Category: Writing

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Classroom Writing

Writing Therapy

Just the other night my fifth grade daughter reminded me of the importance of writing as therapy.  Bridget is and always has been VERY afraid of tornadoes.  An otherwise rational 11 year old can become hysterical and dive for cover if the word is mentioned by a weather forecaster.  The rash of horrible tornadoes in the southeast recently has been troubling to her, to say the least.  The other night, after catching a quick glimpse of a report on the news, she quietly went upstairs.  What she later brought down to me to read was the reminder that writing is therapy.  She had written a beautiful poem expressing her awe at the power of the storms but also the strength of the people who will rebuild their homes and their lives.  Bridget did what I wish all of our students would do, she reached down to her true feelings, her fears, and used writing to sort those feelings out and make sense of them.  She used writing as her therapy, her way of making things ok. 

As you go into your classroom tomorrow think about the kids sitting there.  Do they have fears, worries, concerns that they may not know how to deal with.  Maybe if we show them how to write them down writing can be their therapy too.  Next time you want to tell your students what to write about think of Bridget and tornadoes, what is your students’ tornado?

Categories
Classroom Writerly Life Writing

Writing Partners

Tonight I have written five absolutely fantastic starts to blog posts, that I’m not ready to share with the world. That’s the funny thing about writing, it’s so personal and yet, its true beauty is released only when shared. All five of these posts felt risky when I was writing them—some of my closest friends don’t even know I feel this way or dream about that.

I’m left thinking about what I ask my kids to do in my classroom. One of the goals on their writing checklist is, “Take Risks in Writing”. Don’t get me wrong you could take that goal anyway you wanted to, but when you’re in eighth grade, usually that means write something with content that you don’t normally share. The problem with this is simple: sharing is important in a community of writers.  It’s how we do our best thinking, by analyzing and helping to refine each other’s writing.

In my room we have writing partners, we switch these partners two, maybe three times a year. These are kids that know each other well, and until tonight I would have told you that my reasoning in this was so that they could hopefully see patterns in each other’s style and way of writing—so that they could call one another out when junk was written and applaud when the level of writing was lifted.

But, maybe there is more to these partnerships than that. Because honestly, someone will see those first five blog posts. They’ll run in the form of e-mails at some point to Jess, a trusted friend, who will shot me real and honest feedback. Somehow from those e-mails, I learn which ideas/dreams are ready to be harvested and shared, and which are not yet quite ready for their journey to the ears of others. We never formally sat down and said, “Will you be my writing partner?” Things just sort of morphed that way over the years; I couldn’t imagine having the guts to write this blog without years of Jess e-mails behind me.

As I listen in on my student’s conversations I realize more and more that “writing partner” means more than a friend to walk through the process with. Writing partners are friends who listen to stories that aren’t quite ready for the rest of the world, and love you the same whether your writing is junk or Pulitzer Prize material.

Categories
Classroom Writing

poetry & revision

I fell in love with poetry this summer, spending summer nights in the West Village Bowery Poetry Club listening to Carlos Andres Gomez bring the house down with spoken word.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdHWVlpBGiY]

Carlos wasn’t the first time I fell in love with poetry; in fact the first unit I was ever proud of as a teacher, was a poetry unit I did at Benchmark School using the book Bronx Masquerade. Drew McCorkell & I were quite the team, teaching kids to write with passion and encouraging them to take risks as writers.

Then there is now, in my classroom. I’ve been working with kids, watching them craft poetry in their journals. Sometimes they sit there, scribble down a few obviously unheartfelt lines, close up their journal and claim they are done. My blood begins to boil; I’ve taught them to revise, to reflect, to dialogue; why are they doing this to me?

And then I realize, poetry is different. It’s not always safe to share and revision happens differently. I would have to teach my kids how to spend time with a poem, revisit it, and clarify the poem to make their message clear and yet still have that foggy quality that only poetry can have. As I started thinking, I realized I don’t often do these things in my own poetry, and I wasn’t sure how authors did it either. So with the help of my kids and authors like Ralph Fletcher and Sarah Kay, along with Katie Wood Ray and maybe a little Barry Lane, we came up with this helpful list for revising.

Here is our wall chart of Poetry Revision Strategies:

  • Star your favorite line.
    • Move that line to the top of your poem
    • Craft a new stanza after that line
  • Add in Similes and Metaphors
    • It’s a poet’s love language
    • It lets people connect
  • Take out words
    • Take out as many words as you can
    • Poets leave room for people to think for themselves
  • Line/ Stanza Breaks
    • Create drama and set a mood
    • Breaks say to the reader—think about that
  • Use Repetition
    • Draw attention to the importance of a line or phrase
  • Craft strong conclusions
    • Leave the reader with a feeling, image, connection, or question

I’m thankful that my classroom is a learning community and that we can create these lists and journey together. Initially, I wasn’t sure that they would go for these strategies, but after spending a year together taking risks they seemed thankful that we could take the mystery out of the process—bring it back to the familiar writing routine we loved— and allow the risk to be within the content only . I was thankful that I wasn’t going crazy, and that we had all remembered to revise, to reflect, to dialogue.

