Getting Back to Basics – Starting the School Year

As children across the country are headed back to school after months filled with starts and stops, teachers are eager to begin the school year strong.  Once again, we are meeting with teachers as they look to create better writers in their classrooms.  We all know that students learning has been interrupted and impacted.  We need to address the situation, but the real question is “How?”

We recently read an article about Kobe Bryant.  A sports psychologist had come to do an article on Kobe leading a youth sports camp.  The psychologist asked Kobe if he could carve out some time to meet. Kobe’s response, “I can meet you at the gym at 4:00.  4:00 AM, not 4:00 PM.”  When the psychologist arrived, he found Kobe practicing the basic basketball moves he would teach the children a few hours later.  Asking Kobe why he would need to practice such basic moves, he was amazed at the answer.  “It’s the basics that make one great!”

That’s also the key to being great in the classroom – carving out time to teach the basics.  In writing, like every other curriculum, in order to soar, children need the basics.

Writing in Complete Sentences: Too often, we believe that children need to write a paragraph/essay at the start of the school year.  However, students must be able to write in complete sentences before moving on to longer pieces.  In Write Now – Right Now, this is called Team Complete. Speaking in complete sentences and writing in complete sentences is essential prior to writing essays.  Take the time to teach and review this skill, and then provide students an opportunity to practice, practice, practice.

Writing Short Answers: In Write Now – Right Now, these are called Shining Star Answers.  Once students are competent and confident in writing complete sentences, it’s time to learn to write quality short answers.  Students must be taught how to understand what a question is asking, find supporting evidence in text, and write a quality short answer.  All the rules for writing a complete sentence apply.  To reinforce this skill, require students to answer 1 or 2 questions to a specific text, not answer 15 questions!  Use all curricular subjects to practice, practice, practice.

Providing students quality prompts: It is a teacher’s responsibility to provide students with an objective for learning. This includes writing prompts for students that clearly state what you want students to know and be able to do.  Providing students with well-defined prompts helps students plan, gather appropriate details, and write on topic.  Use all curricular subjects to practice, practice, practice.

Teach Planning:  Teaching planning is key and well-worth your time and effort. Like a map, a plan helps students write clearly from beginning to end.  Plans provide students a structure to organize ideas, take notes, and use as a guide when they move to the drafting process.  Students can create plans for all curricular areas. This is an essential skill and students must be given time to practice, practice, practice!

Look for Part II of Getting Back to Basics . . . coming soon!

Using Picture Books

No matter your age, picture books retain a strong appeal to readers.  Older elementary students often need an excuse to return to childhood favorites.  This year we have been spending time reading and rereading the book The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett.  This creative and visually stunning retelling of the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears will appeal to students of all ages.  Along with being a delightful reading experience, the book can also be used to practice some essential reading and writing skills.

You may choose to read the book aloud to your class, provide students copies of book, or watch and listen to a video of the book being read aloud.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr1r09JFOUA

 Primary Students

Sequencing:  Understanding the sequence of a story is an important comprehension and writing skill.  As with many of Jan Brett’s book, the main story is told in the text, while a secondary story takes place in the drawings in the margins of the book.  Using the text first, have students identify the beginning of the story, the middle events in the tale, and the conclusion of the book. Students will complete a flow chart for the book, using either pictures, words, or a combination. 

Students will then repeat the process, using the story about the dogs and the bears told in the margins in pictures.

Compare and Contrast:  Read an original version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to students.  Brainstorm with students the components of a fictional story: setting, character, problem, events, solution.  Create a class chart, listing these components and the title of each book.    List the components for each story.  Using the chart as a reference, make a second t-chart listing similarities and differences.  Students can complete that chart either as a class or independently.

Cause and Effect:  Review the definition of cause and effect. A cause is why something happens, and an effect is what actually happened.  Using the pictures, look for the effects of the following causes:

·       The ice where the dogs are sleeping breaks off.

·       The dogs float off to sea.

·       The bears spy the dogs floating in the distance.

·       The bears reach the ice flow.

Continue looking for the cause-and-effect relationships throughout the book.

Older students

Character Attributes:  The characters in many fairy tales are somewhat one dimensional.  Brainstorm with students attributes that Aloo-ki exhibits. Encourage students to think beyond basic words such as nice, kind, busy, etc.  Students will choose a character trait exhibited by Aloo-ki. 

Remind students of the expectations of a well-written short response.  In the Write Now – Right Now program, these are called Shining Star Answers.  Expectations should include:

-          The answer is correct.

-          The answer completely answers the question.

-          The answer incorporates evidence from the text.

-          The answer is edited for correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

With these expectations in mind, students will respond to the following question:

What character trait does Aloo-ki exhibit in this story?  Defend the choice of this trait with specific examples from the text.

Students will share their responses with one another.  Encourage students to provide specific feedback to their peers.  Examples include:  Was the character trait exhibited?  Can the character trait be better defined in the answer?  Were specific examples provided to support the character trait?  Is the written work edited to make the answer easy for the reader to understand?

Repeat the process with the following question:

What character traits do the three bears exhibit in this story?  Defend the choice of this trait with specific examples from the text.

Story Elements: Read students a traditional version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Snow Bears.  Students can respond to the following questions either verbally or in writing.

How does the setting of The Three Snow Bears impact the story?  How does this compare to the impact of the setting of Goldilocks and the Three Bears?

In stories, the characters are motivated to take action.  What motivates Aloo-ki’s actions?  What is the motivation of Goldilocks?

Think about the conclusion of The Three Snow Bears.  How is it similar to the ending of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? What differences are found in the two stories?

