Chapter 1 -5 Using the Writer's Notebook in Grades 3-8: A Teacher's Guide engage in an online discussion group on our class blog.
1)propose “meaty” fat questions to discuss,
2) make connections to your teaching and work with students, and
3)Please respond to two of your classmates’s entries in your study group.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have to say that I love this book! I have always been a diehard Ralph Fletcher fan because of the ease and usefulness of his materials. I find he is a straight-forward, barebones guy. As a teacher, that is what I need. Theory is great, but I don’t have a lot of time. I think this text is easy to read and chockfull of good ideas. The first thing I did was to write down some of the ideas in the back of my notebook so I wouldn’t forget. Actually, I realized I left my notebook in school, so I grabbed a new one and wrote the ideas down in that one. Then I tried a few.
ReplyDeleteI think this book just reinforces what we all know about notebooks. It is a non-threatening place to write, it develops a place of community, and it’s a place to develop ideas as well as self… and on and on.
Here is my question, the author refers to the kids that hate to write and don’t know what to write about. She also notes that when you always provide topics to kids they are not invested in their writing. In my mind, things become the shady here. Don’t all these great ways to plant seeds that she lists do exactly that, provide them with a topic? I understand that quickwrites help students build their writing stamina. Give them a topic, write for 10 – 15 minutes without stopping…I know that they don’t have to write about the topic given, and it can be something triggered by the topic but isn’t this working against helping the students develop a sense of self as an author? I’ve always been unsure of this territory. I’ve read the different opinions, used the quickwrites, but a part of me is unsure. How do you tackle this issue in your class? Freedom with choice?
This is off topic, Rose can you tell me the name of the strategy you learned about at the conference? You mentioned laminating the book and laying it out from beginning to end. Do you have a name or email address?
ReplyDeleteI agree that this book is easy to follow and gives great ideas. I use a writer's notebook and have tried to expand upon it this year. What I really thought was useful was the idea of sharing my own writer's notebook. I often share anecdotes and of course model good writing, but realize I could be modeling the use of a notebook by reading excerpts from it instead.
ReplyDeleteI do also agree Beth that there is an interesting delicate balance to played with topic choice. Allowing students to write about whatever they want is safe and frees them up from so many constraints. But I have found that many students enjoy having a basic topic they can then develop their own ideas around. It sounds contradictary to say, "Don't tell students what to write about," and then say, "These are great topics to spark ideas." I have learned over the years that each approach works at different times.
I have several questions. How do advocates of writer's notebook work in teaching the structure of expository and narrative text? Are these activities completely separate?
Also, what do you think about letting students "just write" all the time? I find that my students come to fourth grade with a limited vocabulary as far as descriptive word choice. Many lessons need to focus on creating lists of new and exciting adjectives, nouns, verbs, and adverbs. But, maybe this is expected to be done separately.
When it comes to prompts, it needs to be treated like a genre study. Just like in the Writer's Workshop model you have different genre studies. For example, memior, poetry, how to books, all about...writing a narrative in 45 minutes should also be a genre study. It's a fact of life and they need to be taught how to do it successfully. Your craft lessons up to this point in time should help them with the content and detail. Usually this unit is usually covered before CMT's. It shouldn't be a free for all when it comes to writing. It freedom with structure. They are gathering ideas in their notebook, but it is transformed into the unit of study that should correlate with your read aloud and language arts block. that why it is helpful to piggyback the two. Students are studying good literature during the reading block and then putting it into their writing piece.
ReplyDeleteAs for they "just write"...it does have a place in the beginning. It allows students to collect ideas, develop stamina, and confidence. As the year progresses it should be more of a natural thing to write in the notebook. Morning work...when you are done...and so on. I think there are times when the notebook should be used for creating these lists. It gives them a place to locate great adjectives, improve their word choice. I think writing workshop can be a very intimidating process if it lacks structure.
I like the idea of prompts being a genre study. But it also takes a lot more work than just before the CMT. I have students write in the notebook up until about December, with a balance of structure and freedom. This is where they really learn to become more expressive and develop good details. Some of what they do is personal narrative and the others expository. All of that exploring and learning about writing is transferred to essays. The essays, however, continue to be worked on for much of the year after that. We do use the writer's notebook for ideas and go back to it for certain quick writes, but the expository essays take a lot of time; not because we are focusing on 45 minute prompts, but because this is the kind of writing they will need to do for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteI liked the mention of visual aids for sparking ideas. If we start with a broad topic, I will often have students draw what they can relate to. Once they see it, it's easier to write about. For instance, if they want to describe the food on the Thanksgiving table, they sketch out what it looks like. Then when they write, they can see the placement fo the food, what it looks like (color, texture, size), and if their drawings are really good, almost smell it. It helps them to use their senses and it almost becomes a visual planner. Real pictures, postcards, etc. would be nice to use.
ReplyDeleteExpository writing can also be combined with open-ended response and research projects. The key words that are used, topic sentence followed by supporting details, summary sentence...and so on. I recently did a comparison of two prompts. One teacher stictly taught writer's workshop for most of the year. The other teacher used empowering writer's and taught to the prompt. The difference between the two was astonishing. The student who used Empowering Writers had a piece that formulatic and lacked voice. The student that used writer's workshop had a piece full of details, voice, and flowed well.
