Why Teachers of Writing Should Be Writers (or Bloggers)

I wrote a post the other day that was a reflection of why I blog, after I almost quit.

Head on over and sneak a peak . . .

Reflection:  Why Should I Blog?

Let me know what you think!

Shari :-)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

I spend an abnormal amount of time reading on the weekends.  It's a priority.  Or a sickness.  I don't know.  Some may say to that I need to get a life, but, reading is a big part of my life.  So, there.

Mondays, I'm going to hook up with Book Journey's weekly meme to share a current book that is creating sparks in my thinking.  Skip on over there to share your own reading and also, to see what others are diving into.

It's hard to focus on just one book, however, Donalyn Miller's, Reading in the Wild, sequel to The Book Whisperer, is my top priority to digest and let marinate in my brain.  (If you have not read The Book Whisperer, read that first ~ it's a must-read.  The two go hand in hand.)

The coolest thing about Donalyn Miller is that she writes in such an authentic voice.  She's real.  

And, she is honest.  She begins this book admitting how she used to blame the upper-level teachers and schools when her former students lost their reading motivation.  After all, in The Book Whisperer, she claims that all, if not most, of her kids leave her room as passionate readers.  She felt that if only the teachers would give them class time to read, self-selection/choice in choosing their books and the teachers would also read and share their own passion of reading, the kids would read!  Obviously, teachers were not doing this is why kids quit reading, was her belief.

This is where reflection comes in and taking a good look at ourselves as educators. 

 Donalyn then realized that she herself was not creating "independent" readers.  When her kids left her room, Donalyn was not there to support, encourage, and find those perfect fit books for them.   She thought her kids could do this on their own - after all, they could while under her wing.  However, her kids had not internalized the life-long habits that they needed to remain readers WITHOUT this daily support.  Had Donalyn continued to believe that her kids' reading habits beyond her own classroom were not her fault, this book would never have came to be.

Donalyn shares ways to instill these life-long habits and make them stick.  She helps us understand how to:

*Get to the root of fake reading.

*Help readers find time for reading inside and outside of school.

*Become CONFIDENT in self-selecting reading material.

*Give readers time to talk about books in book communities.

*Develop reading plans.

*Discover reading preferences, authors and topics.

You think you already know this stuff.  You don't.  Donalyn branches off in helping us try out strategies beyond what we normally do. 

And then, shows us how to make it stick.

Why?  Why is this even important?  Why use our teaching time for this? 

Because.

"Children who love reading and see themselves as readers are the most successful in school and have the greatest opportunities in life."

"No matter what standards we implement or reading tests we administer, children who read the most will always outperform children who don't read much." 

Research supports this over and over.

"But, some kids just are not born readers," you say.  "You can't TEACH a kid to want to read."

Donalyn calls this a cop-out and that if we believe this in our heart and soul,  we are selling our students short.  This dismisses us, as teachers, as having responsibility for our creating readers that love to read. 

Ouch.  The truth hurts.

I'm half-way through the book.  I'm already scribbling notes all over the pages, stopping frequently to ponder, and writing in my own reader's notebook in how I might apply these new understandings, so this book will take some time.  I can't wait to dig deeper into Donalyn's thoughts and do some unlearning to make room for new learning.  I just love it when a book does that. 

Shari :-)

Sunday Reading Round Up ~ June 8, 2014

Wow.  There is so much good reading out there online right now.  My biggest issue is finding time to dig in and really digest it all, figure out how to apply it in our work, and then to organize or save it to pull up at a later time when I need it.

I've decided to use two tools for archiving online reading to access at a later date: Evernote and Pinterest.  Pinterest will be my main tool as it's visual and I'm a visual person.

Another way for me to save these weekly readings is to round them up for a weekly blog post and tag them to seek them out later.  Not only is this good for me, but it's a way that I can share any mind shifting, thought provoking reading with others.  My hope is to start conversations, but even if that does not happen, at least some powerful words of others have seeped into the minds of teachers looking to always "do better".

"When you know better, you do better."  ~Maya Angelou

Here are some places I visited online this week that really got me thinking. . .

Max Brand, a kindergarten teacher, shares his stack of touchstone texts for his classroom.  He explains his process for choosing these 15 books at the Choice Literacy site.  I've been thinking a lot about touchstone texts, mentor texts, anchor texts a lot lately and how these are defined differently.  Also, I've been collecting a stack of my own touchstone texts to share with teachers next year.  I'll be writing about them this summer. :-)

In another article from Choice Literacy, Jennifer Schwanke, writes about how kindergarten teachers can foster a love of literacy.  She tells a beautiful story of a kindergartener who was retained and had TWO literacy loving teachers.  These kinds of stories make me so happy.

