Lessons in Learning

When teachers grow...

When teachers grow...

I am so proud to be a part of the Ohio Writing Project. It is truly a gift to sit in the company of so many dedicated and knowledgeable teachers. But the thing that they do so well is impower other teachers. There is nothing that you cannot do once

Back to School 2024

Back to School or Back to the Drawing Board?

Hello! Welcome to my website! This is how I’m choosing to hold myself accountable as I begin to navigate a new school year. I hope you find this helpful, because, as you will see, I’m not an expert. I’m feeling more like a scientist at the moment,

What is writing?

What is writing?

I am blessed to work in a school filled with many cultures. One day, I was teaching about solid shapes and pulled up a picture of the Egyptian Pyramids. We took a minute to discuss the flat shape of the triangle we could see on the face, but we knew

Kindergarten Essentials

Kindergarten Essentials

The debate continues, throughout my own team and the majority of Kindergarten teachers, on what writing in Kindergarten classrooms should actually look like. This is overwhelming! With as much teaching that is expected of Kindergarten teachers, for instance, teach them to read, write, fundamentals of math, social-emotional skills, how to

Plan of Action

I love that the beginning of each day of our OWP four week course, we began as writers. We took an idea and wrote for an hour. It was amazing and inspiring. I began to wonder how my voice as a writer had started and even better, where it could

My List

Take continue my growth as a teacher, a professional, and a writer, I'm compiling a list of books to read. Here's what I have so far: Educational Point-less: An English Teacher's Guide to More Meaningful Grading by Sarah M. Zerwin All I Really Need

The Revelation

Nearing the end of my OWP experience, I decided to join a Zoom call with Jason Palmeri. He was doing a revisions workshop and I thought it would be nice to participate, since I was finishing a few revisions of my own work. He had offered insight on a few

Teacher as a Professional

Teacher as a Professional

So, you're classroom is all set and you're ready to revolutionize writing! But is that enough? Yes, it's important to build a community of strong writers in your classroom, but what about when they move on to the next grade or the next teacher?

How do we share a story?

How do we share a story?

This is a peak at the unit I'm working on shifting from the thought of a final product to the process of creating. Sharing a Story/Narrative Overarching Questions What is a story? What ways can we share a story? What elements do we know that make up

Old Dog, New Trick

Old Dog, New Trick

Yes, I am calling myself an old dog, but I'm super proud of this new trick I've learned! In fact, I feel like that old dog, that owners worry about because I seem depressed, so they go get a puppy to liven me up a bit.

Start with Joy

While debating which book to choose for our course book club, I played around on the internet researching all of my options. Every time one of the books interested me, I would put it in my Amazon shopping cart. This didn't help much, because I now have quite

Quality Conferencing

Quality Conferencing

I think that conferencing is the most crucial piece in writing. It is also the hardest part for me as a teacher. As you have possibly read in my posts Write, review, revise, write, repeat. Part 1 [https://courtney.shuman.network/write-review-revise-write-repeat-part-1/] and Part 2 [https://courtney.shuman.network/write-review-revise-write-repeat-part-2-2/

Feeling Empowered to Steal: Thank You, Austin Kleon.

Feeling Empowered to Steal: Thank You, Austin Kleon.

One of our earliest reads in the OWP four week course was an except from Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist. He points out that, "Nothing is original." This is followed up by many quotes from artists talking about how they are inspired by other artists.

Teacher of Writing: An Overview

Teacher of Writing: An Overview

The Ohio Writing Project motto says it all, "Teachers Teaching Teachers." At the conclusion of this four week course, I have learned so many new ideas to take to my classroom and to my students. I have lists of ideas shared by K-12 teachers, that I can modify

Write, review, revise, write, repeat. Part 1

Write, review, revise, write, repeat. Part 1

The revision process in this class was like nothing I've ever done before. It felt so liberating. You chose where your piece was going as opposed to being told what you should end up with. To pick the brain of Jason Palmeri was absolutely wonderful! He's

Writing's Favorite Hiding Spot

Writing's Favorite Hiding Spot

Georgia Heard tells us that, "writing is hiding in the most ordinary and familiar places." (Writing Towards Home) For me, life is busy and I see writing ideas all around. My children, my husband, my dog, all of these topics quickly flow from my fingers to the page.

Things I tried and may not have been good at, but I really enjoyed doing them.

Things I tried and may not have been good at, but I really enjoyed doing them.

I think the title of this says it all. Other people had amazing things to share with these and mine I tended to mark with a tab labeled "Revisit" after hearing everyone else. The thing is, I had a great time trying it. I don't know

Querencia

Georgia Heard wrote about the idea of querencia, which she defines as a place where one feels safe, or where one draws their strength of character, that feeling of home. While reflecting on my thoughts about home I came up with this piece. This is home. Billy and I moved

Hard Choices: Ones Gotta Go

Hard Choices: Ones Gotta Go

Strawberry Shortcake, Peach Cobbler, Banana Pudding, Apple Crisp #1GottaGo Honestly, this one is so easy for me so...goodbye banana pudding! I wonder why though. I love bananas, whipped cream, and vanilla wafers and together they are extremely delicious. They make that perfect texture combination; smooth, light, crunchy. Maybe it&

Teacher as a Writer: An Overview

Teacher as a Writer: An Overview

When I ordered my books for the Ohio Writing Project four week course, I was terrified when Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir by Natalie Goldberg showed up at my door. What? They expect me to write and to write at a professional level? But I