What I Wish I Had Known...

This week ended my OWP Class.  I had such a good time learning alongside these teachers about literacy in our classrooms. 

To cap off the class, we had a writing marathon (read about it in my classroom here).  I was blown away by the pieces these teachers shared.  They were heartfelt and real and powerful and funny.  And it's always so nice to have time to be inspired to write and share with colleagues.

One of my favorite prompts was generated by a lovely teacher from the Dayton area.  She asked, "What is one thing you wish you had known when you started teaching?"  Below is my response.

One thing I wish I had known when I started teaching is how hard it would be.  I thought if I could get my classroom cute enough, and know my content, and get my lessons organized enough, everything would be okay. 

No one told me that often parents don’t follow through and maybe they don’t even really know how to be a parent.  And that colleagues don’t always agree and that other teachers can sometimes be really negative and sometimes you don’t have the energy to fight for what you believe in.  And the work just never ends.  And weekends and summer is a myth.  And the emails and calls keep coming and there will never be enough of me to go around.

But one thing I have realized is how great it is.  It’s the parents or students who tell you what a difference you made.  Or the light bulbs you see illuminate for the first time.  Or getting to not only tell, but show a kid just how much you believe in them.  Or getting to watch younger teachers grow in skill and confidence.  Or problem-solve with a team and really know the work you are doing is having an impact.  Going to work each day knowing I will never be bored, and even when I think, “Why am I here?,” I know my day was never wasted.

Online Portfolios

Thursday wrapped up the first week of my OWP Content Literacy class and meant hearing from a fabulous guest speaker, Betsy Woods.  Betsy was my coteacher last summer for our online Historical Perspectives class.  She teaches at Milford HS and is a wealth of knowledge...particularly when it comes to technology!  And she is OWP's new "Professional Coordinator."

She shared tons of great tech resources with us that are housed here in her online portfolio.  I am particularly excited for some possibilities with audio recording, both students and myself for student feedback.  I'll keep you posted as I try it out!

Does anyone else give audio feedback to their students?  How has it worked for you?

Writing Prompts

This week I am teaching a class for the Ohio Writing Project on content-area literacy (more on that later).  I just love the energy I get from an OWP class.  It's such a wonderful time of thinking and reflecting and re-energizing my teaching.

One of the added bonuses (and a core tenet of the National Writing Project) is time for my own writing!  Here are some prompts that have been inspiring me to write:

 And my own "Guarding your Benches" prompt.

In my classroom, I have a bin full of prompts generated by students over the years from our writing marathons.

I hope you've found time for some writing this summer!

Guest Blogger Chelsea: OWP Poetry Take-Aways

Back by popular demand (okay, she actually asked if she could write something for me...even better!), I have a post for you today from the one and only Chelsea Wirtz.  

Chelsea wrote a great post for me a few months ago (has it been THAT long?!) using Screencast on Exploding the Moment that you should check out here along with an introduction to Mrs. Wirtz too.  I'm so glad she's drinking the OWP Kool-Aid and can't wait to steal hear more of the great ideas she has worked on this summer!  Be sure to check out hew new blog here.

When I thought about going back to school for my Master’s degree, (after not being a students for four years!!) the idea of joining a program and adding yet another thing to my plate was exciting, stressful, and yes, overwhelming.  Many friends (including Amy!) suggested that I try an Ohio Writing Project class to see if it might be something I’d be interested in.  I took an OWP weekend workshop in February called "Revision and Reflection."  Needless to say, I was instantly hooked.  When the workshop ended on Sunday afternoon, I left with a plethora of resources that I could use in my very own classroom.  This was the first class that I had ever attended where I didn’t feel like I was just completing busy work.  I knew that OWP’s courses would help me become a better teacher. 

Lucky for me, OWP offers of Master of Arts in Teaching in English program, in which you earn a Master’s degree through their courses and research.  The first step to this program is to complete OWP’s four-week class, a workshop called "Teaching of Writing."  Throughout the past four weeks, I’ve met some phenomenal teachers, made some friendships that I know will last a lifetime, and gained a variety of ideas that I plan to implement in my own classroom. 

Although this summer seems to be sneaking away quickly before my very own eyes, I’m excited to try some of the great ideas my friends have given me.  I’m truly inspired to spice things up!

This year, I plan to teach poetry at the beginning of the year as a personal writing unit.  In my experience, 5^th graders are hesitant to write poetry, but through Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, they gain an appreciation and love for poetry.  My goal is to deepen this love.  During my OWP four-week experience, I gained some insight that I’m excited to share with all of the poetry-loving teachers out there!  Below are my top three favorite ideas that I’m excited to try out in just a few short months!

