Gobbling Up Great Writing!

I am very much looking forward to gobbling up some great writing from my students this month! There seems to be a lot of fret over writing w/ the common core and writing w/ our district provided units and how B-O-R-I-N-G it is. At first glance, it might appear that there's not much wiggle room in some curriculum/pre-packaged units. I, myself, struggled with these new teacher's manuals that are scripted word for word what to say throughout and entire lesson. I felt like someone handed it to me and w/o any words said: "Here, do this."

No teacher that teaches with a lot of style, art,  heart and flair wants to be told: "Here, do this". No teacher that wants their students engaged and on the edge of creative thinking wants to hear: "Here, do this." We want to teach with our own unique style, enthusiasm, use our own dialogue, and meet the diverse needs of our students without the script. Truth is, there are some teachers who might need that script. Even if it's to get the gist of things until they can make it their own. I know I've been there. There are some teachers that need that script all the time....although, we know if you are reading this, you are NOT one of "THEM"!

If we step back, we can read between the lines of "Here, do this" (did anyone actually ever say that out loud to you? I thought I heard it, but when I think about it, no one said "script it like a robot"....we have to differentiate our own teaching style. Administrators and districts choose curriculum based on a variety of criteria. So while new curriculum is often coming in with scripts, it doesn't mean your district wants you to stand up like a robot and read it word for word. They don't want it, you don't want it, and your students certainly don't want it. So don't do it! They want you to read it, get the gist of it, and make it your own. As always, the curriculum should GUIDE your instruction. Follow the units/concepts/pacing/vocabulary/etc. set forth by the comprehensive pack of your core curriculum...but don't forget to make it your own!

So there's no need to get your stuffing in a bunch this Thanksgiving....or at any point of the year. Simply know your district and state/national objectives, your goals for your students, and have a plan for how you're going to get them there.

I've considered the Common Core Objectives and the units from our local district writing curriculum and have intertwined that with topics that I know my students will be interested in doing. We will be engaged this year as we write, write, and write our way through the common core standards.

Bring on the small moments stories, the "how to" writings, informational writings, and opinion writings!

I've linked up to my TPT writing pack for November (click on the photo above). It touches on a variety of writing types and is aligned to the common core K-2. Look for more small moment writing opportunities coming soon! And stop being afraid of curriculum that just so happens to include a script. Think of it as an extra resource....use the script, or don't. It's up to you....you are the professional!

Writing Conferences

I absolutely love teaching writing! My class this year has really seemed to enjoy writing right along with me. We've done so many great projects and activities together this year, and today, we held one of our last big writing conferences during Daily 5. Technically, mine is Daily 6....but I only tweaked it to work for me.

Anyway, at the beginning of the year, they wrote about "Sweet Summertime"....a topic that led to something they did over summer break. This week, we wrote about "In the Summer"....something they like to do in the summer. Today, we took an opportunity during Daily 6 to compare those two writings and reflect on their individual growth as a writer. During each conference, we also looked at the "In the Summer" writing and worked on the rubric together. *I have to give a shout out to Rachelle @ whatthetacherwants.blogspot.com for her FREE writing prompts and her kid-friendly rubric. I love it!

I love that this planned conference time turned into spontaneous video making of some of the students' reflections. My iPad was sitting on the table with us, and one child asked to make a video of his conference. Soon....many students were asking! So, I thought, why not?! For one, they love seeing themselves on video, and secondly---what a great opportunity for me to learn from our conferencing and do better myself! This was such an awesome moment in our day today. I loved seeing them laugh at their writing from September, and marvel at how far they really have come!

Here's a few of the conferences we caught on video. There are a variety of students here---some who excel in writing, some who are shy, some who would never want to speak on camera before, and some who have come from not being able to compose one sentence to writing nearly on grade level, and legibly! Everyone has made growth, and I couldn't be more proud! It's inspiring me to search for more ways that writing conferences are held with such young writers. If anyone out there has something to share, please do!

At the beginning of the year, this child (above) said something I hope to never forget. It was the first time we were doing author's chair, and he started out reading very strong, but he quickly trailed off----sweating, red cheeked, shaky voice, trembling hands, and on the verge of tears. He looked at me with great fear and said: "Mrs. Powell, I'm trying really hard by I just don't think I can do this because it scares my heart." 

Ohmyword! Heartbroken. I felt so bad for him that day, it made me want to grab a tissue. But here he is at the end of the year, asking to make videos of his writing conference, reading in the author's chair voluntarily, blogging, and being an all around leader and role model. He's grown so much, and I am so proud of him! 

There are a handful of video here, but each one is great (I think) because they are being so reflective and honest about their writing abilities and their growth over the school year. I could not have been this tuned in with my writing abilities when I was 6 or 7 years old....and I am in awe of them! 

Here's one more video. It's super cute how giggly she gets over her beginning of the year writing. I couldn't insert the video though, so you'll have to click the link. Eh, technology! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nieuCyYmA20