Tag: Generating

Categories
Classroom Writing

little teacher moments

This week I experienced quite a few moments that made my teacher heart smile, and rather than forget them in the busyness that can sometimes overtake me, I’ve decided to catalog a few for you in today’s blog post.

I read a student journal where the student chose to reflect on the strategies I’d been teaching in class. First he defined them with an example, which was enough to thrill me; I mean he could have picked any topic Xbox, basketball, whatever, but he went for writing strategies. Then I read the line that reminded me why I love my job, “I then began to think about how I can use this in my story.” Oh how I love when they share their thinking so freely and when they begin to revise with purpose.

It started raining on Friday, really hard. If you’re a teacher you’ve probably thought many times about how to deal with weather. I mean if it’s raining hard outside, every kid in your room will probably think that’s more entertaining than whatever you’re presenting. For me, sometimes I embrace the weather, and sometimes I close the blinds. Friday I chose to embrace it, and I was sitting with a table full of boys talking about rain stories and this one time at camp. Suddenly, a boy at the table interrupted my story, “I don’t mean to be rude Miss Smith, but I’ve got a rain story too, could you pause for a second so I could jot down my idea in my writer’s notebook? I don’t want to forget it.” That’s a writer, one who stops a conversation to remember.

I was moving around the room during writing time, when I noticed a boy writing seed ideas. I was curious; I haven’t taught them in awhile, and his looked shorter than normal so I sat down. I sat down and inquired what he was doing. His reply went something like this, “Well I was looking at an old generating list, and I liked a few stories so I decided to try out a few short sections of each one to see which one I like the best, that one I’ll write long. We’re allowed to do that right?” Actually that’s exactly what I want them to do, I just wasn’t sure anyone would remember it.

I overheard a writing conference where the writer said, “I’m working on details.”

His writing partner looked at him and said, “What do you mean?”

“Details like being specific?”

And again the writing partner, “I don’t understand what part do you want to be specific in? Characters? Setting?”

“I’m not sure, everything?”

“That’s too hard, let’s read your piece together and focus on one thing that’s important to your story.”

Asking about goals, being specific with goals, and accomplishing goals, that’s what we’re all about.

That was just the beginning of my writers coming out of their shells this week. I had kids begging me to spend more time revising, and others finding punctuation in their independent reading books that they could model in their writing. I’m starting to feel at home with these kids. I love their talk. I love their thinking. I can’t wait to see how we’ll grow as writers this year.

Categories
Classroom Reading Writing

Product of: Starbucks, Conversations, and Dreaming

Yesterday I was trying to figure out if we have been in school for two weeks or three. I’m starting to feel a sense of urgency in just about everything I do. During the summer there was Starbucks, conversation, and dreaming. Now I reflect, plan, and do, praying that a little bit of sleep makes it into the equation somewhere.

But, I feel like we are gearing up—I’m giving them the tools and structures they’re going to need for the journey this year.

  1. Lots of Reading & Post-It making
  2. A ton of Partner Talk
  3. Generating Ideas to write from

Post-Its. I’m a teacher; I love them, that comes naturally with the job. However, it wasn’t until this summer at Columbia University’s Reading Project that I understood their value for my students. I’m modeling strategies for responding to text in ten-minute mini-lessons and then watching the kids use that strategy on Post-Its in their Independent Reading book. It’s a beautiful thing to see their thinking sticking out on brightly colored notes between the pages of a book.

Partner Talk. I was pretty good about remembering partner talk last year with writing. I understand the importance of talk within the writing process, but this year I added reading partners to the mix. Now, my kids are talking purposely at least twice during the block. Once during reading; once during writing. I’m modeling this talk with my coteachers and other kids in mini-lessons, and mid-workshop interruptions. Sure, I’m hearing off topic talking. Sure, this is taking up valuable time. But, I’m thinking, give me another week or two and everyone will know my expectations for both reading and writing partners—from that point, these partner talk relationships will become invaluable to my instruction.

Generating. It’s weird to say I teach my kids to think up their own ideas. It’s even weird to me that they can’t just do it on their own. I mean they have facebook; they like to post. But, in response to their cries of, “What should I write about today?” I’ve learned the importance of teaching them to generate their own ideas. I try to give them about one generating strategy a week in the beginning of the year to get them going with ideas. Then later in the year, if they come to me with the awful, “What should I write about today?” question, I can simply point them to my wall charts and move on with a smile.

It’s the end of week two, it’s the product of: Starbucks, conversations, and dreaming.

Categories
Writerly Life

Writer’s Block

I have had a serious case of writer’s block. Everytime I sat at my computer to begin a new blog entry my mind was spinning, I had a lot of ideas but they would not come out. It has been frustrating, exhausting, and discouraging. I help kids write, I help teachers to help kids to write, and I can’t write! My block seemed to dissolve today with a simple visit from my writing teacher friend Rachel. She just popped into my office filled with excitement over the new web site and the .org and suddenly I was ready to write. Was it her excitement? the new platform? or just seeing a colleague who shares my passion for teaching that inspired me to go forward? I am not sure which it was but it worked and I could not wait for a spare second to sit at my computer to write.
This got me thinking about our students. You know the ones who sit there and stare at a blank page with “nothing to write”. You give them encourgement, seed ideas, threats, and none of it works. None of those things worked for me either. It took time and a spontaneous visit from a friend. We have to give those students time and happy visits to their desk, checking in, sharing our excitement over our own writing, reading them some great lines from books. Who knows what will work but take it from me, something will, you just can’t plan on when.
Hopefully you can give those students a happy face and the time and space they need to get over their block (I know with days left in the school year the time thing may not be so easy…). I am glad my block is gone! Now let the dreaming begin!!

Categories
Writerly Life

Happy Mother’s Day

always an adventure with mom

I am my Mother’s daughter.

I have never been ashamed of that.

In my writing I hear her writer’s voice sneaking in; when I read to my students I hear her inflection and her care in preserving character’s voices/personas. Daily I am amazed at the ways we are similar. Sometimes when I say things to my students I hear my Mother’s voice, and it’s in those moments that I know I am getting it right.

The first text she ever sent me (see two weeks ago) was, “There’s a little girl throwing stones in the creek with her red galoshes and her Mom. Ahh wanna go back in time?”

And last week I posted on her facebook wall, “Mom, tonight I think I need to snuggle up on your bed while you grade papers; let’s go back, just for tonight.”

I love my Mom. Lots. Always have. That weird teenage stage where girls hate their mom? Not here, never.

Of all the lessons I learned from my Mother, the one that sits closest to my heart is relationship. She taught me at an early age the value of being present with people, learning their stories, and walking with them as they grow. There is nothing I love more than to journey with people, investing my heart and my time.

I’ve watched my Mother invest in her students and in her friendships for the past twenty-six years of my life. She’s the best teacher I’ve ever seen, and if my teaching or my classroom feels different than others, it’s only because I’ve learned from her how to encourage and push at the same time.

When we generate ideas for writing poetry we often write lists. Here’s my Mother’s Day generating list for you.

Ten things I’m thankful my Mom taught me.

  1. Don’t be afraid to be a kid.
  2. Being distracted is sometimes really important.
  3. Don’t freak out in stressful situations.
  4. Drink tea to help you focus.
  5. Give specific feedback on writing and relationship.
  6. Go outside.
  7. Just because you’ve never done it, doesn’t mean you can’t.
  8. Set goals. Achieve Goals. Repeat.
  9. Forgive, forgive, forgive.
  10. There is a big God out there, who does big things; pay attention.