1. This I Believe

The This I believe project is one that awakens the heart and observes who each participant is individually.  According to www.NPR.org, “During its four-year run on NPR, This I Believe engaged listeners in a discussion of the core beliefs that guide their daily lives.  [NPR] heard from people of all walks of life – the very young and the very old, the famous and the previously unknown.”  What better way the start the year off by asking your students what they believe.  How many opportunities do children get to tell others what’s most important to them?  This is an excellent way to get your students thinking about what makes them unique, and I’m quite sure that you will instantly learn a great deal about your kids by the end of this activity. 

You might start this activity by showing students an example for inspiration.  For his 100^th day of school Tarak Mclain, a seven year old from Austin Texas, chose to write 100 This I believe statements.  Listen to Tarak read thirty of his statements using this link: Tarak Mclain

After hearing Tarak’s ideas, have students create a list of This I believe statements in their Writer’s Notebook.  You can specify a number, if you wish, or have students write as many as they can think of.  Have students choose their top ideas to form a This I Believe poem. 

This I Believe by Chelsea Wirtz

I believe in exceptions to the rule.

I believe in compromises.

I believe in laughter and fun.

I believe in the motto “everything happens for a reason”

I believe in making the most of each day.

I believe in being thankful for what I have.

I believe in giving back to my community.

I believe in thinking of others before myself.

I believe in saying “I love you” before I hang up the phone or leave for the day.

I believe in walking in someone else’s shoes before reacting.

I believe in second chances.

I believe in getting to know new people.

I believe in “it’s okay to be different."

I believe in the motto “God will only give you when you can handle."

I believe in kindness.

I believe in “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Another great way to incorporate this activity into your classroom is to have students write statements about which rules they think should be applied to the classroom.  This would be an excellent way to create a “classroom constitution”.   

2. 6 Word Memoirs

This activity is one that would be fantastic to use to get kids to START writing, especially at the beginning of the year!  I mean hey, you only have to write six words!  Easy, right?

 The idea of a 6 Word Memoir is to tell a story in just six words.  If you try this out on your own, you may realize that it’s probably harder than you initially expected. 

Examples of 6 Word Memoirs:

·         Going back to school is difficult.

·         Who knew I was still shy?

·         Huge weight is off my shoulders.

·         Some people need to open up.

·         Classroom community makes the room exciting.

This would definitely lead to some fascinating stories that I’m sure your students would be excited to expand on in their Writer’s Notebook!    

Visit http://www.sixwordmemoirs.com/ to see how your students can post their memoirs on the official 6 Word Memoir site!

3. Class Symphony

For this poem, students will choose their favorite song.  Encourage students to not only consider the most popular songs that are currently playing, but songs that also have a deeper meaning to them personally. 

Then, have the kids write their favorite line(s) on a sheet of paper or a sentence strip.  Post the lyrics on a bulletin board or wall, and there you go – you have your very own class symphony.  It’s amazing how beautiful the words to the many different songs sound when you read them together as one.

I hope you can use these ideas to build a safe and fun writing community for your kiddos!  Happy writing!

-Chelsea

Exploding the Moment

I am excited to introduce Chelsea, my (semi-forced) guest blogger today.  Chelsea is one of my sweet colleagues with awesome style, precise organization, and great ideas.  And when she shares those ideas with me, sometimes I tell her, "You need to let me share this on my blog."  And she says yes!

But before I share that great idea with you, let me tell you just a little bit more about how awesome she is... Chelsea is not only a sorority sister, but a soul sister and fellow goof ball.  She is tons of fun to be around and would truly doing anything she could to help a friend out.  In short, she rocks my socks.  (Which, by the way, you should ask her about her husband's thing for colorful socks... He wore coral and blue ones to their super-fun wedding last summer! I digress...).

I made a screen-casted revision mini lesson on how to "explode" the important moments in a writing piece.  (I took an OWP class this past weekend that talked about revision and some different strategies... this was one of those ideas.)  I used Kizzy Ann Stamps (by Jerri Watts) as the mentor text.  This lesson could be posted for early finishers, too as a nice way to extend them.  

Also, it's a super easy site to use!

Enjoy!

Figurative Language Rap

Don't you love it when a kid says, "You should really watch this one [whatever weird thing is cool now] youtube video!"

I usually go, "Sure, email it to me and I'll watch it."  And then they drop it, because that sounds like a lot of work to them.

