Saturday, January 24, 2009
Writer's Notebook Ch.9&10 group a 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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Response to Chapters 9 and 10 in the Writer’s Notebook:
ReplyDeleteChapter 9 discussed how we gather the language we use to speak and write. Elliott talked about the importance of Read Alouds. Read Alouds are incorporated into my lessons everyday. I have even chosen several great read alouds for my measurement unit. I have begun to teach measurement to my students and I begin each new lesson with a story. I find that my students continue to love hearing books read to them. I really enjoyed reading that Elliott included parents and grandparents with teachers when she discussed who has the availability of good picture books. Do your student’s parents read with their children frequently? I have found that many of my parents do not take the time to read to or listen to their child read. I am not sure if it is because they feel in second grade their child should be able to read on their own or if they have never made it a priority. For my struggling students, I encourage parents to read to their child especially if the child becomes increasingly frustrated. The parents view reading to their child as almost “cheating” because the child is not reading it himself/herself. I try to stress (just like Elliott) that when a child is read to he/she is being exposed to print which is the goal at this young age. I feel that I do not include as much poetry in my lessons as I should. I introduce my students to poetry but I don’t develop it as much as I could. I expose my students to poetry through literature, I just don’t have them write their own very often. Once again, Elliott has given me another suggestion for writing workshop. I agree with Elliott that every writer should have a place in his/her notebook to record language. Whether children realize it or not, they often repeat the common phrases they hear. By having a special spot in their notebook, they will be able to document the words and phrases they enjoy. As teachers, we will have to model how to use our notebooks to record the words and phrases we enjoy. I do worry about some of the words they could come up with, though. Even in second grade, there are times when a child repeats something inappropriate they have heard at home. This just reinforces how easily young children pick up the language they hear, either in conversation or in stories. We, as teachers, need to foster that language through read alouds and conversations. Elliott pointed out that how writers need to play with language. I know there are times when I am speaking and writing when I can’t seem to find the write word to fit what I am trying to convey to others. My second graders are not quite to the point in their writing when they think some other word could fit what they are trying to say better than the one they used. I model how to change a word for it’s synonym but my students usually keep the word they first came up with in their writing. Chapter 10 really appealed to me since I do not have my students write poetry very often. Elliott gave me so many good ideas to incorporate into my lessons and many of them appear fun for children. Do the two of you use poetry very often as a writing assignment? I love the way Elliott began chapter 10 when she shared that she immerses her students in poetry at the beginning of the year. I find that my students do not realize poems can be written about anything without the use of rhyming words. Elliott also pointed out how important it is for teachers to show their poems found in their writer’s notebook to students as a way of modeling poetry. I have already come up with two list poems for my writer’s notebook. I think even my reluctant writers will enjoy writing a list poem after they have seen my examples. List poems would also be great at the beginning of the school year for children to get to know each other and the teacher. I have already penciled in the “100% poem” for an activity in my classroom. We are working with three digit addition so this is a great way to integrate math into a writing lesson. Some of my students will struggle to find ideas to write about in a poem. Since I usually give my students the topic to write about, they tend to struggle to think up topics on their own. Do your students struggle to come up with topics on their own if it is a free-write? I liked the idea of labeling a heart to show what matters to the student. This is something that can remain in their notebooks so they can look over it when they need an idea for writing. My students would really benefit from “wordstorms”. We already do something similar to “wordstorms” as a whole group. The suggestion in the Writer’s Notebook is to allow students to work in small groups if they are comfortable with the concept. I plan on giving my students an opportunity to work in small groups next time we do this. I like how Elliott stressed that this activity will increase a child’s vocabulary. Students should also have an opportunity to share what a poem meant to them in their notebooks. Even if they a student doesn’t write their own poem, they are still able to respond to poems they hear. I definitely learned through chapter 10 that I need to use more poetry opportunities in my classroom. After reading chapter 10 I now have some great ideas for how to use poetry in the classroom. I hope you also got some good information!
