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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For the first part of this assignment, I wrote a prewrite for a speech competition they have to be part of. After reviewing all of their research (posted on charts), I chose three points that I wanted to make in my speech. I talked aloud about why I chose the points I did, making it clear that I wanted my true feelings to be expressed in this speech. I thought aloud about how to best open my speech. What could I say that would really capture the audience’s attention? I decided on an alarming fact. Then I wrote my topic sentence, clearly stating what my points were, and then I continued listing my topics. Finally, I formulated a tentative closing. I shared that I was not sure I would keep my closing, but I would check if I still found it powerful enough once I finished my whole speech. I stopped there, because of time.... and I wanted them to get started.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that although I did make some changes as I modeled, I really did sort of have a plan in my head before I started. I know that’s not very authentic, but I think I was worried about making the most of my time with them for the contest.
For my second writing, I was much less prepared – in a good way! I recently visited my daughter in Vietnam, and so I thought I could choose something from that trip for this assignment. What I really wanted to show my students was that good stories often start with us talking them. So I talked. I told my girls what all I had done when I was in Vietnam. And as I talked, I typed, recording my words in a sort of ‘stream of consciousness’ note writing. I had already talked with them about how a prewrite did not always have to be a list or a web. I did have one girl ask me, though, why I was writing my draft without a prewrite! So we talked about it, and decided that really what I was doing was brainstorming. So next, we circled various ‘moments in time’ that I could actually write about in detail. We found 5. Together we decided that it would be fun to hear more about riding on the back of the motorcycle taxis! This time I did make an outline of my ideas as a prewrite. I thought of some details about riding around Hanoi that I wanted to share in my essay. I had to rearrange some of them, once I had all of them on the board, because it made more sense, making sure to talk aloud what I was thinking in my head so that my girls could see that simply writing things down in a particular order, doesn’t mean they have to stay in that order for the final piece of writing to make the best sense. On the next day, I reviewed the prewrite and began my draft. I asked the girls for help thinking of a good topic sentence that would engage a reader, and that would also let them know what was coming. (We ended up changing the topic sentence after we finished writing the body.) Then I write the body of my essay, trying to think of words that were interesting but that also most truly described my feelings.
I have to say that I was worried I would lose the girls because it took such a long time! But they hung in there, and had lots to offer! All in all, I think that it was a good experience for all of us. I realized that I so like making an outline, if sketchy, before writing. It just helps me to make sure I cover all that I want to cover. Having said that, I have to add that my outline is not at all as complete as I usually expect of my students! I might only write a word or phrase to remind me of what I want to write. I also revise a lot! Sometimes I change a sentence before I even finish it! One of my girls actually commented on that as we were writing. I think that it astounded some of them that an adult who is obviously a great writer would feel the need to make so many changes to her work. I have to add here, that I did this assignment at the beginning of this week, and Thursday (our Friday) I had a girl come up to me with her writing journal and show me just how much she “had to revise” so that her writing would make more sense. I was so proud of her, but more importantly, she was proud of herself.
I was inspired to write for my students and be open about my writing process as I read the text. I immediately felt drawn to the example of the “Snap Shot” or “Capturing the Moment” exercise that Regie used with staff members at a school. I picked the topic of a summer moment for my students because I wanted to connect my writing to National Parks week. I chose a moment of traveling by car and wrote about the anticipation and awe that felt approaching and seeing the Teton Mountains.
ReplyDeleteThis was also valuable to me because my students know about my passion for national parks and road trips, so it made it easy to connect to my piece in a real and honest way. As I sat to write, I talked to my students about how I truly write, not using an organizer or brainstorming. Rather I simply write my ideas down and think as I go. I talked my way through the piece, explaining how I organized as I went. Since it was a narrative piece, my organization was focused chronologically. I told my students that I wanted it to make sense like a story which is easiest to do by putting it in the order in which it occurred. When I would pause to think about/talk about how I wanted to word something, they often tried to give me words to use. I thanked them, but told them that I was seeking my own words to convey my personal feelings so I simply needed a minute to find the right word that felt comfortable. I talked to them about what I wanted my reader to understand how passionate I am about my writing topic and the feelings that I wanted to emote. This was my main goal to get across to my students, that the reader of my piece is very important and I want them to get the best understanding of my thinking as I possibly can give them!
