Crafting Writers Ch. 7-9, App.F

Chapter 7 of Crafting Writers, as the title Teaching Craft Lessons would suggests, gives concrete ideas and examples of teaching writing craft.  I was delighted to see that the “why” of each lesson was clearly depicted because this point was emphasized in chapters 1 through 6.  I was also happy to see that there is a place for lecturing when teaching lessons and that, according to Hale, “expertise in a subject matter is not always the key to giving good lessons. You do have to know something about the subject you’re teaching. You just don’t have to know everything.”  This really hit home for me because I tend to feel overwhelmed and that I need to know everything about something before I can try and teach it.  This statement gave me permission to understand that I don’t have to be an expert to facilitate learning. I found another important point of this chapter to be found on page 99, when the author explains that, while a well delivered lesson is a terrific goal,  the true test of  a craft lesson’s worth is how well students can hold on to what they are taught and bring it into their own independent writing.  I plan to remember this and to do my best to make lessons connect to my students’ prior knowledge so they might better assimilate the new information and use it on their own as one of their many “tools” of the trade. 

            Chapter 8, Researching Strengths in Conference, reminds us how imperative it is to teach all students their strengths during a conference. The story of little Jonathan was a prime example of this. The steps and goals of a writing conference were depicted well and again, the “whys” were quite visible.  I especially appreciated the section on deciding what to teach, as I think it could prove to be a difficult part of the process for me.  Keeping in mind the skills taught in the last conference, mini-lessons that were recently taught, and having an awareness of where each student is coming from, should help narrow down the possibilities.  This book is proving to be an invaluable resource for the teaching of writing craft.  It is bursting with concrete examples of what to do. Yeah!

            The most pivotal point in Chapter 9, Researching Next Steps in a Conference, for me was on page 151, when Hale states, “researching possible next steps in student writing begins by noticing as many possible teaching points as you can before moving on to deciding what to teach”.  Again, this eases a sense of “having to do it all” in me.  We can find different “next steps” and choose which ones we need to teach at a certain time. I like that this idea of choice keeps teachers from feeling like they don’t know what to do but rather are choosing what is important to focus on at the time. I can see how this all was described as a balancing act in the final comments.  The best we can all aspire to is to be aware of the need for balance and to “support students in different ways as we decide what to teach”.

            The guided practice pieces presented in Appendix F were more difficult to work through than I had imagined when reading the strategies for approaching them.  I welcomed the comparisons on the back to refer to while working through the process.   

           

Crafting Writers Blog

Blog entry Crafting Writers

09/19/10

                I really enjoyed Crafting Writers K-6, by Elizabeth Hale.  I found loads and loads of useful teaching techniques to use when teaching the craft of writing. These techniques make so much more sense than just practicing certain skills or memorizing vocabulary.  A recurring theme throughout all six chapters is the importance of teaching craft techniques which students can take away from group instruction and conferences to use during their own independent writing.   Another big idea is how important it is to teach students the “whys” of craft techniques.   When students understand the “whys” of writing techniques, they are more likely to want to use and feel comfortable using a technique, as opposed to just because the teacher said so.  On page 73 of chapter 5, the author states, “Helping students understand how different choices affect writing supports decision making at all levels”.  This statement in context refers to the use of reverse combinations and students taking the time to think about word choice and placement.   I believe however, that you can take this statement and apply it to encompass most of the craft techniques illustrated in these chapters.  All of the craft techniques are about giving students a huge repertoire of tools to choose from when they write.   As students write we want them to think about the words they are choosing, why they are choosing them, and to be able to use the techniques that make the most sense to them. This thought brings me to another theme in this book and throughout many of the readings in our classes thus far.  That theme is, the importance of  making the methods, techniques and tools we teach children meaningful for them.  It is abundantly clear that today’s teachers need to help students use their prior knowledge to make connections to what they are learning so that each student can assimilate the new learning in a way that makes sense to him/her.   This is much different than simply teaching skills, relaying information or showing students how to do something.   When students find a way to make this new knowledge meaningful, they are more likely to not only retain it but use it.  Isn’t this the ultimate goal of learning?   Let me finish up with one of my favorite lines from the book.  In chapter two on page 9, the author states, “Voice is the sum of all the strategies used by the author to create the illusion that the writer is speaking directly to the reader from the page”.  This was really powerful to me and I look forward to facilitating my students’ growth in finding their voice in writing.