What is your reaction to the character of Aloo-ki?  Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Using picture books is an engaging way to teach and review skills with all age levels. Provide students the time and motivation to revisit these tales.

Making It Better

Students often spend the beginning of the school year reviewing complete sentences and learning to organize their writing. As students’ confidence grows in these skills, it is time to help them learn to revise their writing – making it more interesting for the reader.

Sentence fluency and word choice are writing skills that must be specifically taught. We cannot merely tell students to “add more details” or “paint a picture with your words” and expect student writing to improve.  Students need specific strategies to help them improve their writing. The following is an engaging way for students to practice writing fluent sentences. This can be done with students in person, in a hybrid model, or fully on-line.

Choose a topic that is appropriate for the age of your students.  The topic should be broad enough that students can write 5-6 sentences which relate to the topic.  Examples include: holidays, parties, animals, curricular areas, etc. Students will expand these sentences by including a when, where, why or how to each basic sentence.   Be sure that students are only expected to add one item to a sentence at a time.

Basic Sentence #1:

A mouse ran.

Add a describing word – an adjective.

A brown mouse ran.

Add a where to the sentence.

A brown mouse ran across the grass.

Basic Sentence #2

A squirrel climbs.

Add a where to the sentence.

A squirrel climbs up the tree.

Add a why to the sentence.

A squirrel climbs up the tree to search for nuts.

Basic Sentence #3

A snake crawls.

Add a when to the sentence

Early in the morning a snake crawls.

Add a why to the sentence.

Early in the morning, a snake crawls to bask in a sunny spot.  

Some students may be ready to add a how to their sentence.  Words that describe how something happens are adverbs and go either before or after the verb.

Early in the morning, a snake slowly crawls to bask in a sunny spot.

Sentence #4

The bee flies.

Add a where to the sentence.

The bee flies to the flower.

Add a describing word that is not a size or color word (adjective)

The busy bee flies to the flower.

Add a why to the beginning of the sentence.

Looking for honey, the busy bee flies to the flower.

Continue with as many sentences as you would like.  Primary students can then edit these sentences, rewrite them on separate pieces of paper, and illustrate their sentences. The stretched sentences then follow, creating a book for young writers. Brainstorm with students a topic sentence that would help link the sentences together.  Complete the writing with a conclusion. For example:

My backyard is filled with different creatures.  A brown mouse ran across the grass.  A squirrel climbs up the tree looking for nuts. Early in the morning, a snake slowly crawls to bask in a sunny spot. Looking for honey, the bee flies to the flower. My back yard is a busy place.

Intermediate students can continue to add information and details to expand the one sentence into 4-5 sentences on the topic.

For example:

A brown mouse scurried across the green grass. Hiding behind a tall tree, the mouse carefully watched the neighbor’s cat sprint by and then come to a halt. The soft mouse quietly moved towards the open field hoping to avoid coming face to face with the feline who is searching the backyard for him. Slipping under the fence, the mouse picked up speed as he put space between him and his enemy until he knew he was out of danger.

As we enter the holiday season, students can write about their own holidays while practicing their sentence fluency. Imagine a holiday table which has been visited by some rather rambunctious guests and write a basic sentence.   

The turkey sat on the plate.

Follow the same procedure as above, adding descriptors to the basic sentence.

Sitting on the silver platter, the leftover turkey is laying in a forgotten puddle of gravy.

Repeat the process with the following sentences.

The mashed potatoes dripped.

After dripping down the side of the bowl like an avalanche, the mashed potatoes settled on the tablecloth and hardened into rocks.

The whipped cream melted.

The cranberry sauce spilled.

The sweet potatoes overflowed.

Students can compile their revised sentences into a piece of writing.  Introduce the writing by describing the festive table prior to dinner and then write a concluding sentence explaining the hosts’ reaction to dinner.

Examples:

Introduction:

Before the holiday dinner, the turkey was warm and the table was brighter than a knight in shining armor.  After dinner, the table looked completely different. 

Conclusion:

It took us hours to clean up the mess.  We are never inviting those people to dinner again!

Students will need continual practice in writing descriptive and fluent sentences. Bring this lesson out whenever you notice your students’ writing needs a spark!

The Essentials

Hiking in Colorado’s rapidly changing mountain weather teaches hikers the importance of taking essential equipment. While carrying any more weight than necessary is not appealing, neither is being stuck on a mountainside without the necessary supplies.  On a recent hike, we experienced sunshine and 80-degree weather, along with snow flurries and a 20 mile per hour wind. I was very thankful to have thrown in my essential headband and mittens for the cold weather.

Teachers have always been essential workers – but this has never been truer than this school year. Flexibility, always a teacher requirement, is more important than ever.  Teachers are teaching in person, in a hybrid format, or totally online. Routines and schedules that were part of the school day of the past have been shattered. Time, always a precious classroom commodity, is now being used for necessary safety protocols.

With all these demands on teachers and students, instruction goals have to be altered.  With that in mind, teachers are focusing on essential lessons.  What is essential in writing instruction?

Students need purposeful and targeted writing instruction. We do not want our students to continually practice bad habits. Assigning students questions to answer or paragraphs to write without providing them the necessary skills is detrimental to students and frustrating for teachers. The following are essential skills students must have to become successful writing.

·       Recognizing, speaking and writing complete sentences. 

We continually speak with 5th grade teachers who are concerned their students do not write in complete sentences. This foundational skill should be introduced at the beginning of every school year – from kindergarten through 5th grade.