Categories
Classroom Writing

“I am a writer”

This morning I was walking the fifth grade hallway, moving students into block 1 quickly so they could begin the writing section of the PSSA.  Of course, as I was hurrying them I was also chatting with them.  What I heard was encouraging, uplifting, and just plain awesome!  I spoke with kids who were smiling and enthusiastic about taking the test, what?!?  “I can do this” one student told me, “my teacher has given me a lot of feedback about adding content and I feel ready to do that”.  Another said, “I know I have to have a plan before I write and that will help me to stay organized.”  The one that really got me was the student who told me, “we are really good writers in this class, we impress everyone who reads our writing!”

In those statements I can see and hear all of the work teachers have put into their writing instruction.  Out teachers have begun to empower our students as writers.  Making them believe they are writers is the biggest step in developing writers.  I don’t know if the test scores will show it,  I don’t really care right now, I know we are developing writers here…just ask them.

Categories
Classroom Writing

a time to pause

One thing I learned from years of being around Benchmark teachers is that in order for learning to be most effective you have to save time for reflection. It’s a simple concept, but one that can easily be forgotten with all the pressure to learn more content.

That’s why even though I have had my student’s feature articles printed for a week I didn’t tell them they were ready. I promised myself that if I didn’t have time to reflect with them, I wouldn’t hand them back.

On Monday we had the reveal of the papers; printed in color ink with graphics and cool fonts, just simply handing them out to the kids was a celebration in itself.  Ooos and Ahhs were heard around the classroom as writing partners and friends looked around at everyone’s finished product. Before we did anything else, I had the kids read their own article, you could have heard a pin drop in the room as every kid read through the words they had so carefully chosen.

Here’s where I switched it up. I’ve been reflecting with these kids since September now, which means I’ve been asking them questions about their writing and they’ve been thinking hard and answering. This time all I said was, “It’s time to reflect. What’s going through your head?” Then I got my marker out and wrote out their questions as fast as I could.

  1. Does it make sense?
  2. Are all the sections in the right order?
  3. Do I see editing mistakes I could have fixed?
  4. Did I pick the right colors?
  5. Is there too much open space?
  6. Is the font too big/ too small?
  7. Would someone other than my mom want to read this?
  8. Did I have the right audience in mind when I was writing?
  9. Is my information accurate?
  10. Is anything missing?
  11. Does everything belong in this article?

And my personal favorite . . .

12. Am I proud?

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I was proud. Proud of them for jumping into a new genre of reading/writing. Proud of them for going through countless revisions and edits. Proud of them for internalizing the process and knowing what questions to ask in reflecting. I am proud.

Categories
Classroom Grammar Reading Writing

reading-and-writing classroom

I’ve got a group of students who are suddenly waking up and becoming more aware of the way sentences are formed. I’m so excited for them; I want to tell them the answers, but I am holding back, knowing meaning is more valuable if you find it on your own.

And so we found ourselves in a quandary on chapter two of Jerry Spinelli’s Loser, when he describes the town they live in as a “brick-and-hoagie town”. First we discussed the meaning, why would Spinelli call a town that? Were there Hoagie shops on every corner or were bricks crumbling and the town starting to fall apart? Is it close to a city? Does everyone know what a hoagie is or is the story taking place somewhere near us in Pennsylvania? We discussed, we argued, we stepped back and described our town.

Then somewhere in the middle of all of it Kyle says, “hey guys do you see those things there after brick and before hoagie?”

“It’s called a dash,” one of the girls says quickly and inquisitively, recognizing that Kyle might be on to something.

“Yeah, well I mean why are they there? Maybe the author is trying to tell us something? He doesn’t need them, does he?”

The conversation went on, and I let it; it didn’t matter that we had only covered the first sentence in chapter two. The kids decided that this was a town where bricks and hoagies went together. They compared the town to Detroit saying if the author wanted the setting to have been in Detroit he would have said, “highway-and-Coney city.”

After our discussion, the kids wrote the words “brick-and-hoagie town” in their language log and promised to be on the lookout for more cool ways Jerry Spinelli was playing with words.

After our discussion, I went to my journal and copied down “brick-and-hoagie town” & “highway-and-Coney city,” after it I wrote, the dash draws me in and connects me, reminds me that one without the other just isn’t right.

Categories
Classroom Writing

Boys with a lot to say…

I know that I have a great job, especially around those times that are super high stress for classroom teachers.  With conferences coming up next week this is one of those high stress times!  Although I do not miss the stress of parent conferences, I do miss the opportunity to conference with kids about their writing on a daily basis.  This week I had the opportunity to spend time in classrooms conferencing with writers and I loved it.