Readings for 9/13/10 Sound Systems/Every Mark on the Page

Readings for 09/13/10


Sound Systems

Chapters one and two of Sound Systems contained a lot of useful developmental information. There was plenty of terminology defined. So much so that it did get a little confusing at times. I found myself referring to the tables for clarification as I read along. While these concepts are not new to me, the actual terms for the stages and the exact qualifications of each were. I definitely see the importance of assessment of students to make sure we are teaching the right things at the right time. This is the point of having a systematic approach, which is, “knowing what to teach, knowing whom to teach, and having a plan to methodically teach concepts, keeping records of learning and teaching”. As a preschool teacher for many years, I was excited to see that “phonics can be taught in a variety of ways and in the content of many activities, in the literacy and content areas”. Teaching phonics concepts in both reading and writing contexts seems like second nature to me. I loved watching my preschoolers see the connection between reading and writing!

Chapter Four, Phonics Assessments in Writing, included several clear examples of writing assessments. I appreciated the step by step formula of analysis at the beginning of the chapter. I attempted the analysis of student 2’s paragraph and managed to get it right as far as the formula. Understanding the stages of the student and the possible instructional moves made a lot of sense upon reading them but weren’t as easy to come up with on my own. This appears to be a useful to for evaluating students’ spelling skills.

Chapter 6, Instructional Methods, had a recurring point about the importance of letting children know the purpose of the knowledge. This reminds me of the age old question of “Why do I need to know this? How will it help me in the real world?” If we can help our students make connections about why they are learning things and how they will use them, then they will be more enthusiastic about the learning that is occurring. I have implemented elements of shared reading, and shared writing in my preschool classroom. There wasn’t the time or manpower to have guided workshops. I enjoyed learning more about the fundamentals of the literacy block in this chapter. The purpose and steps of these methods were clearly stated. I am an avid believer in a Print-Rich classroom and each of these sections reinforced the idea that “phonemic awareness and phonics concepts are valuable only as they are used to support reading and writing authentic texts”.

Chapter 9, Instruction at an Early Stage, was a great peek into Ms. Lacy’s classroom. I filed away many ideas from the concrete examples that were illustrated. A main idea that seemed to permeate the exercises was to make text meaningful to the children. The students need to have ownership of their writing and feel connected to the text. Something that surprised me was that children were allowed to speak out and have conversations during read aloud time. I’m not sure how this would work in practice but I liked the idea of it and understand how it makes the text more meaningful to the students. I also learned that making text familiar for read aloud time made it possible for the children to make new phonics connections not simply reinforce already learned skills. I was impressed with the ability of Ms. Lacy to keep track of each individual’s place and progress. I would have liked more detail on how all this was accomplished. I know she noticed it and recorded it but the how and when was a bit ambiguous.

Every mark on the Page, by Cusumano

This article struck a familiar cord with me. As a preschool teacher, I’ve had many parents ask me, “Will my child be reading at the end of preschool?” I spent a lot of time educating parents as to the expectations and goals of preschool. I finally put a packet together that included some child development and reading readiness information. This seemed to ease a lot of worries and unrealistic expectations. Once parents know what is expected of their children in regards to writing and how the process works, everyone can relax and let the learning happen. It is important as an educator to communicate with parents and give them the information they need to help their children in the best ways possible. I intend to use some of my tried and true methods of communication about what is appropriate and expected in certain areas, as well as some of those listed in this article as well.

