How many words do you write in a blog post? Have you ever counted?
My students write on a blog site, Fanschool. (Some are doing the daily Classroom Slice of Life Challenge.) One of the cool features on Fanschool is the word count. I usually tell my students that 200-300 words are the best for blog posts. I use word count to encourage my young ones to elaborate on their topics. I also tell them that no one really wants to read more than 300 or so words at one time. Without my priming them, students will sometimes get competitive with themselves and others over word count. I’ve learned that while word count doesn’t really matter, it is something I can leverage if I need to. “Let’s set a goal for at least 100 words today.”
Chance didn’t need a word count limit or a competition; he was ready to pour out his heart and soul on the blog in the first quarter he landed in my class. He had things he wanted to share. At 4th grade, he’s not real adept at punctuating complex sentences, but when he writes, words flow. I was thinking of him when I wrote this poem.
The Space He Needed
On the blog space,
he wrote
and wrote.
I asked him “What are you writing?”
He said, “1000 words about my brothers.”So many words, like a dam had been opened
to his life, his words.A space to write
away from the constraints
of a paragraph about the Declaration
of Independence. The blog
opened his independence,
his need to tell the world
all he had been through.For ten long years, he held
inside who he was, all his secrets,
waiting for this space
to declare his freedom.
Margaret Simon, draft
Reflections on the Teche 
I use to use word count in the same way. It is always fun when a young writer takes off and does not need it to help them along. I now feel some of my posts are to long.
Margaret,
Lots of accolades to you for giving Chance space to write and for sharing his story in your pome. About word counts: I know why teachers of young children give them word counts, but this was not a thing when I was a kid. I remember giving page counts early in my career. Soon I started dreading kids asking how long something should be. I started telling them “as long as it needs to be.”
I know. That is definitely what I say when it comes to essays; however, I do tell them that a fifth grader would be expected to write an essay of 300-500 words. That way they know that it is not acceptable to write one paragraph and be done with it. I see both sides of word counts.
So many of my students are afraid to write poems, but then they realize what your student learned about “space” and “constraints” and “freedom”. Lovely poem. He is lucky to have you!
Wow, you found a beautiful need for expression and provided the blog for your student to pour himself into it. Your poem tells the story in words, and it’s something I wish for all students – – to have the space to write. As much as they love talking, they can see the flow of words is right there at their fingertips, too. I love everything about this!
Margaret, this is beautiful and emotional. How wonderful for your student that he felt he had the “freedom” to write what he wanted to write with no constraints from an assignment in your class. What a good feeling for both of you. I remember in eighth grade how I had to write about a certain element in writing, but my teacher gave the freedom to choose my topic of what to write about. I remember feeling that “freedom.” In your third stanza I like how you used “independence” the second time as a juxtaposition. Clever. I love that your style of teaching and who you are as an empathetic and caring teacher/person made him feel safe and gave him the “freedom” to write about “all his secrets.” Your poem honors him and you. I just love this whole post and poem. Thank you for sharing your inspiration.