Hello girls,
ReplyDeleteChapter 9 validated my love of words. I like finding and exploring new words and I truly enjoy sharing new words with my students. As I read to my students we are always on the lookout for new vocabulary. I loved the idea of having a word chart, such as the “Wonderful Words” chart mentioned in chapter 9. Do either one of you utilize something like this with your students? I do not as of yet, but maybe this is something I could do in kindergarten. What do you think, or are they too young? The read alouds definitely occur in our grade levels and it was reaffirmed once again that read alouds are important for writers of all ages. In my notebook I have included some of what I think are interesting words, but I never thought of having a place in the back of my notebook for recording words. As Elliott said “The writer’s notebook is the perfect place to collect language that is memorable, fun, or amazing.” (p. 73) I loved this idea, I think for myself as a writer I will include this tab in my notebook, it’s a great way to keep those words, and not forget them! I appreciated the suggestion on how to introduce the idea of collecting words; I found this useful as well and will use this with my students. As I mentioned, we share our new words and often we use actions or act it out to describe the words meaning. Another point gleaned from chapter 9 was to share with your students why you selected a particular book to read aloud based on the beautiful language. I do share the author’s rich language with my students, but I think I need to do it more often. As Elliott said, “Immerse them…” then we need to “nudge” them, to take one of Elliott’s words, which I liked, to get them into the habit of using their notebooks to record “intriguing language”. My students hear new words throughout the day, whether in reading lessons, or math, science, or social studies lessons. I imagine this is true for your students as well, what opportunities do they have to hear new words and do they share new, interesting words with you? My students are younger and it’s all so new for them, I wondered how it was with older students and their interest with new words.
In chapter 10 I liked the idea of immersing, another word I liked, the students in poetry. I especially liked the idea of “feasting on the banquet of words”. This phrase will go into my notebook, what a great image. In my class we read poetry, and I am continually reminding my students that poems do not have to rhyme. We do so much with rhyming and I need to encourage my students to use new and interesting words. We are working toward this and we have created some class poems together. My students seem to enjoy expressing themselves in poetry and they get a kick out of using new words.
This chapter once again mentions modeling and using format as a model for writing poems. We do indeed need to model and I especially need to in my grade level. I am finding that my students do enjoy this learning and I am having fun with them as well. I really liked the idea of using a list as a poem. I know lists can be part of our notebook entries but I never thought of it in terms of a poem. Have you heard of List poems; if not what do you think of them as poems? If you do use them what has that experience been like? I think it sounds quite interesting. Again I liked that Elliott has listed books we can use to enhance our learning and our students learning as well.
How about the 100% poem? I thought that was so creative. I know it would be difficult in kindergarten, but I found so much in this chapter that I could share with my colleagues. This book has been a good resource for me as well. As a writer, I am going to try the 100% poem for myself. I also liked the “heart maps” mentioned in chapter 10; finding out what’s important to us will enhance our writing as well; yet another opportunity for me as a writer. This will also enhance our students understanding of themselves and will afford them the opportunity to explore some aspect of their heart map in more detail. Elliott mentioned a book by Margriet Ruurs, The Power of Poems: Teaching the Joy of Writing Poetry, and I thought the idea of word-storming was wonderful. Have either of you heard of this book; do you use word storming? It sounds as if this would be another beneficial book for my own personal professional development.
I found myself interested in the topic of collecting information about poets. Yet another great idea for our students and I thought for myself as well. Wouldn’t it be fun to discover and learn about a poet? What did you think of this idea? Once again, Elliott is full of great suggestions and insights into writing!
Response to Katie
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Katie,
As I read your response it was apparent that we both liked many of the same ideas presented in chapters 9 and 10. The poem ideas were indeed inspiring. Your idea of using the list poem at the beginning of the year sounds like a good plan and using the 100% poem with your integrated unit, bravo. As I read your ideas I thought about how I could use the list poem with kindergarten and I am going to incorporate that into my integrated unit. The students can give me words, phrases, or sentences to create a list poem about wind. I am looking forward to implementing this with my students. In kindergarten they get excited when new words are presented. I am also reading many good books to my students with rich new vocabulary in my unit and the students are learning new words so they can add these to the list poems. Some of the new words presented so far are snatched, whipped, plucked, whirled, and fluttering; oh what fun we are having with our words!
You also mentioned that you use read alouds on a regular basis and to introduce topics, so too do I as I mentioned in my reflection. As far as getting my parents to read with their children I have a family literacy folder that goes home every week. Included is a leveled book to be read with the families. They keep the book for a week and there is a written response which includes both the child and family member responses. I do have to occasionally give the folder back on a Tuesday as the point is to have them read the book for the week, not a day. This takes some persistence on my part for some families as they just want to “get the homework done.” So far so good, most all of my families participate weekly. There are those however that just can’t seem to get it all together, they have sooo much on their plates, it is just too much.
I do use poetry as a whole class assignment to begin with, and will implement some independent poetry writing, but generally for my grade level it’s whole class and lots of reading of poems. I too liked the idea of immersing them in poetry at the beginning of the year. As I mentioned in my response rhyming is such a part of kindergarten as it sounds like it is for you too. The children do like rhymes so I too have to encourage new words and teach them about the various poem formats. During free write my students write about anything. We have brainstormed ideas at the beginning of the year and through my classes I have learned about so many new ideas for topics in the writer’s notebook that I have been sharing them on a constant basis with my students.
