The latest copy of NCTE's School Talk arrived in my mailbox yesterday. The present issue is entitled "21st Century Literacies: Young Children Reading and Writing in a Digital World." Ceil Candreva wrote one of the articles, "Paving New Pathways to Literacy in the 21st Century," in the issue. Candreva asserted: Digital storytelling expands the potential… Continue reading Digital Storytelling: Technology & Mentors
Category: mentoring
Gradually Releasing Responsibility to Students
Last year Karren Colbert wrote a blog post about using the Gradual Release Model with students when it comes to using mentor texts. Instead of reviewing a book in this forum today, I am linking to Colbert's post about mentor texts. Click here to read what she wrote.
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Planned & Unplanned Mentor Text Conferences
I have been a bit of a mentor text aficionada for the past three and a half years. It all started when I asked an incoming class of fifth graders this question at the end of fourth grade: “What have you learned about writing from reading?” Every-single-kid’s-response can be boiled down to one word: “Nothing.” … Continue reading Planned & Unplanned Mentor Text Conferences
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Author Studies Help Children Write Better
Last month I was consulting in a school with some primary grade teachers. They expressed concerns about infusing mentor texts into their classrooms. I provided them with some language for developing theories about what an author is doing in a text, as well as links to booklists I've created and a book that serves as… Continue reading Author Studies Help Children Write Better
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Using Asterisks
During the demonstration of today's minilesson I added asterisks to my WN Entry to show a flashback in time. I said something like, "I'm going to put some stars here, called asterisks, to show that I'm going back in time. This is something that writers like Patricia MacLachlan, whose book, Journey, you read in third… Continue reading Using Asterisks
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Teaching Craft to Kids
I was perusing the Heinemann and Stenhouse Websites today looking for new books about the teaching of writing. I came across a text by Elizabeth Hale entitled Crafting Writers K-6. Like other new Stenhouse titles, they preview the entire text online. After I perused the Table of Contents, I decided to download chapter three, which… Continue reading Teaching Craft to Kids
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Making Mentor Poems Accessible At Any Time
Mentor Poems Bulletin Board, originally uploaded by teachergal. I realized the other day that it was unfair to only provide extra mentor poems, from my mentor poems binder, to kids when I conferred with them. Hence, in addition to handing out a packet of mentor poems after each minilesson, I also put together this new… Continue reading Making Mentor Poems Accessible At Any Time
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What do you notice about this poem?
Brainstorming About "Pencils" by Barbara Esbensen Originally uploaded by teachergal Since I came back today, my kids only had one day's worth of formal poetry instruction. Hence, I wanted to spend some time doing some noticing of the tools one poet used in their poem (in this case, Barbara Esbensen's Poem "Pencils," which I've used… Continue reading What do you notice about this poem?
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Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…
Draft II: A Letter Back to a Student Originally uploaded by teachergal This note is a response to a student who turned-in her second draft yesterday. She did a phenomenal job mentoring herself after Cynthia Rylant's Book When I Was Young in the Mountains, changing it to "When I was four on Lonsdale Avenue." She… Continue reading Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…
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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 Rylant or rereading What You Know First by Patricia MacLachlan. That being said, I'm actually having the kids spend their independent writing time reading three… Continue reading Immersing them in the memoir genre
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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 the persuasive letter unit of study we began today. The letters I gave them as touchstones, which we read together before the WW Time began,… Continue reading Ideas Galore!!!
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Mentoring A Toast
Marc and I are eagerly awaiting our wedding. We've started writing a speech to our guests and parents. I decided to mentor myself after the way Lucy Calkins, my former professor and advisor, opens up each summer institute for the TCRWP. I think it's powerful. Thoughts? You’ve come from as near as New Jersey, Connecticut,… Continue reading Mentoring A Toast
