Lesson plans are more like an outline than a script. We are more guides than lecturers, allowing students to self-discover within parameters. When I monitor the room this time, some students are tapping furiously at the keys, others are staring into space with furrowed eyebrows, while a few others are scribbling on sheets of paper. First I stop and talk to those who seem to be just staring. The answers are fairly typical for a first day of writing.
Some students get that glazed-over look when they find out they're going to have to write something.
I encourage them to not listen to that little voice in their head that's telling them that, and show them some brainstorming techniques and work with them for a few minutes. Next I check in with the scribblers, to make sure the writing is about their articles. The color combination that Suzy rejected. Sucks, said Kavonna Smith. It went on from there.