In response to Linda’s Blog:
ReplyDeleteHi Linda!
I, too, enjoyed the suggestion of “Wonderful Words”. I do not use anything like it in my classroom. I really think your class would enjoy using something like this. One can always count on students to come up with great ideas for a “Wonderful Words” activity! I agree with your statement that it is important to share rich language with our students. I, too, need to do it more often. My students hear new words during our science, social studies, math, and other content areas. We review our new vocabulary before each new lesson to continue building on their knowledge. I really enjoyed reading about List Poems. I do not use them as of right now but I really want to start. I even have an idea for using List Poems when my students come back next week after break. I also plan to use the 100% poem when we begin working on three digit numbers in math (ones, tens, hundreds). I really appreciated that Elliott gave us so many good ideas for the use of poems in our classrooms. I have not read the book Elliott mentioned. I do something similar to word storming in my classroom. I write a word on the board and we try to come up with adjectives for the word. This lets my students become more familiar with using adjectives. You could always do an author study about poets for your students to learn more about them!
Here is my response to chapters 9 & 10:
ReplyDeleteBeing a person who has always been fascinated with words, I really enjoyed chapter 9. For starters, how clever was it for Courtney to use purple as a verb in her poem (p. 71)! If there’s one point that reading this book has brought home to me thus far, it’s that there’s no limit to what students can come up with - if only adequately prepared, equipped with the tools, and provided the opportunity to try their skills at it.
When Elliott discusses immersing children in language, she lists ‘enjoying’ words as being most important. When I worked in a pilot program at the Mayor’s Office for Young Children developing phonological awareness skills in four year olds, I included much word play to help the children have fun with words while exploring their possibilities. I found this to be an essential ingredient to help focus them on the sounds of words, which was a skill that many of them were lacking.
Elliott mentions read-alouds as a great way to make deposits in “students’ word banks” which she eloquently continues “need to be filled with a treasury of rich words”(p.72). I appreciated Elliott’s reminder about the importance of read-alouds for intermediate students (not just younger ones). I believe that these older students benefit greatly from this, and from my observations at school I’ve witnessed how much the children genuinely enjoy read-alouds.
I certainly believe that reading poetry is a fantastic way to train students’ ears to notice the nuances of language. I don’t think children ever tire of it! Poetry of all sorts seems to be enticing to children. Do you agree? I loved the imagery conjured up by Bobbi Katz’ description of ‘words’, “ Words are the apple pie in my pantry that draws me out of my warm bed and sends me shuffling down the dark hall in the middle of the night (p.72)”.
Elliott goes on to remind us to share with our students our reason for choosing a particular selection of poetry. This is another helpful tip that bears repeating. I don’t always remember to do that with my students, do you?
Another good tip I gleaned from this chapter was the idea to tab a section in the writer’s notebook for words that ‘tickle your fancy’, like smithereens, etc. I think it’s a terrific way for students to have fun with words, while painlessly enriching their vocabulary at the same time, - a wonderful way to raise their awareness of language. One of my favorite words is ‘pixilated’ (meaning a few cards short of a full deck!), ever since I watched the movie ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’. What are some of your favorites?
Thinking about words as having texture is something that had never crossed my mind. I was intrigued by the possibilities of hearing words as musical instruments, as well as by attempting to illustrate the sounds of words as jagged, straight or curved lines - as suggested by Georgia Heard (p. 90). I’m tempted to work this into some lessons in my small group instruction to see where it takes my students and what they make of it.
I could really relate to Elliott’s quote of Eve Merriam comparing the search for exactly the right word to having a tiny marble in your pocket that you can sense. Even as I write these blogs I find myself looking for the right word that best describes what I’m trying to say. As teachers, we have an obligation to expose our students to the many possibilities of language. By doing so, we not only help to educate them, but to make them feel that much more comfortable with words, so that they’ll be empowered to explore their possibilities.
In chapter 10, I loved the ideas for the different types of poems that could be used with my students. I think that the writing of poetry provides an unlimited number of possibilities for self-expression, and I think it’s a skill that’s likely not focused upon as much as we’d like to believe. Although we may expose our students to the reading of poetry, I’m not sure we incorporate the writing of poetry into our lessons as much as we should. Do you find that to be the case as well? As part of my integrated literacy unit, after reading a book entitled ‘The Talking Cloth’ my students will be asked to compose a poem describing what a talking cloth (an African cloth wrap which details one’s qualities through colors and symbols) of their own might look like.
