During this practicum, my coaching teacher introduced me to the book “SPARK! Quick Writes to Kindle Hearts and Minds in Elementary Classrooms” by Paula Bourque. It became our routine to complete a “Quick Write” every Friday morning. After providing time for a soft start to the day, students gathered around the carpet with a notebook and pencil in hand and I provided a prompt for the session. My absolute favourite prompt was a “first line” where the first line of a published novel was given and the students had 15 minutes to write a short story starting with that line.
Through this lesson, I not only got students thinking creatively (setting a tone for the rest of the day), but I also provided “author sharing time”. Any student who wished to was welcome to read their creation to the class and their peers supported them through active listening and clapping after each person shared. It was amazing to watch students build confidence and skills in presenting and reading out loud through the repetition of “quick writes” lessons.
The students also loved to hear my “quick write” as I joined the students writing about each prompt. I always asked the students if they would like to hear my creation at the end of author sharing time and they always answered with an astounding “Yes!”. Sharing my own story allowed students to connect with me as conversations blossomed as I welcomed their input on where my story could go if we had more time to write.
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