Introduce students to the components of a complete sentence. In Write Now – Right Now, we call this concept Team Complete.  Kindergarten students can learn to recognize complete sentences and orally respond in a complete sentence.  Make speaking in complete sentences an expectation of your classroom, whether you are in person or meeting virtually.

Intermediate students need to review the components of a complete sentence. As with primary students, speaking in complete sentence should be a classroom expectation. Spending time practicing sentence fluency and word choice is essential at the start of the school year.  Insisting on correct conventions at the start of the school year is essential. Encourage students to play with language, experiment with word choice and create interesting writing. When that is done, students will then double check their work for correct conventions. While this is a challenging process for teachers, it is well worth the time.

·       Use planning tools prior to writing.

In the past, we often told students we write like we talk. This is not true, for our speaking is often random and spontaneous, jumping from topic to topic.  Students’ writing will be significantly better if they are taught to organize their thoughts prior to writing. At Write Now – Right Now, we encourage teachers to use only one graphic organizer for all expository writing and a single organizer for narrative writing. Time is better spent teaching students how to use the plan effectively than spending time learning an array of plans.  Students must know the difference between the terms: topic, big ideas and details. Teaching students how to add interesting and relevant details is a skill which leads to effective and  interesting writing.

·       Only assess what you are teaching.

It is difficult for all of us to let go of errors we see in students’ writing.  However, grading will become less frustrating and more productive if you only assess what you have taught. If you are working on complete sentences, only assess that. Once students have mastered that skill, it can then be assessed in every piece of writing.  Planning is an essential skill and can be assessed on its own.  Writing is a process and each part of the process can be assessed separately.

·       Give grace to both your students and yourself.

This year is not like other school years. You may not cover the same amount of curriculum and standards as in past years. Teaching schedules and requirements have changed. Provide grace for yourself and your students and celebrate your successes, big and small.

We are here to support you. Please reach out if we can be of service in any way.

Opinion Writing - More than just "Favorites"

“You have been given the opportunity to choose two after-school activities per week.  Think about what you would enjoy doing during this time. Write an essay explaining what two activities you would choose.  Include reasons which support your choices.”

We begin to teach students the writing process through the genre of opinion writing, using prompts such as the one above. Through the use of opinion writing, students learn the writing process – gathering ideas, planning, and writing a rough draft.  Prompts which focus on opinion writing provide students the advantage of knowing the topic. They do not need to gather information about the content of their writing, as opinion writing can focus on personal preferences or favorites. 

However, we do not want to stay with these limited topics.  Opinion writing is so much more than simply writing about a favorite restaurant or TV show.  How can we expand this writing genre to include both curricular areas and responding to texts?

One suggestion is to consider curricular areas. What is happening in the classroom that can be expanded to writing?  Here are some examples:

After a unit on Space:

You have been invited to participate in a two-year space mission. During that time, you will travel throughout space without returning to earth.  Write an essay explaining whether or not you would choose to take part in the mission.  Include three reasons why you would accept the position or three reasons why you would decline the invitation.

Or. . .

After completing our unit on space, think about what you have learned about each planet. Choose the planet you find most interesting and write a letter to a friend describing what they would see if they were to visit this planet. Make sure you use evidence from the texts to support your response.

After a field trip:

The Third Grade just completed our first field trip to the City Council as part of our unit on local government. Would you recommend that next year’s teachers take their students on the same field trip?  Write an essay which explains your thoughts on the field trip. Include two reasons why you think the trip is valuable or two reasons why you would not recommend repeating the trip.

After a read-aloud:

Our first read-aloud this year was because of mr. terupt.  I am deciding whether or not to begin next year reading the same novel aloud.  Do you think this is a good choice to begin the year?  Write an essay explaining whether or not you believe this is a good selection for next year.  Include two reasons to support your opinion.

As a classroom community:

As 6th graders, the freedoms and choices you have at school are increasing.  Write an essay explaining to your teacher two choices you would like to be able to make in your classroom.  Be sure to give reasons to support your choices.

Primary Classrooms

Although many primary students are not yet planning, teachers can still introduce the concept of prompts and planning to young students.  As you experience concepts with students, be thinking of ways to introduce students to planning. Create a chart with students, listing the topic and big ideas on the left side. Fill the t-chart in together, adding details to the right side of the chart.

Student Community

We have been working and learning all semester.  We will celebrate our accomplishments with a party.  Think about activities you enjoy participating in at a party.  What three activities do you believe we should definitely include at our celebration?

Social Studies

We have been learning about people who help our community.  We can invite one community helper to visit our classroom.  Using the information we have learned, think about whether you would like to learn more about firefighters or police officers.  Together, we will make two t-charts.  The first chart will list three reasons you would like to invite a firefighter to visit our classroom and the second chart will list three reasons you would like to invite a police officer.

Science

 We have been learning about three different habitats: the ocean, the jungle, and the desert.  As a table group, choose one habitat you would like to visit.  Using what you have learned, think of reasons why this habitat is unique and interesting. Together we will make a chart organizing reasons why people might travel to each habitat.

Or . . .

We have been learning about habitats.  We have just completed a book on jaguars.  Using what you have learned, which habitat do you believe would be the best place for a jaguar to live?  Give reasons to support your answer.

Applying Opinion Writing To Responding to Text

Students are now ready to write an opinion paragraph in response to text.  The skills needed to write the paragraph are the same, but students will need instruction on using those skills in forming an opinion in response to text.

1.)     Choose a topic which relates to either content area curriculum or a shared classroom experience. Write a prompt which clearly addresses the topic and format you want students to use.