As I talked through my piece, we talked about the fact that at this point my spelling was not my priority. This fact allowed me to write freely and get my information across. I also talked to the students about revising and how, just because I put the words on my paper does not mean they are stuck there. I can come back at any time and change my phrasing, word choice, or reorganize my piece. We talked about being able to cross things out or draw an arrow to where I need to move a sentence.
Writing for my kids was nerve racking at the beginning, but as we progressed I became more comfortable with the audience. I felt very exposed and unsure about my own writing ability and was worried that some of my students might comment on my writing skills or lack thereof… As I continued through the process, I gained momentum and could tell that the students were curious to see what I would write next. This made me feel better about what I was saying, and how I was doing with the oral explanation of my process. When it was all said and done, my writing piece was not horrible, and my students were really impressed with my honesty and forwardness. I actually look forward to doing more demonstrations and explanations for my students, because they responded so positively this time!
Melissa, I enjoyed reading about your in-class writing experience. I know that my students are always surprised when I tell them that I am not pleased with something I wrote and that I want to change it. Somehow, seeing me revise has really inspired them to revise their own work more carefully. The new thing now, is for them to come up and show me what they had written, and how they have now changed it! I love it!
DeleteHi Kathy!
ReplyDeleteI’m also curious about your motorcycle taxi ride. :D
How cool is that, that your student needed to make revisions in her writing journal?
That is awesome!
I'm a huge fan of oral rehearsal. I think most teachers don't devote the energy or time to this simple strategy to help writers begin to write their ideas in an organized fashion. Asking them what they want to write about, repeating it back to the student and then having them repeat it back to your out loud is a big help to our struggling writers. Even with our little ones you can put blank lines for the number of words the student needs to write or add the beginning letters to each underline to remind them of the word as they work independently on recording their ideas.
Hi Melissa!
I’m so glad the writing experience went well and that you plan to try it again with your students! Good for you for going outside of your comfort zone. I’m glad you mentioned to your students that correct spelling is not the focus at this point in the process. It’s important to get our ideas down AND THEN remember the next phase is editing and revising our piece so it makes sense for our readers. The more the students hear this message, the more likely that they will put it into practice.
This assignment came at a good time; my class was starting a new poetry unit. I usually write in front of my class, however, it isn’t complete writing. I usually start by writing the first few lines and get them started and then let them go from there. The first poem in our poem books is called a Who I Am poem. In this poem you write all about stuff that you like or things about you that are interesting. I used an idea of this poem from a poetry book that I had read 3 years earlier when I was teaching 7th grade. I think this poem is pretty personal and students tend to start thinking that each thing you add has to be cool or something the rest of the class thinks is cool. So I have it set up that each line has to be a certain group of things, for example it looks like this:
ReplyDeleteI am________________________(fill in 3 adjectives about yourself).
I am _______________________ (fill in 5 of your favorite foods).
I am a ______________________ (fill in 3 activities you enjoy).
I am a______________________ (Fill in 3 things you are good at).
I am _______________________ (Fill in 5 movies that range from when you were little till now, that you loved).
I am ________________________ (Fill in 3 things you love and represent).
I am ________________________ (Fill in 2 statements about your personality, they need to be contrasting i.e. loud but shy, funny but serious).
I am ________________________ (Fill in 4 things you like to do with your good friends).
I am_________________________ (Fill in 3 things you do to relax.)
I am ________________________ (Fill in 1 or 2 quirky (funny) things about yourself).
I am ________________________ (Fill in anything about you).
I am_________________________ (This is the final line sum yourself up in 3 different adjectives or things about you! Or make a personal statement).
This is my first time doing this poetry unit and I am usually a little nervous to put in a lot about my personal life and when it comes to writing I get nervous and feel put on the spot when I write in front of them. So this was a challenge.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started I was very aware that Regie said that we need to model a full writing piece so that they can see you as a writer and you can model the entire process. I was also very aware of the time that it was taking to write this on the spot. I kept thinking that they were going to get bored and start zoning out and I was going to lose their interest. As I went through I kept thinking about each of my choices of words and what I should pick that would help them to understand the project. When I picked my movies they laughed and shouted out other movies that I should write instead of the ones I picked. I picked things that were cool when I was young and then they made comparisons with shows that they liked when they were little. When I wrote the quirky things about me I stopped and told them what quirky meant and explained my choices and they were totally into it. You could see their brains working about the funny things they were going to write about themselves. Some students had started writing their own poems without waiting to see the rest.
