Olivia Flaim

[brynkandel-blog]

NCTE Guidelines

http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/onreading

[oflaim29]

Routman Ch. 6

-research has shown that reading and writing are interactive, the division between them is artificial

-"integrating reading and writing leads to more authentic teaching, better reading and writing, and higher scores on tests" (p. 120)

-start in kindergarten

-ensure students read quality materials (DON'T neglect non-fiction)

-spend more time reading

-teach students how to reread their writing

-examine written responses to reading 

book review

book blurb

author profle

interview with an author

literature response

letter to an author

reader theatre script

-be sensible about reading-response journals

-do more informational writing

-teach summary writing (teaches reading comprehension)

-teach and encourage note taking

-use writing in guided reading groups

-ask worthwhile questions

-integrate nonfiction writing into all writing

-prepare students for tests requiring brief written responses

[oflaim29]

Routman Ch. 5

shared writing

pairs, groups, or whole class

progression of responsibility: demonstration, shared demonstration, guided practice, independent practice

connect to reading

can be: narratives, lists, charts, booklets, poems, phamplets, newsletters, worksheets, and so on (* p112)

use to teach writing strategies

interactive writing

form of shared writing in which the teacher and a student or students share the pen (students write what they can write, and teacher writes the rest)

too time consuming and distracting to do with whole class, stick to individuals or small groups

[oflaim29]

Fletcher Ch. 7

"We write with our minds, our hearts, and our ears."

minds: topics we know about

hearts: things that matter deeply to us

ears: emulate the sounds of good writing

Reading Aloud

builds community

creates common experiences that bind us together

helps us learn about our students (their responses to books open windows into their worlds)

the books you choose will depend on the students you work with

picture books are ideal in the writing workshop

Independent Reading

the time they spend reading books of their choice will fuel their writing

Book Discussions

during read aloud sessions, small teacher-facilitated groups, or student-led literature circles

-literature is used to teach about the writer's craft

-literature enriches individual writing conferences (conferences depend on the teacher's skill in bringing out the reader in the writer)

"Writing without reading is a little like seesawing alone" (84)

[oflaim29]

Fletcher Ch. 6

"When we were in school our writing teachers tended to value product (finished pieces) over process (how we wrote them)."

Prewriting

should be a help, not a burden

show students various ways to rehearse for their writing, not just graphic organizers

open-ended

Rough Drafting

*fluency and risk-taking are the foundations of a writing workshop

put away editing tools during this stage

Revising

can be a way to enhance a good piece of writing not just bad ones

shouldn't force students to revise but show them alternatives:

           -change beg or end

           - add/delete a section

           -change order

           -change genre

           - change point of view

           - change tone

           - change tense

           -slow down the "hot spot"

           - focus on one part

           -break down into chunks or chapters

Proofreading

"if kids don't have real opportunities to go public, there's no compelling reason for them to proofread their work"

Publishing

some writing is too personal to share, but opportunities to do so should be given

informal and formal publishing

Rereading

the glue that connects the stages of writing

[oflaim29]

Miscue Analysis

semantic (meaning): accessing the story background, illustrations, and meaning in a sentence to solve unknown words

syntactic (structure): accessing often unconscious knowledge of the "rules" of grammatical patterns to solve unknown words

graphophonic (visual): using the visual features (graph-) features of words and letters along with the ways words sound (phon-) to solve unknown words

[kaitlynfelty]

[katieverbitsky]

Markings for Miscue Analysis

[oflaim29]

Routman Ch. 8

"Mostly, students need lots of time in which to write, a say in what they write about, strategies that allow them to problem solve independently (plan, revise, edit), and helpful response."  (p.173)

Writing Workshop Defined:

sustained, daily writing across the curriculum of mostly self-chosen topics

writing for purposes and audiences that the writer values and understands

playing around with language and learning how to craft writing

conferring with students to respond to their writing, celebrate what they have done well, and teach the next steps for moving the writing forward

teaching students what they need to know to write fluently and accurately

doing what writers do to make a piece engaging for the reader

publishing for real audiences

Writing workshop is NOT:

a lockstep, linear processL prewrite, draft, revise, publish, edit

focusing on individual writing traits

following a program or template

writing to prompt after prompt  to prepare for a high-stakes test

practicing skills in isolation

writing topic sentences with supporting details

assigning a topic without teaching

writing for purposes students don't value or understand 

[oflaim29]

Ranker: There's Fire Magic, Electric Magic, Ice Magic, or Poison Magic

"Allowing students to write about video games or other popular culture interests is a way of making the writing curriculum more "permeable" so that school-valued and home and community-valued narratives might intermingle."

