Schoolwide Blog

Schoolwide Blog Entry by Elisa Waingort

Schoolwide Blog Entry
Feb. 25, 2010
Elisa Waingort

    After reading aloud a chapter book in the classroom I sometimes struggle with getting my students to respond in authentic and meaningful ways.  I’ve tried stopping whenever anyone has a comment, (these may be meaningful or not – it’s usually hit or miss - and may interrupt the flow of the story and interfere with attention); allowing children to comment at the end of a story only (some children can’t hold onto their ideas for that long and may lose interest in the discussion when it does happen); asking specific questions about the reading or prompting the children to make a particular connection to the reading; and modeling how a proficient reader (me) thinks about what she is reading.  More...

JACQUELINE JULES: Teach Your Students To Think About The Reader

 

After years of participating in critique writing groups, I have learned to spot problem areas my critique friends would question. “That part is confusing.” “This part is too wordy.” “The story doesn’t peak my interest until the fourth paragraph.” And when I miss something, I am grateful when my critique friends point it out. As an author who hopes to impress editors, I want mistakes corrected before I submit.
 
But students just learning the joy of putting a story down on paper can be reluctant to make changes. Many students think editing should be limited to the correction of spelling and grammar mistakes. Asking a student to re-write a story that does not make sense can be a painful experience. How does a teacher encourage a student to fix confusing or nonsensical passages without squashing creativity?


 

In my work with young writers, I encourage them to think of their readers. We compare writing to playing an instrument or performing in a play or dance concert. Students readily agree that they want audiences to have a good time when they perform. Using this logic, it is easier to accept why a paragraph should be changed to make a story more enjoyable. Some details distract the reader from what an author is really trying to say. Run-on sentences can be confusing. Cryptic asides can puzzle readers. And sometimes all the little things we explain at the beginning are not needed. Ask your students if they know someone who takes too long to get to the point. For instance, a woman who talks for ten minutes about what she ate for breakfast, when she is trying to tell you how she cut her finger. Most students will smile, remembering such a person in their lives, and understand why they don’t want to keep their readers from the most interesting part of a story. Thinking about the reader helps all writers do their best work.

Jacqueline Jules—author, poet, teacher, librarian                         
http://www.jacquelinejules.com/

Angela Johnson: Everyone Has a Story to Tell / Schoolwide's Lesson of the Week (1/8/10)

 

Dear Community,

Subject: Angela Johnson: Everyone Has a Story to Tell / Schoolwide's Lesson of the Week (1/8/10)

What stories can your students tell? How do you help them take their own or their families' stories and turn them into evocative writing? In this week's lesson, famed children's author Angela Johnson tells us how she brings these stories to life.

Learn how to:

• Take family stories and make them powerful;
• Help students discover compelling facts about their own community; and
• Build students' confidence in their writing skills by demonstrating how everyone is good at something.
  
  CLICK HERE FOR THE LESSON OF THE WEEK.
  
  

 

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Highlights

Lesson Title: Everyone Has a Story to Tell

Subject: Writing Workshop / Generating Ideas

Audience: Grades 4-8

Description: Stories are all around us, and many are passed down through each generation. Angela Johnson explains how the people in our lives are sources of intriguing stories to tell and write about.

Share: Create a common tool for your entire school or school district by sharing the Lesson of the Week and using it to provide consistency. Please contact me at ldavies@schoolwide.com and I will be glad to assist you with this process.


Thanks so much for your participation. Read. Learn, Enjoy! 

JACQUELINE JULES: Teaching Students To Part With Their Words

Since I first started writing professionally, the word count feature on my word processing system has been my favorite tool. It can be almost a game to search through a manuscript looking for ways to say the same thing with fewer words. And after each edit, I triumphantly check the word count to see a lower number. Recently, I took two thousand words out of a chapter book for a requested revision. Over the years, trimming words to make my stories publishable has become second nature. I can’t re-read any draft without seeing numerous sentences in need of tightening. How does this help me as a writer? It forces me to examine every word in my stories. The often quoted line attributed to a variety of authors, including Mark Twain: “I’m sorry to write such a long letter. I didn’t have time to write a shorter one,” reflects the effort needed to comb a story for repetitive or confusing phrases. Professional writers make every effort to put their ideas down as succinctly as possible.

