One of the most common challenges young writers face is knowing what to write about. You’ve seen it—blank stares, pencils hovering, and kids whispering “I don’t know what to write.”

That’s where Circle Talk comes in.

This simple, low-pressure routine helps students generate writing ideas by talking first. It’s especially helpful at the beginning of the year when you’re building writing stamina, launching writers’ notebooks, or just getting to know your students.

Let me walk you through how it works—and why it works.

What Is Circle Talk?

Circle Talk is exactly what it sounds like: students gather in a circle and take turns sharing. There’s no pressure to perform. It’s just about talking—and listening.

The goal? To build community, spark ideas, and give kids something real to write about.

Step-by-Step: How to Launch Circle Talk

Gather in a Circle

• Invite students (and yourself!) to sit in a circle.

• Write each name (including yours) on an index card and place all the cards in an envelope labeled “I’m waiting my turn.”

• Set a timer for 15 minutes.

Share One at a Time

• Draw a name. That student has the choice to share one thing with the group—a memory, a moment, a fun fact, a joke, a favorite book . . . anything.

• If a student shares, move their card to the envelope labeled “I’ve had my turn.”

• If they pass, move their card to the envelope “I’ll pass for now.”

Circle Back

• If time allows, go back to the “pass” students and give them a second chance.

• If not, choose from that envelope first the next time you get together to share and write.

Prepare to Write

• Spend five to ten minutes talking with the students about the various types of ideas shared during Circle Talk. (This will serve as your mini-lesson in writing for the day.)

• Begin a running list of writing ideas based on the sharing from that day. Add to it each day as new ideas emerge during Circle Talk.

It's Time to Write

• After Circle Talk, everyone heads back to their desks for 10 minutes of silent writing—including you.

• Students can write about what they shared that day or anything else they want to write about: They may write about something on the list of ideas, something similar to what someone else shared, or something totally unrelated. There’s no wrong answer.

Keep the Routine Going

• Begin the next day where you left off the day before—always starting with any names in the “Pass” envelope. When everyone has had a chance to share, move all names back into the “I’m waiting for my turn” envelope and begin the process again.

• During Writing Time, students may choose to add to their writing from a previous day OR they may begin a new piece of writing.

• During the first two weeks of Circle Talk, students always have the choice to share something off the top of their heads (as they did on Day 1) OR they may share some of their previous writing.

Grow and Modify the Routine as Needed.

• Too much time spent talking by just one student? Add a three-minute limit per speaker.

• Have a student who always chooses to pass? Remove the pass option.

• Students need more time to write? Trim Circle Talk to 10 minutes.

Once your students are comfortable writing daily, Circle Talk can evolve into a Formal Writers’ Workshop: mini-lesson → writing → sharing (or, in my case, sharing → mini-lesson → writing. (More on that at a later date!)

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Why Circle Talk Works

Circle Talk helps students:

• Build confidence

• Learn from each other

• Feel heard and seen

• Realize that everyone has stories worth telling

Try It Tomorrow

All you need is a timer, a few index cards, and a little time to talk. Circle Talk is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to help students discover their voices—and build classroom community at the same time.

If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes!

Happy Writing! Happy Teaching!

—Nancy

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When I was growing up, I always wanted to be a writer. But I didn’t have any idea how to make that dream a reality. And although my teachers encouraged me and supported me in that dream (for the most part), they really had no idea how to develop my writing skills, either. To them, being a good writer meant using conventions well. And those were the skills they focused on in my English and reading classes.

But when I started submitting my writing to publishers and editors, I quickly discovered that writing that connects with readers requires a bit more than just correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I’ve spent my adult life trying to identify exactly what that “bit more” is—so that my writing skills can improve, each and every day.

Over time, I realized that all writers—whether they are young students or seasoned professionals—develop their skills in four key ways. These ways became the foundation of my Write Sharp framework—the four essential pillars that I used to help my own young writers grow in both confidence and skill.

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Pillar 1: Set Up a Regular Writing Routine

Writers know that in order to grow in the craft, they need to make time for writing. Even if it is just for a few minutes each day, writing consistently helps writers build on their skills and develop confidence in their writing voice.

Pillar 2: Read Like a Writer

We learn best by example, and the best writing teachers are real writers. When writers study mentor texts—books, articles, and stories—they begin to understand how writing works.

Pillar 3: Emphasize Progress over Perfection

Great writing doesn’t happen in a single draft! Real writers revise, refine, and rework their ideas.

Pillar 4: Write for Real Audiences

Writing should have purpose! When writers know their work will be read by others, they become more engaged and invested in the process.

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By focusing on these four pillars, Write Sharp helps students build strong writing habits that will serve them for a lifetime. When kids write every day, study great writing, embrace the process, and share their work with real audiences, they don’t just learn to write—they learn to love writing.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey to Write Sharp—not only sharpening your own writing skills but also sharing what you’ve learned with all the budding authors you have the joy to teach.

