http://www.debrennersmith.blogspot.com

http://www.debrennersmith.blogspot.com

http://www.debrennersmith.blogspot.com

I am moving my blog here. I will still post writing and reading lessons here.

 

Click the top “HOME” tag and you will see the whole site.  THANKS FOR VISITING me HERE!!

MEME: The Best Book I Have Not Read Blog

has an interesting post: 

http://bestbookihavenotread.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/the-nearest-book-trail/

Participate in this fast and easy book meme – or follow the trail and find out where it started (if find out, let us know!).

Here are the rules:

* Get the book nearest to you. Right now.
* Go to page 56.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Write this sentence – either as a comment here or on your blog (link back to us by replacing the trail link with this blog’s link).
* Copy these instructions as commentary of your sentence.
* Don’t look for your favorite book or your coolest but really the nearest.

 My book is Comprehension Connection by Tanny  McGregor (Publisher is Heinemann).  The quote comes from a chapter about inferring.  Tanny is describing listening between the lines where the children listen to the song and infer the symbolism and the figure out the layers of meaning.  She includes her favorite songs in this section. 

“The possibilities are endless: try searching your local library or your personal music collection.”

Small Moments: Person Who is Significant During The Holidays

Often teachers ask me about topic generation. I also know nothing sends terror down the spine of a teacher, then 20 or 25 children who are complaining, “I don’t have anything to write about.” Obviously, I am exaggerating!   Or a child who has written about the same frog for 26 days in a row. It is not a matter of assigning a topic or not a matter of saying, “Don’t assign topics!” The solution is in what is happening in the discussion before writing. When I enter a classroom as a writing consultant, I want all children to write, as do all the teachers, I have ever met. So how does this happen? Students need ideas not assignments for topics.

As we look forward to seeing our students tomorrow, I think about the writing workshops across the country. I want students to write about their significant people. I want children to write about what matters to them. I know if we help our students through questioning to think about traditions that matter, they will write about them. Who did they see over break? What happens every year?
I could write about…

After dinner, Santa comes to our house. He is real. …

OR

Everyone in our family knows that my mom does not mail presents. We all open presents at my mom and dad’s house on Christmas morning. …

OR

My dad cooks once a year. Christmas morning breakfast …

As I think about the ‘who’ and a tradition, it helps trigger a memory and a tradition I could write about. This is what we need to do with our students to prevent a list of “What I got for Christmas!”

I wrote about this topic previously here: Person: Think of person that matters to you

and here: writing about special people

and here: Gooney Bird book teaches about personal narrative

Writing about a Class Experience

One writing idea is to have the class experience something, then write about this experience.

-Sing a song, then tell the students about it, have the students turn and talk about it, then the teacher writes about it using story language.
-Line up to come inside from recess. If it is a nice day, instead of going inside, write outside right now. We just lined up to go inside, let’s write about that. The teacher tells the story on her/his fingers. The writing partners tell the story to each other. I have my chart paper outside and model how right there.
-Walk the kids over to the slide. Have all the students climb up the ladder and slide down. Listen to their language. What are the details you hear? What specific words are the children saying? Everyone sits down after the class experience. First, the teacher tells the story using story language. Next the writing partners turn and talk to each other practicing telling the story using story language. The teacher should model writing about the experience before the children write.
-After a field trip, write about the class experience.
-After any other common experiences by the class, it lends to writing: fire drills, lunch room, music, gym, etc.

We worked on small moments. I modeled my own small moment and then as a class we made one together about lining up for recess. The objective is to take an idea and stretch it out…like an elastic band. We will be working on small moments (narratives) for the entire term. For many of the students it is a new concept.

Articles that May Impact Teaching

Here are very interesting on line articles to read. Science Daily Articles link
twowritingteachers wrote about Literacy-Related News Stories so I read the links.

These are stories that I found to be interesting. There are lots more. If you write about them on your blog, please link my post to yours. Thanks!

I am intrigued about how MRI’s will impact our knowledge in education. The article says, “The prefrontal regions of the brain that were most affected by the lack of development are important for numerous intellectual functions, including attention, planning and social judgment.” Premies have overcome so many hardships. As we figure out the least restrictive environment and high expectations and realistic expectations given the No Child Left Behind Pressure. Science Daily link Womb Needed for Proper Brain Development This is a topic dear to my heart. As we have high expectations and believe that all children can learn, we have to figure out where children’s needs are being met.

Another article that intrigued me on the Science Daily site
Science Daily Neuroscientists Find That Men And Women Respond Differently To Stress (Men Are From Mars) This is a video and article showing how men and women process stress differently. I think it is something that teachers have to remember when we have our students in stressful situations. Boys and girls react differently to stress. Girls want to talk about it and are social. Boys often are in fight or flight mode. This scientific study shows that the brain confirms what we already know. It was very interesting.

My husband listens to NPR all the time.
http://www.npr.org/
Every now and then, he will mention an interview that I should listen to. A few years ago I listened to Chris Van Allsburg. This year I heard Judy Blume. I also enjoy listening to author’s discuss their process and their books. I read numerous Judy Blume books as a preteen. It was awesome hearing her.
Judy Blume’s Love, Writing About Kids Ages 9-12 interview on NPR

It was interesting hearing about how Sesame Street came to be. ‘Sesame Street’ Changed Television For Children link on NPR

Writing in Kindergarten

I find one of the questions I am asked frequently is, “What does writing look like with kinders?” This writing teacher has lots of great writing going on!

Kindergarten site with writing examples from her kinders