Saturday, January 24, 2009
Writer's Notebook Ch. 5& 6 group c 4pm
View the first sample chapters (available on line) Using the Writer's Notebook in Grades 3-8: A Teacher's Guide at (http://www1.ncte.org/library/files/Store/Books/Sample/35006chap1-2_x.pdf) and begin your writers notebook then post entries on Class Blog. Engage in an online discussion group on our class blog. Please read designated chapters and 1)propose “meaty” fat questions to discuss, 2) make connections to your teaching and work with students, and 3) make connections to your work as a writer (ie Keep your own notebook and share your response to it), 4)Please respond to two of your classmates’s entries in your study group, 4) Consider how what you have learned from this book might support the work of your integrated language arts unit.
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In Chapter 5, Janet Elliott writes about using literature to spark ideas for writing. Children’s books explore so many topics that spark memories of similar experiences. On page 41 Elliott writes, “When we read wonderful books aloud to a classroom of young children, it isn’t long before they are waving their hands in the air, anxious to share their comments and experiences.” Why is it that young children love to share stories and older children become reticent? How do we encourage them to open up and share their thoughts? In my integrated unit, the students will be able to see the connection between language arts and mathematics. Through a variety of picture books that include geometry, problem solving and fractions. I will also ask students to make personal connections to the text they are reading. I would be very pleased if students share an anecdote that they were reminded of by a character’s experience in the story. There are so many titles of books given, that this chapter will be an excellent reference source for selecting specific topics that I can use in my classroom. I thought of so many stories and ideas that I can add to my own writer’s notebook from the examples that are given in this chapter. I know that I will add the origin of my name and stories about my Aunt Minna who meant so much to me. Another book, One Candle by Eve Bunting, sparked an entry in my writer’s notebook about Hameroff family gatherings.
ReplyDeleteWriting needs time. Students do not become writers immediately. In Chapter 6, discussion of the writing workshop describes the amount of time needed to teach, write, confer and share. In my middle school, a regular language arts teacher has 88 minutes a day to teach language arts. How can one teach the curriculum and instill a love for reading and writing at the same time? Especially, when there is pressure to perform well on the CMT so that the school can move into safe harbor. How can we integrate the skills needed and still make learning exciting? Another point that Jane Elliott addresses is on page 57. “Don’t make the mistake of trying to make a piece of student writing perfect. The process is more important than the finished product-we are teaching the writer, not trying to perfect his or her piece of writing.” I agree with this statement. In my LABS program, the students conference with the teachers and we make some revisions. If we were to correct all of the errors in spelling, grammar and usage, it would be a tedious process. We need to encourage our students to write, so we choose some errors to fix.
In this way, we make editing and revising a pleasant experience for all.
Chapter 5 and 6 Response:
ReplyDeleteChildren’s Literature/Developing a Notebook Entry
These chapters were very helpful in actually implementing writing in general and more specifically the writer’s notebook into the classroom. I really like the expression used – “springboards for writing” as many children’s books were suggested for creating a variety of suggested writing topics. As an eighth grade Spanish teacher, I loved that this book actually gave the titles of children’s books that I can use in the classroom in alignment with certain approaches and topics. When reviewing ideas such as memories, senses, traditions, names, special places, school, friends/friendship, pets, family, feelings and moods, the idea of sensitivity and awareness came to mind. As always, teachers are required to be sensitive and thoughtful of all students’ life circumstances. My question is, how do we have our class write on a specific topic (if working on genre and style as a whole) when maybe a student has an abusive family and writing about family is very uncomfortable or even painful? How does the teacher be careful that maybe last Christmas was the last holiday with their now deceased grandmother? Even though we can’t know everything about a child’s life, it is important to be ready for many different kinds of reactions when probing thought on personal issues. If I were a student, a teacher sparking my brain with these themes would be much appreciated. In fact, I’ve never really been good at keeping a “journal”, but I do enjoy keeping a memory box. In my memory box I include photos, programs, tickets, letters and notes. Those artifacts often serve as the basis for more thought, wonderings, and eventually some notes that become a piece of writing.