Happy Writing! Happy Teaching!

Nancy, aka N. L. Sharp

Hey there, teaching friends! Let’s talk about writing—the way we actually write, not the way most schools teach it. Too often, writing gets boiled down to rigid steps, fill-in-the-blank assignments, and test prep. But that’s not how real writers work!

That’s why I created Write Sharp—a writing framework for Kindergarten through sixth grade that helps kids see themselves as real writers from day one.

At the heart of this approach is one big belief:
☕ Kids learn to write in the primary grades so they can write to learn in the intermediate grades and beyond.

So what does that look like?

• In Kindergarten, we keep it simple—drawing, labeling, and using mentor texts to show kids that writing is storytelling.

• By first and second grade, they’re building confidence with strong sentences, growing their vocabulary, and experimenting with different types of writing.

• By the intermediate grades, they’re learning revision strategies, writing longer pieces, and tackling prompts (without losing their creative spark!).

• And all along the way, they’re sharing their work with real audiences—because writing should matter to them, not just to us.

This curriculum is designed to fit into a Writers’ Workshop structure, but the ideas can work in any classroom (or homeschool!). It’s about teaching writing the way writers actually write—drafting, revising, thinking, experimenting, and most importantly, finding joy in the process.

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My goal, over the next few months, in this publication / newsletter, is to share this writing framework with you. I will begin at the beginning . . . you jump in at whatever spot feels right for you and the kids you teach.

So grab your coffee and join me in making writing instruction more authentic, engaging, and fun. Because our kids are writers—it’s our job to help them see it!

Happy Writing! Happy Teaching!

Nancy, aka N. L. Sharp

And so begins the letter from my student that served as my inspiration for starting this newsletter. As she warned me on the envelope, her letter was long, so instead of posting the entire letter, I am going to share bits and pieces. [Both my student and her parents gave me permission to share this on my blog, which I greatly appreciate.] I think that this letter is the perfect introduction to my teaching philosophy and techniques, and since that is the focus for this newsletter, it makes sense to use her words in this early post--with the occasional side comment by me.

After that introduction, she continues:

Ahh, the honesty of middle school students. Don't you love it? And no, I don't hate her for saying so. I am glad, though, that she gave my class and my teaching techniques a chance. And this statement is a great reminder to me that our first impressions are many times wrong, and we all need to "give others a chance" before dismissing them and their ideas.

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This, I think, is the saddest line in the letter, and the reason I feel this newsletter is necessary. No student should ever dread writing time, and yet I know (and so do you) that LOTS of students (and their teachers) feel this way about writing and the teaching of writing.

I can't tell you what joy it gave me to read that she no longer dreaded my class, but that she is always "way too excited" for it (especially given the fact that she came into the year already prepared not to like it--or me, the teacher.)

In case you're wondering about this statement, I encouraged each of my students to begin their writing day by free-writing in their notebook for 5 minutes while I took attendance. As you can see, not everyone felt that was a great use of their time! And luckily for this student, that wasn't their only choice. They could also choose to read or sketch during this time.

I hate to admit it, but I have heard that before. I never know if that is a good thing, or a bad thing!

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This statement is really important--because it showcases one of my philosophical teaching points: the best writing is honest writing, and you will only get honest writing from your students if they know they can trust you. The choice about what they share and who they share it with should always be theirs. Let them know this right from the beginning--and they will be more willing to write from their gut and heart, where their best writing hides.

I hear it all the time--from both students and teachers. "I am not a writer." But my student was right. I really do believe that writing is a craft that anyone and everyone can learn. And I have total confidence that all of my students can become good writers if they just give themselves the chance--and learn to read as a writer, not just as a reader.

I love this . . . not because she said I was amazing . . . but because it shows the true power of a writers workshop is that students have the opportunity to tell their stories, and to know that others are listening to them . . . truly listening!

After I had read her letter, I asked my student if she could give some specific examples of the things that I did that helped her learn to love writing in my class. I want to end today's post with those reasons, since I think they provide a great summary of who I am as a teacher and what I try to accomplish with my students:

Today, as you work with your students, remember these tips from my student. Don't be afraid to ask questions, to take it slowly, to make sure they understand, and most importantly, to make it fun, for both you and them!

I have been contemplating doing this for some time: beginning my own newsletter. After all, every writing conference I attend says I have to have one. But what to write about? As both a writer for kids and a teacher of kids, where should my emphasis be? On writing? On teaching? On writing about teaching? On teaching about writing? And who should my target audience be? Teachers? Writers? Kids?

Then, as so often happens, the universe gave me the answer through 3 seemingly random events. (Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist's Way would call this synchronicity.)

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First, I came across a note I received several years ago from a fifth grade writing student of mine--and she and her parents gave me permission to share it here, in my newsletter. In the letter, she said (among other things) "In all of the writing classes I have had, none of them have been like yours. Every day in elementary school, I had dreaded the end of the day because that was when I had writing. But now, I am always way excited for Core 2  . . .”

