Chapter 3: Share Your Writing Life
• Write together as a staff
• Note your writing practices
• Tell students why you write
Chapter Two of Regie’s book segues right into her third chapter, “Share Your Writing Life.” In this chapter Regie drives home the importance of teachers sharing their writing process with their students. She encourages teachers to become writers in front of their students, on their own and with their staff, and also to share their daily writing practices with their students. The purpose of the assignment below (Assignment #3) is to get you writing.
ASSIGNMENT THREE: Sharing Your Writing Life!
For many of us, writing is not enjoyable and/or is very difficult. Perhaps it is because we ourselves were never celebrated as writers. Or perhaps we only remember the “skills” based comments written in various colored pens on our papers…that always sliced deep (and turned many of us into “non-writers.”) These comments never really helped our writing become any better. As a requirement of a summer writing institute (which I was conned into attending “so that I could become a better teacher of writing”) I (Jackie) bit the bullet and wrote extensively throughout the course. What they say is true: the more I wrote, the more I enjoyed it, and I believe I grew as a writer. The goal of this two-part assignment is to get you writing.
Part One:
For the first part of this assignment you need to think about topics for your own writing (ideas/stories that you can share to excite your students) and then actually write a short piece (ideally in front of your students.) If you do not presently have the opportunity to write in front of your students then please complete the activity on your own.
1. Use the topic idea list from Regie’s “Try It and Apply It” on page 26. Choose several topics, and then create a list of sub-topics for each.
2. Choose the sub-topic that most interests you and write a short piece that you can use to model writing in front of your students.
Part Two:
1. On pages 45-46, Regie gives suggestions for writing exercises for the start of school (or really anytime you need to get writing started.) Follow her criteria for “Capturing A Moment” (from the summer or any other time ) and draft a short piece. Follow the directions in the chart on page 46.
2. After completing the draft, which should take no more than 10 minutes, take a moment to write down some of your observations of your writing process. Again, use the suggestions from the chart or the bullets below:
o What are you thinking about as you are composing?
o What exactly did you do to plan, to get started writing, when you got stuck, or when you completed your piece?
o What does your process look like? Do you write straight through? Stop to re-read? Revise as you go? Look up information? Edit?
The goal of this activity is to get you to write - which will hopefully get you more comfortable writing in front of your children! Complete this activity and let us know how it went by sharing your answers to some of the bulleted questions above.
Please post your comments to the course blog. (We don’t need to see your writing piece. We are more interested in your thought process as you completed the exercise.)
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ReplyDeleteAs I write, I think about what what words to use; I ask myself what words will best convey my feelings and thoughts. I try to use interesting words when I can, to make my writing more exciting for my audience (which is usually just me). I mainly plan in my mind. I think a lot about a piece before I even pick up a writing instrument. When I do start writing, I rarely use outlines or other organizational tools. I find it easier to write down all my thoughts and then decide which bits to keep. I tend to write things straight through, whether I am writing for myself or others. I may pause at the end of a paragraph and skim what I wrote, but usually I do all my rereading and revision after I have finished a piece. I don't like to interrupt my thoughts as I write because I don't want my stream of thoughts to run dry.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I do several revisions of much of what I write. I remember when I wrote poetry on a regular basis, and even then I wrote several drafts, changing words or sentence structure with each revision. I also always write things out on paper first. Now that a lot of writing that I do is transferred to an online medium, I find it much easier to first draft a hard copy. I will even check the digital draft several times and make changes before I submit it for review. I never feel that I am done when I write: something could always be changed for the better. There is always a word or two that I'm not happy with. Usually I agonize over my introductions and endings: I have the most trouble with these two areas of my writing. The resources that I use the most when writing are examples of other writers' work and the thesaurus. I tend to use examples of other writers' work for genre-specific writing, or when I have a particular form or kind of writing in mind.
Just as being aware of and articulating the thought processes involved in reading, the writing process can be explained and demonstrated to students. First being aware of your own approach to writing helps in the explanation to students; we learn by doing and writing is not a spectator sport.
Starting off my writing by using Regie’s “Try It and Apply It” was a very helpful way for me to come up with ideas to write about. What was interesting for me are all the ideas that came out of the sub-topics. After that it was very easy to choose what to write about. Once I started writing I noticed I would read it to myself as I was writing. I was adding details and specifics to make it more interesting. In the back of my head I was thinking, “Oh my students would love to hear about this.” I wrote about a trip I took to Disneyland when my son was 13.
