I’ve been trying to think through how to explain thinking in scenes to young writers in a way that makes it accessible. It seems they either write two scenes and call it done (when it really isn’t enough) or they write micro-scenes, making about 50 of them when there should only be four. How do… Continue reading Scene Changes
Category: plan
Planning Idea
I'm super fortunate to be working with a couple of third grade teachers (Hi Sandy & Dan!) who are interested in helping their writers to naturally develop more sophisticated writing processes. Their students are coming off of heavy illustration study in their previous writing experience (in grades k-2), so we are trying to find a… Continue reading Planning Idea
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Letting Them Teach Me
I'm sorry, I just realized I missed a blog post last Wednesday. Yes, I know it's been nearly a week, but the truth is I just realized it. Oops. So on to the post... I am so excited to be in a third grade writing workshop. A colleague has agreed to let me experiment a… Continue reading Letting Them Teach Me
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Plotting Short Fiction
Last month at MRA, I listened to Jacqueline Woodson speak about her writing process. It wasn't the first time I heard her speak and I hope it won't be my last. She is one of the writers I consider as my personal mentor. Not to be over-dramatic, but listening to her last month changed my… Continue reading Plotting Short Fiction
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Highlights from the Week
I have been in a lot of different writing workshops lately. Just this week I've been in 13 writing workshops and have met with 13 different teachers in either reflective practice meetings or planning meetings. Therefore, I have SO MUCH I want to record. Which leads me to my current dilemma: what do I not… Continue reading Highlights from the Week
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Storyboards.
This summer I heard Penny Kittle speak about using storyboards. This week I've tried them out in classrooms. They aren't all that different from one of the ways I talk to kids about planning. I encourage them to think in scenes & then sketch in their notebook a flow chart of sorts, using pictures and… Continue reading Storyboards.
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Sharing Lists of Emotions
I did the strong emotions lesson (using Skittles) on Friday. My demonstration was way longer than it was supposed to be (on paper), but I felt that I needed to be exceedingly explicit so that the kids would get it. They did, but I still think the length was a bit too much. The inside… Continue reading Sharing Lists of Emotions
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What’s a “Conferring Scarf?”
I wrote a post about structures and routines to teach kids in September within the context of Writing Workshop yesterday morning. There have been a few questions about "The Conferring Scarf." Therefore, I wanted to find a photograph (of two of my former students from NYC who decided to act out a conference, for fun,… Continue reading What’s a “Conferring Scarf?”
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Inspired to Create a Book List at OceanCliff
The view of the water from the back of OceanCliff Originally uploaded by teachergal We got all of our writing and reading teaching points solidified for the rest of the school year when we were at OceanCliff yesterday. However, we went a step farther and did something we didn't expect to do. We started a… Continue reading Inspired to Create a Book List at OceanCliff
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Plan Boxes Defined
Kelly asked about plan boxes. Since I happen to have one of my student's old notebooks at my apartment this evening, I photographed six plan boxes to share with you. You can view them by clicking here (they're stored on Flickr). I hope that having the visual of some of this student's plan boxes will… Continue reading Plan Boxes Defined
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Draft Plans for Literary Essays
My students are going to be drafting while I'm out of the room doing reading assessments this-coming Thursday. Hence, I'm a little bit panicked since I don't like being out of the room on days when kids are selecting a seed idea or when they start drafting. (I have an amazing guest teacher... so it's… Continue reading Draft Plans for Literary Essays
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WN Entry: Snow Day
Lester L. Laminack wrote a book about it. I had 14 of them my junior year alone. The Governor went on TV last night asking all schools north of Kent County to close... and they did. Today, I have my first snow day in 13 years! (This is what happens when you grow up in… Continue reading WN Entry: Snow Day
