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Writers' Notebooks...Time and Space to Grow Thinkers

3/27/2016

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One of the most powerful tenets of writing workshop is the absolute decision-making freedom of the writer to choose what to write about in his or her writer's notebook. But that decision-making ability is a skill that must be explicitly taught. Young writers don't always come into our classrooms understanding how to identify the stories of their lives.  When I was an upper elementary grade teacher, I often sat next to student writers who had no idea what to write about when asked to jot down seed stories in their notebooks. They were not prepared to think on their own; they were waiting for "the assignment". I would then need to sit next to the students for much longer and try to draw out their stories by asking lots of questions to help them generate ideas. 

The writer's notebook gives students a place to keep their story ideas. And the stories come from their own lives, not from the teacher's instructional plan. This critical practice offers students the opportunity to see that each of their lives has value and is full of small moment stories.

But, most importantly, the writer's notebook is a space for thinking. Beautiful blank pages on which to nudge that thinking into written letters, words, sentences, paragraphs....stories!

Writing is the graphic expression of thought. And it is that thinking part of the process that students need to experience and practice on a daily basis. 

Even in kindergarten.

We began a unit of study about using Writer's Notebooks at the beginning of March in kindergarten. Our goals were basically two-fold:

1.  Teach kindergarten students how to write in their journals (the nuts and bolts of using the pages and space in the notebooks).

2.  Teach kindergarten students how to think about writing in their notebooks (generating ideas, seed stories).

The scope and sequence of the unit was somewhat brief because the whole idea was to encourage the writers to explore and discover their own unique ways across the pages of their notebooks. Our beginning lessons included:

     * Move Your Clip! Students will practice the processes and procedures required to maintain this organized tool for keeping their ideas and stories neat and useful. Resource - Priceman, M. (1994). How to Make an Apple Pie. New York, NY:  Random House, Inc.

     *  What is an Idea? And Where Do I Get One?  Student writers will continue the work of learning where ideas come from. They will understand that writers record ideas and give them attention by turning them into stories in their writer’s notebooks.
Resource - 
Yamada, K.  (2013). What Do You Do With an Idea? Seattle, WA:  Compendium, Inc.

     *  Don’t Move Your Clip...Until You’ve Finished the Story 
Student writers will be introduced to the idea that, just like in previous units of study, turning ideas into stories may take multiple days to finish and writers don’t move on (or move their clips to the next clean page) until they have finished the one they are working on.
Resource - 
Becker, A. (2013). Journey. Somerville, MA:  Candlewick Press.


     *  
Creating Pictures That Tell the Story Across the Page Student writers will be introduced to the idea that illustrations help to tell the story and should fill the space above the words with color and detail.
Resource - 
Jonas, A. (1989). Color Dance. New York, NY:  HarperCollins Publishers.

We taught these first lessons across several days, and then we gave the writers many days of writing time. Many days. Of writing time. Here is what it looked like.


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By the end of the unit, our writers were working independently in their notebooks for 20 to 25 minutes a day. We let them spread out around the room in an effort to minimize the chattiness that was happening at the tables. And it worked!! They understood the privilege of sitting on beanbag chairs or in the housekeeping area or spread out on the carpet. And they wrote. And wrote. And wrote.

All of their ideas were their own. Their teacher and I did not offer any prompts, only support for the stories they were writing. As you would expect, the ability of each writer to compose a story completely independently was varied. However, each and every one of our writers was able to come up with an idea on his or her own and attend to that work for 20-25 minutes at a time.

This week I will be assessing the kindergarteners' writing. Another important decision we had them make was which story they wanted us to grade. The writers brought their notebooks to me, and we placed  shiny stars on the stories they thought were examples of their best work.

I will share some of their work with you next time. I know it won't surprise you. Because you, like me, know that #allkidscanwrite!

​Have a great writing week!
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Crossing the Finish Line

3/20/2016

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The Home Stretch!!! 

As we enter into this last week before Spring Break, I feel like American Pharaoh at the Belmont Stakes! Charging ahead at breakneck speed. Days and weeks (and months and years for our Triple Crown Winner) of hard work and training all coming down to the final lap. And as his trainers felt about their indomitable horse, I feel about our spirited writers.