I love Nerdy Book Club, and Jami Spauling has shared her book reading tradition in her family once summer hits, along with 10 fabulous ways to encourage your family to read all summer.  I'm wishing my kids were little so I could pile them in the car and live reading with them like Jami does.  But, I'm working on my 19 year old son and packing a book in his duffle bag when he leaves for work on his summer job - lots of time spent driving to the work site each week.  If you can believe it, he's reading. I'm so sneaky.

Stenhouse always has some cutting edge blog posts by authors hot off the press.  Mark your calendars for their Blogstitute 2014 which starts on June 17th.

Are you reading Donalyn Miller's book Reading in the Wild this summer?  It NEEDS to be in your summer book stack and then, as you are reading, you can hop on over to Reflect and Refine:  Building a Learning Community to join in the discussion of your thoughts on this book.  It's a cyber PD!  I know I'll be talking about this read!  Go buy the book at Amazon and then mark your calendar for talk!  What could be better than reading and talking about reading!

Make sure you digest this important article from The New York Times with the research on the importance of handwriting, written by Maria Konnikova.  It's so important for us to know why we do what we do in the classroom.  If you want to spend more time on handwriting, here is good reason.

And here is a little food for thought about how much it matters that we know about the history of education, especially when making technology decisions for our students ~ Dangerously Irrevelent is one of the top blogs in education and he is not afraid to speak his mind (or truth - as long as there is research to support it).

Finally, summer is a time for us to reflect and really take a deep look at ourselves in how we can cultivate an open heart and presence in not only our teaching, but in our lives.

Hope you have a wonderful week!  And, don't forget to rest!!

Shari :-)

Why I Love Poetry

"Mrs. Daniels. . . why DO you love poetry so much?" a fourth grade girl asks me after poetry workshop last week.  I was taken by surprise, never asked this by a child before. Did she ask it because she could sense my love for this genre or was she confused as to how someone could actually LOVE. . . well. . . words, thinking I was nuts.

I rested my hand on my chin and looked up at the ceiling.

"Hmmmmm. . . there's so much to say. How do I put it in to words for you?" I tell her.

I try the best I can, given a sliver of time to profess my love in a way a 9 year old can understand.

"It's the emotion of the words, the tug of the human heart that poetry brings to me.  And, I love how poets play with words.  They are artists in how they craft the perfect combination of words to create something so meaningful."

"Oh.... I get it," she says, "I love feeling strong emotions, too." She smiles and off she goes.  A  simple answer, yet enough to satisfy the mind of a curious child.

I gather up my notebook and poetry belongings and head back to my room.  Before I sit down at my desk, I open up my notebook and write down this question that was sending me on a journey of my own thoughts.

Why DO I love poetry so much?

I proclaim this to kids, but do I ever explain why poetry has this hold on me?  Probably not.  A crazy woman she is, they must think.

So, a poem flooded out of my pen right then and there, to explain why.

Poem Crazy

What's there to love about poetry?

What's there NOT to love?

The strong tug of emotions that pull at the heart
a calling to stop and feel
in a way that connects us to our humanness

Fine artistic crafting of words and phrases
painting a picture in the mind
an image seen before
but never dreamed possible
to gather the perfect
combination of words
to describe it

The shortness
perhaps a page long
maybe just a stanza
or even a couple lines
but. . . the meaning
packed in so tight
It's possible
to write a poem
in 5 minutes
with just a few words
and BOOM ~ WALA ~ TADA!
You're a poet!

Poems neglect to give
everything (as books do)
so much left to
the reader
for one's own
interpretation
of the words on the page
in a way
that speaks to us.

And the rules. . .
not bound
by form and grammar
unless
you are patrolled
by a teacher
who makes you
only write Haikus and
sonnets
for which then
I'd hate poetry

A poem
takes my mind away
to a new place,
an interruption
to my hurried life
a small vacation
for my frazzled soul

Writing poetry
teaches me
to slow down
to pay attention
to wonder
and be curious
And then,
to write down the words
before they vanish forever.

Poetry causes me
to be present
with others,
with nature,
and in stillness
to hear the whispers
from the Universe.

But, mostly. . .
poetry just makes me happy
and fills my heart.

Lesson learned?  Share with your kids what your passions are and WHY you love them.  This shows that we are real.  Not only that, but you just might inspire the next lover of poetry.