ReplyDeleteUsually when I am writing I am thinking about word choice and whether it makes sense. When I start to write, I often write notes down so I don’t forget important points. Also, what works best for me when I am stuck is to leave the piece for a bit and then come back to it. After that I am usually able to finish it. I have great teammates who I let read and give me their opinion. Once a piece is finished, I will still look at it couple of times before I think it is “good enough.”
Usually when I write, I write straight through. I re-read it after I am done. That is also when I do my editing.
When I was doing the ten minute draft piece, I was apprehensive at first. Once I got into the writing, especially since I had a subject that I related to the writing all fell into place. The words seemed to flow from my pencil. It was an interesting feeling. I don’t usually feel that at ease with writing. I noticed that I was reading it to myself as I was writing. I was recalling the event in my mind. I noticed I was adding more details to the story. This is something that I look forward to using with my first graders.
Gosh! I was surprised how little I thought as I did my piece.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking only of the memory. I pretty much wrote straight through. I stopped/paused a few times to make sure that my spelling and punctuation were correct. So just a small amount of editing happened as I went along.
I did NO planning. We are always asking our students to plan everything it seems...I took about 30 seconds to decide my topic and just began writing. I simply stopped when I finished. I did not reread or revise or edit. I felt I had wrote what I wanted and was done.
I wrote down things in the order of how they happened. I added some feelings along the way. I was conscious of some of my word choice as I wanted details to be present and the piece to be interesting but I was also careful of overkill. I didn't want it to sound like I had used a thesaurus at every turn.
I think my piece turned out pretty good. Of course one could always edit and revise when they are finished but I feel my piece is completely authentic when left alone. Students need a chance to just write and then have permission to leave their piece as is. It gives a sense of freedom and accomplishment.
Thanks Mariah, Leah and Allison for sharing your thoughts on each of your reflections about your individual writing processes. I think you’ll notice that each of you have your own uniqueness to your writing process. Mariah and Allison (although not exactly the same) both just write on through the piece, while Leah actually does a bit of planning with her notes. Because of this, it’s not a bad idea to give students the opportunity to witness more than one experienced writer work through their process, or at least different parts of the process.
ReplyDeleteI loved Mariah’s comment: “we learn by doing and writing is not a spectator sport.” As teachers of writers, we should all be writing as much as possible :)
The “Try It and Apply It” ideas are fun. I think about how you could make this into an up-and-about activity at a staff meeting or in the classroom. You know, have each topic on butcher paper around the room, or at different tables, and have everyone write sub-topics…then share. Super fun bonding. I had a long list of sub-topics for the start of school, since that is on my mind. At first, I thought it wouldn’t really be a good idea for this assignment, because…what student wants to hear about how hard their teacher has worked to prepare for the beginning of the school year? Then, I thought about how it really applies to them, and how many things they are taking on at the beginning of the school year. Seeing the list of things they do the first day of school could be really validating for how overwhelmed they feel—the same way I like to show off my “to do” lists when I feel like I am doing way too much and need a pat on the back.
ReplyDeleteWhen I write, I am always thinking about what it sounds like when it is read out loud. The tricky part is that it is easy for me to hear my own voice, so I am always wondering: does it translate in writing? I re-read, re-read, and re-read constantly—even if I have only written two sentences. I did the summer moment one, and was thinking about my imagery lessons and how we use the “explode a moment” strategy (Barry Lane) when we teach personal narrative. I was breaking down each of my senses, just the way we ask the students to do, and I was trying to use interesting words and not too much punctuation—a little issue I have. I am constantly crossing stuff out (I hand wrote the summer moment draft, but when I type I do the same thing with the delete key), and I always try to show that part of the process to my students. I always say, “Stop erasing and start crossing out! It shows your process! I want this to look messy!” I am very comfortable writing in front of my students and share my writing all the time. This activity is a good reminder of how important this practice is. Now I need to stop re-reading and revising this assignment and just post it—always the hardest part.
