Saturday, January 24, 2009
Writer's Notebook ch.5&6 group a 650pm
View the first sample chapters (available on line) Using the Writer's Notebook in Grades 3-8: A Teacher's Guide at (http://www1.ncte.org/library/files/Store/Books/Sample/35006chap1-2_x.pdf) and begin your writers notebook then post entries on Class Blog. Engage in an online discussion group on our class blog. Please read designated chapters and 1)propose “meaty” fat questions to discuss, 2) make connections to your teaching and work with students, and 3) make connections to your work as a writer (ie Keep your own notebook and share your response to it), 4)Please respond to two of your classmates’s entries in your study group, 4) Consider how what you have learned from this book might support the work of your integrated language arts unit.
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6 comments:
Chapter 5 and 6
Meaty Questions:
Using Children’s Literature: There were a plethora of children’s literature presented in chapter 5 that will enhance students’ writing; however, what do you do for the non-writers (especially beginning of 1st grade)? Is drawing sufficient? Can teachers (at this time) script for students in their writing notebooks?
Developing a notebook entry: When I do my minilesson, I often spend more time than 10 minutes, especially at the beginning of the year. Do you think this is efficient? I know that Lucy Calkins stated (as cited in Elliot) “Often it feels weird to end our minilesson. We know they don’t “get” it yet. But we need to remember that our saying words isn’t ever going to mean we are teaching anyone to do anything. We need to send the kids off to work in order for them to have an opportunity to do the learning. They’ll do the learning as they write, read, work. They need to make something of what we’ve said.” DO YOU THINK THIS IS TRUE FOR FIRST-GRADERS (especially at the beginning of the year)?
Connections to my teaching and work with students:
I absolutely loved reading chapter 5, as I had many connections to the book selections Elliot offered. I think she made some really good choices and I have used many of them in my classroom. Through the minilesson, I have incorporated many books and used them as a model to teach students a craft or to activate their schema. I believe it is very important to model good writing and show students examples of effective writing. I think we need to share with students that they just need to write what matters to them … and I believe we can do this by modeling, then releasing them to write about what they know. I have used several books in order to teach this, however, I am interested in reading You Have to Write by Janet Wong, as she says that children need to write about everyday topics. Wong states: “No one else can say what you have seen, and heard, and felt today …. Write about fights .. holes in your socks, etc.” By stating this I hope that students will find their lives meaningful and learn how to their feelings through writing. Again, how much of this can we effectively do in the beginning of first grade? However, as the year develops, I know much more is possible!
In connection to this chapter (chapter 5), I know that my students love writing about their trips to Wal-Mart or their favorite video game. I often want more, however, after reading this chapter, I realize that this is what they know and I have to accept that and just continue to build on what they know.
Reading chapter 6 also had me think about my classroom and the routines I have developed for writer’s workshop. My writer’s workshop develops throughout the year and often starts as a 25 minute time frame in which the minilesson takes approximately 10 minutes, then students write for 5-10 minutes and we end with a quick 5 minute share. As the year develops, so does the time spent on writer’s workshop. During the middle of the year, students are expected to write for 30 minutes and at the end of the year students get 40-45 minutes to write. In doing so, I noticed that students also develop as writers as they feel more comfortable writing for a longer period of time.
In connection to Elliot, I too feel that I often skip the sharing part of my writer’s workshop (that is if I feel I have run out of time). Even though my students LOVE to share their writing, we sometimes have to move onto the next subject. However, Elliot stated that if she skips sharing, she loses 50 percent of her teaching and learning potential. I was shocked by that number. I realize that sharing is an important time, but did not realize its effect on learning. After reading this I will make sure I do not skip this part of the workshop, as I agree that we (as teachers) need to reinforce understanding of the minilesson as well as celebrate students’ writing.
Connections to my work as a writer:
I agree with Elliot’s belief on the writing process, as I too, have never really seen myself as a writer and have always been a little apprehensive when teaching writing. For instance, when my principal observes me throughout the year, she often observes me in reading workshop or math. It was not until this year that I felt “brave” enough for her to observe a writer’s workshop lesson. The lesson went very well and I have gain confidence not only as a writer but also as a writing teacher. Now that I teach my students about the craft of writing, I too have had more interest in developing my personal writing.
As the semester develops I have noticed that my writer’s notebook has also developed. Instead of merely being a place where I write lists of things to do or frustrations I feel, I have now begun to “plant seeds.” Unlike what I teach my students (to develop their ideas) I don’t know if I’ll ever use my notebook to develop pieces of writing. For now, my notebook is just that, “my” notebook.