Unless it's really a good video, and then they keep asking and asking and finally send it to you.  And it happens to actually BE good. 

Ever happened?

Anyway, here is a recent find a la one of my very persistent students.  Maybe someone can use it for some figurative language practice.  You know I love a good rap moment...

Revision Review

The revision glasses are out again!  Check out my post here for the original idea.  It's a wonder, I tell ya!  Makes them even 'like' the revision checklist I give them because it means a chance to dress up!

Double glasses!

Almost done with our argument essays!  Phew!

Double Stuffed Paragraphs

My sweet teaching friend Amanda is an all-around rock star. (You may remember her post this summer on our Careers Unit.) I am big time blessed to work with her and steal borrow her ideas often.  One of my recent favs was the idea of "Double Stuffed" Paragraphs for our argument essays.  Check it out here (and sign up to follow her blog, My Shoe String Life, while you're at it!)

Any time you can have Oreo cookies and call it 'writing class' is a good time, right?!  This simple acronym made a BIG impact on my students' work. Thanks, Amanda!

Revision Glasses

Since 'revision' literally means 'seeing again,' ATP had the brilliant idea of allowing our students to use special glasses when they're in the revision stage of a piece.

We use past 3D movie glasses with the lenses popped out for a cheap (and fun) way to mark the revision stage.

Check out the students using them this week during writing workshop.

It's the little things, I tell ya!

The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

 

I'm finishing up some continuing ed. credits this week.  I am looking forward to writing a six-page paper on the Transcontinental Railroad tonight (#yourejealous).  I have also been doing work for two online classes.  Hey, who said teachers take the summer off?! 

Among those classes, I took one through the University of La Verne.  Did you know their credit hours are only $105?  Check it out if you need some CEUs or what have you.  The class I just finished is called "Punctilious Punctuation."  To be perfectly honest, it wasn't fab.  In fact, I could have done much better!  Ha ha... Shout-out to Mike SanMarco for our fabulous grammar class last summer.

What was great about this course, though, was I got to revisit a fun (yes, FUN) grammar book I read a few years ago, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss.  Truss is a cranky and witty punctuation curmudgeon.  But she takes her readers on an insightful and playful ride through the rise and fall of punctuation.

 

An explanation of the title from the back of the book jacket:

 



 

What you may be even more interested in is her picture book version by the same title.

The book has two illustrations side by side and shows how commas change the sentence. 

These pages say, "Look at that huge hot dog!"  and "Look at that huge, hot dog!"

I have read this book with students and then had them create their own similar sentences and accompanying illustrations.

Along the same lines, you may be familiar with:

As part of the course I also got to use a book given to me by my cousin for Christmas, I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar: A Collection of Egregious Errors, Disconcerting Bloopers, and Other Linguistic Slip-Ups .  We had to go on a scavenger hunt for bad punctuation in public places and I was eager to bust out this gem to help.

 

If I didn't laugh I would cry.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Side note:  This is me.  Consider yourself warned.

 

Another side note: I'm really paranoid that I made a grammar/punctuation error in this post now.

Historical Perspectives, pt 2

Last week I shared about how SATP and I taught last week on text sets.  Well that's not the only excitement from our online class' face to face meeting :)

We also enjoyed a Skype session with author Lynne Dorfman.  Lynne is one part of the Dorfman/Cappelli mentor text guru duo.  Sweet Lynne spoke with us specifically about her book Nonfiction Mentor Texts. 

She shared lots of ways to help students brainstorm writing topics as well as activities for writing informational pieces. 

One of my favorite activities we tried out was the "Creating a Scene: A Way to Introduce an Information Piece of Writing" lesson (original credit to Fletcher & Portalupi).

Using the book Frogs, Lynne shared how author Ann Heinrichs creates a scene as a lead to her text.  She broke down how the author included many true facts, but it was told in an interesting narrative fashion.  Then it was our turn. 

Lynne gave us a list of facts about hummingbirds from the book Hummingbirds: Tiny But Mighty by Judy Gehman and then had us practice writing a "creating a scene" lead. Bonus: this is a great way to teach students not to plagiarize research materials!

Her handout for the lesson can be accessed here.  Lynne also shared other types of leads (with mentor text titles!) she teaches students here.  I know many of these went on my wishlist!

Historical Perspectives

I can't believe how fast this school year is winding down and that my summer plans are already beginning to take shape.  Among those is an online class I will be teaching with the Ohio Writing Project.  It's one of my dear loves and a great network of teachers who want to continually grow in the art of teaching.