Post 2 Community Literacy Dig

Food Court Literacy Dig


The food court is a common gathering ground for shoppers everywhere. Our local stop is no different. As we arrived at the food court, our group looked for an inconspicuous location to plan our attack of this assignment. My focus was to listen and record bits of talk, what people were saying to each other, who says it and what the routine ways of talking in this place were. As we sat at the table together, I took a visual inventory of the food court layout. I noticed the restaurants included Stir Fry, Little Tokyo, Chick –fil-A, and Luca Pizza. The first pieces of literacy evidence that jumped out at me were the menu boards above all the establishments. These incorporated photos, price lists and descriptions of menu items. I assume the purpose of these boards is to both inform customers of the products available and to entice them to buy from their particular venue. There were also signs visible of which credit cards were accepted, so lack of cash wouldn’t stop you from filling your tummy. To one side resided a newspaper machine.

I paid particular attention to the employees behind the counters. Some were busy filling bins, cooking, or cleaning and paying no notice to the people walking by and through the area, while others stood almost at attention, waiting for an order. These observations lead me to wondering about what cultural knowledge might be necessary to participate fully in the exchanges occurring at the food court. While it would not be imperative to speak English to get by, it would most certainly be helpful. One could easily figure out that this is a place to get food and could get that food by ordering by picture alone. However, clarity about items might prove more difficult with a language barrier. Some other prior knowledge, other than language, necessary to navigate this arena include, knowing first of all, where the food court is located and what is available there. Secondly, it would be important to realize that you must order at the counters and pay immediately before proceeding to the surrounding tables. It would be nice to understand that you are expected to throw away trash and put away trays, although that doesn’t always happen even by those that do “get it”.

Some common phrases by the vendors in this place were, “may I help you?”, “are you ready to order?”, and “what can I get for you?” Standing within a certain proximity to the counters with or without looking at the menu boards seemed to precede such questions. Even seemingly busy employees would stop what they were doing to wait on someone. Many customers continued to scan the menu boards while answering the employees with comments like, “I’m still looking”, “just a second”, or “I’ll have a……”. After ordering, cash or debit/credit cards were exchanged. These slips of paper were sometimes signed and sometimes not. After the food items were delivered, simple salutations were sometimes exchanged such as “thank you” or “have a good day”. I noticed, as was the case with the ordering, sometimes the customers and vendors looked at each other during such exchanges but most times not. It almost appeared as though it these were automatic responses…not even preceded by thought. I hasten to think how often in a day such interactions take place. How often and in what situations do we all go through life on automatic pilot?, not even paying attention to the people we are interacting with?

A scan of the food court tables, revealed a rich variety of visitors. There were what appeared to be a couple, a mother and child, three young ladies, as well as two women sitting across from one another. There was an informal atmosphere here with most people seeming relaxed and at ease. I infer this from the body language and general demeanors exhibited. The mother and child were working on homework problems. The mother read these aloud to her son. I was curious as to why they might be doing this at the food court as opposed to at home or if maybe the adult could even have been a tutor and the parent was off shopping. The three young ladies, I believe, were college students. Perhaps they were friends or dorm mates. I infer this due to the fact that I overheard them discussing when it was time to leave and that they needed to take the bus back to campus. Their general conversation surrounded how hard it was to accuse someone of shoplifting and describing different scenarios to one another. This conversation drifted into how one had a dress that would match the scarf another purchased and then whether or not the scarf was bought on sale. This conversation changed into a discussion of sales and which stores had the best ones and when. This spurred me to take a look at the stores visible from the food court. Most of these sported an array of sale signs, including special offers and great deals. It took awhile to figure out the relationship between the two women sitting across from one another. At first it seemed to be two friends, and then an employee and a boss, then just two employees. More attentive eavesdropping made it apparent that this was an employee hearing the results of a secret shopper experience. It was a positive review filled with nervous and relieved laughter from the employee. The evaluator was busily typing and reading from a laptop. The computer proved to be an invaluable literacy tool in this situation.

As evident in this community literacy dig, there are examples of literacy everywhere, all around us. Reading and writing are a part of our everyday lives, whether that is on menu boards, receipts, text books, cell phones, sale signs, newspapers, or computers. Preparing our future students to be as literate as possible in all imaginable situations is imperative.