When I think back on all of the conferences I was part of this week three really stand out to me.  Three different boys read their work to me and three boys almost brought me to tears.  Each of these boys have probably brought many teachers to tears before, and not for good reasons, so I was a little nervous about what they would bring to me…What I saw demonstrated the power of writing, and what can happen when children are encouraged to find their voice and use it.

The boys were reflecting on their school year so far, describing strengths , goals, and positive experiences.  Wow! These boys were able to put on paper what they have not been able to say to the adults around them…I am so fortunate to have heard these pieces read by the authors, I was given a chance to celebrate what they can do as writers…

Even when time is tight, make time to have writing conferences, you are sure to be blown away by what your writers can do.

Categories
Hidden Gems Book Talk Writing

kid love

“Because when I’m able to read past all those surface problems, what I find in young people’s writing is passionate, surprising, and endearing enough to convince me that I have the best job on earth.”  -Katherine Bomer

I have to admit for the past couple of weeks I’ve been stressing about all kinds of issues in my kid’s writing. What I should also tell you is that for the past couple of weeks I haven’t had time to sit down and read my kid’s journals either. Between the flu, snow days, and my attempts to organize Student Lead Conferences, I was crossing my fingers hoping my kids were still writing at all.

Then last night I finally had a chance to curl up in my big green chair with a stack of journals. My roommate and my neighbor were talking on the couch, but I was captivated. More than once, I found myself squealing with delight and forcing my friends to listen as I read to them fragrant snippets from my kid’s journals. Let me share some kid love with you…

“The air screams, I am almost done. Pizza.”

“As the doughy bread filled my mouth, it left an Italian impression.”

“Someday, I want to give someone flowers, just to cheer them up.”

Categories
Classroom Writing

Audience Matters

In our school the traditional parent-teacher conferences have been replaced by student-led conferences. All students share with their parents a portfolio of their work from all of their classes.  The first piece in their binder is the SLC letter, a letter from the student to their parent thanking them for coming and setting up what the parent should expect from the conference.  In theory the letter may sound like a nice idea, a message regarding the conference from the student to their parent and a writing sample all in one.  In reality the letter is one of the most dreaded pieces of writing students and teachers face during the year.  Language arts teachers who encourage student writers throughout the year with excellent mentor text and powerful feedback become task masters…”Get the letter done! Now!”rings through the halls.  The results are what you may expect drab, lifeless, form letters that no one feels good about.

As the season for beginning the “letter” rolled around I was preparing to avoid any classroom during letter writing time, I just couldn’t be part of it.  One day, by accident, I found myself in a fifth grade classroom and the teacher said they were going to begin working on the “letter”…AHHH! I wanted to run, but she was still smiling so I decided to stick it out and see what she had up her sleeve. 

Audience…that was it.  As the class began the discussion about the letter the teacher took the conversation to audience.  Who is the audience?  What do they expect from this letter?  A simple concept, one we talk about often when writing, changed the whole perspective of this letter.  Instead of following a form and writing what the teacher and the SLC guidelines expected, the kids began thinking about their parents and what they want to know.  The results were some of the most touching and honest letters I have ever read.  One word, one concept. the effect that one word can have on writers is amazing. 

So as you push forward in writing this week think about one word that may challenge and change your writers…it may be audience.

Categories
Classroom Grammar Writing

Writing in Math class

Last week I finally broke out of the Language Arts, Social Studies world and ventured into a math class. I have been trying to talk top math teachers about the important role they play in teaching students to write in math. I received a lot of skeptical looks in return, over time the skeptical looks turned to more of a patronizing nod. That is until we began to administer benchmark math assessments to our fifth grade that included two multi-step problems requiring written explanations. As a team we sat down to score the explanations and it became very obvious that although our students had made a lot of progress in their writing in general, they did not know how to write a clear, consice math explanation. These explanations were filled with opinions, vague language, and even some attempts at humor (math teachers do not really appreciate math humor on an assessment!). After the last scoring session one brave math teacher took me up on my weekly offer to come into math class and talk about how to write in math.

I knew I had one chance to show the teachers how important this was and it really worked. I did a mini-lesson showing the students a recipe written as a recipe and the same recipe written as a narrative, with very literary, discriptive language. They could see right away why math writing needs to look more like the recipe. Give the reader what they need to know, the process used to solve the problem, nothing more, nothing less.

After a great discussion the students got to work practicing and giving each other feedback. Suddenly I felt right at home in a math class, we were talking the talk that I am so familiar with.

By the time I made it back to my office that afternoon I had three more e-mails from other math teachers wanting to set up writing lessons. Kids need to know that writing is part of understanding in every content area…we are now on our way at our middle school.

Phys. ed. may be next……