ReplyDeleteI think as teachers, we are always being told what is best. But we have to do what we are most comfortable with teaching. As long as the students are thriving, no one can tell you what you are doing is wrong. It is just different. I think Writer's workshop is one of those areas. Some teacher are very comfortable, some are not, some use a mix. I used a mix of writer's workshop and empowering writers. I felt ok with that, but their are some teachers who would not. Each to their own!
I think you're right about canned writing. If teachers do not feel comfortable teaching writing, it becomes extremely formulated.
ReplyDeleteHey girls,
ReplyDeleteMy students love writer's workshop because it is structured in the sense of what genre they are writing, but what topic they choose to write about is fairly open. I find that modeling my own writing has helped, but I agree with Lisa that I should probably model reading excerpts from it so they see the different uses. My students do not really turn to their notebooks as a place to write their thoughts in times other than writer's workshop.
As for prompt writing, my district is guilty of throwing a test-prep prompt unit in before the CMT. We do practice throughout the year but the explicit teaching doesn't come until Jan/Feb.
In response to Lisa's question about teaching isolated skills such as vocabulary, parts of speech, etc. I find it challenging to fit those lessons into writer's workshop, and again we end up cramming that in before CMT time. Those always seem to be skills the kids need too.
Do any of you use writer's workshop as your writing program, and if you do, how do you handle lessons on grammar, etc? In my district they are embedded into the different writing units as editing lessons but I'm not sure that's enough.
Hi Ladies, I just wanted to let you know that I hopped over to Group A...while my students are in the higher grades, their ability to meet grade-level expectations is limited, as so many of them are functioning on a primary level. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAt our school, the grammar is part of the reading program. With everything jammed into the day, it is almost impossible to get lessons into the day. Also, can your school system agree on a resource???
ReplyDeleteI primarily use a writer's workshop approach. I teach mini-lessons on what I want to focus on: expanding vocabulary, using similes, vivid verbs, adjectives, sentence structure, etc. I use picture books to develop these concepts and then encourage students to incorporate what they've learned. It works very well. As I mentioned with the Vignettes, I think sharing the writing has been one of the best motivators. Writer's notebook can often be private, but students love to write for an audience.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of topics, in chapter 3 it talked about how keeping writing topics open-ended makes writing personal and meanginful, therefore helping reluctant writers. I agree with this, but I know that I still have reluctant writers, just like we all have reluctant readers. One student in particular just hates to write and the only unit he enjoyed this year was poetry because there wasn't that much physical writing he had to do!
ReplyDeleteQuickwrites and lists of topics have not seemed to help him. I'm curious to know how you girls approach a student that hates writing and if you've found any successful strategies for reluctant writers?
Beth, that's interesting that the grammar is part of the reading program. We have just started using reader's workshop this year, and it is truly amazing to see the connections between reading and writing. Like Beth mentioned before, studying good literature is crucial. We've tried to correlate our reading and writing units, and the kids are getting such a better understanding of how to write a specific genre when they are also reading about it.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend! Good luck with the proposal.
ReplyDeleteIt's really difficult to get those reluctant writers to write. I definitely think making idea lists have helped some of my students. Try the sharing. If they know they have to share, they will probably want to keep up with their peers. If it's a disability, then you're dealing with something else.
ReplyDeleteThanks, you too!
ReplyDeleteI'll see you Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteHi Beth - yes, the strategy I was talking about was Textmapping and the gentleman behind the idea is Dave Middlebrook. The book that he published is titled Unrolling the Book. It is based upon the idea that in our history we used to use scrolls and he blieves that it broadens the access to text in a richly differentiated and inclusive way.
ReplyDeleteIn accordance with Beth, I too feel that I finally have a professional text that will easily be applied to the classroom. I also really enjoy the variety of ways that students can personalize their writer's notebook and feel that all of the topics and activities included throughout the first five chapters allow students to have a voice that is customized to their likes and interests. In this text, the writer's notebook is a place where children can communicate their inner ideas openly to the world without feeling self-conscious. It is imperative that the teacher facilitates this type of privacy and respect when interacting with the student about their writing. These types of lessons motivates students to carry on throughout their lives as writers. The first chapter is particulary important because the teacher needs to develop a particular mindset when teacher writing in order to teach it passionately. I will share this book with fellow staff as a readily accessible resource and look forward to applying many of the ideas in the beginning of the school year. I love that it has a beginning place for the teacher and student that strives to progress the style and craft of each student.
ReplyDeleteDo you feel overwhelmed when teaching a struggling writer? What various techniques do you implement to scaffold and support such a student? Why is it that the student is struggling? Each situation is so unique. Each learner truly differs from the next. Many times it is in the approach that you deliver when handling a sensitive student. Or perhaps that student lacks the schema and background knowledge in order to relate to the topic. Do you implement reading techniques into writing. Do you feel that reading and writing should be focused upon simultaneoulsy or separate throughout the day according to the time and subject you are teaching to? Do you focus upon ELL skills? Did you know their are ELL standards? My principal just informed us today that there were in fact standards and expectations for students that are ELL and told us to look up SIOP on the internet, this is a program that supports ELL students.
ReplyDeleteAltlhough you discssued important ideas, I did not get the sense that you were responding directly to the ideas in the assigned chapters.
ReplyDelete