A class of third graders was ready to write an opinion paragraph in response to text.  They had been studying local government in Social Studies and taking care of the earth in Science. The teacher combined these two curricular areas with the following prompt:

Read the article on recycling. Write an opinion paragraph stating whether or not you think recycling should be mandatory in our city.  Be sure to include three reasons that support your opinion using information from the text.

2.)    Choose a text which is easily accessible to the majority of your class.

Provide students with text which is easy to comprehend. The focus for this lesson should be learning how to respond to text, not how to read a difficult text.

3.)     Teach note-taking skills 

Instruct students in specific note-taking skills. If students are being asked to respond to a text, they need strategies for locating the required information. 

4.)     Model planning with students

Students need to know that the skills they learned and used for writing an opinion paragraph are the same skills they use to write an opinion paragraph in response to text.  Their opinion will be based on the information they have read in the text.  The teacher will model taking the information found in the text and placing it in a t-chart plan. 

5.)    Go slow to go fast

As you write the first paragraph together as a class, encourage students to share their writing as they complete each step of the writing process. This helps ensure the students are on the correct path.

Opinion writing can be so much more than writing about “favorites.”  Continually look for opportunities to encourage students to express their opinions in writing.

We love to talk writing with teachers.  Please let us know if we can be of service to you in any way.

Would You Do It Again?

We just returned from a “bucket list” trip to China!  Our days were packed with sight-seeing, people-watching and eating new foods.  As we returned home and began to share our stories, we were asked two questions:

“What was your favorite part of the trip?”

“Would you do it again?”

First, our favorite parts.  Many of our favorite moments were the planned experiences.  Walking a section of the Great Wall without any other tourists was a highlight.  Visiting the Terra Cotta warriors and considering the ego of a leader who had them built so people would remember him was overwhelming.  Looking at the shattered pieces and realizing the patience needed to recreate these statues was humbling!  These experiences had been planned far in advance and lived up to our expectations.  There were also some spontaneous favorite moments.  Meeting a young local girl in line at Shanghai Disney and trying to communicate about Elsa from Frozen was an unplanned delight. Getting lost on a rainy night in Shanghai while searching for the second tallest building in the world is another unplanned, and now favorite, memory.

Would we do it again?  While we will choose other places in the world to visit before returning to China, I would certainly encourage others to take the trip!  I would also have ideas on “must see and do” places and experiences for those thinking of visiting China.

As the new school year creeps closer, I find myself reflecting on these same questions as I look back on the past school year. Having been away from school for a month helps me put the past year in better perspective.  I’ve been making a list of “favorite learning engagements” from last year and answering the question: Would you do it again?

Here’s a portion of my “things to do again next year” list . . .

·       Implement Writer’s Notebooks – a definite do again!  These notebooks are an invaluable organizational tool for both my students and me.  This year I plan to add an Anchor Chart section, where students can keep individual anchor charts for easy access after we have completed them together.

·       Expand Student Vocabulary, with a tweak – We have been collecting new vocabulary words in our Writer’s Notebooks, but I’m not sure that system is working as well as I had hoped.  The students have simply written the words as they found them, resulting in a disorganized list. Next year we are going to organize the words by topic.  For example, all the movement words will be collected together. We are also going to study words by word origin or roots, looking for commonalities. 

·       Focus on Academic Vocabulary – Next year I will continue to embed more academic vocabulary into student directions and writing prompts. The goal is for students to become used to deciphering and understanding directions prior to beginning a task. For this to be effective, my students will require explicit vocabulary instruction.  A great resource for teaching academic vocabulary is Teaching Academic Vocabulary K – 8: Effective Practices Across the Curriculum, by Blachowicz, Fisher, Ogle and Taff.    www.amazon.com/Teaching-Academic-Vocabulary-K-8-Curriculum/dp/1462510299

·       Read aloud every day – This is my favorite time of day with my students. In our high-tech days, it is so important to expose children to the joy of listening to an engaging book read aloud.

·       Look for areas to encourage student choice – Last year students loved choices, from where they sit to how they present their learning. Although I do not have the newest flexible seating furniture in my classrooms, I allow students the freedom to work in the area that is best for them. Instead of telling them that every assignment must be completed the same way, I’ve learned to present the students an expectation or rubric for an assignment and then allow them to choose the presentation method. The increased engagement and enthusiasm has been exciting to watch! Last year, a student asked if she could type her narrative into google slides, putting each portion of her story on a separate page. This idea spread throughout our classroom and greatly increased the students’ understanding of parts of a narrative.  Click on this link for past blogs on teaching narratives. writenow-rightnow.com/blog/2017/lets-write-a-story-part-one

·       Follow the spontaneous learning moments – Just like the spontaneous moments that happen when we travel, I look forward to those spontaneous learning moments in the classroom. We never know what comment or thought may turn into a learning moment. We all spend time creating lessons and are eager to share them with our students. It can be difficult to put those aside and spontaneously follow a student question or inquiry.  Yet, these unexpected paths can often become our favorite moment of the year! 

We would love to hear from you!  What items are on your list?  What was your favorite part of last year and what are you looking forward to doing again? What goals are you making right now to improve your learning environment? 

Can We Work With A Partner?

We spent last Saturday enjoying the beauty of Colorado.  We started the day with a 4 mile snowshoe through the mountains.  The mountains are beautiful, but they do present a challenge.  At least half the trip is uphill.  At 10,000 feet, we were breathing heavily by the time we reached the summit.  The view made the struggle worth it – but it definitely took stamina to complete the climb.

