Writing: someone is somewhere doing something

When students are drawing pictures for their plan and just starting to label or write a few random letters, the teaching point that we want to remember to work on with our beginning writers is to touch the something (pictures) in the story, think about what is happening, tell me about your picture. What are you doing? Where are you? When the child says, “Grandma.” The teacher says I hear you saying, “I went to grandma’s house.” When a child points to the sun, and says ‘sun’, the teacher gently rephrases, “Oh, it was a sunny day when you went to grandma’s house.” This is showing the child that you are listening and also putting the idea into a storying type style. “It was a sunny day. You went to grandma’s house.” There is not a correct way to phrase it exactly, it is more that we are careful in tone of voice and body language to show acceptance. When students are at the labeling of pictures stage, I notice that sometimes a conference involves pointing to the tree and saying, ‘tree.’ I notice the child pointing to the mom and saying, ‘mom.’ What I have to remember is that even when I am conferring with a beginning writer, I can still coach the writer to think about what is the character doing? “What is mom doing by the tree?” “Is mom walking in the park? “Is mom playing catch with you?” What is the verb? The child has a mom and a tree so the someone and the somewhere are covered. Now we need the something (verb). The next step is putting it into a story orally. Last night mom threw a ball at the park to me. Then of course we work on getting the story written down.

This is why I like the steps of Think, Talk, Plan (pictures in kindergarten), Write (in this example labels and letters)

A Principal’s Guide To Leadership in the Teaching of Writing

“A Principal’s Guide to Leadership in the Teaching of Writing will keep you company during the hard work of leading school reform in teaching writing. It will bring you inside a community of practice comprised of scores of principals who have also thought, ‘How can I provide my teachers with the support they deserve in teaching writing?’ This book will allow you to stand on the shoulders of others who have tackled the challenge of supporting whole school reform in writing.” — Lucy Calkins & Laurie Pessah

This product is available on heinemann site

I read it in one seating. It is a quick read. I appreciate that Lucy and Laurie attempt to address how to differentiate the Units of Study between K, first, and second grade teachers. This is a frequently asked question that many teachers are struggling with. My impression is that this book goes hand in hand with the units. There are many positives in the book. The authors offer numerous tips throughout the book. One of my favorite lists of tips is on pages 96-97, Pointers for Successful Classroom Visits. I remember when I first started teaching when adults would wander in and out of my room and I would wonder a stream of questions, “What is my role? Should I stop teaching? What are they looking at?” I think that giving the teachers a heads up that the principal, and assistant principal are doing walk-thrus can raise people’s anxiety. These pointers help to lower the principal’s anxiety and make the walk-thrus more successful. 1. frequent, brief, unscheduled 2. all classrooms at that grade level if possible 3. slip in unbotrusively, have a signal to keep working 4. don’t go directly to teacher 5. stop and look before interacting with a student or teacher 6. if interacting with a student keep paying attention to what is happening around you 7. pay attention to classroom rituals 8. toggle between helping and observing 9. speak with teacher about something positive and specific 10. solicit the teacher’s help learning to teach writing … later. These are the main ideas, Lucy and Laurie explain their ideas more explicitly. The whole book is set up with lots of ideas and tips. There was only one place I was a unclear about. There is a book that she refers to quite a bit in this book for the coaches, Professional Development in the Teaching of Writing. I wonder if this book is only available if you attend The Teachers College. I have been on the Heinemann site searching for it to no avail. I have personally purchased every title that Lucy Calkins as written. The book is helpful for principals who are implementing The Units of Study in their schools.

Writing: true, focused, significant

As I reflect on writing samples, I find myself thinking about Lucy Calkins words, “Are the students truly writing stories that are true, focused, and also significant?” Are the writers remembering something that matters to them? These stories should fill the writers with big feelings: sadness or excitement or wonder. This leads to a significant story. The child probably will not say, “This is a significant story.” My niece Abby has written about her excitement of receiving a guitar for her birthday. She now can play just like her first grade teacher. She no longer has to play the tennis racket.

If a child is writing about a sequence of actions, such as eating dinner with a grandparent, it may appear as an everyday occurance. However, if the child is writing about it, the teacher wants to ask, “So What?” “Why are you writing about this topic?” “Why is this significant?” I remember that my son told me that he was the only one in the car and he remembers telling grandpa that he would have his usual at the drive-thru. Of course, Grandpa had no idea what that was! It was a good thing that Grandpa had a cell phone. My son wrote all about this episode the next day in writer’s workshop. He didn’t actually write, “I am special.” He voiced this to me when I inquired why he wrote about this topic at bed later that night though.”

The One-Minute Writer (Yesterday)

The One-Minute Writer: Today’s Writing Prompt: Yesterday

My three year old nephew leaned in close to his one-year old brother. He said sternly, “Do you see this laptop? This is not a toy!” We cracked up.

http://www.debrennersmith.blogspot.com/

Saturday Picture Day: Hope College Basketball

Let’s Go HOPE!

Anchor of HOPE

Cousins at the HOPE game

Viola Duet

My niece, Carolyn, and my daughter, Ashleigh, played a duet with their violas. Carolyn has played her viola for 6 months. Ashleigh has played her viola for 7 years. Ashleigh also played a solo in the recital. Ashleigh has taken private lessons and played her viola since 5th grade.