So what are the basic parts of a minilesson? Here's a short list according to the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project at Columbia University: Connection -- The reason for teaching today's lesson. A great way to start out is with these words, "Yesterday I noticed . . . " Our teaching should be in… Continue reading Back to Basics: Minilesson Parts (Part of TWT’s Big Picture Series)
Category: minilesson
Getting Back to Basics: Structures & Routines (Part of TWT’s Big Pictures Series)
Structures and routines need to be clear in your head so they can be implemented when you start Writing Workshop. You can shift to a new routine or modify one that's not working mid-year, but explaining WHY you're doing it to your students is important. If you're unsure of whose model you wish to adapt,… Continue reading Getting Back to Basics: Structures & Routines (Part of TWT’s Big Pictures Series)
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Purposes for Writing in a Notebook: Kids’ Responses
My markers may have been drying up, but there was nothing that was going to stop me from recording my kids' responses during the minilesson I gave today. Take a look at what they had to say. (Click here for the corresponding lesson.)
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Launching Minilesson: Writer’s Notebook Unit of Study
I head back to school tomorrow. I am starting a new unit of study in both Reading and Writing Workshop (nonfiction and notebook writing, respectively). Hence, I thought I'd share my first Writing Workshop Minilesson of the new year about the multiple purposes writers have for using writer's notebooks. Minilesson Teaching Point: Writers understand there… Continue reading Launching Minilesson: Writer’s Notebook Unit of Study
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Writing Lessons at ReadWriteThink.org
After reading through "Using Web 2.0 in the Classroom" in the most recent issue of Reading Today, I went online to ReadWriteThink.org to read through a lesson entitled "Weekly Writer's Blogs." It was too advanced (i.e., grades 9-12) for my students, but I realized it might not be too old for Ruth's. I decided to… Continue reading Writing Lessons at ReadWriteThink.org
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Moving from Storyboards to Drafts.
In Keith Bollman's fifth grade class, students are beginning to consider moving into drafts. They've envisioned their writing and are moving out of the rehearsal stage and into drafting. Today I taught them how to stretch a scene. The Great Pumpkin Switch by Megan Mcdonald and Ted Lewin is one of the texts in play in the… Continue reading Moving from Storyboards to Drafts.
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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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STRONG EMOTIONS MINILESSON
I was asked, by Ro, about my Strong Emotions/Skittles Lesson. I normally don't post minilessons I write in this forum for several reasons (one of which is that it doesn't align with the mission statement Ruth and I composed for this blog). However, this one is a bit out-of-the-box. Hence, I am posting the minilesson… Continue reading STRONG EMOTIONS MINILESSON
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Meeting Areas in Upper Elementary Classrooms
Ro left a comment a couple of days ago asking about meeting areas in upper elementary school classrooms. I've been corresponding with her, but thought that it might be useful to open up a bit of my thinking on the site. I believe it was Don Graves who said that having the kids in your… Continue reading Meeting Areas in Upper Elementary Classrooms
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Preparing for Tomorrow’s Mentor Poems Lesson
Starting My Poetry Craft Table Originally uploaded by teachergal Tomorrow, I'm doing some explicit instruction on identifying poetic tools in poems we admire and then trying to use those tools in our own poetry. Hence, I'll be using this Poetry Craft Table, which I either adapted from Pat Werner or from Davis & Hill's Book… Continue reading Preparing for Tomorrow’s Mentor Poems Lesson
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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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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