We next headed to Breckenridge to view the annual snow sculpting contest.  Teams of artists were provided a 10 foot by 10 foot by 12 foot block of snow and given the opportunity to turn it into a piece of art. Although the warm sun was definitely effecting the sculptures, their beauty was inspiring.  It was impressive to view what these artistic groups had accomplished together.

 Driving home, I reflected on the two experiences.  The snowshoe excursion was an example of stamina – the ability to do something even when it is hard.  Although we had encouraged one another, it took a personal effort to put one snowshoe in front of the other.  The sculptures were an inspiring example of collaboration.  Working together, people had turned a simple block of snow into a beautiful piece of art.

There is a constant tension between stamina and collaboration in elementary classrooms. As teachers we realize the importance of students demonstrating their learning independently.  Frequently asked to complete both classroom and standardized assessments, we desire our students to develop the confidence and skills needed to demonstrate what they know independently.  We define the term stamina as the ability for a student to persevere through a difficult task. 

However, many students desire to work with others. “Can we do this with a partner?” is a phrase frequently heard throughout elementary classrooms.  When asked if there are any questions about a new learning engagement, this is often the first question that is asked.

At a recent staff meeting, we were involved in a discussion with teammates concerning math instruction.  As we discussed the math learning in our classrooms, a fellow teacher remarked, “I can’t remember the last time my students did something entirely on their own.  They complete everything together.”  This comment led me to reflect on my own classroom practices.  How much do I have my students work on together?  How many opportunities do I provide for them to demonstrate their learning completely on their own?

I brought the question back to my students.  At Morning Meeting, I posed the following questions to the children.

What are some positive attributes about working with others to complete a task?

What is negative about working in a group?

Do you prefer to have a group assigned to you or choose your own partner?

My goodness, they had many things to share!

Some positives included:

It’s more fun to work with a friend.  It makes work feel less like work.

If I get stuck, friends can help me understand what I’m supposed to do. 

I love to talk and I can talk with a partner!

Some negatives about working with a group:

When I work with a group, some people mess around and I get stuck doing all the work.

I get distracted when I work with other people.  It’s really easy for me to be off task when other kids are around.

Sometimes members in my group aren’t prepared. I can’t learn anything new because I’m waiting for them to catch up.

After I work with a group, it can be hard for me to work alone.

Choosing partners:

I prefer to choose my own partner because I know who I can work with best.

Sometimes it’s hard when we have to choose our own partner.  I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.

It stresses me out to have to choose a partner. I worry no one will work with me.

As I listened to the students’ responses, I was impressed with their honesty.  The students were thoughtful as they reflected on their own learning.  The question for me as a teacher was how to help both the students and myself strike the best balance. 

As a teacher, it is often difficult for me to watch the students struggle.  Encouraging students to work with a partner provides a struggling student with another explanation while helping other students solidify their thinking by explaining it to someone else.  Collaboration plays a vital role in our learning. While collaboration is an important skill, we must remember that students can only go as far as what they have learned.

However, as educators, we know it is also imperative that students learn to work independently even when things are difficult – they need to build the ability to stick with a challenging task. It is unfair to suddenly ask students to work independently in an assessment situation if we have not provided them time to practice.

We are currently working on both stamina and collaboration in writing.  We often brainstorm together, gathering ideas from one another.  Using prompts, we determine both the topic and big/main ideas for planning.  As we learn about different genres, the writing is a collaborative process.   However, once skills are learned, the writing becomes more and more individual.  While students are still sharing their drafts and learning from one another, the writing has moved to being independent.

The balance between building stamina and working collaboratively varies both by day and by student. As with all of teaching, this balance is a work in progress.  I am looking forward to talking with my students as they reflect on this balance in our classroom.

Expanding Our Writing - Multiple Paragraph Essays

As I recently worked with a class of 5th graders, it was apparent they had mastered opinion paragraph writing.  Their topic sentences were solid, their big idea sentences clear and their detail sentences were examples of how a long and luxurious sentence should be written.  It was time to challenge these writers.

                In Social Studies we had been reviewing and mastering note-taking skills.  The learning objective for the next few days in writing would be to combine note-taking and opinion writing, two skills the students had already mastered.  The new skill we were adding would be taking our opinion writing to a multiple paragraph essay with the inclusion of an introductory and concluding paragraph.

                We began with a prompt.  The prompt was timely, as many of the students were planning their holiday vacations.    

You will read informational articles about three different National Parks / Monuments.   Think about the reasons that encourage people to choose a historical place to visit on vacation.  Read the information about each location.  Choose one site from the list and write an essay persuading someone to visit the site you chose.  Include three reasons people would choose to visit this historical site.

These 5th graders quickly realized that before choosing a location they must first gather information about that park.  To help narrow their search, I told them they must choose between Gettysburg, Little Big Horn, and Mesa Verde. These parks were chosen as they might not be as well-known to the students, forcing them to use their research skills, not simply background knowledge.

                Students were asked to research all three parks, looking for reasons people might choose to visit this area.  This led to a conversation with students about what things influenced people to choose a specific place.  For example, the entry fee might be $9.00 per person.  Taken alone, that is merely a fact. How might ticket cost become a reason people would choose a destination?

                Independently taking notes on each park was the first step.  Students were given a class period to randomly gather notes on each park – no organization was required at this point.  Students independently collected their research on notebook paper.  At the conclusion of this time period, everyone chose a location in which they were interested.  Using large chart paper, common groups gathered and compiled the information they had found.

                Referring back to the prompt, students reviewed their task. Each student must choose a park and then write a multi-paragraph essay, convincing the reader that their choice is best.  Taking their notes, students sorted their ideas into three Big Ideas and composed a plan.  They were ready to begin their writing!

