Write, Write, Write

As we are building routine it is really important that your students understand they are to write, write, write.

We have discussed

1.  What is a small moment?
2. Writers think before they write
This led to brainstorming people, places, and heart topics

Tomorrow I am going to talk about how sometimes we come in with a story we must get down.  My story is about what happened to me on Labor Day.  I have my writing pieces written for the week, but I am revamping for the teachable moment at hand.  Let's face it...we all have stories we MUST tell. Mine involves blood, stitches, and a trip to urgent care so I am sure it will spur several other stories.

Happy Writing!

Native Techno Users

One of the great things about the world today is there are over four different generations in the work place and we are teaching students who are born into the techno world. We on the other had are immigrants into this world.  I wish I could say I was super techno savvy. Yes, I have a SMARTboard and yes I try to not make it a glorified white board, but this year I really wanted to take the step next with student involvement.  With the help of my fabulous media specialist Mrs. G, I am off to a great start. We are using Weebly for education as our host.  I have set up my students' accounts and my account. The goal of this class site is for my students to write at home using the blog feature. It is set up to be a private blog and only users with the password can enter the site.  It isvery easy to set up and I'm very pleased to say that on Monday my students are going to jump in and begin creating their sites and hopefully we will have blogs going by Friday. 

My overall purpose for the blogs is to engage my students in Writing Outside of the School Day (calling it W.O.O.T.S).  Writers don't just write at school. They write at all times of the day.  My expectation will be for them to write 3 days a week.  So here's hoping the techno-savvy 5th graders will buy in and write, write, write!

Boy Writers

There is a great post on Boy Writers at Two Writing Teachers. Take a look. This is one of my top 5 favorite books and it really changed how I get my boy writers to work in my room. I read this book in one sitting and laughed and realized what I needed to do to help my boys reach success in Writer's Workshop.

Journey As Writers

Journey of a Writer

pencils scribbling
eraser flecks
we are writers
pages rustling
minds engaging
we are writers

dream, hope
believe, breathe

WE ARE WRITERS

~LYS~

As my students begin their writing journey, I need to model for them and help them find ways to think about the stories in their hearts, but most importantly students must develop a sense of community within the classroom so they feel safe enough to share their writing.

1)MODEL, MODEL, MODEL: Not only should we as teachers model writing, but model what is sounds like to talk to another writer about their writing. I do this in my conferences, but I also do this when kids share their writing. I model by saying what I liked about their writing piece.

2) CHART PAPER IS YOUR FRIEND: Make a list of appropriate ways to compliment someone's writing. I keep my chart posted so that all students can see it. Most of the time I start of the chart with my own favorite prompts.

"I like the way you..."
"My favorite part was.....because..."

At first students will use "This reminds me of..." I explain to my writers that it is a compliment when their writing helps the reader make connections to their own life, but as we progress through out the year I try to make the students focus on the craft of writing.

3)SHARING IN SMALL GROUPS: I have students share in a smaller group before they come to the carpet for the sharing circle involving the entire class. This helps those that would not normally share in a large circle still have an opportunity to shine in a smaller setting.