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Writing CirclesInvestigating and Creating Powerful Texts…..Together
Angela Stockman[Pick the date]
Starpoint Intermediate SchoolMay 3, 2010
Facilitated by Angela [email protected]
Welcome Home Becoming a Writer, Becoming a Teacher Allowing Purpose to Drive Process Envisioning a Year, a Unit, a Day Using Protocols to Create Safety Noticing, Noting, and Nurturing
Resources and Supplements Are Housed Here:http://tinyurl.com/26lkwfw
Objectives:
1. Participants will reconsider what it means to become a writer.
2. They will establish a vision for the writer they are eager to be and the work they wish to produce.
3. They will define the boundaries of their writing territories and the estates that exist within it.
4. They will define their purposes as writers
5. They will understand how to establish, manage, and facilitate writing circles within a balanced literacy program, using the resources provided to them.
6. They will explore the relationship between communities and networks and consider how to create and sustain them.
7. They will understand how to use formative assessment to guide mini-lessons, conferences, and the work of the circle
Creating a Vision for the Writer You Would Like to Be and the Writing You Would Like to Produce
Directions:
Please read through the quotes below. Put a star next to those quotes that best reflect your vision. Identify how they compare. What is the common thread running between them?
What does it reveal to you about who you are as a writer and what kind of writing you would like to produce? Journal about this.
The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ~Anaïs Nin
Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow
A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket. ~Charles Peguy
And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath
I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all. ~Richard Wright, American Hunger, 1977
I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard
If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~Toni Morrison
What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers. ~Logan Pearsall Smith, "All Trivia," Afterthoughts, 1931
The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium. ~Norbet Platt
Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say. ~Sharon O'Brien
I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter. ~James Michener
The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you
begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say. ~Mark Twain
The wastebasket is a writer's best friend. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible. ~Vladimir Nabakov
Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~Anton Chekhov
Easy reading is damn hard writing. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ink and paper are sometimes passionate lovers, oftentimes brother and sister, and occasionally mortal enemies. ~Emme Woodhull-Bäche
Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space. ~Orson Scott Card
A metaphor is like a simile. ~Author Unknown (I SERIOUSLY THINK JENNA CAME UP WITH THIS ONE. IT SOUNDS SOOOOO LIKE HER : ) )
The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. ~Mark Twain
The story I am writing exists, written in absolutely perfect fashion, some place, in the air. All I must do is find it, and copy it. ~Jules Renard, "Diary," February 1895
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out. ~Author Unknown
A writer is someone who can make a riddle out of an answer. ~Karl Kraus
I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. ~James Michener
Writing is my time machine, takes me to the precise time and place I belong. ~Jeb Dickerson
If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster. ~Isaac Asimov
I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork. ~Peter De Vries
Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
A critic can only review the book he has read, not the one which the writer wrote. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once in that mirror which waits always before or behind. ~Catherine Drinker Bowen, Atlantic, December 1957
To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music the words make. ~Truman Capote, McCall's, November 1967
Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it. ~Hannah Arendt
It seems to me that the problem with diaries, and the reason that most of them are so boring, is that every day we vacillate between examining our hangnails and speculating on cosmic order. ~Ann Beattie, Picturing Will, 1989
For me, a page of good prose is where one hears the rain [and] the noise of battle. ~John Cheever
Do not put statements in the negative form.And don't start sentences with a conjunction.If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that agreat deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.De-accession euphemisms.If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"
No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous. ~Henry Brooks Adams, The Education of Henry Adams, 1907
Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. ~Gene Fowler.
Writers are like WIZARDS.
They use their word power and the magic of their writing to make an audience feel or think about certain things.
How do you want your readers to feel when they read your piece?What would you like them to think about?Jot your ideas in the lightning bolt below.
As a writer, I want to be a……..
(Choose or draw your own picture!)
I am From
I am from Susan and Anthony, Pat and Angelo, Laura and Arthur
From around the corner, many worlds ago
When there were farms and fields to lose myself in
I am from pasta, sauce, and golombke eaters
(they tried to get me to eat liver and onions once, but I wouldn’t bite)
I am from courage, hope, and perseverance.
I am from darkness.
I am light.
