Writing Videos

Here are some videos and teaching ideas about writing.

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3749217

Unit of Study: Fiction Writing

This is a link to a great write up about one of Lucy’s units of study:  fiction.  I am always searching for references to Lucy’s units since many of the teachers I work with use the units as a resource. 

http://bestbookihavenotread.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/unit-of-study-fiction-writing-grades-3-5/

Essay Writing Ideas

Many schools are using Lucy Calkins’ materials and Units of Study.  One of her units includes an essay unit.  Jim Trelease has a site that includes a weekly essay.  It is awesome!  http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/essay-of-week.html  

I am always looking for resources.  This is another site of wonderful resources for us.

Lucy Calkins Writing Kits

 

http://literacybytes.com/  A wonderful site as a Grade 3-5 staff implements Lucy Calkins kits in their building.

Have you shared your idea yet?

writingfix lesson linked here Writing Fix has invited all teachers of writing to share their ideas for this book at their website. Have you? This is the book I used over 15 years ago with my students.

Written By Roni Schotter Illustrated By Kyrsten Brooker, 1997, Orchard Paperbacks
ISBN: 0531071367

The teacher reads the book, then leads a discussion about paying attention to someplace special. This book is all about sitting on the front porch at home and noticing what is happening in the neighborhood.

Your job today and this week is to notice what is happening in your neighborhood.

This week the homework assignment is for each student to sit outside on the porch, the front steps, or in front of your door for 15 minutes each day. I want you to notice the sounds you hear, notice what you see. Who is walking down your street? Is the street messy or neat? Are there flowers? Are there shops or other apartments? Really look and notice. Each day I ask my students to orally share what they notice on their streets.

Then I write what I noticed on my street.

Teacher writes:
Monday
Today on Jones Street the neighbor built a fence to keep two kittens off his front porch. The neighbor’s three boys helped him bang on nails all during my afternoon nap. “Here daddy have a nail.” “I will hold the hammer for you.” “Daddy, is it my turn yet?” I could tell that all three boys were trying to help the daddy. I smiled as I wondered how much help the little boys really were to their daddy. I could hear a whole lot of love on my next door neighbor’s porch though. Good-bye to my children’s quiet nap time today!

Tuesday
Today on Jones Street another neighbor finally finished the last bit of fence left in her backyard to keep her little kids safe. I could hear the shouts of laughter as the little ones jumped on their trampoline. The girl was dressed in a purple tutu so she could jump as high as a circus performer. Her brother impatiently waiting his turn. “Mommy when is it my turn?” I wonder who will build a fence tomorrow?

Wednesday
Today on Jones Street the ice cream truck drove by our house at least 15 times. It was playing the same song over and over and over. My children begged for ice cream treats at least 15 times over and over. “Please please please mommy we want singing ice-cream.” I wouldn’t let them. I had this irrational fear of food poisoning. I let them choose ice cream sandwiches from my freezer for all their neighborhood friends too. One box of 12 ice cream sandwiches is the same price as one ice cream sandwich. Maybe I should buy a fence to keep the ice cream truck away!

Thursday

Today on Jones Street my son, Andrew, played with the water hose. He squirts it at cars as they drive by. I hope they have their car windows up! The superintendent, who lived down the street, stopped and talked to my three year-old. “I don’t want my car washed anymore.” No more water in the street. So he moves off to bury the hose in his huge sandbox and swamps it. I opened my water bill and notice that there is a note on it, “We have adjusted your water bill because no one can possibly have this high of a water bill. Please check for leaks!” We love living in a small town!

Friday

Today on Jones Street I sat on the picnic table watching my daughter on the swing set. Ashleigh loved to try to touch the sky with her feet. The breeze blew my hair as I drank diet coke. Ashleigh giggled, “Maybe this time I will touch the cloud, Mama.” I gave her an under dunk answered, “Maybe next time, Ash.”

Set purpose for writing

The students share what is happening in one special place. What is happening in the yard? What is happening on the playground? What is happening on the porch of Grandma’s house? What are the special specific details? After several days, the students begin writing stories titled, “Something Happens on _______ (name of their street) Street”.