A Round Up of New Learning From OSU Literacy Collaborative PD

My head is spinning with new possibilities after my few days of professional development for intermediate literacy coaches at OSU. Twice a year, this PD takes place for as long as our school is affiliated with Literacy Collaborative.

I have to be honest in saying that I feel guilty that I'm the only one from my district that can attend this learning.  I'd love to bring a slew of teachers with me.  Especially to have conversation on the way home around how each topic relates to our own school.

Because of time constraints, I also do not have enough opportunities to share everything that I wish to share with teachers upon my return.  It's the middle of March.  Testing looms.  Then, the downside of spring fever hits.  The last thing to add to a teacher's plate, at this point in the year, is more PD.

So, I'm trying something new and sharing my new learning through technology and through study groups or in working side by side with teachers who are interested in a topic.  To start with, I'm listing my ten topics of new learning in hopes that it stirs some interest in fellow teachers to dig in a little deeper with me.  Our own learning can expand in countless ways in working together.

1.  Reading and study of the book, Transforming School Culture, by Anthony Muhammad

This is a profound book that begs to be studied by all who live in the education world.  Jason Hillman, the director at OSU Literacy Collaborative presented parts of this book and challenged us to see ourselves throughout.  When Jason was a principal in Wyoming, he used this book as a book study for his entire staff and he transformed his school.  The book can be purchased as an online workshop for staff at Solution Tree.

2.  Graphic Novels

I have to admit, I've not been a fan of graphic novels. Well, my perception has shifted.  We did some exploring of this genre and had discussion of whether it can even qualify as a genre.  It's more of a form of writing as graphic novels can be in any genre (memoir, fantasy, narrative, etc.)  The depth of thinking while reading a graphic novel is immense and can not be overlooked.  We read the GN, March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell.  Wow, is all I can say.

3.  Author talks

We had a Skype author talk with Andrew Aydin, one of the authors of March.  I was reminded of the power of real authors talking to kids. Andrew is such an inspiration and mentor to people of all ages to find your passion and follow your dream.

4.  Evaluation and Data Use by Wendy Vaulton, senior researcher at Leslie Univeristy

We skyped with Wendy about forming essential questions from examining our data and how to develop a process for this.  I know I will share this process with our grade levels and our literacy team when we analyze our data for next year.

5.  Curriculum planning and creating a writing unit of study from the Common Core Standards

Wendy Sheets, Literacy  Collaborative trainer, presented us with a process for creating a standards based unit of study in writing.  She modeled her persuasive unit and then we worked in groups to create a nonfiction unit of study.  I have to say, that I love doing this work.  I will be writing more about this in a post later this week.

6.  Close Reading

Sherry Kinzel prompted us to explore close reading.  Close reading is a new buzz word in literacy and there are many definitions and variations out there about what it really is.  We read articles and dug into research to find out as much about it as we could (This was homework.). Then were organized into two groups:  defendants of close reading and persecutors of it. We had a mock trial to help us (as a juror) come up with a verdict of it as a practice for use within our literacy framework.

7.  Using Technology Within the Literacy Framework by Primary Literacy Collaborative Trainer, David Hensinger

David walked us through steps of analyzing and evaluating an app for adoption within a school. First, is has to be usable in many contexts and in with multiple content areas.  Second, it needs to be a tool for student use, a tool for teacher use, and tool for coach/admin use.  It needs to be free or at a low cost.  It needs to be EASY to learn.  The app should be able to have some form of communication with others that demonstrate their evidence of learning.

He then shared with us the app, SonicPics, that met these characteristics and modeled many ways the app could be used for literacy and other contents.

8.  Study Groups by David Hensinger

Study groups are basically what the term implies.  David started off asking us if we were spread thin in our positions.  I believe every professional who works in education is spread thin - whether a teacher, principal or coach.  He walked us through a process to form study groups with staff members to create an environment of inquiry and problem solving that can happen on it's own, with a coach facilitating how it might look and then encouraging teachers to form study groups independently.

9.  Best Books of 2013 for Intermediate Readers by Lisa Patrick, OSU Professor of Children's Lit.

Lisa  Patrick does not disappoint.  She has shared with us her best books of discovery every year at our PD.  Her energy and love of literature is contagious as I always want to run right our to Barnes and Noble and fill my suitcase before leaving for home.  She shared her process of determining these books and tells of the countless hours it takes to finalize her list.  I'm sharing it with you here.

