these “fun” projects. After I complete my set tasks for the day, I’ll move on to my dissertation writing. Hopefully, the writing spark that thrives when working on the former projects will keep me going through my often anxiety-inducing academic writing.

Three days a week, I’ll start with a set time of dissertation writing, knowing that my reward for completing the day’s goal is a transition to my Ever Educating work. On these days, I can take as much or as little time working on these latter tasks as I’d like, since the only one making deadlines for them is myself.

Inspiration Sparks.

Rewards.

What better ways to perceive my summer writing tasks?



Erika Romero is an English Studies PhD candidate at Illinois State University, where she has taught children’s literature, young adult literature, and first year writing courses for the past five years. When she’s not doing teaching-related activities, writing her dissertation, or reading fanfiction, she’s blogging about teaching tips, tools, and resources on her blog, www.evereducating.com/blog. You can also follow her across social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube with the same handle, @EverEducating.

Patios, Chaise Lounges, Diving Boards...and Writing by Jen Schwanke

My favorite college English professor, Dr. Goodman, preached how writers must find a way to write, no matter what.  She revered William Carlos Williams, a physician, who penned his poems on prescription pads between patients.  “Nothing stood in his way,” she said fiercely.  “Prescription pads.  Can you imagine?”

I could imagine.  In my mind, there he was:  Tending to an ill patient before slipping into an unused examining room to scribble brilliantly about plums and red wheelbarrows.  Stacked around him were medicinal syringes, boxes of gauze, and a couple harried, scurrying nurses.

I’ve never forgotten that image, and I’ve never forgotten Dr. Goodman’s chastisement.  Nothing should stand in your way.

Well, a lot stands in my way.  During the school year, there are nonstop problems to solve.  My time is fully committed to other people.  My writing falters; my confidence wanes.  You’re not a real writer, I self-scold.  Real writers make time every day.  Real writers produce consistently.  In the evening, I open my laptop with intentions to write.  Depleted from the day, I find I have nothing to say.

I know I should write every single day.  I should carve out time—just an hour, each morning, perhaps.  You know what else I should do in that hour?  Exercise.  Plan staff meetings.  Pack lunches for my children.  Fill the Crockpot for dinner.  Unload the dishwasher.  Do laundry.  Respond to texts, answer emails, send a Tweet.

There are no breaks between patients.  I do not have a prescription pad.

But you know what I do have?  Summer.

As a principal, I work in the summer, but my days take on a slower pace and spirit.  I’m home by four—plenty of time to open my laptop and settle on the patio, or journal in the chaise lounge next to the diving boards while my kids do 959 cannonballs.  Writing dreams come back.  Maybe a young adult novel? A memoir, perhaps?  The words flow.  Poetry.  Stories.  Ruminations.  I regain my confidence and finally, finally, remember what it is I have to say.

That is summer.



Jen Schwanke is an elementary principal in Dublin, Ohio.  She is the author of the ASCD book, You’re the Principal!  Now What?  Strategies and Solutions for New School Leaders.  Her blog is ThePrincipalTalks.com.  Follow her on Twitter @jenschwanke.

My Teacher's Notebook

One of the first things I do at the start of summer is to begin a new notebook. It is not a writer's notebook, nor is it a reader's notebook. It is my teacher's notebook, a notebook that keeps my reflections, ideas, and learning. It's my roadmap on how to become a better teacher of writing.

You may wonder why I do this at the end of the school year. I strongly believe in the power of reflection. And what better time to begin reflection than at the end of the school year when things are still fresh and the recharging is about to begin.

Let me take you on a summer walk through the three main sections of my teacher's notebook.

Reflection
In this section I create lots of lists. I reflect on the lessons and instruction of this past year and brainstorm or make lists of lessons that went well and lessons that need tweaked or taken out of my curriculum. I look at the skills my students did not master or need a little more instructional time or practice, and I create another list. I also look at the list in my previous notebook and carryover any items from those lists I still need to address.

After brainstorming, I write notes on what went well or did not go well. I constantly ask myself how can I use this and become a stronger teacher-writer. These reflections aren't long, just enough to spark my memory when I look at them as I plan this summer or during the school year. Finally, I make a list of goals that I want to achieve.

Instruction
This section is where I develop new units or expand on existing units. Planning in my notebook allows for the messiness needed for change to occur. Sometimes I write on sticky notes and post them on the pages. As the ideas develop and change, the sticky notes allows me to rearrange them while keeping everything together in one place. 

I also have pages where I try out writing ideas and assignments I want my students to do in the following year. I practice my own craft because we don't learn if we don't write.

Professional Development
This section is probably my favorite section. As I listen to podcasts, watch webinars, or attend professional development sessions and conferences, I write all my notes in this notebook. As I listen or reread a second time, I use a different colored pen to differentiate the learning. Gleaning though the notes, I then make a new list in the reflection section of what I want to implement from my learning into my school year.

A teacher's notebook may not be what some people think of as "summer writing." But this writing helps me become a better teacher of writing by reflecting, planning, learning, and practicing.

And that is always one of my summer goals!


Leigh Anne just finish her 12th year of teaching, seven years at the elementary level and five years at the middle school level in Southwestern Indiana.  She recently earned her Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Western Governors University with a goal of becoming a literacy coach. Leigh Anne has a passion for connecting kids with books and helping teachers develop a writing life. You can connect with her on Twitter @Teachr4 or on her blog, A Day in the Life.