Small Moment Writing Lesson

1. Teacher reads the wonderful picture book, Rollercoaster by Maria Frazer. This story adds many specific, exact details in writing to a small moment story. Anyone who has ridden a rollercoaster will recognize this perfect description of a rollercoaster! This is a small moment story.
2. Teacher discusses the importance of adding specific details to a story with students. Details make the reader want to read the story and help the reader make a good picture in his/her mind. These are a few of the specific detail sentences from Rollercoaster that help build a picture in the reader’s mind about the rollercoaster. These are a couple of specific details from the book. There are LOTS more.
a. The roller coaster is very big and very noisy.
b. You must be tall enough to ride it.
c. But sometimes even those who are tall enough decide they don’t want to. (Lots of people change their mind about riding the roller coaster at the very last minute.)
After reading these sentences, what are you seeing in your mind?
3. The following chart will be displayed regarding how to add specific details:
a. Use your five senses (what does it look like, feel like, sound like, etc.)
b. Use color words
c. Use size words and shape words
4. The teacher asks the students, “Where are these attributes in your writing? Add these attributes to your writing.”

Strong Emotion Writing Minilesson

Stacey at Two Writing Teachers wrote an awesome writing minilesson about strong emotions. Here is the link. Do you love the candy Skittles? Stacey combines candy and writing into an awesome lesson.

Stacey’s Strong Emotions Minilesson link

Don Murray Writing Quote

Don Murray wrote “I write to know what it is I didn’t know I knew!”

I remember as I wrote my book with Pat Cunningham, Beyond Retelling, this quote was stuck on my computer. I would send a chapter to her. She would send it back with very important questions. I would write what I didn’t know I knew or remembered. As we ponder the question, “How will we help our students with topic development?” I think it is important to think about prior knowledge and developing the memories that they have experienced about their lives. This certainly helped me as Pat and I wrote this book together.

Writing with second graders

Lynn Reichle and her second grade writers using the Teacher’s College Writing Workshop Style. It is exciting seeing Lynn teaching her kids and interacting with her kids. This is a quick paced picture into the classroom.

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=b3ec808b388ea6cb8814

A picture triggers a 1000 words

Over at Two Writing Teachers link about Collecting Ephemera Ruth wrote about her students bring stuff in to add to their writing journals to trigger writing. This triggered memories for me about how I started my writers out with Topic Development using Photography.

I believe that students own responsibility for topic development and teachers need to get out of their way. We need to provide lots of opportunities for success. I like to think about the movie, Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come.” Build the writing memories, and they will write!”

I am a photography person. Notice that I do not say photographer. My dad is a photographer.

I read Miss Fannie’s Hat Link to Amazon to see Miss Fannie’s Hat as my read-aloud in the morning. Then I showed my students my precious moments collection (not all of it, just a few ‘precious’ pieces of memories and shared the memories).

I shared real Lake Michigan sand and a few quick bits of stories about spending my day at the beach with my siblings and extended family. Jim Arnosky’s Beachcomber’s book is a wonderful literature addition to this lesson. Link to Amazon Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore by Jim Arnosky

I shared my baby blanket and the story connected to a story. (Now that Knuffle Bunny is out and a wonderful story I always make this connection. Link to Amazon Knuffle Bunny

This is writing brainstorming with lots of realia (real items) to support my English Language Learners. The benefit for all learners is that everyone is connecting to memories that are important to them. It is easy to write when your senses are triggered.

Chart Paper is loaded with photographs of the items.

Memories by Deb

Proposal
-necklace
-beach sand
-precious moment
-shocked look on face

Beach Sand
-bathing suits
-siblings
-lighthouse
-sandcastles
-beach toys

baby blanket
-flashlight
-college anchor

I jotted all these words by the pictures.

Something to think about. GOOD THINKING – Photography captures memories, blogs captures moments in time. If I did this now I would have them save their pictures in a journal instead of on the big charts – maybe ???? Something to think about.

What did the kids do? I encouraged the students to bring in pictures from home. I took pictures in gym, in music, in the library, in computer lab, outside on the playground, in class at every subject, fire drills, at lunch. I documented their school lives. I printed many many copies and let them replicate what I started here. Since I knew about this project ahead of time, I went to their ‘places’ – McDonalds playland, Chuckie Cheese, baseball games, and even the year before, the playground, and their first grade classrooms and prepared for them. It worked. It was awesome. My writers did not say, “I do not have something to write about.” They picked a picture and a memory of a person, a place, or an object when they were stuck. “They” say a picture is worth a thousand words.

No a picture triggers a 1000 words.