I stopped and reread each line making sure that it sounded right. I edit as I go, and my students helped out with that as well, raising their hands to tell me when I misspelled a word. I couldn’t help but think about how Regie talks about how that stifles the writing process. I could tell that each time they called me out on a misspelled word, I stopped and my train of thought really veered off course and it would take me a minute to get back in a rhythm to write. I think that really stuck with me, throughout the week I would catch myself wanting to help them and fix spelling or punctuation during the pre-write and rough draft stage. I did it once and then watched the student go from writing fluidly to stopping and fixing the word and having to gain momentum again. I thought about it and it wasn’t really worth fixing at that point and I should have left it alone and let him keep working.
I was really impressed by the poems that my students came up with in this unit. They were really creative and fun and inspiring. I even had them celebrate their writing by having a class poetry reading and they loved that. They loved taking the chair and sharing their poetry and they were really exited about sharing each different piece. I even had students volunteer to read their poems at our weekly assembly. They did so well I had many comments from other teachers about how great it was to hear from some of the students that have never really shared their writing. I was very proud of them.
ReplyDeleteJessie,
ReplyDeleteI love your framework! Thanks for sharing it with everyone.
We have had quite a few teachers comment, as you did, that they were worried that their students would be bored or lose interest with this assignment. But as you found, they also noted that the students were very into the lesson and were inspired to do their own writing.
I think you had a wonderful lesson regarding the editing piece during the draft stage. It is very hard to keep track of where we want to go when we have to stop and fix errors that other people point out. (And we’re adults. It’s even harder for children to do this.) I’m so glad that this stuck with you and it will likely help your students develop into even more confident and capable writers. I would actually share this as a minilesson with my students. They love to hear when we learned something, especially if it relates to school and their class.
Wow! That’s great that your students were so excited to share and also in front of the whole school. Also, it feels great when other teachers comment about your kids!
I’m so glad your poetry unit went well!
Assignment #3
ReplyDeleteShare your Writing Life
Part 1
Start of School
Special Memory
Family
Nicole’s Softball Team
Favorite Author
Best Friend
My best friend Laurie is 12 years older than I am but we have daughters the same age, 13. My daughter Nicole and Laurie’s daughter Sarah have been school mates since they were in Kindergarten and friends since 1st grade. They went to school together until 6th grade. That is when Nicole went to the local public school and Sarah went to private school. However, they are still friends.
Besides getting the girls together, Laurie and I frequently have coffee together. If I need something sewn or fixed she is my go to girl. Our recent camping trip to Detroit Lake was with Laurie and her family. We both serve on two softball boards together.
Sarah had an older brother, Jeremy. Even though Laurie was not his biological mother, he was hers. Laurie was Jeremy’s stepmom. You would never know it unless you knew he had another mom. 1 ½ years ago while in Australia living and working Jeremy go sick. He was diagnosed with Leukemia. He was treated in Australia but eventually he had to come home for treatment. Jeremy battled for 1 ½ years but in May this year he lost and that horrible disease won. Laurie was so strong for her husband, daughter, Jeremy’s other mom, and the extended family. I can’t imagine what she went through. All I could do was be there to talk and that felt like so little. The most horrible part for me is by the time Laurie and I met, Jeremy was out of the house and I never really got to know him. I so wish I had known him for the wonderful young man that Laurie knew him for.
How does someone be the rock for everyone else in this horrible situation, keep her daughter’s life as normal as possible at this time and carry on while her heart breaks with every breath. I am in awe of my friend. I hope I am as a good of friend to her as she is to me.
Part 2.
The patio boat ride out to the cove was beautiful and it was fun watching all the other boats out that were faster than we were. The sun was out, no clouds and a bit of a breeze. Once we finally hit the cove and met up with the three other boats in our group Marty had trouble us lined up with the others. On his first attempt he buddies up to the other boats on the side where the ladder went for getting in and out of the boat- time to turn around. Finally we are all secured and everyone was hungry. We grab a quick lunch then time to check out the water. Wow, colder than I thought it would be. I start to step down the ladder and I climb right back up in to the boat. Wait and minute and try again. There is no way I am jumping off the boat into that. Finally I ease myself far enough into the water that I can let go and start swimming. Once I was in the water I did not want out. I was disappointed when it was time to head back.
This one was harder to write.
I stopped and went back to change words a few times- didn’t like th flow.
I tried to use “and” too many times and needed a new word.
I had to stop and think what to write, how to start and what to say.
I don’t like this piece as much as other writings.