Tuesday, August 5, 2014

And With A Light Touch Chapters 5-6-7



Well, I didn’t get as far as I hoped in reading my book this week.  There were five chapters in this section and I only made it through three.  I guess not bad considering I spend most of my time in my classroom these days. 

Chapter 5 was about Establishing and Managing a Writing Workshop.  I am sure every teacher has their own way about how the writing workshop should run however there are some things that all teachers need to do to make things go smoothly, and that is establish rules.  Carols rules are simple: 
1.  Stay in your seats.
2.  When I stop by your desk, I want you to tell me what you are writing about.
3.  Work Quietly
4.  Write in pencil and illustrate in crayons, markers or colored pencils. 

These rules sound simple enough, however what if you cannot see the word wall.  What if you want to look at a book for an idea.    You can avoid all the what ifs if the children find what they need before the writing begins.  My students have their own dictionaries as well.  Each week they add the weekly spelling words to their books.  We also add important names and other vocabulary words too. 

Carol also has some great rules for large group sharing:
1.  Look at the person who’s talking.
2.  Keep your hands still.
3.  Be very quiet.
4.  Listen carefully.
5.  Think of any questions you have.

I am going to make two charts for my class.  As we are writing I am going to have the writing rules on the bookstand and as we are sharing I will display the sharing rules.   This will be a gentle reminder of what the expectations are.  I already have a banner I found last year that is similar to this that I use in my classroom.  I just love it.  I refer to it all the time.  I found it a First Grade Fever and here is a bonus....it is free.  
First Grade Fever



Throughout Chapter 6, Mini-Lessons:  Helping Children Craft Their Writing, Carol give lots of examples of topics for mini-lessons.  She has an amazing list on P. 112, 113 and 114.  

The point she made that really stuck out in my mind was how she started with story time first and used that book as her lead into her mini lesson for writing.  This is a great idea because I always feel like I am short of time.    All literature will have some type of mini lesson embedded in them.   I am going to incorporate this into my daily schedule.  After lunch I always read my class a story, I am going to find stories that will help reinforce my writing mini lessons. 

Another great suggestion that Carol makes in this chapter is show not tell.  She demonstrates most of her lessons through her own writing.  She often writes something ahead of time and has the students give suggestions which generally lead to the point she was trying to make.   She models for her students good questions to ask and it pays off in her mini lessons when they ask her questions about her writing. 


Chapter 7, Listening and Responding, caught my attention the most.  I am guilty of having long conference lines and at times I don’t get to the kids for weeks at a time.   At one point last year I had a stack of stories and I was reading snowman stories at the end of Spring.    Carol tries to stop by each child’s desk daily.   After her mini lessons she walks from desk to desk and gets down at eye level with the child and they have a discussion about the piece the child is writing about.   Wow!  I need to more of that.  She carries a notebook with her and makes notes of who/what she conferences about.     I want to make a grid with each child’s name on it and make sure that I make some kind of notation about where they are in the writing process.   Carol has a system that works for her on P. 148.  I may start with her system and see how it goes.   Carol views her role as the teacher to first listen to what the children have to say and second respond in a gentle, caring way that will help lead the child to the next level of writing. 

The three chapters I read were a great reminder to let the children guide the mini lessons you teach.  You have to wait and see where they are and then guide them from there.  I do have some homework this week I have two charts to make for writing workshop and a grid to make for observations.  

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