                The concept of taking each Big Idea and its Supporting Details and turning it into a separate paragraph was easy for these writers.  However, the question soon arose, “What type of topic sentence do we use?”  This was the perfect segue into the need to stretch a topic sentence into a topic paragraph.

                When we began to master various topic sentences, we did not learn each type in a single day.  In the same way, we learned different ways to write a topic paragraph slowly. We began by practicing three different ways to introduce a topic paragraph.  The purpose of the initial sentence is to capture the readers’ attention.   Information about the topic would follow after this attention grabbing sentence.

After dividing a piece of paper into quadrants, we labeled three of the sections Question, Hyperbole, and Statistical Information.  These were the types of attention grabbing sentences we would use to introduce out topic paragraph.  Using one of the parks as a topic, we began with writing a hyperbole, or exaggerated sentence.  (This is definitely a student favorite!) 

Mesa Verde, the best park in the world, will lead you to an explosion of exhilaration.  It is a whole new world when it comes to thrill.  

Now that you have grabbed your reader’s attention, you must now inform them of the information to follow in your essay.  As you have already organized your ideas on a plan, this step is easy. Simply list the big ideas found on your plan in a sentence.

This National Park is best known for its pueblo homes, hiking trails and tours. 

Students repeated the process using both a question and statistical information as attention grabbers.  They now had three topic paragraphs from which to choose. 

Writing the body of the essay was a familiar task.  Through the use of extended details, each big idea on the plan became a separate paragraph.  The students quickly completed this portion of their writing and were soon ready to write a conclusion.

A concluding paragraph of a multiple paragraph essay also has additional requirements. We learned that a concluding paragraph must contain the following three sentences:

·         A concluding sentence, similar to a single paragraph

·         A reminder of the big ideas

·         A call to action

As a writer, however, you get to choose the order of these sentences.  We again folded a piece of paper to help us focus our practice.  The students practiced arranging these three sentences to conclude their writing until they found the most interesting order. 

The students were proud of their accomplishments and asked to publish their writing.  After revising and editing their drafts, the final essays were ready to be typed and published.  Their notes, plans, topic paragraphs and conclusions were filed in their writing binders to use as guides for the next essay they would write.  These 5th graders had spent multiple daysengaged in a topic.  Through writing an introductory and concluding paragraph, these writers had stretched their writing from a single paragraph to a multiple paragraph essay.

A Very Messy Thanksgiving – Improving Sentence Fluency

Since the beginning of the school year, we have been focusing on organizing and writing complete paragraphs.  Students can now organize a plan, write a variety of topic sentences, and compose a complete paragraph.  It is now time to make our writing better – we are going to revise!

For years, we told our students to “add more details” or “make your writing more interesting.”  Looking back, I’m sure they were all thinking, “It is already interesting.  I don’t know what she’s talking about.  I know – I’ll write my final copy in cursive.”  Adding details and variety to sentence structure takes deliberate instruction and practice.

In mid-November we began a writing engagement which links both sentence fluency and preparation for the holidays – “The Messy Thanksgiving Table.”  Imagining a Thanksgiving table which has been visited by some rather rambunctious guests, we wrote a basic sentence in the middle of our paper: 

The turkey sat on the plate.

Prior to writing, everyone sketched how they imagined the turkey looking on the plate. As a group, we added a phrase to the beginning of our sentence, along with inserting adjectives and a where to our sentence. 

Sitting on the silver platter, the leftover turkey is laying in a forgotten puddle of gravy.

After sharing our expanded sentences, we repeated the process with the sentence:

The mashed potatoes dripped.

It was soon transformed into:

Dripping down the side of the bowl like an avalanche, the mashed potatoes settled on the tablecloth and hardened into rocks.

The students were ready to take off on their own.  As they chose their Thanksgiving treats, we discussed different ways to vary the sentences.  Students considered when, where, and why as they revised their basic sentences describing the messy Thanksgiving table. 

In order to transform these descriptive sentences into a piece of writing, we needed both an introduction and conclusion.  As we discussed appropriate ways to begin and end this piece of writing, the students naturally realized that the sentences would flow into a compare and contrast piece of writing.  All they needed to do was write a description of the table prior to the meal, with their newly revised sentences describing how the table looked after dinner!  Excited about the writing, they eagerly went to work, brainstorming words which would be used to paint a picture of a dinner table waiting for Thanksgiving guests.  Some student samples:

Before the Thanksgiving dinner, the turkey was warm and the table was shinier than a knight in shining armor.  After dinner, the table looked completely different.  

Before the Thanksgiving meal, the silverware was shining and the tablecloth was clean.  The lights were shining like crystals on a sunny day and the food was in pretty bowls. 

Before Thanksgiving dinner begins, all the food is steaming, mouths are watering, the tablecloth had no stains, all the napkins were clean, the silverware was sparkling and everyone was dressed nicely.  Thanksgiving dinner was perfect, until dinner was over.

It was simple to add their stretched and revised sentences describing the Thanksgiving calamity to their introduction.  A simple conclusion completed the writing!

It took us hours to clean up the mess.  We are never inviting those people to dinner again!

As students shared their writing with peers, they were eager to repeat this process with another topic.  Their suggestions were to describe the aftermath of Christmas, a birthday party, a sleepover or the classroom on the first and last day of school. 

As we continue writing in class, whether it be in response to text, curricular areas, or prompts, we will reflect back on our Thanksgiving writing as an example of sentence fluency!  The activity had achieved my best hope for my writers – they were engaged writers who were successful in improving their sentence fluency.