I’m sprung from the depths of the Great Depression
(Babci watched that man who once was a boy have his hand cut off for stealing bread)
I’m from twelve great aunts and uncles
The daughter of Patricia’s only son.
I am the great-grand daughter of a single mother.
From summer Sundays watching the placzek rise in her kitchen, while she swore about the Sabres in a language I did not understand.
I wanted my MTV. She had cable. We didn’t.
I learned to speak Polish and crochet that summer.
I am from “Never air your dirty laundry,” and “Don’t be a poor-pitiful pearl,” and “Children are to be seen and not heard,” and “This is what happens to girls.”
I am from the four square walls of my bedroom, where I spent a lot of time for violating those rules.
“Never write anything down,” my mother told me, as she turned the key in the lock.
I’m from a place where mothers spent too much time looking at the floor.
I am from Little House on the Prarie, Catholic School uniforms, Jordache Jeans, and Skateland
I am from e.e. cummings and E! News Weekly
Shakespeare and Saturday Night Live
The Outsiders
YouTube
I am from women who tended roses that blossomed and children that wilted and pierogi dough that rolled out nice and thin on the first try. I am from men who argued about politics at the bar, who longed for things they could not have, who
took things that did not belong to them.
I am from a cast of thousands who escaped where they came from.
Who lived to tell.
And those who couldn’t
And didn’t
I am from people who do not forget this.
And I’m telling for them.
I’m telling.
Exploring the Estate, Defining a Powerful Purpose, Choosing a Genre
Exploring the Estate Defining a Powerful Purpose Choosing a Genre
EXPLORING HOW THE DISPOSITIONS OF PRACTICE INFLUENCE THE WORK OF WRITERS
As you move through each station, connect your growing understanding of these dispositions to examples from own teaching life. Reflect on how you might make use of the resources provided. Consider what you
might add, and be prepared to share with your colleagues.
Writers Strive to Understand
They are curious about what it means to be a writer or to create good writing They develop questions about these ideas and work hard to find answers to them They talk with others about their curiosities and discoveries They do research to learn more
Writers Strive to Persevere
They take their time as they move through the writer’s process, reflecting for a period of time before rushing to finish their work.
They do not publish their work until it is the best that it can be.
Writers Strive to be Courageous
They are willing to discuss things that make them uncomfortable in appropriate ways. They are willing to feel the discomfort that comes with needing to change, learn, and grow. They seek out new responsibilities and challenges. They don’t give up when writing process becomes hard.
Writers Strive to Reflect on What They Do
They share their thinking and their work in order to evaluate it They set goals in order to assess their own progress and understand themselves They produce new work that is the result of what they’ve learned from previous work
Writers Strive to Develop Their Expertise
They grow and shape their knowledge and their skills as writers They share what they are learning and what they know with other writers in order to help them grow
as writers They consider the needs of their audiences and their community and work to meet them
Writers Strive to Cooperate and Collaborate With Others
They learn from and with others They act on the belief that learning and working with others helps them grow as learners, writers, and
people They publish writing that results from collaborative learning and problem solving They approach publishing as an additional opportunity to learn, rethink, and revise
Envisioning a Year
What will students know and be able to do as writers by the end of the year?
What will they consume (read and study) and produce (write)?
How will growth be measured formatively? How will mastery be measured summatively?
Dispositions: Courage Understanding Perseverance Expertise Collegiality Reflection
Process and Craft: They will know how to use a
variety of prewriting strategies to define great idea.
They will choose organizational tools strategically prior to drafting.
As they begin drafting, they will establish voice by attending to word choice and sentence fluency.
They will seek and provide peer review, using specific criteria and established protocols
They will complete multiple revisions of their draft, in response to feedback and their own reflective practice.
They will use appropriate conventions during the final edit of the paper.
They will share their work with real audiences in order to make a difference for others, learn more, and consider revision.
Blogs
Journal Entries
Functional Writing: Assessment Essay
Narrative Writing: Memoir
Expository Writing: Feature ArticleResearch Paper
Poetry
Hybrid Writing: Ordeal by Cheque
Formative assessment:
Diagnostic:Students will complete a piece of expository writing and a piece of narrative writing in the early fall. This will be used as a diagnostic assessment. They will assess themselves against the dispositions rubrics as well. Theses pieces will guide personal and instructional goals.