I’ll have to look into Doug Florian’s works about list poems, since I believe my students will love working on these, and hope to incorporate these into our lessons. Have you ever heard of his books before? I also loved Lizbeth’s poem ‘I am from…’ (Fig. 10.2), based upon George Ella Lyon’s poem ‘Where I’m From’ (p. 79). I’m considering using this idea in my integrated literacy unit as a means of having my students describe the main character from his point of view in the book ‘My Rows and Piles of Coins’, a story about an young African boy’s generosity and caring.
Elliott reminds us once again to use all of our senses in order to make observations of things around us. This suggestion can never be overstated. I believe that sensory experiences can help to inspire even some of our most reluctant writers to come forth with ideas for writing poetry. Don’t you agree?
I liked all of Georgia Heard’s ideas for poems and would like to get a copy of her book ‘Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School’. In particular, I was captivated by her idea of the ‘heart map’, as a way for the writer to tune in to his/her memories, feelings and reflections (pp. 81,82). This provided another great idea for one of the lessons in my integrated literacy unit. My students will be asked to create a ‘heart map’ from the main character’s perspective after reading the story ‘Coming Home Soon’. This poignant story describes the experience of a young Black girl as she awaits her mom’s return from working on the trains during the second world war. Once they’ve completed their maps, they’ll compose a poem based on their heart maps that the character might have written to help express her feelings.
I couldn’t believe how many ideas I got from the few pages of these two chapters. I truly wish I had read this book years ago, but there’s no time like the present to begin implementing the great suggestions Elliott has to offer!
In Response to Betty’s Blog:
ReplyDeleteHi Betty!
I agree that we don’t always share the reasoning behind why we chose to read a certain text or poem with our students. I have been working on trying to do this more often so my students make more connections with texts and the “real world”. I really enjoy using different phrases, as do my students. After I read that section, I started a page in my notebook focusing on phrases I enjoy. One phrase I heard recently and wrote down was “whatever floats your boat”- there are several different versions of this but I have a friend who repeatedly makes comments centering around phrases like that. I, too, feel that I have not focused enough on writing poetry to my students. I need to make a better effort to allow more opportunities for writing poety in my classroom. Elliott gave several great suggestions that I plan to incorporate into the classroom. I found the idea of List Poems and 100% Poems easy to include in other lessons. In second grade, my students LOVE to watch others around them and they pick up on what is happening around them very easily. I can certainly focus in on that ability as an opportunity to create poems. I, too, loved these two chapters. I needed suggestions of how to include poetry into my writing program at school and Elliott gave me some great ideas!
Good Morning Betty,
ReplyDeleteI too like words but have not recorded them as mentioned in chapter 9. I do include words of interest in my notebook, but not a tab as mentioned in this chapter. It seems apparent that we all liked the idea of immersing our children in language. You further go on and mention the importance of read alouds for intermediate students. I couldn’t agree with you more. They so need those experiences and I am continually sharing with my colleagues that picture books are not just for the primary grades. Some of them are reading aloud from picture books and they seem to find it beneficial as well. The vocabulary within those books is unbelievable.
Poetry is a wonderful way to train our students’ ears and in kindergarten I do a lot of that. It is as you wrote enticing for the children. They love the playful way words are used or the images created by those words. It does seem to bring a smile to their faces or a chuckle to the lessons. In regards to sharing the ‘why’ we chose a word or selection I do generally share why we are going to read something, but when I highlight words I don’t always express why I chose that word. This made me think as well and it was a tip I thought needed to be brought to the forefront as well.
A word that has stayed with me is ‘slipshod’. This means careless as in workmanship. The reason behind this is when my son, now 26, was studying the dreaded highs school vocabulary book, I tried to help and this was one word I connected with. He was not too excited about learning voacb. this way, but this was and I believe is still the way they prep for SATs. I tried to connect the word with his work!!! Or lack thereof as we were studying. Actually my favorite word, although it is not too fancy is, ‘Peace.’ I feel the sense of calm when I hear and say that word and it is a hope and dream I’d love to see in our world.
