What You Know by Heartby Katie Wood Ray

Group Presentation by:Lisa Haugen, Jennifer Reed, Andrew Dunn, Christina Carpenter, Angela Massa

Writing Like a Teacher of Writing

Write the way you are asking your students to write.

Remember writing is a process with many parts/steps.▪ Spend time thinking about what you want to write.▪ Look at other author’s work, listen to other authors.▪ Take the time to let the writing develop.▪ Begin drafting: Envision words, craft, style, etc.▪ Revise: Writers are always changing their work.▪ Edit for publication.

(and all the little, but vital pieces in between)

Understandings vs. Strategies

Understandings- What a writer knows about writing. What a writer thinks about writing and why they think about these things.

Strategies- The process, parts or steps of writing. What kinds of things writers do and how and why they do them.

Developing Writing Curriculum Similar to the thinking that goes into

a craft study▪ NOTICE- (or) look at something you have done

or thought about as a writer. ▪ DESCRIBE – what you have done or thought

about and why you did it or thought about it.▪ NAME – in some way what you did or thought.▪ CONNECT – what you have done or thought

about to another writer's process.▪ ENVISION- your students doing this or thinking

this as they write.

Developing Writing Curriculum To develop this type of curriculum

teachers need to dissect each aspect of writing into mini lessons. They need to think critically about everything that goes into each phase, and how they would present it to their students. They need to look at writing on two levels. 1) Is this something that I would want to write about, and 2) how can I teach these concepts to my students.

Developing Writing Curriculum Each mini lesson concept has two levels:

An understanding and a strategy. The writing process is guided by a series

of questions that move you through the piece.

Each question or concept, from growing an idea to publication, can be made into a curriculum chunks or mini lesson.

As teachers we need to know what mini lessons our students need.

Writer’s Notebook

The writer’s notebook is crucial

Developing the Curriculum of Process

Students must know how to do three things:

1. Get ideas for writing and keep up with those ideas

2. Select ideas to “grow” into published pieces

3. Draft, revise, edit for publication

Get Ideas for Writing: Seed Ideas

Use a writer’s notebook to gather seed ideas,

for example: Things we see that are interesting Snippets of dialogue we have

eavesdropped on Things we remember about our lives in

the past Family stories that we know Word play with words we like Entries about things we care about(many more examples on page 34)

Select Seed Ideas to “Grow”: Writing Projects

Use seed ideas to choose projects that you feel you can develop into something more. You can grow these ideas by:

Conduct research around the seed idea Map out possibilities for organizing

different drafts Experiment with writing in different genres Ask questions and try to answer them in

the writing Imagine the idea written in different

voices(many more examples on page 40)

Draft, revise, edit for publication

After drafting, here are a few examples of ways to revise:

Take a line and use it different ways Have someone read and summarize Take a small chunk and write it longer Are there places where punctuation could

add meaning? Cut out anything you can. Read and reread the draft aloud.(many more examples on page 45-46)

Minilessons: Teaching from our Own Writing Use our own writing to model for the

students. Show them that we have done what we are asking them to do.

There are many ways of approaching writing; show students different authors and examples

Situate the lesson in the ongoing work of the students’ writing

Studying Writers’ Office Work

Main Ideas (Chapter #5)

This chapters focuses on how authors go about their work

Significant work occurs “away” from the writer’s office

We need to learn what that work is specifically

We also need to be mindful that powerful writing occurs well-before the actual drafting process

Two Questions we ask in our own Writing

1. What kind of things (routines, thoughts, practices, etc…) do writers do & why do they think about these occurrences?

2. What do writers do once how & why do they do them?

The Writing Process Note that there are multiple steps &

changes that occur between the time a topic is selected up through the drafting process

The author takes us through a labyrinth of ideas, questions, pondering thoughts which may lead to a totally new creation

An Example of an Author may Experience

An abbreviated version of the scenario:A professor was caught in an ice storm & she decided to stop to get a bite to eat in a city called, Plain City. Unfortunately, she never did find the town nor the McDonald’s. Since then, a myriad of thoughts cross her mind about this “elusive” town every time she passes by.

                        

                     

An Example of an Author may Experience – Cont’d

Plain City, although a real place, becomes a fictional setting with characters & landmarks that may or may not fit the true description of the town.

Nonetheless, the author creates a segment of ideas that gives the city a separate identity.