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Schoolwide’s Holiday Lesson: Inspire With Writing (12/16/09)

What makes your students special? How do you help them use their special talents to inspire others through writing? In our final lesson of 2009, literacy consultant Ilene Cohn tells us how to transform talent into evocative writing that inspires happiness.

Explore the spirit of sharing the holiday season by learning how to:

• Use Amy Hest’s book Jamaica Louise James to illustrate the power of emotive writing;
• Help students “share from the heart” to create compelling narratives; and
• Build students’ confidence in their writing skills by demonstrating how “everyone is good at something.”

Look for a new lesson the first week of January 2010.

Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year from the entire Schoolwide Team.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LESSON OF THE WEEK.

More...

Schoolwide Blog Entry by Elisa Waingort

 

    Now that student-led conferences are over and the reporting period is a distant memory I will be helping my students develop a plan to meet one of the several goals they set for themselves.  I find that if this step is not attended to it makes the process of declaring goals a waste of time.  Blogging about this is my attempt to write my way to meaning so that I don't let this step slip through the cracks.   More...

Schoolwide's Lesson of the Week with Vera B. Williams (12/03/09)

Dear Community,
 
Subject:  Schoolwide's Lesson of the Week with Vera B. Williams (12/03/09)

Please enjoy this week's Lesson of the Week featuring Vera B. Williams on the power of self-expression through writing and illustrating.

Learn how to:

* Unlock clues about an author's process by reading and examining book covers;

* Teach students how writing provides a wonderful opportunity to express themselves; and

* Open up a conversation about how illustrations add to the writing process.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LESSON OF THE WEEK. 

More...

Anchor Lessons: What Is Good Writing? By Linda Howard

 

 

 

Teachers are constantly asking, What am I to teach?  Sometimes teaching becomes an endless cycle of teaching each of the steps of the writing process better or teaching random mini lessons on whatever comes up on a given day.  As outlined by experts, understanding the writing process lies at the foundation of any writing workshop (Graves 1983, 1994; Calkins 1991; Harwayne 2000; Murray 1993; and Atwell 1985, 1999).  Teachers of writing know when to depart as writing is going well and when to return to lessons when needed.  The writing process is recursive revisiting different stages of the writing process.  For example, my students may be revising while drafting, or even editing or publishing.

I have discovered there are three basic sources for writing mini lessons, and it makes sense to give consideration to them:
1. Characteristics of good writing:
- conventions of written language
- the elements of writers craft, includes genre lessons
- management procedures

2. Student Writing:
- examine conference records
- look at writing folders

3. Curriculum guides/state frameworks

Considering the three basic sources for writing mini lessons, anchor lessons in these areas will give you a line of inquiry with your students while at the same time digging into something big with your writers over time.  Consider developing mini lessons in each area to sustain effective writing.  You can then refer to these anchor lessons constantly and continually throughout the year to help writers understand what good writing looks like.  

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Writing is Everywhere!

On Tuesday, October 20th, in honor of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) sponsored National Day on Writing, every classroom in my elementary school took a few minutes to make a list of all the different ways people use writing at home, at school, and in their jobs. The number of items the students named surprised everyone. Everything you read was written by someone. Writing is everywhere!

 

 

More...

LESSON OF THE WEEK 10/30/09

 

 

Lesson Title: Inspiration in our Daily Lives
Subject: Writing Workshop / Generating Ideas
Audience: K–8
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Rationale:

Writers reflect and record their thoughts about their world. Students will think about their daily experiences and feelings as inspiration for writing.

Preparation:

•    Video clip: “I Look for Me in My Books” featuring author Angela Johnson

•    Book: One of Three by Angela Johnson

•    Click Here to purchase a copy of One of Three

  CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS LESSON OF THE WEEK

Inform

Writers reflect. They often think about the things they’ve seen, felt, and experienced on a daily basis. Writers also use these thoughts as inspiration for their writing. They hope that by writing down what they felt or experienced, they will touch their readers. More...