To further those explored topics for writing, Chapter 6 was such a clear, concrete approach to how to go about teaching the logical process of journal writing. The elements of this section made me feel that I could teach writing correctly and actually makes me want to do more of it in my classroom that wouldn’t normally embrace this writing process on a regular schedule. I have even thought of a way to modify this to the demographics of my classes. For example, I loved the idea of the mini-lesson to help emphasize certain writing and grammar skills. I realized that I would be able to do this before assigning a “take-home” journal entry. Also, after having read a draft of the journal entry, it would be easy to create a lesson that would reflect the mistakes or weaknesses I discovered in those entries. Another questions I had concerned the purpose of the revision. At the middle/high school level, should teachers require students do more than just let their thoughts flow without regard to conventions? I personally feel that students should do this is the pre-writing stages of brainstorming, webbing, or even outlining. Does that seem like reasonable time to focus on content while the first draft should include organization and structure?
In response to Phyllis’ questions, Why is it that young children love to share stories and older children become reticent? How do we encourage them to open up and share their thoughts?, I think it is all in the teacher’s delivery and opportunity given to children. I find that older, or in my case adolescent children, just want to do what is accepted by their peers and what appeals to them. Many are not interested in learning just to learn and therefore we have to tap into what relates to them as well as giving them options – leaving them feel empowered and in control of the situation. It is almost a mind game, in a sense, to sway them to do what you want, and yet let them feel as though they are making the decisions. I plan to do this in my integrated unit as I provide many choices in terms of material, assessment, and timing of activities. The source that I am using for teaching “la quinceanera” will allow room for males and females to tap into a certain author’s style in which they can take interest. From there, I will offer performance based assessments that will exemplify the strengths of various learners. Maybe this would include a song, a photo collage, a poem, a picture book, or even a dance depicting the student’s interpretation of this cultural experience. All in all, I think we have to demonstrate that we are interested in sharing our thoughts – again, modeling, modeling, modeling. I think it truly makes an impact when kids see that we are human and have likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and love to read certain sources. Being overly enthusiastic about reading is not something that students, at my level, are going to believe. Everything in moderation, I guess.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Stefanie’s question about asking students to write about family, I believe that children seem to adapt to topics in their own way. They stay away from the painful ones and look to positive times. Even though some children have tough home situations, I have found that they were able to write about an experience or memory in their past. I know that with my labs students, many have difficult home environments and I am sensitive to their needs. Therefore, I think carefully of the literature I choose and the writing assignments that I prepare.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the writer’s workshop model is logical and works well in the classroom. As a labs teacher, I need to take a different approach to writing because I only see students twice a week and many of my students need skills and strategies in both reading and writing. I have found that most middle school students that struggle with writing can follow essay or story format. They struggle with adding specific details and elaboration techniques in their writing. They don’t understand how to expand on their ideas and embellish them. Another area of weakness is when students change from expository writing activities to persuasive writing. They find it difficult to take a stand and stick to it. With mini-lessons, modeling and encouragement these students can make progress with their writing. I have also found that students react better to neutral critique as opposed to a teacher’s comments. I use a web-based writing program that holistically scores writing pieces. When a student uses the program for the first time and is ready to submit their essay, I will ask them if they are sure that this is their best work. Almost always they say yes and submit. When their score is below goal or their goal, they realize they need to revise and add more details to their writing. The next time they work on an essay, they spend more time with it and so they begin to understand the process and strive to get a “good” score. They also realize that teachers “know” how to help them improve their writing and will discuss sections of their essays with an adult in order to add more information. So I think that as students travel through the middle and high schools, conventions need to be taught and expected of them, yet content is the “meat” of their writing and students need to be able to express their ideas completely and to the best of their ability. As they become better writers, as a teacher I hope the two areas will join together in quality writing pieces.