I consider myself fortunate to have learned more about the art of conferring with young writers from some of the best folks out there: Carl Anderson, Lucy Calkins, and Jen Serravallo. As many of you know, I spent a week of my summer studying more about conferring with Carl Anderson at the TCRWP Summer Institute… Continue reading Back to Basics: Conferring (Part of TWT’s Big Picture Series)
Category: lucy calkins
Thinking More About Teachers & Notebooks
I'm sitting in Nashua preparing for tomorrow's presentation. Part of my preparation means returning to my old binders and files when my thinking changed about the teaching of writing. The shift in my thinking came in 2006 when I was engaged in my studies as a graduate student in the Teachers College Literacy Specialist Program.… Continue reading Thinking More About Teachers & Notebooks
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What are you chasing?
Yesterday, Ruth wrote a post entitled "The Big Picture." It reminded me of this quote from Mitch Albom's Book Tuesdays with Morrie: "So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you… Continue reading What are you chasing?
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Meta-Language for Talking About Texts
I was just reviewing my notes from the course I took with Lucy at the TCRWP Summer Writing Institute last month. I came across a page of notes I took where Lucy summarized the best way she knows of to talk about texts with kids. I reviewed it and tried to make it my own.… Continue reading Meta-Language for Talking About Texts
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The Makings of a TRUE Mentor Text
I realize I'm a bit late to the "Those Shoes Party," which is a touching text written by Maribeth Boelts and illustrated by Noah Z. Jones. Those Shoes was published in 2007 and is the story of a little boy who desperately wants the shoes that nearly everyone else in school has. The catch? His… Continue reading The Makings of a TRUE Mentor Text
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READING/WRITING CONNECTIONS: If you want to teach writing really well, know a few picture books really well and use them when you confer.
On the final day of the Writing Institute, both Carl and Lucy spent some time reiterating the importance of knowing a few texts REALLY WELL so you can use the same book with many students (rather than needing several books for each unit of study). That is, figuring out how a text, such as a… Continue reading READING/WRITING CONNECTIONS: If you want to teach writing really well, know a few picture books really well and use them when you confer.
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Qualities of Good Writing
I spent last week at the Teachers College Writing Institute. I was lucky enough to get into advanced sections with Carl Anderson and Lucy Calkins, who both pushed my thinking. With 103 pages of notes from five days at T.C., I'll be writing about what I learned as I synthesize it in the days and… Continue reading Qualities of Good Writing
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Rubric: Memoir Unit of Study
When I woke up this morning, I realized I never created an assessment rubric for memoir! My first thought was :How could I forget to do that!??! My second thought was: The Publishing Party is this Friday and there's no rubric! YIKES! It's 6:02 a.m., and the problem is finally solved since I sat down… Continue reading Rubric: Memoir Unit of Study
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What Do Hybrid Cars, Windows, and Pearl Necklaces Have to Do with Memoir?
Kate and I were creating charts after school this afternoon for tomorrow's big memoir drafting lesson. (Though I previewed it for my kids today.) Calkins & Chiarella's Book makes reference to three kinds of structures for memoir: 1. Hybrid texts which combine exposition and narrative. (I likened this to a hybrid car and drew a… Continue reading What Do Hybrid Cars, Windows, and Pearl Necklaces Have to Do with Memoir?
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Process Log Gets My Mind In-Motion Again
When Lucy had us keep Process Logs for each piece we wrote for one of her classes, I (at first) thought it was a waste of time. I wondered how it would help me as a teacher. But, I trusted my professor, so I kept them. By the end of the semester I realized how… Continue reading Process Log Gets My Mind In-Motion Again
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Slight Tweaking
I did some slight tweaking to our memoir unit of study. This is this year's "final" version. Session 1: Writers read and listen to student memoirs and then write in order to inspire their own writing. Session 2: Writers find their life topic by thinking about people who are important to you. One way writers… Continue reading Slight Tweaking
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Gearing-Up for Memoir
We're starting a new unit of study on Monday: MEMOIR! I've taught it twice using Calkins and Chiarella's Book. However, this year is going to be different. Kate and I decided to mesh C&C's book with Katherine Bomer's Book entitled Writing A Life. Our teaching points are from both books. However, we think we might… Continue reading Gearing-Up for Memoir
