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 were publishing and starting a new unit of study this week, I realized I had to create some additional sheets to get them to reflect… Continue reading It’s going to be a busy week!
Category: personal essay
I’ve Got My Work Cut-Out For Me Tonight
Nearly all of my students turned-in the first drafts of their personal essays today so that they could get my feedback. Awesome, right? YEP! The only thing is that they're huge in length! Some of them really linked a LOT of patches of thought together… imagine how long they'll be once they start adding transition… Continue reading I’ve Got My Work Cut-Out For Me Tonight
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“It’s like a hard-working office in here Ms. S.”
"It's like a hard-working office in here Ms. S.," my student said to me as I stood back admiring how diligently all of my students were working this morning. I nodded, "You're absolutely right!" Take a look at the slide show I created of my kids working efficiently as they transitioned from their patches of… Continue reading “It’s like a hard-working office in here Ms. S.”
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Turning a Quote Into a Patch of Thought
Today was the last day my students were collecting patches of thought for their personal essays. This is a copy of the end-of-the-workshop teaching share that I did on how to turn a quote into a patch of thought (the first one was done in conjunction with the student whose thesis the Dangerfield Quote supports):… Continue reading Turning a Quote Into a Patch of Thought
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Boxes & Bullets: Framing Personal Essays
News & Announcements Chart for Monday, 11/10/08 Originally uploaded by teachergal In order to keep my demonstrations fresh, I've come to believe that I have to craft a NEW piece of writing each and every year for units I've taught in the past. If I don't, then I find my teaching becomes stale. Plus, I… Continue reading Boxes & Bullets: Framing Personal Essays
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Graphic Organizer for Personal Essay Thesis Development
I'll be using this with my students tomorrow. Just wanted to share! The topic I would like to write my personal essay about is: _______________________________ The big thing I really want to say (or claim) about my topic is: ____________________________ Here are several thesis statements starters I could use to prove my point… Continue reading Graphic Organizer for Personal Essay Thesis Development
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Just What Are PATCHES OF THOUGHT?
Yesterday I was asked to expand "patches of thought" Essentially, patches of thought are little pieces of paper (could be index cards) on which students write mini-stories, lists, or other items that support a particular paragraph in an essay. It's essentially the evidence that one feels will support a topic sentence within their essay (and… Continue reading Just What Are PATCHES OF THOUGHT?
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She showed it to me!
Great news! The student who I blogged about yesterday went home and did the first of the graphic organizers last night. WOO-HOO! She really did a nice job working within the structure I set up for her. (Hopefully these scaffolds can be taken away in a couple of weeks.)
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Helping a Student Generate Non-Narrative WN Entries
One of my students seemed to be stuck as she sat in her writing focus spot today. She was supposed to be collecting entries and growing some thinking, but her pencil was barely moving. When I pulled alongside her, I realized that she needed some more structure. Hence, I created some crude graphic organizers to… Continue reading Helping a Student Generate Non-Narrative WN Entries
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Collecting Ideas As An Essayist
Today's lesson is one of my favorites of the school year. It's the day when the kids really start to notice the world around them with a heightened sense of awareness. The teaching point for today is: Writers observe the world with extra care and alertness and then think hard about their observations, recording them… Continue reading Collecting Ideas As An Essayist
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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 deviate from their text when it comes to teaching the actual lessons since I've tweaked every lesson each year that I've taught it. I recall… Continue reading Launching Personal Essay
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interviews + personal essays.
Dave Eldridge & I have been working on a personal essay unit in his sixth grade class. As the week went on, I've gotten more & more excited about this unit of study. Dave wanted to included the opportunity for students to interview their family members from another generation. At first I wasn't sure how… Continue reading interviews + personal essays.
