August OLW: Gratitude

August is coming to an end as I reflect (which was my 2012 OLW) I realize that my Choice Literacy writing retreat has once again helped me learn more about myself than I even realized. Having the experience of trying something "out of my box" has helped me grow as an educator.  I think differently about writing now.  I learned the importance of a community of writers.  A group of people who support each other and  are willing to say not only compliments but also criticisms that help you strengthen a skill.  These experiences have allowed me to think differently about this group of fifth graders.  I understand again what it feels like to be scared when you're not quite sure of an answer and several people are waiting for your response.  When you can't find your verbal voice, but you are willing to write your response down in a notebook first to bring security to your words.  To literally not know the answer or know the "lead" you have been thinking about for what seems like hours.  Until I was allowed the chance to have these experiences, I had forgotten what it was like to be nervous or not have the courage to speak up.  I feel gratitude for Brenda for inviting me to the retreat along with our writing group that has now formed and meets on a monthly basis.  Gratitude from one writer to the next writer.

Shifting my Definition of Digital Literacy

What qualifies an assignment as a digital writing piece? One of the best quotes I heard this summer:  “Anything completed on a computer that could have been done with paper and pencil is not digital literacy.” I realized I was stuck with my definition. This summer through twitter chats, Allwrite conference, reading and discussing professional books,  I redefined digital literacy for myself. Although it will be a working definition because I will be learning right along with my students. 

Digital writing is not just typing on the computer and not just googling it to locate the answer. Most writing needs to be within a community similar to my learning this summer.  A group of writers interested in composing along with conversations that will help them grow not only as writers but also as a class community.  

We are going to begin this process with our weekly newsletters.  Each Monday, I am going to give the students a large sticky note and ask them to be a recorder all week.  Keeping a list of their favorite lessons, books, moments etc. On Friday, we are going to share our lists and form writing clubs: reading, writing, word study, math, science and Room 228.  Each club will compose a part of our weekly newsletter. Last week, we started small with creating our Top 10. Another shift is the newsletter will be posted on our class website which anyone can access although certain sections will be password protected.  Moving from paper newsletters to posting it will break down the walls by expanding the audience. The students can share the newsletter not only with their own family but grandparents etc. who might live out of Ohio or even not in the United States. At some point, I might open the comment section on our newsletters which is something I am considering. Any thoughts?

As I introduced this last week, the students were very excited about their job as a recorder and then a composer. I have several goals woven into this process. One the students will see their work published weekly which is a huge shift from last year. Next their work will be published to a larger audience which changes the perspective of their writing. Finally as a class of writers, they will grow as they watch the newsletters evolve throughout the school year building a digital portfolio of our school year.  Now I am wondering what I can do with all these newsletters at the end of the year?

                                                                                                                                                                          

OLW: Gratitude for Time to Write

There are times in my life when I know that my next steps are going to be difficult.  Not because I was in danger or a loved one is hurting, but because those steps are going to lead me down a path that I am not comfortable walking.

A journey begins with a first step. My first step started three years ago when I pushed the word “publish” on my blog.  My path meandered along with blogging, and I was thrilled to have a place to share my thoughts. Choosing to take some bigger steps along with much encouragement and even more pushing from friends, I accepted a gracious offer to begin writing for Choice Literacy early last year.

My journey in writing continued as I attended Choice Literacy’s Writing retreat in Hocking Hills. My first steps felt like a young child learning to walk as I entered the lodge to start our day. I wasn’t sure of expectations, and the only thing I knew was that I was going to be given a gift---wrapped in time. Several hours a day to write, reflect, and confer with an amazing group of writers.

I often wonder why I don’t always embrace opportunities like this. I always tend to lean on the frightened side. The side that almost makes me say no but then I realize that I will be in a community of writers with all similar goals.  I will be in an environment that will not only nurture but also help me to understand that I am a writer.  I had the chance to stop time and think about my life as a writer. That was the biggest gift of all for me in the retreat. Time to hit the pause button on life and envision myself as a writer. Brenda, Choice Literacy editor, reminded us about the importance of time as she read from The Productive Writer by Sage Cohen

       “ …I can’t tell you exactly how you can make time for writing, but I assure you that you can.  I can also tell you that your relationship with time is more subjective that you might imagine.  The best way to get a handle on how much authority you actually have over your time is to start becoming aware of how you are spending it.”