As students draft throughout the year, the teacher will confer with them and capture information about those elements of process, craft, and community growth that are areas of strength and struggle. Mini-lessons will be driven by this.
Post-Assessment:Students will complete a piece of expository writing and a piece of narrative writing in the spring. Students will revisit dispositions rubrics and use artifacts to demonstrate growth. Progress will be measured between diagnostic/post.
Envisioning a Unit: Circling Around Genre or Topic?
What does each require? What are the benefits and challenges?
Unit Framework for an ELA Class
UNIT THEME: OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
Narrative Writing:To Tell a Story
MemoirShort FictionBiographical Sketch
Informational Writing:To Explain, Persuade, or Inform
Literary NonfictionExpository Nonfiction: Feature Article, Report,Essay
Poetic Writing:To Express Feelings, Sensory Images, Ideas, or Stories
Poetry
Functional Writing:To Perform a Practical Task
Business LettersLetter to the EditorTest WritingWriting About Reading
Hybrid Writing: To Engage, Inform, or Persuade
Multi-genre Pieces
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS THAT STUDENTS MUST ENGAGE IN INQUIRY AROUND:
1. How do we overcome adversity ourselves, and how do we help others overcome it?2. How do weak literacy skills contribute to adversity? 3. How can critical thinking, research, reading and writing skills help us overcome adversity?4. What do good citizens do? What do good digital citizens do? How does positive citizenship allow us to
overcome adversity? How does poor citizenship contribute to adversity?
@
This work was informed by the expertise of Dr. Anthony Petrosky, University of Pittsburgh, 2007
Planning Your Week and Planning a Day
SONG
“Lose Yourself” Eminem
SPEECH
King: “I Have a Dream”
BIOGRAPHY
Lance Armstrong
ARTICLE
Elie Wiesel Poems of G. Depression
NOVEL/SHORT FICTION:
Cisneros: House on Mango Street
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
INTERPRETIVE QUESTIONS ANALYTIC AND EVALUATIVE QUESTIONS
Metacognitive Questions:What parts of the text were difficult to understand? Why?
FORM
ATIV
E AS
SESS
MEN
T
TEXTS SEQUENCED OR DIFFERENTIATED BY RELEVANCE AND DIFFICULTY
Students CONSUME these texts so that they may PRODUCE similar texts.
Writing ABOUT texts to respond to questions/reflect and writing LIKE the authors of those texts to develop writer’s craft.
Authentic and Extensive Products:
Students create a written response to one of the essential questions and publish it for an audience that might benefit from their conclusions. Choice may be provided around genre, and students might be asked to determine their purpose for writing and the audience they are addressing prior to choosing an appropriate genre.
Elements to Address:
1. Writing Aloud: Mini-Lesson with Demonstration Relevant to Community, Process, Craft
2. Independent Writing and Guided Writing/Conferring
3. Shared Writing
Scenario 1: The 40 Minute Writing Class (Reading During a Different Time Slot)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridayWriting Aloud and Shared Writing
Independent and Guided Writing
Independent and Guided Writing
Independent and Guided Writing
Writing Aloud and Shared Writing
Scenario 2: The Literacy Block
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridayMini-lesson and Shared Reading
Writing Aloud and Shared Writing
Mini-lessonGuided Reading and
Centers
Independent and Guided Writing
Mini-lessonGuided Reading and
Centers
Independent and Guided Writing
Mini-lessonGuided Reading and
Centers
Independent and Guided Writing
Read AloudIndependent ReadingFluency Assessment
Writing Aloud and Shared Writing
Peer ReviewDeveloped by WNY Young Writers’ Studio Fellow Kristin Smith
Think about your writing – what questions do you have? Look at the rubric – decide what you would like feedback on.
Carefully read or listen to your partners. Take a few moments to form your response.
Get Ready to share …..
Considering Writer’s CraftWNY Young Writers’ Studio
Warm Feedback No complimenting! Re-check the rubric! Be specific – use
examples from the writer’s work!
Think: How did the writer achieve his or her goals?
Cool Feedback No criticisms! Re-check the rubric! Be specific – use
examples from the writer’s work!
Help the writer achieve his or her goals:
o I wonder what would happen if you ….
