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Teacher Portfolio: Kelly Nott
a Northern Nevada teacher shares on-line lessons and ideas

My name is Kelly Nott and I am a 5th-grade teacher in Northern Nevada. Teaching is a second career for me. I was inspired to become a teacher from volunteering in my daughter’s kindergarten class. At the time I was close to receiving my bachelor’s degree in business administration and a hotel manager at Fitzgerald’s Casino/Hotel.

I have few memories of HOW I learned to write, other than red marks on my writing letting me know what I didn’t spell correctly or that I used way too many commas. As I grew up, I wrote to express feelings… about people in my life, to share a part of myself with another as a gift, as therapy in my journals. I had scraps of papers in notebooks with poems, thoughts, short stories…it was a huge part of my identity.

Mrs. Green at Sparks High School encouraged me creatively to add description through the use of figurative language devices which added MY VOICE to my assigned pieces. Mr. Ridgely at Los Gatos High School furthered that inspiration by instilling the “No Fear” attitude. During my senior year, I learned that MY thoughts and IDEAS were IMPORTANT and that before the colorful blossoms could appear in the garden I needed soil, fertilizer, light, water, and the seeds. What I planted in that garden, those seeds, I learned would determine what grew there…how I cared for that garden (tilling/weeding the soil, feeding and watering the seeds, etc) determined just how that garden would appear to others…and what they would reap from it. I connected with this because until that time my personal writing had been an escape and therapeutic for me…however I was intimidated and afraid to open myself up in assigned writing that way. It was too close, personal, intimate, and I didn’t want to lower my guard to have something that was part of me (my thoughts and opinions) open for debate or revision or to be told that I was wrong to think that way. I also didn’t feel that a teacher would be truly interested in my opinion. I shared some personal pieces that year with him…he asked me why I didn’t let my ideas flow freely with my in class assignments. This was the year of conferencing and this allowed me to let my guard down to write without restraint when given assignments.

I learned to write for purpose/audience through trial and error as I progressed through the business world…business plans, mission statements, training manuals, ADA job descriptions, memos, evaluations…all of which I had to really work at to keep a specific format and no “me”. Countless revisions were required to give it that Business Voice.

After I went to school to become a teacher, I found that there were really no classes in the curriculum that taught me specifically HOW to TEACH the CRAFT of writing or how to ASSESS writing. I had fabulous ideas for completed projects across the curriculum…and when I became a teacher, those pieces were the ones I would look at and avoid because I wasn’t sure where to begin or what to do. These life experiences, I realize now are the foundation of my personal beliefs when it comes to teaching writing.

I believe that we need to effectively communicate and show what is expected of our students…to the students…as well as their families. We need to set the example with our own writing, student authentic samples, and when a child asks, “Why do I have to…” we tell them, we show them, we share the pen with them, we conference and coach them…reminding them along the way of WHY. I remember asking WHY when I was in elementary school…I was told that, “Just do it because it’s proper English.” Well…ok, I guess…but I still wanted to know why that grammar rule was a rule…it didn’t make sense to an 8-year-old. The following quote really says it all for me. “Writing is a craft before it is an art; writing may appear magic, but it is our responsibility to take our students backstage to watch the pigeons being tucked up in the magician’s sleeve.” --Donald Murray, 6 +1 Writing Traits: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades.

I believe that students must feel safe to take risks in their writing. Creating a “No Fear” zone within the classroom is essential for students to feel free to genuinely express themselves and exert passion without fear of reprisal. I often tell the kids, “Just vomit on the page…get your ideas out…we will clean it up later.” I believe that there are key components for the “No Fear” classroom environment including allowing students choice in writing, allowing students to write badly, developing a candid relationship through conferencing individually with students, and helping students feel safe about their writing by giving them the tools to provide that critic’s eye, and by doing this, assisting students see it’s not THEM we are changing/revising…but their writing.

I believe that writing is essential for communication today in our world. It is all around us. I ask students the first day of school, “Why do we read?” I then follow it with, “Why do we write?” Students are enlightening by the obvious and not so obvious connections between the two. Once they understand the purpose of writing (not just because it was assigned) they can move forward and be open for instruction in organization, voice, and conventions for the type of communication tool they are using…to effectively communicate their thoughts and ideas to others.

Most importantly, I believe that without writing…our world would be a very sterile environment…let alone…there would be no way to visit someone else’s imagination, few ideas shared to the extent that we can envision and experience them ourselves. I believe that some of us would go insane without sharing what is bouncing around in our heads…or at least suffer from sleep deprivation. I believe that we would have little history, inspiration, direction, and other than telling someone you love them…few ways to demonstrate in a way that is documented for eternity…how we feel through the poetry, passion, and painting found within written words.

Three Lessons at WritingFix Authored by Kelly:

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