Proud. Nervous. Excited. Responsible.  All at the same time. Will these first grade writers be able to take this complex unit of study and create a graphic narrative that tells a story through pictures and only a few words? It's as if I am a spectator in the stands, and all I can do is cheer and clap and watch as the students apply all that they have learned as they approach the finish line with their finished products!

And I can tell you with tears in my eyes that when a young writer hands me his beautiful six-panel graphic narrative that artfully tell his story of helping the world by picking up trash with his Grandma, I know that we've crossed the finish line together.

Let's go back and deconstruct his work. I know that some who see his pictures will wonder what all of the excitement is about. But there is so, so, so much more writing and thinking behind his beautiful piece...

First, we read a book. In this case, it was 
Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green, by Eileen Spinelli. This student was inspired to write a story about a time he became aware of trash in his neighborhood...and how he wanted to help change the world.

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Next, (and months later), our writer chose this story out of three others to expand into a graphic narrative. You may have noticed that he had some words written below each sketch and sentences. He was listing the words that described his actions (movements) and feelings in each part of his story. He then moved those words onto a list outside of his sketchbook.

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After some revision, our writer had a word storyboard of sorts from which to begin his graphic narrative. Remember, this entire unit is built around the question of how we physically move  to positively impact our own lives and the lives of everyone around us.

So, now the writer began the work of composing story panels that would tell his story primarily in pictures, with only speech bubbles or text boxes for word context.  I think this was the hardest part of the process. These writers had to decide how to lay out their stories across six story panels. Do you see that he organized his word list using "b", "m", and "e" to identify how he was going to lay out his story? Sort of like organizing paragraphs, right?


Sometimes, the story wasn't entirely clear for readers through our students' pictures. In fact, this writer was faced with a reader who wasn't sure what the character was doing in his first picture. The words "That's bad" did not contain enough information for his reader. And so, as he continued to draft, our writer cut out a speech bubble, and added the words "trash is falling oh no", adding enough context to his panel for his reader to understand his story!

Here is his finished product...

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I am literally sitting here with tears running down my face. I am in awe when I look at the beauty of his pictures. When I see how he has drawn himself and his grandma feeling unhappy about the trash (notice it is the only panel with a brown background). When I look at the last panel and can see and feel his joyous jump. When I "read" his thoughts at the end of the narrative - a heart and exclamation point. When I know that this is his story of helping to clean up the world around him. The writer has certainly told a story of how he saw a problem, moved to make a difference, and ended up making a positive change in the world.

And this is just one example! All of our writers are making beautiful stories. And they are all winners; they will all cross the finish line with what they have learned about writing and drawing and storytelling in their hearts.

I feel exactly like my student writer, "stoupendus"!!

Have a great writing week!

#allkidscanwrite (and draw!)
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Confessions and Conferring

3/13/2016

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"Conferring is at the heart of the writing workshop." Lucy Calkins, (The Art of Teaching Writing, 1986, Irwin Publishing, pg. 223)

Ms. Calkins is so right...and it is never more evident than when you haven't done it. Conferencing is when you have the opportunity to teach the writer, by himself, one on one. When you sit side-by-side and talk with the writer about how it's going. When you listen to the writer tell you about his work.

You look for great moves to compliment, even as you research what to teach him as he reads his words aloud to you. You consider future teaching points based on what writing he's done. You note his progress. And you stay in touch with him. 

I am a believer! And I consider conferring a non-negotiable component of the writer's workshop. Always have...

Here's my problem. 

Time.

As I am teaching our graphic narrative unit of study to two first grade classrooms, I am also responsible for continued remediation work with my reading groups. I see six or more groups of students daily. My day is divided into 30-minute blocks.  Even for writing. 

So, what has happened is a terrible shrinking of my writing time with individual students. It seems that my 30 minutes gets eaten up with my mini-lesson and ad hoc fire extinguishing! I hardly get the phrase, "Off you go!" out of my mouth before the writers are lined up in front of me.

"I need 'Middle' paper."

"Can I start over?"

"I can't find a blue colored pencil."

..or the much more urgent need to catch up a student who missed the last week of instruction because she has a new baby in the house or had the flu.

Methodical, thorough, student-driven conversation about the work itself is nowhere to be seen. I am strictly held to the clock. The writers may have an additional 15 minutes to work, but I don't have access to them then. I am out the door to round up my next reading group.