What's Your Character?

We are beginning a unit that focuses on biographies and I wanted my students to concentrate on the subject of character traits.  As we were reading our current read aloud, Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. https://www.amazon.com/Fish-Tree-Lynda-Mullaly-Hunt we were continually discussing the traits displayed by the characters.  Words like funny, nice, kind, mean, and sad were being put forward by the 4th graders.  It was apparent that we needed to expand our understanding of character traits. My homework for the night was to look for resources that would help enhance my students’ understanding of character traits.  What a treat to find the following blog on Scholastic by Genia Connell.  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2012/11/teaching-character-traits-readers-workshop

                Following Ms. Connell’s lead, we first had a discussion around the difference between an emotion and a character trait.  Together we decided that an emotion is fleeting, while a trait is something inside you that you continually exhibit.  Using this definition, we brainstormed a list of character traits, discussing whether each word offered was an emotion or a trait.  Students added to the list as they independently read their own free choice books. 

It was time to practice what we were learning.  In small groups, we read the simple picture book, A Whistle for Willie by Ezra Keats.  https://www.amazon.com/Whistle-Willie-Ezra-Jack-Keats/dp/0670880469/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476848367&sr=8-1&keywords=whistle+for+willielink  After reading the book again together, I asked the students what traits Peter exhibited in the book, reminding them their choice must be supported using evidence from the text.  We gathered together to discuss our thinking about Peter. Students explained that Peter was imaginative because he dressed up and pretended to be his father and Peter was perseverant as he kept trying to learn new ways to whistle when he failed the first time.  While responding to this discussion, a student commented that some traits are thought of as more positive while others have a negative connotation.  We went back to our chart and highlighted positive traits in pink and more negative traits in yellow.  This led to an interesting conversation on whether a trait might be both positive and negative depending on how it was used. 

Following Genia Conell’s suggestion, we focused the concept of traits on ourselves.  Students created silhouettes of themselves and chose 4-6 character traits which they felt best reflected their own character.  

Our reading genre over the next few weeks is biographies.  To begin the unit, we are reading the biography of Mala Yousafzai titled Who is Mala Yousafzai  by Dinah Brown.  We will be looking at the character traits she possesses which motivate her in her quest for education for all.  To begin the study, we read out loud the powerful picture book Malala, A Brave Girl from Pakistan/Iqbal, A Brave Boy from Pakistan:  Two Stories of Bravery by Jeanette Winter. https://www.amazon.com/Malala-Brave-Girl-Pakistan-Iqbal/dp/1481422944/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476848770&sr=1-1&keywords=iqbal+a+brave+boy+from+pakistan  

After reading the story of Iqbal, a boy forced into servitude in a carpet factory, I asked the students what character traits he displayed.  Pencils quickly went to paper as they described both the traits they found in him and the evidence they used from the text. 

Iqbal was rebellious, as he secretly wove kites into his tapestry.

Iqbal was courageous when he returned to the factory to inform others they were no longer slaves.

Iqbal was faithful, as he continued to work at the factory to support his family.

Gone were the responses students had given prior to these lessons.  The words sad and unhappy were no longer to be found.   

I’m anxious to watch my students transfer their new understanding of character traits to both their reading and their writing.  This will be the perfect time to begin lessons on showing, not telling, in writing.  Given a simple sentence, The boy is joyful, students will be asked to write what the boy was doing that helped the reader know he was joyful.  How does the boy in the sentence display that trait?  I’m sure that all the time we have spent practicing showing different traits will show in their writing.

For other writing ideas and to read past blogs,  visit writenow-rightnow.com

Community Helpers and Apples – Planning with Primary

This week I was privileged to spend time in first grade and kindergarten classes.  The enthusiasm and eagerness to learn displayed by these young students was a treat!

First grade was embarking on their unit on communities, beginning with community helpers.  They asked if I could co-teach a lesson introducing these community members which included a writing piece. Whenever someone mentions people who work in a community, the Sesame Street song “Who are the people in your neighborhood?” immediately begins to play in my head.  Is it possible today’s students would be as enraptured by these singing Muppets as my children had been years ago?

We began by labeling a two-column chart Community Helpers and What They Do.  We then played the first video clip of the Muppets singing about the Fireman and the Postman. (See chart below.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5cRukvx850

The characters had the same appeal to present day primary students! 

After the video, we looked at our chart.  What community helper was mentioned in the video?  What did we learn that he or she did as a job?  What else do we know about this community helper?  (We were careful to mention that these occupations can be done by both men and women!)  Together, we filled out our chart.  

It was now time to write!  Our notes were that – notes.  We discussed what we needed to add to our notes to make a complete sentence. The students eagerly chose a community helper and a job they performed.  The room was abuzz as students wrote their sentences and then shared them with both adults and other students. 

We repeated the process with another “Who are the people in your neighborhood?” video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2bbnlZwlGQ

Students were able to glean the information from the video, complete the chart and set off on their writing.  Before we ended the lesson, we gathered to discuss what we had accomplished in our time together. We had asked a question, looked for the answer, taken notes on what we had learned and transferred the notes to writing!  Wow!

The same process - ask a question, look for the answer, take notes on what we learned and transfer the notes to writing – happened in kindergarten.  The five year olds had been observing apples and had created a map together on the attributes of an apple.  Their teacher and I wanted them to write about their findings in an organized manner.  As their science unit was on senses, we chose to blend the two. 