Unlike inexperienced writers, the seasoned author is trained to generate ideas that have not fully been experienced (i.e., she never “discovered” the town)

An Example of an Author may Experience – Cont’d

Feelings & thoughts of bewilderment, awe, fear, & curiosity all play an interesting role in helping create strategies for writing.

These tactics can also be used by students in order to expand their personal writing style.

Another Firsthand Experience Robin offers a variety of strategies

that many of us may have already practiced or implemented within our writing.

These methods show how Robin may come up with a specific topic such as through a conversation or targeting a publication.

Further Examples ofFirsthand Experience

This may sound like common sense, but matching or altering your lifestyle may open the door to ideas for a particular work.

Writing for a certain type of audience may cause the work to be focused or concentrated for that group exclusively.

                       

                      

The Purpose of Strategies These strategies can be used for:

-Mini lessons

-Writing Conferences

Techniques of Various Authors Setting Deadlines on Projects Take notebook everywhere & be

prepared to take notes Asking rhetorical questions about

ideas Creating Twists (Events) Finding Ideas Not being discouraged about revising

                      

                       

Reading Like a Teacher of Writing Main Ideas – (Chapter #6)

This chapter will cover the importance of always being observant & keen on items that may be useful for your students.

                      

                       

Reading How Mara Drives As Mara is driving with her friends

having a good time, she suddenly pulls off on the side of the road to retrieve a toolbox that she obviously saw in her peripheral vision.

This impulsive but cognitive nature is how we as teachers need to train our minds in order to find materials to teach our kids.

Training our Students

Students are trained to turn ideas into a number of different writing styles:- poems- short stories - memoirs- essays

                      

                       

Seamstress & the Writer

Consider the ways of a seamstress- Extreme Patience- Studies materials/fabrics meticulously- Examines the possibilities of patterns

**This approach is strikingly similar to the writer**

                      

                       

                      

                       

General Approaches to Writing

Analyzing the author’s intentions Asking how the title connects to

the story (Observing the beginning, middle,

ending) Examining wordplay including

rhythm & patterns

Chapter 7Practice what you Preach!

In order to give good advice to your students about what to write and how to write, you must follow your own advice.

You, as the writing teacher, read for two purposes: 1) to find craft and structure and 2) for planning curriculum

In doing this, you can borrow and modify crafts and strategies of writing into your own style, then use them and teach them.

Chapter 8-In order to help your students, you need a vision!

You, as the teacher needs to decide what you want your writer’s to know and be able to apply within their writing as well as what your writer’s workshop time will look like.

A good teacher of writing never gives her students ideas or tells them how to write, but builds on what they are already writing.

Find and use musical lyrics, picture books, or other examples to show students how writer’s borrow different crafts to write for different purposes.

Chapter 9: “Looking Closely at Minilessons”

The key to a successful writer’s workshop is students creating many different types of texts.

Teachers need to supply students with the tools and resources to do this.

Students must attempt various strategies to determine what fits them best.

What do you see?

“If you’re not from the prairie,You don’t know the sun,You can’t know the sun. Diamonds that bounce off crisp winter winter

snow, Warm waters in dugouts and lakes that we know. The sun is our friend from when we were young, A child of the prairie is part of the

sun. If you’re not from the prairie, You don’t know the sun. (p.1)” “If you’re not from the prairie…” David Bouchard

“Sight an Eye for Tranquility” “Rhythmic repetition of color and texture--

gold rubeckias, feathery grasses--harmonizes the area beside the pool, where a multitude of tones would break the calm (p. 105).”

Taken from an article about landscaping written by Douglas Brenner ,Martha Stewart Living, March 2010.

What minilessons can be derived from those texts? Pronoun usage Repetition of ideas Probable reasons for writing Verb choices Punctuation usage What do you think would best with your

students? Do these texts trigger any examples for

you?

Chapter 10: “Letting Authors Co-teach the Curriculum of Products”

Use authors to help teach students how to write well.

Choose authors you can work with and allow students to choose authors they like as well.

Choose authors whose writing represents what students are writing and can help students envision possibilities.

Speed dating with professional authors…

“Sorry, Mr. Shakespeare, you’re just not what I need right now.”

“Well, Mr. Peck, I think you might be just what we are looking for.”

“Mr.Paulson, I will definitely be seeing you again.”

Questions for prospective “writing” mates Does the author use language and

shape texts in interesting ways? Can this author carry his or her

teaching weight when assisting students in writing well?

Can the relationship go the distance? Could the work of this one author be

enough to satisfy the needs of my students if all other sources were not available?

Follow your heart…

Let students choose writers they love and admire.