After looking at the topics presented on page 26, I was able to list many ideas that I thought would make a good personal narrative. As with some of my students, generating ideas for a story wasn’t so difficult, but choosing an idea that would make a good story was a whole different beast. I feel as though many of my students simply choose their favorite memory, but don’t think ahead and predict if it would make a good story idea. When looking at my story ideas, I was not only thinking about which memory was the most vivid, but which memory would make a good short story that built to a satisfying climax and had interesting characters.
ReplyDeleteAs I was writing, I really wasn’t thinking too hard? It sounds like a bad thing, but I was just focused on getting my ideas down on paper, and trying to sequence it. I was thinking about the fact that the story I am writing will be used as an example in class for my students, so I was very aware of techniques and mini-lessons I could use this story for. I wondered after writing how my story would change if I wasn’t writing with 9,10 and 11 year olds in mind...
The most difficult part of this assignment was the start. I had a very difficult time coming up with what I thought was a satisfying intro that hooked the reader. After a little while of maybe thinking too hard, I just started writing, and tried to get my intro over with so I could get to the story. I found this was a good idea because after I started writing, and got past the intro, I was able to go back and change some things now that I had a better idea of where my story was going, and the mood I wanted to evoke. With my hesitant writers, I think it’s important to get them writing, and not worry about the content initially. I found that seeing words on paper gave me a boost, and I was able to go back and make changes I was happy with.
My process was to write straight through. I found myself going back constantly and changing things, basically revising as I went. There were a couple times that I had a good idea, but kept on writing and then forgot my idea. After this happening twice, I decided to stop what I was doing and make the changes immediately. As for editing, I wrote on the computer, which makes the editing process happen almost by itself. I was not thinking about editing at all, and this is what I tell my students. Editing should be the last thing you do before you go to the final draft, and you shouldn’t worry about it at all in the earlier stages of writing.
I did find it difficult to focus for a long period of time however. It was a nice day outside, and I have never done much writing in the summer. It usually takes me a little time during the school year to warm up, and this lesson was a bit of a shock for me. After doing it however, I would like to write a little bit more during the summer, to keep me fresh for the school year. It’s a lofty goal right now, but I thinks it’s worth a little time during the summer break.
Thanks Ashley and Phil for sharing your comments on your writing process.
ReplyDeleteAshley – I love the idea of getting your colleagues to write with you using all of the different subtopics (they could even be related to summer fun, concerns for coming year, or even focus in on professional development like in writing). I think my staff would kill me if they had to write, but that’s great if yours would love the activity! I love Barry Lane’s work and have used his “Revision Toolbox” book as one of my favorite resources.
Phil – It’s the revision piece that in the end makes our characters interesting and gives an exciting plot to a story. I think that’s what we need to model. Like you mentioned, you sort of didn’t think too much as you were drafting initially….the writing would get refined in the revision stage. I think you could probably hook the kids into you writing about anything personal to you. Kids just love the opportunity to learn more about their teachers :) I think your students are even old enough to have you share your process for the piece and how you change your process after finding you were losing track of your thinking when you revising as you drafted. Best of luck continuing to write throughout the summer!!!
My first thought was, “How am I going to start this? What is the best scene to begin with? What is the most effective method for grabbing my readers attention? Who do I want to share this with? Can I use this piece in a modeled writing lesson with my class this year?” Other thoughts that went through my mind as I was composing were, “What imagery should I use? How can I make the writing come alive? What should I describe so that the readers feel like they are in the story with me?”
ReplyDeleteIn terms of planning, I tried to think of a recent experience that others could relate to, one that had lots of good content to extract and also one that was fresh in my memory so I could include lots of good details. When I got stuck, I re-read what I had written so far and then tried to move on from there.
My process is to write straight through but I am editing in my mind as I write as well?!? Weird but I was… I was thinking, “Is there a better way to say this? Is this a crucial detail or should I delete this bit? Does this scene have enough action or should I fast forward to the next part of the story?” I definitely write straight through but my mind is aware of what I would like to tweak when I go back to edit.
Thanks Regina for sharing your thoughts on your writing process. It’s great to be able to think aloud all of these processing thoughts in front of your students so they get a picture of all the thinking you actually do during writing. Each of us process writing differently so the more they can experience different writers process writing, the more they may be able to see what might work best for them and help them as writers.
ReplyDeleteMolly Frisch
ReplyDeleteAssignment #3
Part One
1.
