Five Christmas"es" down and one to go. It's been a whirlwind of a holiday season on this end, which explains why blogging has been lighter. Here in Indiana it was in the 60's today -- yes, I'm serious. Yesterday the roads were a sheet of ice and our normal 4.5 hour drive to my husband's… Continue reading Merry Christmas.
Category: writing workshop
That Personal Touch
Our Entry Table Has Begun to Brim with Anniversary and Chanukah Cards Originally uploaded by teachergal We're all so busy these days, aren't we? The snowstorm that hit New England this past Friday caused me, and many others, to slow down. I had the chance to reflect on what was important (safety first, Chanukah party… Continue reading That Personal Touch
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Rapid Writes
Penny Kittle and Don Graves's Quick Writes Book attracted some of my kids inasmuch as I adapted some of the "Quick Writes" for my students to use as homework (if they needed an idea of something to write about). About two weeks ago, I decided to pull some of the Stories in Hand Sparks, from… Continue reading Rapid Writes
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A Bit of Perspective.
Late Friday night, after having friends over for dinner, decorating a birthday cake, and cleaning the house in preparation for a birthday party the next day, I found myself vegging out with blogs. This post, by Amy Estes, was a good reminder and caused me to pull out my writer's notebook (even though I really… Continue reading A Bit of Perspective.
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Possibilities.
This quote from Penny's book spoke to me today: "Writers don't need to be given formulas; they need to be shown possibilities." -- Barry Lane I've been thinking about this. So often, in the name of modeling, I think we give students a formula for writing as opposed to showing them possibilities. It's a fine… Continue reading Possibilities.
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Ruth’s Slice of Life: Summer Memory.
I've been playing a bit with digi-scrapbooking (thanks to a Jessica Sprague Beginner's Photoshop class). Here's this week's slice of life. All supplies from Jessica Sprague.
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Comprehension Strategy Charts.
I know our main focus is the teaching of writing. I also know I've been posting quite a bit lately on reading. I'm not going to apologize for it! They are too closely linked for us to never venture into discussing reading from time to time. I was working on an anchor chart for my students… Continue reading Comprehension Strategy Charts.
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NCTE: Reading Assessment.
While at NCTE, I listened to Patrick Allen, Franki Sibberson, and colleagues discuss reading assessment. Here are some highlights: One assessment isn't better than another and none can stand alone. We need a variety. Look at the routines of reading workshop and figure out how to assess those routines. I should ask myself: What does… Continue reading NCTE: Reading Assessment.
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Sundays are for chart-making.
Prompts for Writing About Reading Originally uploaded by teachergal I've been cranking-out charts for the past hour or so: News & Announcements Charts, as well as strategy charts. Just thought I'd post a few of the strategy charts, for reading and writing, in this forum. Make sure you click through to the Flickr Pages (just… Continue reading Sundays are for chart-making.
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It’s going to be a busy week!
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!
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Discussion Forums and Chats.
Yesterday I invited my students to enter a Discussion Forum. During class it was a simple thread asking that they post a bit about themselves and then respond to other posts. Last night for homework, they posted and responded to another thread called Myself as a Reader, in which they described their reading life. Also during… Continue reading Discussion Forums and Chats.
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Ruth’s Day in a Sentence.
I'm thankful that my very favorite holiday season is upon us.
