Considering Feedback....

Now that you are in the process of working towards that final piece, what has been helpful to you in terms of feedback? In my conference with Ronnie, she asked me to give her "constructive criticism" instead of just telling her how wonderful her words were. I hope I was able to do both! We need to consider these words and the feedback that was most helpful when we are conferring with our students. It is walking that fine line between everything being wonderful in the name of high self-esteem combined with the rigor involved in asking them to be all they can be as writers. We are here to encourage and to teach. Our job is to know and "read" our students in terms of where they are in their processes. How much baggage is our own when it comes to asking our students to take that next risk? This is one of the most difficult and yet one of the most powerful things we do as writing teachers. How did you feel being on the other end?

Conferring

As I read your posts it seems clear that a conversation about your writing would be helpful. Find a friend or colleague to confer with. When you get together be prepared with questions for each other about your writing and your writing process. Please list the questions you had for your partner and how the conference went for you. What was helpful? What was strange? What was scary? What felt good?

Noticing...

As you are working on your writing, what are you noticing about yourself as a writer? Is there that inner critic sitting on your shoulder, questioning every word and phrase? If so then tell it to take a hike! Trust yourself and have some fun with this! Remember, if you are stuck then look to a mentor text to help guide you along.
We are doing this to become better teachers of writing. Our purpose here is to look at ourselves as writers, think about the process and what it is like. Through this we will become better writing teachers because we more clearly understand the process of writing. So, as the writer you are today, what are you noticing?

Time to Think!

This week all I am asking you to do is to keep thinking about writing! There is no need to respond this week unless you are so moved! I know it has been crazy for all of you and so...be looking towards next week when I will be asking you about your thinking! Keep breathing!

Envisioning...

Many of your wonderings seem to be around the idea of creating a piece of writing. What kind of writing piece do you envision that you want to write? What are the possiblities that you see as you begin to practice reading like a writer on your own and with your students? Think about the Seven Stories of your summer. Is there something from there that you can envision as a piece? What kind of piece? A poem? An essay? A short story? An article? What about your work with your reading and writing history as demonstrated to our class? What are the stories that were found in your Bio Book Bags? Each of you had stories for many of your pieces. How can you envision those stories? Remember, that often talking a story through is the beginning of writing that story. This is all a part of the process of writing. I believe we "write" all of the time. When we are driving and thinking about our piece..this is a part of writing.
"Our goal in this teaching was to help the students take the material they had gathered around their seed ideas and read like writers to find possiblities for how they might draft those ideas and write well. We wanted them to be able to envision doing many different kids of texts with a single idea, to know that they didn't have to be limited to just "telling about" their idea in a draft." Katie Wood Ray pp. 52
Let's go beyond "just telling" by envisioning your peice in as many different ways as you can! Have some fun with this!

Wondering.....

What are you wondering about? What are some of the questions that you have in relationship to our work together, our classes, your teaching, your own writing, the reading, mentor authors etc.? Take a moment to explore what it is you are most curious about right now...

Favorite Authors

Who are some of your favorite children's authors? What is your all time favorite? Get to know that author more intimately so that we can get to "Know a few authors well", as Katie Wood Ray talks about. Who will be that author that you can quote inside and out? What can you discover about this author's craft that makes them unique? Let's begin this process together, realizing that as we get to really know these authors we are planning for infinite teaching situations ahead! You never know when you might need Patricial Polacco's help through a lesson!
And yes, Patricia Polacco would be one of my all time favorites because of the way that she structures each of her texts. But the one text that I know the best and that I use over and over is a book called Emma by Lisa Say. I love this book because of it's rich illustrations and how it allows you to get to know the character, even though she never says a word. I love how this author creates a story that forces it's readers to wonder, think and feel with and for the characters. I have used this book to teach questioning, inferring, connections, sensory images, writer's craft and more. It is because I know this story so well that I can use it well. It is not about getting to know a million different stories on the surface, but going deep with one that you love that you can have by your side as you teach everyday! As we want our students to live with a stack of their mentors on their desks, you too need to have yours!! draft