As I prepare to return to school tomorrow, I'm excited to share a new challenge with my students: The Slice of Life Writing Challenge. I introduced this challenge to my former students a few years ago and I had at least half of my students (25/50) participate throughout its entirety. Being that I've been writing daily since the beginning of January on this blog, I'm eager to ask my students to step up their game and begin writing daily alongside me. The challenge starts March 1st!
What is the Slice of Life Challenge?
The Slice of Life Challenge was created by Stacey Shubitz over at Two Writing Teachers. You'll find her blog on our "Blogs We Love" sidebar to the right. Once again, Amanda introduced me to her blog when we first started teaching in 2007 and I've been following her ever since. Stacey, Ruth, and the new crew, have been such great mentors to me! If you're a teacher, please click over to her blog and start reading!
The challenge is simple: write a story about a slice of your day and describe that everyday experience with as much realism as possible.
Preserve little slices of your life in written form because:
-There's no one else in this world like you.
-No one has the same experiences as you.
-Your life is precious! Therefore, even the little things that happen to you need to be written down!
How does the challenge work in the classroom?
Write at least one slice of life entry each day during the entire month of March.
Students were required to write their entries at home each night. At the beginning of class the next day, I would check each notebook for completion and we would keep track on a simple sticker chart. Stacey provided an "all about the challenge and how it will look in our classroom" here. I created something similar and announced the challenge using this sheet. After checking each notebook, I would ask for volunteers to read and share their writing out loud. The kids loved listening to each other and it really brought our writing community closer together. I included fun incentives along the way to acknowledge their dedication to writing.
Stacey created a page for resources to use in your classroom - everything from charts, to parent letters, to sign-up sheets for sharing. All of these resources can be found here.
I think that this challenge can work at many different grade levels and feel free to tailor it to make it your own!
The Official 2014 Challenge on Two Writing Teachers
Stacey started this challenge in 2008 with her fourth grade students. She then launched the challenge on her blog and it's grown tremendously over the years. I've taken part alongside my students in my writing notebook, but have never actually blogged my SOL stories. Maybe I'll try blogging it this year?
Here's information to the actual 2014 challenge that YOU can take part in. You don't have to be a teacher, you don't have to be a "writer"... just write about a slice of your day, appreciate everyday moments, hold onto bits of your life, take on a challenge and have fun! See the guidelines below.
Have you taken part in a writing challenge with your students? Have you taken part in a personal writing challenge? Have you ever written SOL stories? I'd love to hear from you!
Amanda and I are taking part in the "Be.YOU.tiful Lifestyle Link Party" this week. Click over to Fry Sauce and Grits to read more!
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