Looking at their attribute map, we posed the question, “How does an apple taste?”  Students discussed the words written on their map and chose the words they felt best described how an apple tastes.  As they chose words, we circled the words in pink and wrote them on the bottom of our chart.  After we finished choosing the taste words, students set off to write.  A sentence starter “An apple tastes ..” was provided for students who needed that structure.  The kindergarteners were happy to share their sentences with us.  We repeated the process asking the question “How does an apple look?”  Students debated if a word could belong to more than one category and if they could add words to their attribute map.  As they began to write a second time, many began to combine more than one attribute in a sentence – “An apple is red and shiny.”  Using a page for each sense, students were writing books on their own, which they could now read and share with one another.

As I left school on Friday, I noticed a stack of red construction paper books in my box.  The kindergarteners had completed their apple books and wanted me to read them.  They had an audience for their writing and were eager to share their knowledge!  What more could we ask of our young writers?

Enthusiasm, Interest and Good Research

We spent Labor Day weekend camping right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park.  Wandering through a bookstore in town, I picked up a book written by Enos Mills, a famous naturalist, writer and the “Father of Rocky Mountain National Park.”  In his autobiography, he states that writing well requires three things: Enthusiasm, Interest and Good Research. 

While hiking, I pondered these three words and how they link to the classroom.  Words that were true for a naturalist 107 years ago are true for elementary students in 2016.

Enthusiasm! Quality writing will not occur unless we build enthusiasm in our students.  Humans are enthusiastic about tasks in which they feel successful. We have been working on writing Junior and Varsity Team Complete sentences the first two weeks of school.  As the students’ skills have grown, their enthusiasm has grown equally.  Given a safe place to practice, students enjoy sharing their writing with their classmates and pushing themselves to be better writers. 

Interest!  Let’s be honest.  As adults, we all have topics in which we have little interest.  As we begin the school year, it is essential that we capture our students’ interest from the beginning of the school year.  We are often asked why we begin the curriculum with Opinion Writing.  The answer is simple – students want to share their interests with their class.  As we start to learn the writing process, we begin with sharing our opinions on the best activities, places, pets, etc.  Students know what they want to write about and have knowledge about that topic. 

Good Research!  The first key to teaching good research is for the teacher to be enthusiastic about the topic and the students to have an interest in the topic. We have begun this year learning about the planets and constellations, a very interesting topic for 4th graders!  We began by taking very specific notes on each planet.  There was a buzz of conversation as students located fascinating facts about the planets.  Students were interested in the topic and our introduction to research was both interesting and easy to accomplish!  http://www.writenow-rightnow.com/samples/

These three words are now posted in front of my desk.  I hope to continually ask myself if this writing will generate enthusiasm, interest, and great research.

Revision and Editing

Any job worth doing – no matter how big or how small – is worth doing well if worth doing at all.

While growing up, this phrase was my dad’s standard response whenever we complained about any job we were required to complete.  As an adult, this mantra has proven to be both a blessing and a curse.  A blessing, for if you’re going to embark on a task, it is part of a strong character to do your best.  A curse when I just want something to be finished and decide that good enough is good enough.

This phrase haunted me this summer as my husband and I embarked on a remodeling project.  He was in charge of the “big stuff,” such as cutting tile, hanging doors, and installing cabinets.  The progress he made each day was evident.  His projects resulted in, “Look, there’s a kitchen sink where there used to be a hole, and that doorway now has a door where there used to be an empty space.” His progress was grand and noticeable. 

I however, was in charge of grout (check out our earlier blog!), caulk and paint.  These tasks require a large amount of “touch-up”, fixing drips, missed spots, and rough edges. My progress was slow and meticulous and often focused on mistakes I had made. Trying to be helpful, my husband often pointed out the errors that needed to be fixed.  Overwhelmed, I announced to anyone that would listen that I planned to yell at the next person who used the phrase “touching up” with me.

While scraping the front door paint for the 5th time, I reflected how this process mirrors revision and editing in writing.  Revision consists of the big, flashy changes.  Sentences are rearranged, verbs are improved and adjectives are added. People notice revisions and they often leave the reader with a sense of accomplishment.  There is a feeling of satisfaction in looking at before and after, and seeing the improvement that’s been made.

Editing, however, is tedious and often completed when you feel like you are already finished.  Instead of making things better, editing often feels like we are fixing up mistakes we’ve made, a whole different perspective.  I am sure that many of my students could echo my feelings, “I’m going to yell at the next person who tells me to fix my writing.”

So, the question becomes how we can hold our students to a high editing standard without frustrating them? A few things come to mind . . .

1 – Take editing one step at a time. Students can focus on one editing area, whether it be capitalization or punctuation.  (writenow-rightnow.com)

2 – Teach students to use the resources they have around them to spell correctly.  How many words in your answer can you find in the question or the text if applicable?  We may not be able to spell the word from memory, but we can use the words around us to help us be better spellers!

3 – Create a safe place to edit.  No matter how lovingly, “You missed a spot” was uttered, at times it felt like criticism.  I’m sure my students feel the same way when they hear, “You forgot a capital letter.” Finding a time and place to have students correct editing errors is always a challenge.  I use a few minutes each morning to meet with students individually. 

4 – Prioritize corrections.  It is overwhelming when we are faced with a long list of “things to fix.”  How can I use my students’ individual needs to prioritize their editing tasks?

My touching up is complete, at least for now!  I must confess to a great feeling of accomplishment when I crossed the last goof off the list. While often frustrating, this experience has given me new insight into how my students might feel and react to directions. 

We’d love to hear from you.  What are some methods you’ve used to help your students both revise and edit their writing?