I will be sharing her entire note in my next post, because that note was just the encouragement I needed to believe that through a newsletter, I could make a difference in the writing lives of not just the students and teachers I worked with in my own building, but with kids and teachers across the nation who dread "writing time" each day.

Secondly, I watched a video series by Jon Bard of The Children's Book Insider who advised me to consider my own personal strengths and determine who my audience is, based on those strengths. Well, that was easy. My strengths are teaching about writing, so my audience (or tribe--as he called it) would be teachers who teach writing, and who may (or may not) share my passion for it, but who are looking for ways to make it come alive for their students.

And finally, while researching how and where to begin a newsletter, I stumbled across several YouTube videos about the writing platform, Substack. The more videos I watched, the more convinced I became that Substack could and should be the platform I would use to help grow my newsletter and share my ideas regarding writing and the teaching of writing to kids.

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And so this newsletter is born. In my posts, I will be sharing some of the techniques and strategies I have used in my classroom over the years, where I had the joy to teach students who ranged in age from kindergarten through sixth grade. I hope you will join me on this journey as I explore what it means to be a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches, and where my number one job is to help teachers help students look forward to their writing time each and every day!

I’m not sure who said this, but the first time that I heard it, I knew that it was true. As a writer for kids and a teacher of kids, my greatest growth as a writer has always come in the classroom.

Through the process of journaling and a daily writers’ workshop, I taught my students to write, and they, in turn, taught me to write. Each day was a day of discovery as we became a community of learners through our writing.

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Before retiring, I had the joy of teaching all grades Kindergarten - Sixth grade, in a variety of roles in three separate school districts. I served as an elementary classroom teacher (kindergarten, first, second, and third grade), a writing teacher (fifth and sixth grade), a library media specialist (kindergarten - fifth grade), and a literacy coach (3rd and 4th grade). I taught students how write, I taught teachers how to teach writing, and all of them taught me how to write and teach writing.

I am retired from the classroom now, but not from teaching. I still teach online classes to writers and teachers, sharing my ideas and enthusiasm about writing and the writing process with teachers and writers alike. The goal of this Substack publication is to provide teachers with the tools they need to teach writing the way writers write, as I continue my own writing journey. If you have ideas for posts or suggestions for topics, please feel free to contact me!

If you write books for kids, and are looking for another option for selling your autographed print books directly to your buyers, then we need to talk!

Let’s face it. Whether you are traditionally published or self-published, there are occasions when you want the ability to sell autographed copies of your books directly to your buyer, via an online website.

So, you look into setting up a store on your own website. But that comes with its own set of headaches:

1. Paying for you own website and hosting

2. Paying for someone to set up your website and store OR poring over hundreds of YouTube videos—trying to figure it out for yourself.

3. Figuring out how to collect sales tax and remit those taxes to those states.

4. And, of course, once the sale is made, shipping the book—which means heading to the post office to purchase shipping labels, and in my town, that usually means standing in line for 15 - 30 minutes.

Hi, I’m Nancy, aka N. L. Sharp. I’m a writer, a teacher of writing, and recently, I created a cooperative online bookstore for authors of kids’ books called WE WRITE FOR KIDS. I did so because I needed an easy solution to sell my own autographed picture books and middle grade novels directly to my buyers. And when I went searching the internet for that solution, I really didn’t find it. So I just decided to create it—for myself and for others who might have the same problem.

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If you write books for kids (preschool through 8th grade) AND if my bookstore sounds like a good fit for you and your books, I hope you will consider applying to be a seller in the WE WRITE FOR KIDS bookstore, housed on the district.net platform.

The bookstore works on a consignment basis, much like you might find with a brick and mortar store—except we won’t be asking for 40% of the retail price of the book. It doesn’t cost anything to apply to be a seller, and if sellers are accepted, they can list their books for free in the store. Then, if a book sells, district.net will deduct about 13% of the sale proceeds, and will deposit the rest of the proceeds into an author’s “wallet” (located on his / her sales dashboard.) 10% of that is split between the district.net folks and myself as the creators and owners of the store and platform, and the other 3% (approximately) covers the credit card / PayPal transaction fees.

As you can see—right now, most of the books on the WE WRITE FOR KIDS bookstore are my books. And if I wanted, I could just use the shop to sell my own books. As I said, it solves all of the problems that I personally encountered when I was researching starting a bookstore on my own website—including collecting and submitting sales tax throughout the US and allowing me to purchase and print postage labels right from the site (so I can avoid the line at the post office.)

But, the Motto for district.net is: Buying and Selling is Better as a Community. And I truly believe that! It is one of the reasons that I want to open this store to other writers of children’s authors who want to sell their books directly to buyers and need a platform to do so.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, you can check out the store and apply to be a seller here.

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