The Immersion Phase of a Unit: Reading and Writing Collide
The immersion phase of a unit allows us all to get to know our subject. For students, it might be ideas they have and for teachers, it is about getting to know their writers a bit better.
A Peek Into the Start of an Information Unit
When we show students examples of what they should be creating before and during their writing, we are, in many ways, providing them a figurative ride up the chairlift with many good skiers in front of them. In two separate classrooms, I introduced an information writing unit with a classroom teacher with a pile of books and writing samples and the students sitting in a circle. “Your job,” I said, “is to look at these books and pieces like writers. What did the author do? How did they do it?”
Immersion in Writing Workshop is Always Worth the Time
The time investment you will spend in immersion may seem like a lot – especially if you’re providing students with four days to understand a genre. However, students will gain a greater understanding of the kind of writing you are asking them to produce if they have a clear vision for what the end product should look like.
Teaching the Four Types of Writing Through Texts
Janiel Wagstaff’s books will help you teach primary writers about the four types of writing in an engaging way. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win her series of Stella books.
Dunk ‘Em!
When I first began coaching, Barb Bean and I worked together. Throughout the year, we were intentional about immersing students in the kind of writing they were making. Often this … Continue Reading Dunk ‘Em!
Thinking About Punctuation in Texts
My students shared their findings about punctuation marks, from earlier in the week, with each other yesterday. The charts, below, were eye-opening for me since not all of the descriptions … Continue Reading Thinking About Punctuation in Texts
Noticings About Memoir
It’s going to be a busy week!
Week of December 1st, 2008 Originally uploaded by teachergal I just finished planning out the upcoming week and wow… there’s a lot going on! However, when I realized my kids … Continue Reading It’s going to be a busy week!
Launching Personal Essay
It’s nearly November, which means it’s time for me to start teaching my students how to craft personal essays. I use Calkins and Gilette’s book for my teaching points, but … Continue Reading Launching Personal Essay
In Their Words
Today’s Workshop, in my classroom, was spent immersing my students in the memoir genre (or is it genre of memoir… both sound funny to me!). The kids realized that most … Continue Reading In Their Words
Immersing them in the memoir genre
Deb asked me which texts I’ll be using on day one of the memoir unit. Well, the answer is that I will be reading When the Relatives Came by Cynthia … Continue Reading Immersing them in the memoir genre
Immersion Begins Tomorrow
I’ll begin immersing my students in the literary essay genre tomorrow. I’m fortunate to have had some wonderful students last year who graciously allowed me to share their essays with … Continue Reading Immersion Begins Tomorrow
Being inspired by a great picture book…
Today was spent immersing my students in the short fiction genre by reading picture books. Here are the texts my students read and enjoyed either by themselves or with a … Continue Reading Being inspired by a great picture book…
Ideas Galore!!!
Ideas Galore Originally uploaded by teachergal I disseminated a packet of four touchstone texts, written by my former students, that will serve as mentors for my students to use in … Continue Reading Ideas Galore!!!
A writing challenge I volunteered for… and it’s going to be challenging!
Every week my synagogue attaches a D’var Torah, which is an interpretation of the week’s Torah portion, to the weekly newsletter. I decided to volunteer to write a D’var Torah … Continue Reading A writing challenge I volunteered for… and it’s going to be challenging!