I was reminded of so many lessons that I had lost somewhere in my busy life. Lessons that involve finally saying out loud “I am a writer.” Learning that I am in control of my time and when I choose one thing I lose something else. One of my favorite quotes from the book is “waste time well.”  For me as I continue down a winding path that has opened to so many different avenues I have gratitude for the experiences and most of all I am thankful because I had the courage to take that next little step.

This is my cue card that I chose to place next to my
computer to help me remember the lessons learned.

All Write Day 2: Thinking as a Writer

As I read all the blogs about All Write it is amazing to me all the "take aways" that everyone has posted.  As I reflect on Day 2,  I realized there was a  common theme for me that carried over from Day 1.  To be a writer you have to write. 

This thought along with it takes 10,000 hours to be great at something has lingered.  Along with the call by Kate Messner announcing Teacher's Write 2013 I realized I am not really a focused writer.  I write blogs, articles and occasionally (rarely) write in my NB which is entitled: Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake.  Thanks to Mary Lee for encouraging me to write.  I had a few days to ponder, and I decided to start small with a suggestion from Jeff Anderson:  as you are reading think as a writer.  That stuck with me like glue because I am defiantly reading this summer, but  I haven't been writing in my notebook.  I loved his idea of collecting phrases, words that spark, unknown words  and finally your thinking about the book.  This was a simple place for me to start. I was reading The Real Boy.  I was struggling with organizing the characters along with the setting. After I started writing,  I was more connected to the story along with gathering ideas for writing.  It was a powerful lesson for me to feel like my students do when they get confused with their own reading.

It is a beginning and just the start of my 10,000 hours thinking as a writer.  One of the best steps for me will be sharing this journey and my WNB with my students in September while I encourage them to start their 10,000 hours at age 10 instead of 49. 

Turning Research Inside Out

Research has turned upside down in my room this year! It was time to turn research on it's side and try something new.  For the past year, honestly, I have been thinking about how to change it so that it involved higher level thinking, allowed students better choices (not just their favorite baseball player or roller coaster) and most important integrate more reading into their project.

The picture above is the perfect introduction to this year's research project.  I gave my students choice to either write a business letter, take a "field trip" or an interview of a professional in their area. Three boys took their field trip to the zoo after school this past Thursday.   The four areas of research are listed below:

As you can see, I used the Ohio newly released Science standards and allowed students to choose their area and then they had to choose 3 indicators to focus their research on for 2 weeks.  Finally if they chose A, B, or C their final project is to present their research in a poetry book (poems they would write) or write a literary non-fiction story.  Six students chose "Thinking as a Scientist" and they are following our science book for procedures (#1-#5) and their final project will be 3 fold board and their lab report explaining their experiment. We are right in the middle of the project, and I will be grading their research this weekend. That was also important to me breaking the project into smaller parts, so I could check in with them more often.  Check back in two weeks to see their final projects. Turning research up side down is exciting for my students, but I think even more exciting for me.

See their note cards-ready to research at the zoo.

What Are You Writing These Days?

“So…what are you writing these days?” Kate Messner’s opening slide after she introduced herself.  She paused and asked us to think about this question.  There was a long silence in the audience and her words hung over me like a dark cloud for the rest of her presentation. Not because I am not a writer but do I “find” time to write, or do I “create” time to write?

She shared the importance of writing communities including support on twitter, her summer virtual writing camp called Teachers Write! And how we can support each other through our blogs and leaving comments.  I loved when she said, “Revision should not be a surprise.” Because for so many students when they turn in their final piece of writing that they have worked hard on they think they are done/published.  The idea that revision is not a surprise is something that I need to reinforce throughout the school year within reading, writing, word study, or even math. The message being that as students of writing, we are never done. There are always revisions that can be made to make a piece of writing stronger.

I learned several ideas that I will take back to my classroom. in addition I will process several ideas over the summer. However, the part of her presentation that I will take back to my class quickly will be about how to do mini revision lessons that can make a huge difference.

#1 Write for three minutes describing a place that you love. (if they have a picture that would be great)

#2 She then modeled a Sometimes Poem for us and asked us to take our ideas above and write a Sometime Poem (more on that in Poetry Friday)

#3 Add a sense of SMELL to your poem (this can change to other 5 senses)

#4 If your poem, could talk back to you right now, what would it say?

#5 Role Play! Have a student act out a tired body language like angry and take notes in WNB about what you see add details to your poem

#6 Cut at least 20 words from your poem

Kate asked us to go through this writing process and it was a insightful experience for me because I stumbled at some points and felt success at other writings. I learned the importance of her workshop-and yes, we are all writers.