10.  Finally, the theme of our PD: We are Superheroes and We All Have Super Powers

I was thinking this might be a perfect theme for our staff and kids for the month of April - testing month.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to fill our bulletin boards with "Super Power" things when we see it? Perhaps, a third grader read his first chapter book.  Or, maybe a fourth grader writes a poem with figurative language that we can all learn from.  Maybe a class creates a persuasive letter together for a social cause.  Not to mention, the ways we can give our kids super powers in preparing them for the state tests.  Capes will be necessary.  I can't wait to brainstorm some ideas for this with teachers.

There you have it.  We only had two and a half days of PD, but wow, the PD that to share with my colleagues is immense.  Thank you so much, Sherry and Wendy for creating an environment for so much learning to happen.

Each of these topics deserves a separate post in more depth, so please stay tuned. Until then, if any topic grabs your attention, please let me know as I'd love to explore it together with you!
Shari :-)

x

#10for10 Nonfiction Books for Kid Writers

I participated in the #pb10for10 (started by Mandy Robeck and Cathy Mere) in the past and had found so many picture books from other teachers that were new and inspiring to add to my own collection. Mine own post actually ended up being #pb11for11 as I was a day late.  You can see this list here.  So, I thought I'd gather up a list of nonfiction books that are must haves for our classrooms.

I remember the days roaming the library as a youngster in elementary school.  Not a “reader” yet that had learned the deliciousness of getting lost in a fictional tale, I sought out books that would teach me ways to create.  I craved to write, but there was not a lot of guidance out there to give me an idea on what writers do.  So, my the only writing consisted of my diary.  Thank goodness, we've come a long way since the 1970's!

Even though there are now writing books to inspire young writers, most of our classrooms do not house books of this fashion in our classroom independent library bins.  Perhaps we are not sure what is “kid-friendly” and what is strictly for adults.  Could it be that we can't find the right books?  

The market is flooded with writing books for kids, but many consist of imagine-you-are-invisible-type prompts or journal-entry writing ideas and do not really help young writers understand how to find real, authentic ideas to write about.  Real writers do not write from prompts. The last thing I'd want to write about is what it would be like to be stuck in a snow globe.  Ughh. . .  

Kids need strategies for writing in real life.

Well, here are 10 books that focus on writing for kids.  These are your students that already know they are writers and they want to be authors one day, and I'm thinking that if their passion for writing is real, they will teach themselves, with the help of a few books.  These are books for the writer themselves, to learn more about being a better writer.  

It's time we created a bin just for them.

1.  Spilling Ink:  A Young Writer's Handbook by Ellen Potter and Anne Mazer

Authors,  Ellen Potter and Anne Mazer, put together a perfect resource for those wanna-be writers, giving them inspiring advice that they wish THEY had when they were young.  Honestly, I think that if someone picked up this book to read and was not planning on writing, they probably will want to be before to get to the end!

2.  Look at My Book:  How Kids Can Write and Illustrate Terrific Books by Loreen Leedy.

Look At My Book is perfect for those writers that need step-by-step directions about how to create a story, giving kids some good strategies for ideas and then how to put it all together in a published book. As a "maker", I like the publishing component of this book.  It's very easy to to understand and follow.

3.  A Writer's Notebook:  Unlocking the Writer Within by Ralph Fletcher

Ralph Fletcher's books absolutely, positively, must be a part of a collection of books for kids on writing. I have a teacher friend that reads this book aloud to his class when beginning writer's notebooks in the classroom to help students understand what notebooks really are.  It helps them understand that they own their notebooks and how writers don't have special "writing skills", they just pay attention to the world. Fletcher's other books to add to the collection are How Writers Work, Live Writing, and  Poetry Matters.

4.  Dude Diaries by Micky Gill

The Dude Diaries series intrigues me.  These books are the kinds of books that one sneaks off the shelves and hides away with. They nudge the writer to put down your secrets.  As a young writer, being able to put down thoughts that I could not tell anyone else was liberating.  

These books will get filled up with writing.  A teacher could suggest to her class that anyone could add their writing to the Dude Diaries for others to read (audience acceptable content only - kids would need guidance on this). Talk to your class about the possibilities for these books.

5.  Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine

Newberry Honor author, Gail Levin, shares her secrets with kids on how she creates stories that kids love.  She give strategies for ideas, writing craft suggestions, and even offers advice for when you are stuck as a writer.