Peer Review Ticket
To: ____________________________ From: ______________________
Warm feedback: Your ____________________
Cool feedback:
Have you thought about ….
I wonder …..
Could you describe …
IDEAS WRITER’S VOICE ORGANIZATIONEXPERIENCED_____My writing is fascinating. It sparks my readers’ curiosities.
My message is meaningful and focused.
I show rather than tell.
EXPERIENCED_____My writing has a unique flavor. The reader can hear me or my speaker in this piece.
The tone of my writing expresses my feelings or those of the speaker I created. I really move my readers.
I use details that add emotion and reveal age or geographic location or historical setting.
EXPERIENCED_____My writing unfolds in a compelling way.
I grab the reader’s attention right from the start, build interest throughout, and end in a way that satisfies the reader.
I add details and clues in just the right places.
DEVELOPING_____My writing is descriptive. It provides details about my topic.
My message is taking shape, but I’m still not completely clear about what it might be.
I tell rather than show.
DEVELOPING_____My writing focuses more on telling rather than showing, and as a result, the reader doesn’t hear me or my speaker as much in this piece.
Some feelings are expressed, but my readers won’t react to what I’ve written in any way.
I add some details that reveal emotion, age, or geographic location or historical setting.
DEVELOPING_____My writing unfolds in a predictable way.
My writing has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Some of my details seem out of place. I may spend too much time focusing on one part of my work, or I may rush through others.
BEGINNING_____My writing is vague. I don’t know enough about my topic yet.
My message is confusing. I’m still thinking-aloud on paper.
Missing details make it hard for my reader to picture what I’m saying.
BEGINNING_____I don’t know enough about my speaker or my own thoughts yet, so readers can’t connect to a voice of any kind.
It seems that I don’t have any feelings about this topic.
I don’t include details that reveal mood, age, geographic location, or historical setting.
BEGINNING_____My writing lacks organization. It’s confusing.
My writing doesn’t include a hook, the body of my work may be jumbled, or my conclusion might be rushed or missing.
Details are missing or out of place.
WORD CHOICE SENTENCE FLUENCY CONVENTIONSEXPERIENCED_____My writing includes rich, precise
EXPERIENCED_____My writing is meant to be read aloud.
EXPERIENCED_____My writing is nearly free of all errors
words.
My readers are able to see, feel, and hear exactly what I intended them to.
The words that I choose help me to show rather than tell. They also create a strong voice for my piece and enhance organization and sentence fluency.
It sounds wonderful!
I vary my sentence structure on purpose. Each flows into the next, which keeps my readers interested. All unnecessary details have been removed.
in spelling, punctuation, and mechanics.
DEVELOPING_____My writing includes correct words.
My words may not capture my reader’s attention. They aren’t striking or specific to my purpose.
My words might be over-used or too flowery.
DEVELOPING_____My writing is predictable. When I read it aloud, it sounds like a report.
Most of my sentences follow the same pattern.
I have used more words that I needed to.
DEVELOPING_____My writing includes some errors in spelling, punctuation, or mechanics. They don’t make it hard for my reader to understand what I am trying to say, though.
BEGINNING_____My writing includes misused words.
My readers might struggle to understand exactly what I meant when I used certain words. Others may be so vague that my reader may not be able to see, hear, or feel anything.
I use the same words over and over again.
BEGINNING_____My writing is difficult to read and understand. This makes it hard to read aloud.
I have a hard time telling where sentences start and stop. There are fragments and run-ons.
I use inappropriate words in this piece.
BEGINNING_____Spelling, punctuation, or mechanics errors make it difficult for my reader to appreciate my message.
COMMENTS:
Talking With Writers During Each Phase of the Process
Ownership and Personal Needs: Conversations at the Start of the ProcessDispositions Process Craft CommunityWhat do you really believe in?
What’s important to you?
Which experiences have been most meaningful in your life?
How can you make a difference?
What are you afraid of?
How can you overcome your fears?
What do you want to write about?
What do you need to write about?
What do you hope to achieve by writing?
What do you need in order to meet your goals?
What does your writing reflect about you?
What are you eager to share with others about your work or learning?
Tell me about your writing process. How is it unique? What works for you? What doesn’t?
Which part of the process means the most to you?
Which phase of the process are you most excited about?