As far as writing poetry I do some, but not as much as I would like to, but after reading this book I do believe there are some more poems that kindergarten students could write independently at the end of the year and there are many that we could do as a whole class, interactive shared poem. I have not heard of Doug Florian’s book either, but I am going to check that one out too. There are sooo many resources mentioned in this book and as you mentioned the ideas for writing are limitless. For us as well, the ideas between these pages I find are a goldmine; ideas for as writers, ideas for us as professionals for professional development and ideas for our students. As you said, it’s our responsibility to adequately prepare, equip and provide opportunities for our students to try out their skills! You have some great ideas for you unit and I was inspired with all the ideas as well and have included a List Poem about the wind in my integrated unit. I am sure the children will have some great words, phrases or sentences to create a wonderful poem. I am looking forward to implementing this with my unit.
I do agree that appealing to the senses can inspire reluctant writers, there has to be some sense that can be tapped into to spark some idea for writing. Again another book mentioned “Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School” by Georgia Heard sounds wonderful; yet another opportunity for us to grow as teachers.
It is pretty amazing all the information that was contained in these two chapters and as you said there is no time like the present to get started. The present is all we have so let’s make the best of it, what a gift.
Hi, Katie-
ReplyDeleteI also get the feeling that many of my students do not get read to at home nearly enough. I often discover that my students have noone that reads with/to them at home when I inquire about the school/home connection. Actively involving parents in helping their children to improve reading skills has become an even greater challenge considering the jam-packed schedules and general demands on parents today. You mentioned grandparents as possible players in this mix, and I believe they're sometimes more likely to be willing participants and can be valuable resources regarding reading to, as well as with their grandkids.
It seems like we all liked the idea of designating a special place in the writer's notebook for special words or phrases. I liked it so much that I'm going to create a section in my own writer's notebook for intriguing words. You are so right when you remind us of the importance of modeling how to use the notebook to record these special words and phrases for our students through the use of our own notebooks,- thanks for the reminder!
I could relate to your comment about your students thinking that rhyming was the only way to write poetry. I myself tend to always want to rhyme when I write poetry (simply because I enjoy it), so it's not only an issue for kids, - it's a hard habit to break!
Apropos to that, I also recently added a list poem to my notebook, that I intend to share with my students to prepare them for creating some of their own.
I loved your idea about integrating math with writing by using the 100% poem to help reinforce lessons involving 3-digit addition.
In my program, I usually have students respond to some aspect of our lessons, so there are less opportunities for free-writes. I'm pretty sure selecting a topic would be challenging, perhaps even frustrating for my students, so I can relate.
Although I didn't mention anything about wordstorming in my posting, I also thought it was a really terrific way for students to build vocabulary, while enjoying the process. I think that doing this activity will help make it more personal, and offer the students more opportunities for active engagement.
Kudos to you for mentioning that we should create opportunities for our students to use their writer's notebooks to record thoughts about poems they've heard. I agree that this is particularly important for the student that is not yet ready to take the step toward composing poetry, giving him/her the chance to relate to poetry through a written response.
Hi, Linda-
ReplyDeleteAnother person fascinated with words, eh?! I'll bet there are loads of us out there that are fascinated by language!!
I, too, like the idea of having a Wonderful Words chart posted in the classroom to list words students encounter both within and outside of the classroom. I think it's a great idea for your class, and believe that your students will enjoy it. I'm sure you'll get some interesting suggestions to add to your chart!
I also believe it's so important to immerse children in language. I've always incorporated new vocabulary by using it within my everyday conversation, followed by an explanation or other way of saying the same thing. This has always been a simple way to offer new vocabulary to my students through simple dialogue. It really works!
Regarding rhyming in poetry, I guess this is an issue across the board. As we model the various ideas for poetry that we've been exposed to, I'm sure our students will be inclined to get accustomed to using these new forms of self-expression. I think it's great that you have your students engage in writing class poems. It's wonderful to start encouraging an interest in words as well as poetry at this age. I think it's definitely not too young an age to do so!
I hadn't ever heard of a list poem before(what a simple, doable concept for kids!). I haven't yet used list poems with my students, but have composed and recorded one about the season of Spring in my writer's notebook which I intend to model, and will have my students try their hand at writing one as well.
I also thought the 100% poem was very creative. I thought it would be easy for kids to do(except perhaps for the addition aspect), but found myself to be unable to do it on my first try as I got hung up on the percentages part! I'll have to go back and try it again!
The heart map was yet another fantastic way to inspire children to write poetry, while affording them an opportunity for self-discovery. Although I hadn't heard of Margriet Ruur's book that Elliott writes about, I have used a form of wordstorming in my lessons, and the kids can really enjoy learning new words with this method.
I also think collecting information about poets is a great idea, and a helpful way to help students to better understand the work of a particular poet. This is part of the curriculum at our school, and I believe it does command a place as a component of every literacy curriculum.