Katie Wood Ray writes about knowing your students and what they struggle with as writers (see p.203). This knowledge will help you select books for your library that will demonstrate that aspect of writing.
What do your students struggle with in their writing?
What text will you use to help your young writers with this problem?
Most teachers were probably caught off guard when “Hurricane Pat and June” hit Room 11 on Thursday evening! Packed with a ton of paper, supplies, and ideas, this dynamic duo hit hard. They flooded the room with conversation, interactive activities, and laughter. Participants learned how to make foldables in every shape and size to teach a multitude of …
It was our privilege to have Ian Nolte lead our class in a writing prompt and a technology lesson. Participants wrote about a subject they believe they know more about that others. This writing became an audio interview. This tied in with Ian’s podcasting demonstration. He walked everyone through the process of creating the audio files and transferring the …
Our special guest speakers this week were JD Maue and Mandy Flora. Both are returning fellows and in-service coordinators with MUWP. Mandy Flora conducted a writing lesson that incorporated music and teaching. Participants chose a skill they teach and wrote lyrics to teach specific points. Finally, they sang the lyrics to a tune they had …
Our focus this week was on writing vignettes. As we revisited this topic, we explored strategies for writing vignettes and I shared a few examples of vignettes others have written. Students will write their “teacher story” as a vignette this year, focusing in on some aspect experienced during teaching. I believe these stories will become a piece …
You are given another opportunity to dissect Ray’s books in this chapter. The focus is on using words as a technique in the craft of writing. She gives lots of examples of how words can be used in writing.
Use a book or other text you love and see how the author has used words to make the writing so …
We are given a glimpse into Katie Wood Ray’s library in this chapter. She categorizes her books according to text structure. She encourages us to “envision the possibilities” of our students unwritten work. She reminds us that the lists are not definitive, but are just a start to guide us as we discover books to add to …
Chapter six discusses dissecting a text to determine how it was written. The “five parts to reading like a writer” are: notice it, talk about it, give it a name, think of another text like it, and finally, envision it in your own writing. (See page 120)
Which text will you use to demonstrate this strategy?
Chapter 5 offers many suggestions about teaching writing. Katie Wood Ray also suggests that how a piece is written (versus what it is about) is what determines if it is good writing. The subject may be boring, but written so well it becomes interesting to read. Think of a well written piece of writing that made …
The importance of reading aloud in the classroom is the focus of chapter 4. Consider ways you can incorporate more opportunities to read aloud in your classroom.