Tell me about the kind of brainstorming you like to do.
How do you like to draft your work? In pencil? On the computer? At a desk? Listening to music?
Who gives you the best feedback on your work?
How does using the process affect your final product?
Which publishing opportunities excite you most?
What have you learned that might help someone else?
Look over your list of brainstormed ideas. Which ideas provoke the strongest feeling in you?
Where is your voice strongest?
What is your story? What is your truth?
Which part of your writing do you love the most?
What are you proudest of?
Where have you really grown in terms of writer’s craft? What can you share with others about that?
What are you passionate about doing?
What do you do well? Who can you share that with?
How are you a valuable part of our community?
What are you getting out of your work with other people?
Who gives you the most helpful feedback?
Who inspires you?
Who challenges you most?
What have you learned from connecting with others that you couldn’t have learned on your own?
What do you need from our community?
What would you add?
Clarifying and Setting Goals: Conversations as the Process UnfoldsDispositions Process Craft CommunityHow can your writing and your work best reflect your values?
What do you need to learn more about in order to develop this piece?
What confuses you? Who can help you clarify this confusion?
Who can you share this piece with?
Who will learn the most from your work, process, or thinking?
Why are you writing this?
How will you know that this piece is done?
What do you need to do in order to create an “excellent” piece?
Which dispositions do you need to focus on in order to do great work with this project?
Where are you in the writer’s process?
Which part of the process could you revisit in order to improve your work?
What are your next steps?
Where did you rush? Where did you take your time as a writer? Which new goals can you set in light of this?
After participating in peer-review, what new goals have you set?
When will this be ready to publish?
How do you plan to publish your work?
Which strategies are you using to create voice?
How will you organize this?
What will you do to improve word choice?
How do you check for sentence fluency? What can you do to improve it?
Which rules of conventions do you need to study and master? When will you do this? How?
Which idea is the most compelling? Why?
Which genre supports your purpose the best?
Whose perspective can help you most with this piece?
Who has experience with this sort of writing? What will you ask them?
How can you share what you’ve learned with others in our community?
Who will you collaborate with on this?
What feedback, specifically, do you need to ask for? Who might best provide it?
What would you add?
Reflection: Conversations About What We’ve Learned and How We’ve GrownDispositions Process Craft CommunityHow have you grown in your use of the dispositions?
How do you feel about the amount of time and effort you put into this piece?
What was most uncomfortable for you? How did you handle that discomfort?
What did you learn from others? What did they learn from you?
What are you discovering about your writing? Your thinking?
How does reflecting in this way help you?
How can we look at this from a different angle?
Which stories are you telling? Which ones are you avoiding? Why?
Which parts of the process are easiest for you? Hardest?
Which part of the process is most important to you? Why? Least? Why?
How willing are you to investing yourself in the entire process each time you write?
Which parts of the process do you need better strategies for?
Which Traits are developed best in this piece? Least?
What sort of learning helps you understand a trait best? Definitions? Rubrics? Models? Coaching? Feedback?
What makes something a good idea?
What is good writing?
What do good writers do?
How does genre affect message? Mood?
What are you learning about yourself?
What are you learning about others?
What are you learning about writing within a community?
What has been your greatest contribution to this community?
What is the greatest thing you’ve gained from being a part of this community?
What can you do to help the community grow?
What would you add?
Receiving Sustained Support
Studio Website:http://wnyyws.org
Studio Wiki:http://tinyurl.com/6jqoft
Email:[email protected]
Blog:http://www.angelastockman.com/blog
http://wnyyws.org
Twitter:angelastockman
Facebook:WNY Young Writers’ Studio
References
Martin-Kniep, Giselle O. Communities That Lead, Learn, and Last: Building and Sustaining Educational Expertise. California: Jossey-Bass, 2008.
National Board for Professional Teacher Standards. “What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do: The Five Core Propositions.” Retrieved Aug. 21, 2008 from http://www.nbpts.org/the_standards/the_five_core_propositions
Stockman, Angela (2008). WNY Education Associates: Weblog. The 6+1 Traits of Writing: Helpful Resources. Retrieved February 26, 2009 from: http://www.angelastockman.com/blog/2008/11/02/the-61-traits-of-writing- helpful-resources/