I think it's also important to remember that technologies and pop culture icons are constantly changing. As teachers, we can't be expected to always know everything about the newest and latest things, but it is our job to attempt to learn about them and to encourage our students to teach us and learn from them. 

[oflaim29]

Kyle and the Basilik: Understanding Children's Writing as Play

"Children’s use of writing as a form of play is an important way they connect with the world."

"[L]earning grows out of individuals’ experiences and expressions, and that curriculum and pedagogy must therefore emerge from the children’s interests and their lives."

Everything children learn can be related to their interests and their lives. It is our jobs as teachers to make sure that happens. 

I think it's sad that teachers need to rationalize and defend the time given to students to produce playful writing and the worthiness of such writing as a product in school. However, if they are truly passionate and knowledgeable about their belief that children's writing is an important component of play, then it should not be a difficult position to defend. 

I think children need to be taught that there are more purposes to writing than merely to inform, persuade, entertain, and explain. These four purposes are often too engrained in children's heads, and consequently they miss out on the true purposes of writing, that is  "writing for exploring and experimenting with the nature of reality, for personal and social pleasure, for the development of creativity and an appreciation of social diversity, and to grow an active and engaged public".

"It was true at Dartmouth and it is true today that there are (at least) two stories that exist side-by-side in American classrooms. One is the story of education as the mastery of skills and subject matter. The second is the story of education as the development of meaningful, creative, and socially engaged human lives."

I think the best way to achieve the goal of the first story of education is by focusing on the second story. 

[oflaim29]

"Comparisons between expected and unexpected responses reveal readers' knowledge, experience, and intellectual processes, and the proficiency with which they use those processes. When expected and unexpected responses match, we get few insights into this process. When they do not match and a miscue results, teachers/researchers have a window on the reading process."

Goodman (p.1)

[oflaim29]

Miller: Ch. 7 Digging Deeper

"So...expect brilliance. Model well and model often. Pay attention to detail. Trust yourself and your kids. You won't be disappointed."

Types of reading responses:

sticky notes

notebook entries

two-column notes

venn diagrams

webs

story maps

*Let children "just play" and observe them--you can learn a lot by doing this!

[oflaim29]

Miller: Ch. 5 Schema

*Authenticity matters. Connections, questions, or inferences must be genuine.

Book selection is key. "Shopping for books is akin to shopping for clothes--if we don't take the time to try them on to see how they fit, they are destined to remain in our closets and on our shelves."

-I think this is a great analogy. You can't just rely on someone else's opinion. You must try it yourself to see if it's to your liking.

*Use precise language

*schema, text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections

[oflaim29]

Crafton: Inquiry & Iditerod

Reader Selected miscues:

students bookmark trouble spots and then get together in groups to discuss problems and finally share problem-solving strategies with whole class

I think this is a great technique to use with children. It helps creates a safe classroom environment and ensures children that "mistakes" are normal and it's ok to make them. 

"The learning must be child centered taking into account her students' interests, questions, and curiosities."

"The learning must include time for reading writing interaction and reflection."

"She must assume multiple roles to make the learning work; sometimes teaching directly, other times gathering resources, most of the time watching closely to see how she can support what the students are doing."

"Learners  must be integral contributors to the decision-making process, not passive sideliners waiting to implement someone elses best-laid plans."

-Teachers should sketch an outline of a plan but should be flexible and allow the lesson to follow the students' interests and inquiries. 

INQUIRY= multi-modalities!!

[oflaim29]

The Reading Workshop

Affordances of the Workshop Model:

time

space

choice

Components:

Mini-lesson (20 min max)

Guided practice

independent reading (Readers Theater, Guided Reading, & Paired Reading/Book Buddies)

sharing

[oflaim29]

"Why not just post a list of rules on the first day of school and be done? I remember those days, but that was when the room was mine, not ours; that was when I was the only teacher, and they were the only learners; and that was when I asked all the questions, and had all the answers, too."

Miller Ch. 3 (p.33)

[oflaim29]

Alternatives to Phonics

http://www.animated-literacy.com/Products_-Picture_Cards.html

kidwriting.homestead.com