This is where I desperately want to insert professional development. Ideally, I am creating a unit of study that will be sustainable, that teachers of future first graders will want and be able to use successfully. Lesson plans can be written. But the real pedagogical work still taunts me. My teaching heart knows that what really needs to be shared and learned through lots of coaching experiences is how to conference with students - and that includes all of the hard work of preparing for the conference. Simply reading a lesson plan is not enough. I want teachers to believe. In a lot of things.

     *all kids can write
     *writing is non-negotiable
     *teaching the habits of mind of writing is more important than the writing itself
     *teaching writing takes time - prep time, planning time, writing (teacher) time
     *IT IS ALL WORTH IT!!!

So, how do I do it? This morning I spent hours looking at student work. Work that amazed me, made me laugh, made me cry, worried me, startled me, made me proud. I looked at every single panel composed by every single writer. And I made notes. Notes that will drive my conversations with these writers this week.

But, lots of this work will be catch up. I have missed some opportunities to have timely conversations with student writers about their work that might have given them more direction. 

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This writer has done a great job listing the actions, feelings, and speech bubbles text for his panels. But, the reader is still unsure of the story.
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More than half of the narrative is finished. Could including more detail in some of the panels have helped the author tell his story with more clarity? Should the text in his speech bubbles be more contextual?
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This writer begins with a strong story panel. But the second one is less clear. The reader is not sure what is happening.
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By this time, the writer is not using her prewriting work to continue the middle of the story. No action or feelings words are listed. No speech bubbles are included.
Happily, both of these writers still have the time and space to continue drafting and revising their graphic narratives before a deadline. But, I know that had I been able to sit down next to each of them earlier in their processes, the teaching would have been more thorough, more precise. And the learning would have been in the moment.

It matters.

So, going forward, I have to think long and hard about how to invite teachers into a practice brimming with conviction that conferring with students is the heart of teaching writing. 

The beauty of it all is that once you have committed to sitting, side-by-side with students, you fully recognize the value and embrace the opportunity to truly get to know your writers.


This week I will be doing a little less teaching, and a whole lot more conferring with our authors. I can't wait!!!

Have a great writing week!

#allkidscanwrite
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Fear No Art!!!

3/6/2016

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"High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation." - Jack Kinder.

Sound like a familiar theme? If I believe nothing else about our youngest writers, it is this idea that their achievement is firmly, inexorably connected to our expectations! And this week in first grade, as we began the work of drafting our graphic narratives, it was beautifully evident.

Let me walk you through our process. And remember, this is after we have already written four stories, chosen one, and gone back and elaborated on the chosen piece in our sketchbooks!

To start, we listed verbs describing our movements and actions in the beginnings of our stories. Then, we added adjectives to describe how we were feeling as we moved. These first pictures are the ones I am using as a model for the students.
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After we went through that process for the middles and ends of our stories, we had a list of verbs and adjectives from which to draft our story panels. 

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As writers, we then had to make decisions about how to use the word lists to tell our stories across six or so story panels. Some writers simply started with the first two words (1 verb and 1 adjective) to begin their stories; others chose more. The students learned that decision-making is part of being a writer and that being purposeful with those decisions helps make stories clearer to readers.

Next, we used a template to gather our thoughts and begin drafting. I wanted the writers to have a storyboard of sorts on which to record all of their thinking and planning relevant to individual story panels.

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Finally, after we listed the action words, feeling descriptors, and wrote any supportive text via speech bubbles, we began to draft.

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Eventually, my plan is to cut out the pictures and mount them on a black background with a white mat! It is going to look outrageous!!!!

Below is some of the art of this most amazing group of first grade graphic narrative authors!!! We have just begun the creative work of drawing our stories, and it is not without its challenges. But, just look at the composition of these story panels! Each panel represents an author's composing process - prewriting, sketching, writing, drafting, revising and represents the writing domains of idea, organization, word choice, voice, sentence fluency (through illustration).

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We will continue this process through the middle and end of our narratives, drafting and revising as we go! And for every high expectation I have for all of these writers, I will also remember that they are first graders. I will remember that I want them to LOVE to make graphic "novels"! I will remember to respect whatever level of skill they bring to this work! And their achievement will equal my expectations.

Because, I know...

#allkidscanwrite
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