Integrated Language Arts Unit:
As I think I mentioned before, I will use the writer’s notebook model as an integral part of my unit. After reading chapter 5 I see how I can use a variety of books about senses to help students write entries about friends or a special place in a bear’s viewpoint. I have already planned to have students write about what a bear would be dreaming of during hibernation and as a follow-up I think it would be great if students wrote about a day in the life of a bear, using friends and special places as building blocks. Chapter 5 will be very resourceful in planning as Elliott suggested several books that lend themselves to this. Then, after reading chapter 6, I thought it would be great if students could go through the writing process with one or two of their entries, depending of their choice. After student read their entries, I think it would be great if they chose an entry that they are interested in developing. Once students have all their ideas in place, I will then turn their entry into a writing project.
What insightful chapters 5 and 6 were! I loved all of the suggestions Chapter 5 provided that connected children’s literature to notebook writing. Of course, being a first grade teacher, I adore picture books and am thrilled whenever given the opportunity to use them in new, creative ways.
Questions-
This chapter left me fulfilled yet also somewhat perplexed. I was under the impression that the writer’s notebook was a place where the students could grow as writer’s yet had an everlasting freedom. The ideas in Chapter 5 are wonderful because they will work as a guide for my struggling writers to still provide freedom when writing yet a path of how to get there. When I came to Chapter 6 it seemed like the students were going through the entire writer’s workshop process. After reading this chapter, I felt like the notebook was exactly what I am doing in writer’s workshop except using a fancy notebook. If you all do writer’s workshop in your class- did any of you feel the same way? I like the “share” component and use it daily with writer’s workshop yet once again I am feeling as if it takes away the freedom we were providing the students. Do you feel “share” ties into the entire underlying theory of the writer’s notebook? Did anyone else make connections to chapter 6 yet leave feeling a little confused?
Connections to Teaching-
I will begin with this quote which is the reason why I feel using children’s literature is such a powerful idea. According to Elliot, “It connects us to past experiences, stirs our emotions, and causes us to react, wonder, or chuckle.” Literature models examples of the different kinds of thinking students can include in their writer’s notebooks. In reader’s workshop, I am constantly using literature to model my teaching point, which provides the visual to make student’s successful. I am looking forward to using the ideas in Chapter 5 to spark my student’s imagination and really have them thinking about a variety of topics to include in their notebook. Chapter 5 made me think of some additional texts that I have used in various ways that I will now introduce into the writer’s notebook. I thought of The Relatives Came when connecting to a family story or Chrysanthemum when discussing your name. These are texts that I use often and could now be adapted to model additional ideas in the notebook.
Personal Connections-
I am excited to use the ideas in chapter 5 (especially writing about memoirs) in my own writer’s notebook. It is interesting how as I read each chapter I have adapted the ideas into my own writer’s notebook. I have seen my own personal writing change from random entries, venting to experiences that are meaningful to my life as a writer and teacher.
Application to my Integrated Unit
After reading chapter 5, I decided I could use the writer’s notebook as a way to have my students write using their five senses. When they are making their life cycle observations, it will be helpful if I have modeled using children’s literature what it looks like to record observations.
Jess, I also found it hard to adjust when I knew my students did not fully grasp the concept yet I am sending them off to start working. To answer your question, one thing I do is pull small focus groups to the carpet during the student's writing time. If during my mini-lesson I can tell there are five students who are not ready to work independently; I will provide the additional support they need in this group. I have found that I can stick to my 10 minute mini-lesson time constraint and the lower-level writers are more successful. When I feel they understand the lesson they are sent back to their seats to work independently. Before I tried this strategy, I had the same predicament as you and of course at times still find myself there!
Meaty Questions:
I really felt that chapter 6 answered a lot of questions for me. I was definitely not sure how the notebook tied in the writers' workshop model, and now I have a much better idea of how those two things exist together. However, I do still have some questions about writers' workshop:
-Is it okay to differentiate the number of times we meet with students? In guided reading, I make sure to meet with my lower students more often than with my higher readers. Is this okay for writers' workshop as well, or should we make it a point to meet with everyone as often as possible?
-Does the teacher dictate which days students are working in their notebook and which days they are working on creating drafts? I ask this because I can envision the student who only wants to work on the notebook and does not independently develop any ideas into a draft.
Connections to my teaching and work with students:
There were a few things from these two chapters that helped me feel more comfortable with my writing instruction. First, the author addressed my own personal feelings of inadequacy as a writer, which was comforting. Often when listening to someone talk about teaching writing, the presenter tells me to use my own writing as a guide for my students. But what if I don't feel like my work is good enough to be a mentor text? On p. 55, Elliot states "If you feel inadequate as a writer or teacher of writing, let me reassure you that you will become a more skilled writer as you teach your students about the craft of writing. Consider it an opportunity to learn on job, to walk hand in hand with our students as you learn together." Phew!! I can tell that as I have started to really use Lucy Calkin's model that this is happening, but it was nice to have someone else say it.