• Start of School
My first day of kindergarten
How I feel before the first day of school as a teacher
Labor Day weekend with my family
• Special Memory
Hiking up the Schilthorn with Richard
Meeting Nina for the first time
2.
This summer I got to meet my niece. She was born on July 7th, so she is a tiny baby. I was so excited to see her that my mouth fell open when I first saw her fuzzy head and thimble-sized nose. The best part of my visit was getting to hold Nina. I have never held such a small baby. I loved feeling her breathe and watching her stretch her left arm above her head. I know she is going to be the perfect niece!
Part Two
1.
Capturing a Moment
This summer I did lots of fun things. One of the best moments I had was visiting a gelato shop. The display case was filled with overflowing vats of sweet, creamy, colorful gelato. When I was up to order I couldn’t decide between all the delicious flavors, so I had to sit down and look at a menu. When the waiter came I ordered rum raisin, chocolate, and hazelnut. The gelato was served in 3 perfect spheres with a triangle shaped cookie in the center. The gelato was perfect – it was cool, flavorful, and refreshing. Delicious!
2.
While I was writing I realized I needed to be able to visualize my memory first before a lot of the descriptive words came. I also noticed myself deleting words when I thought of a better word choice while I was writing, instead of doing lots of editing afterwards. I noticed myself reread what I had written to hear the flow and make sure it didn’t sound choppy.
I didn’t do much to plan my piece other than stop at the beginning to get a clear picture in my head of this memory. I had to remind myself of some of the details of this particular gelato shop and think about how best to describe the gelato. When I got stuck I would reread what I had already written to remind myself of the details I had included and help me figure out what I was leaving out. At the end of the piece I reread my writing to make sure it had a flow.
I realize that my writing process involves a lot of editing as I go. While I write, I think of better ways to construct my sentences or more descriptive word choices and I change them on the spot instead of waiting until I have completed the draft. I also do lots of rereading. I reread what I had written anytime I got stuck and again at the end.
Thanks Molly for actually sharing your writing pieces along with your thoughts on how you processed your writing. You seemed to do more visualizing and planning prior to jumping in than others in the course this semester. As I do, you also tend to revise as you go. It’s so interesting to see how differently each of us process writing, and I think it’s so important for kids to be able “see” how this process works for different writers.
ReplyDeleteAssignment #3: Sharing My Writing Life!
ReplyDeletePart One: Come up with a topic to write about for my short story class (an advanced high school class).
Idea list:
• Summertime adventure:
o Bike touring in France
o Getting lost in the woods
o Getting chased by a bear on the 4th of July
• Hawaii
o Jenny’s mean husband almost ruined it all
o Swimming with turtles
o Snorkeling
o Eating a mango on the beach, hunting for prawns
• Living in New Jersey
o Our kind landlord
o “treasures” on the beach
o Ticks
o Working at the animal hospital
• Car breaking down in Nebraska
o The swimming pool rash
o Visiting with campers
o Eating at a sketchy Chinese food place
I think I’d like to write about getting chased by the bear on the 4th of July.
Part Two: Let students see me struggle
I decided to go for it and skip the writing on my own for this one; instead I did my composing ‘on the spot.’ This is something I haven’t done much of, and I have to admit it felt risky! I spent some time thinking about what I wanted to write before class. Then I bit the bullet and wrote for 5 minutes on the overhead while my students observed. It was a challenge to keep my handwriting neat enough for them to easily read. I did think about this at times, which was distracting. I also felt distracted by the bright light of the overhead. I ended up scratching out my very first line, “It was the fourth of July,” and replacing it with, “I found out what it’s like to be a rabbit on the fourth of July.” I went on to describe a hiking trip with my dad and three dogs where I accidentally came between a black bear cub and its mother. I put a few asterisks in where I thought I might need more descriptive detail, especially around the part where the bear locks eyes with me and begins running at me. I paused to think several times. I ended up stopping just as I was out of danger, but the students wanted to know what we did next so I told them the rest of the story. I didn’t get a final, ending sentence in and so I asked them what ideas they had. I told them my ideas for an ending scene.
Afterwards, I re-read what I had written, pausing at parts I liked or thought needed work. I told them that before I started writing I had given myself some time to think about what happened, what I wanted to say, and how I might begin the story. I also told them that I liked the “action” part of the story, but I felt the set up could use some work, as in more description and some dialogue, maybe.