A Potluck of Writing Ideas by Trish Roberts

Good Readers Make Good Writers

I love to read and good books inspire me to write.  I’m currently reading “The Little Paris Book Shop” by Nina George and besides the beautiful love story, I’m enjoying the description language and dialogue.   When reading, I  jot down words or lines, in my notebook, that I find inspiring and use them to further develop my own writing.   I’ve always use mentor texts with my students as models for good writing, so the books I read become my own personal mentor texts. 

Create ‘Morning Pages’

I think it’s important to write every day. A few years ago, while at a retreat, I attended Julia Cameron’s writing workshop and learned a new method of writing called “morning pages.”    In Julia’s book,  “The Artist’s Way,”  she describes the technique of daily, morning writing exercises as a way of developing one’s creativity.  I think this practice also helps writers develop discipline it has helped me when I struggle with writer’s block. 


Quickwrites Inspire Students

Robyn Madden and I co-teach a 6th grade ELA class and our students look forward to this writing exercise every day.   We have seen first hand what happens when students write every day.  They build stamina and become independent, creative, and enthusiastic writers.  This writing strategy also motivates students and fosters their creativity.


Slow Looking:  Developing New Writing Ideas

Whether you’re a seasoned writer or a newbie, if you’re like me, you always need to find new things to write about.  At a Harvard Project Zero conference, I learned about the slow looking thinking routine.   This routine helps students gain new insights that they might otherwise overlook.  Slow looking has changed my perspective on many things and now I develop new writing ideas while carefully observing my surroundings.

Happy writing!



Trish Roberts has been a special education teacher in the Garden City School District for over twenty years. As a published author and co-teacher, she is passionate about creating, in all of her students, an excitement for living and learning.  She strives to foster their curiosity and enthusiasm, both inside and outside the classroom, through her love of reading and writing.  As a staff developer, Trish’s goal is to inspire and motivate other teachers by modeling activities and lessons that cultivate independent thinking and increase student engagement. Trish enjoys traveling with her friends and family, gardening, bike riding and walking, reading & writing on the beach. You can find her on Twitter @Trishr85 

 

Celebrating the Small Moments by Trish Roberts

I ended my school year with a huge writing celebration for my students.  They were mostly proud of their “This I Believe”  essays because it made them think, reflect and write about something very personal. This writing assignment wasn’t quite planned, but my co-teacher and I knew that it would inspire and motivate our students.

My personal struggle with this assignment was that I hadn’t written my own “This I Believe” essay. This went against the most important writing rule I have: Never ask students to write something I haven’t written myself. However, we didn’t want to pass up this great writing opportunity that we knew would further develop our students as writers.

So, we went ahead with the assignment and had unbelievable, awesome results.  I never did find the time to write my own essay, but I promised myself I’d write it over the summer for the next school year!

Now’s the time to get back into the writing arena.

I’m not going to set unrealistic goals for myself this summer.  Let’s be honest, I’m not going to write the next bestseller or an interesting poetry anthology. So I won’t plan on setting my alarm clock to write at 6:00 a.m. every morning, or schedule four hours of writing time, or promise myself I’ll write 10 pages every day.

But I am going to write.  I’m enthusiastically jumping back into the writing arena; a place that I love, cherish and look forward to once again enter.  I’ll reflect and write my own I Believe essay.  Every day, I will bring my notebook wherever I go.  I’ll take notes.  I’ll write about the things I see, people I meet, and places I visit.  I’ll jot down pieces of interesting conversations I have or hear.  I’ll wonder and ask questions. I’ll write letters and send postcards.  But most importantly, I’ll be writing again and that is something to celebrate!



Trish Roberts has been a special education teacher in the Garden City School District for over twenty years. As a published author and co-teacher, she is passionate about creating, in all of her students, an excitement for living and learning.  She strives to foster their curiosity and enthusiasm, both inside and outside the classroom, through her love of reading and writing.  As a staff developer, Trish’s goal is to inspire and motivate other teachers by modeling activities and lessons that cultivate independent thinking and increase student engagement. During the summer, Trish enjoys traveling with her friends and family, gardening, bike riding and walking, reading & writing on the beach. You can find her on Twitter @Trishr85.