Our course is called Historical Perspectives (fancy!) in historical fiction and nonfiction.  I'm so, so excited to share with these teachers some of my work with book clubs and writing, but even more, to learn from them. 

And the resources and ideas are already coming in.  I met last night with SATP (Summer Awesome Teaching Partner...she has to have a derivative of my school team's nicknames!) and it's going to be an amazing course.  Contact me or OWP now if you're looking for summer credit!

Two resources just to whet your appetite:

1. Our required text is going to be one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITES!  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  You will not be disappointed...even if you're not a history buff!  It's told through letters by some of the MOST endearing characters in all of literature.

 

2.  The other is an article, Nonfiction as Mentor Text: Style, by Myra Zarnowski, Marc Aronson, Mary Ann Cappiello of School Library Journal.  It gives an annotated list of great nonfiction texts with VOICE and author's craft!  Always a win.  I can vouch for An American Plague by Jim Murray.  It flies off my shelf when students discover the amazing Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson.  TWO amazing texts!

Mary Ann Shaffer (Author)

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Sidenote:  When I did a Google image search for the OWP logo for this blog, two pictures with yours truly in the background popped up!  Good thing it was a good hair day!

 

Writing Marathon

Tomorrow is the Flying Pig Marathon, one of my favorite days in Cincinnati! In honor of the race, we did a writing marathon.

A writing marathon is a great way to practice writing fluency and creativity. It was first introduced to me in a creative writing class in college by professor Don Daiker.

At the start of the activity, each student writes down a prompt idea on an index card...from serious to crazy. How did you like these prompts?

Yep, teddy bear apocalypse and people turning into zombies... Hey, they got kiddos writing!

I pull 3-4 prompts per round and students can either write about one, a combination, or their own idea. The only rule is they have to be writing.

We do 3 or 4 rounds, depending on stamina, then have a massive sharing time. I love how excited students get to read their work.

I keep all of the prompts, whether they were read or not, in a basket in my room for stumped journallers. They love seeing student-generated topic ideas. And it's totally free & easy!

We've done a few writing marathons year and students actually cheer when I announce we'll be doing one.

In fact, it cracked me up when one of my students walked in yesterday, looked at the board with our agenda and said, "Oh, so we're just having fun today?" I love that a half an hour of writing and an economics activity made it into the "fun category!"

To end our week of testing, we also had a tasty visit from the ice cream truck! What a fun day :)

Have a great weekend!

 

Poetry Masterpieces

Check out these amazing masterpieces!  I have been so, so impressed with my poets this year and am loving the gallery that has developed in my room. 

 

 

A close-up of my favorite watercolor:

Beautiful symbolism in her work:

I think this piece is going to inspire a whole separate post later this week.  This little poet blew me away with all of his revision and hard work!  He was inspired by Billy Collins poem On Turning Ten.

This one makes me almost like geese!  (Don't mind the messy shelf in the background!)

Masterpieces for SURE!

Poems for Two Voices

My little poets have been so impressive throughout our poetry unit.  So I've been adding some fun challenges as we wrap up our unit and they continue working on a piece to publish.  Up next: Two Voice (or Double Voice)Poetry!

We looked at examples from the master, Paul Fleischman.  Fleischman was the first poet to win a Newbery for his book, Joyful Noise.

 

 

 

Our study mostly focused on the poem "Fireflies."  In order to hear a two-voice poem read aloud we watched this clip read by a high school speech duo (names unknown).

 

 

 

Then students partnered up to create their own two voice poems.  It's always a fun way to hear different viewpoints on a subject.  And even more fun to perform!



A Child's Garden of Poetry

Good morning, reader!  What a fun time of year this is at school.  I know my students so well and they know my expectations, goals, routines, and sense of humor.  I just love it and try to take moments to appreciate how far we have come as individual learners and a classroom community. 

Specifically, it's been really fun to rejoice in these moments throughout our poetry unit.  I love the little poets that are growing before my eyes! 

Yesterday we watched "A Child's Garden of Poetry."  It's a 24-minute special from HBO and just lovely.  It's basically children talking about the power of poetry and sharing their favorite verses, which are then read by actors such as Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Dave Matthews, and more.  Check out more or order your own copy here.

You can also preview some of my students' favorites below.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Poetry Stations

We had lot of fun last week doing SEVEN poetry stations, including discovery, interpretation, creation, and performance.

One of the favorite stations included magnetic poetry. I bought my set of "Really Big Words" on Amazon.

Some students even added the twist of combining magnets with written words.