Also, I connected to all of the ideas in chapter 5 to help spark my writing. I know that we are motivated to write about what is important to us, and chapter 5 talked about all of the things that are important to me (family, friends, places). I especially enjoyed when the author told us to write about names, as the story of my name is very meaningful to me and one that I enjoy telling.
also gave me the idea of using these topics as minilessons early in the year to help my students understand what types of things to write about.
The quote from Janet Wong seemed to speak to the underlying idea of writers' workshop: "No one else can say what you have seen, and heard, and felt today...Write about fights. Write about holes in your socks, your grandmother cracking her knuckles, your father snoring all night long" (p. 42). We want children to write to communicate what it is like to be them...and this experience is different for everyone. I will definitely look for Wong's book now to see if there are other parts that I can use when teaching.
Connections to my work as a writer:
I feel as though the writing that I am creating is progressing...I am able now to focus on important things, and not on my discomfort about writing in the first place. I enjoy finding time to put these words down on paper (though I am still working on enjoying the rereading of them later). Chapter 5 gave me a few really great writing ideas...stories and ideas that are in my memory that should be written down. This chapter seemed to give concrete ideas about what to write about, instead of different ways to generate ideas. Again, I think the most meaningful writing is writing that is connected to us and what is important to us. This chapter just helped to solidify that idea in my mind.
Implications for my integrated unit:
As I have said before, I plan to incorporate the writer's notebook into my unit so the students can write things they learn that spark their interest or that they find particularly interesting. My unit will focus on non-fiction texts, but the students will definitely have thought about what they are learning, and I want to use the writers' notebook as a way to capture those reactions and thoughts.
Response to classmates:
I agree with Jessica that it is often very easy to miss the share portion of writers' workshop. It seems to be a goal that I have every year, to be sure that I include the reflection and sharing time after each lesson, yet each year I find that this gets cut. It doesn't matter how many times I read that this time is crucial, it still gets skipped. It think we are going to have to experience the benefits of sharing time, and then will make it a priority.
Also in response to Jessica, I think it is okay for children to draw pictures, especially early in the year. Lucy Calkin's series called Units of Study are written for kindergarten and first grade students. She talks about the importance of letting students draw and write, even if their writing is just a series of letters or scribbles. Also, they learn the most by doing, so letting them write is the most important thing. If your mini-lessons are taking a long time, you may be trying to accomplish too much during this time. It works best for me to keep daily lessons short and sweet.
In response to Kim, I think that Chapter 6 showed us how the writers' notebook fits into a more structured way of teaching writing, specifically the writers' workshop. It answered questions for me about how these two fit together and are not separate things that exist in the classroom.
Response to questions:
Kim: I had to reread a few pages of chapter 6 myself in order to make sure that I was understanding what Elliot was saying as well as to connect it to my teaching. Regarding your question on how the writer's notebook fits with the writer's workshop model, I think it is a piece of it. Instead of having merely a journal, students can use their notebook as the "holding place" for all their ideas/thoughts a.k.a. seeds, and then develop their writing within the workshop model. Does that make sense? Also, I think the “share” portion of the writer’s workshop is crucial and ties in with the notebook as the notebook is only a part of the workshop. I think I may use my notebook a little differently than Elliot, and right now I see it as a place to generate ideas for writer’s workshop.
In response to Joy's thoughts/questions ... I 100% agree with both your quotes, I too, feel overwhelmed as a writer and actually wrote similar things in my post! Writing needs to be individualized and I think it's great that Elliot and Calkins make that clear! I also think that we need to meet with students as often as possible and I don't think it should matter if they are a higher-ability students or lower-ability. I just think we should conference with all our students on a daily basis and as needed, as some units of study may come easier for some students. Thus, unlike reading groups, I think we need to use our best judgment and conference as often as possible. As for your other question: Does the teacher dictate which days students are working in their notebook and which days they are working on creating drafts? I’m not sure. Again, my writer’s workshop is based mostly on Lucy Calkins' model and this is the first time I have used a writer’s notebook rather than solely a journal. As for next year, I think I will allow my students to be more in charge of their writing. As for dictating times, I think I will still use most of my writer’s workshop time developing stories and possibly have students use their own time or just a few minutes of ww to write in their notebooks. Is this what you were thinking?
In response to Joy, I feel in my classroom it would be necessary to draft a "schedule" for differentiating my conference times. Like reader's workshop, I feel the students who can work freely will be given that opportunity. I will still provide a conference time with them to make sure they are on the right track, yet focus most of my support on the lower level writers. My overall goal will be to have everyone write so any tactic I can use to accomplish this goal will be helpful.
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