He has written 100 words.
“100!” He puts down his pencil. “Done.”
“Not done,” I say.
He glares. He wrote 100 words. Mostly about a dog bite. Some about a broken arm. He added the broken arm because he didn’t have 100 words about the bite.
I talk about telling a story, about narrative arc, about sensory detail and dialogue.
Done done done. “You said 100 words.” He plays tic-tac-toe with his friend.
But… what about that dog, that bite. Was he big? Did it hurt?
He waits. I wait. Two days. Then he picks up his pencil and writes.
(Today’s exit ticket was “one thing you learned”. His response: “I’m not a bad writer even though I thought I was.”)
Persistence and Pedagogy 
It takes so much patience to wait for the writer to discover themselves. Worth the wait!
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You model the success of patient teaching; holding standards and belief in your students being able to achieve them. I cannot wait to read what they have written by the end of the semester!
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Love! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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what a big learn… and all because of your persistence and patience.
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Set those expectation high and they will rise to them…even if it’s on their own time. A celebration for sure!
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Oh, I love his reflection on the exit ticket. What a powerful statement of growth.
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100 words feels like so many sometimes!
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100 words is more than a lot of kids are producing so this is a good start! Plus, that reflection on the exit ticket is GOLD!
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