6.  Seeing the Blue Between:  Advice and Inspiration for Young Poets by Paul B. Janeczko

This book is for the young poets.  I've had fourth graders tell me they love and collect poems at home. Some tell me that poems come right out of them from nowhere!  Once kids fall in love with writing poetry, they crave to get better at it.  This book is filled with poems from wonderful authors, what poetry means to them and their advice to young poets.  If you are going to buy this book on Amazon, make sure you partner it up with Janeczko's other book about poetry, The Place My Words Are Looking For:  What Poets Say About and Through Their Work.

7.  Show, Don't Tell!:  Secrets of Writing by Josephine Nobisso and illustrated by Eva Montanari

This is a picture book that writers will sit with and admire the illustrative art work.  Throughout the book, advice to writers about how to "show and not tell" is woven in.  This craft is a tricky one for kids to understand, but once they do, they use it and their writing changes dramatically.  It's one of those hybrid genres as it's really a narrative and nonfiction combined.  Kids love teaching books with a story.

8.  Amelia's Notebooks by Marissa Moss

I don't think you could create a quality collection of books about writing for kids without including Amelia's Notebooks.  I, myself, sit with these and get lost in them.  And, it's impossible to NOT be inspired to write something in your own writer's notebook in Amelia style after spending some time with them.  This series just keeps growing, just as our own writer's notebook collections grow.  Again, not non-fiction, but, they need to be included.  Make sure you check out Marissa Moss' book, Max's Logbook, as well.

9.  How I Came To Be A Writer by Phyllis R. Naylor

Adding some biographies about authors and how they came to be writers is also important in adding this collection. Phyllis Naylor (author of Shiloh) has not written a how-to book, but instead a book that speaks of how hard it is to be a writer.  She writes about her challenges and how she did not give up on her dream to be an author.

10.  Once Upon A Slime by Andy Griffiths

Andy Griffiths writes a book filled with ideas for getting writing going along with telling about his own writing journey.  He has cool illustrations kids will love and snippets from his books.  He teaches other things writers do such as map-making, and even gives his writers quizzes to learn more about themselves.  He teaches how to write for many different audiences, meaning many types of kids.

Griffiths is rather humorous and for writers that like to write goofy things, this is the perfect writing book for them.

Hopefully, this list will inspire you to get started with a new bin for your wanna-be writers.  I know that I would have snuck these books home with me if I'd have had access to them as a young girl.

If you know of other books to add to this list, please share!!

Shari :-)

Illustrator Love

I adore children's picture books.   No, I mean it, really.  I'm not your average picture book browser.  I research, study, read, analyze, buy and collect children's books like my husband collects his hunting and fishing gear.  I've always thought of him to be boarder-line hoarder, but then, I look at me!  I don't tell him this, of course. :-)

Well, my most recent purchases of children's picture books have not been because of the story, although, the story is just fabulous, it's because of the illustrations.  I am a visual person who loves to create through painting, art journaling, sewing, whatever. . . so, when I am drawn to a book, it is almost always, first, through the illustrations.

One of my new favorite illustrators is Julia Denos.  I discovered her when browsing online for illustrations of faces, for an e-course I was taking by Mindy Lacefield called Paint Your Story.  Julia's site hooked me, line and sinker.  You can visit it here.  Just look at some of these heart warming illustrations of children that Julia has done!

                

Seeing these sketches in the sketchbook section of Julia's site just made we want to grab my colored pencils and start drawing pictures of girls.  I have a random mind.  It just works like that.  Then, I had to order some children's books of which she illustrated.  This one, by far, is the book I love the most. . .  Just Being Audrey written by Margaret Cardillo.  I know already that it will be read over and over this year because I'm using it as a mentor text in both classrooms and teacher training groups.

                                                                                                                   

Just Being Audrey is the biography of Audrey Hepburn's life.  Who doesn't love Audrey Hepburn?  Audrey had a unique personality and strong sense of who she was.  She followed her dreams by being true to herself, even through the diversity of her young life growing up in Nazi-occupied Europe.  Kindness was her strongest belief and she lived this until the day she died.  Her later years involved shining light on the poorest children of the world through her work with UNICEF.  Her fame helped to raise boatloads of money for this cause.  

Many themes run through this book:  following your dreams, kindess, overcoming diversity, being yourself, giving back and just loving children.  But, I'm also going to use it to teach some sketching of children when we get around to illustrating books.

A quote from Audrey will remain in my mind, just because I know it to be true. . .

"Like with flowers, it's the same with children:  With a little help, they can survice and they can stand up and live another day."

I don't know any educator that does not also live and breath that belief.

Shari :-)

(Oh!  You can follow Julie Denos on facebook, by like her page, here.  She has even more amazing illustrations there, too.  She just basically rocks, in my book.)