MATT GLOVER
Early childhood educator and principal Co-authored Already Ready: Nurturing
Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten with Katie Wood Ray
Authored Engaging Young Writers: Preschool-Grade 1
Consulted for Parkway with Early Childhood and Kindergarten – Study Group/Action Team December 2010 – all EC and K invited March 2011 – snow day make-up with two
teachers (K and SSD/ESOL) per school January 2012 – full day with ALL Kindergarten
teachers
BIG IDEAS FOR NURTURING YOUNG WRITERS
Image of Self as a Writer
Honoring Approximations
Nudging vs. Pushing
Stages of Word Making Development
Composition Dimensions
Vision - Importance of Making Books
Reading Like a Writer
BIG IDEAS FOR NURTURING YOUNG WRITERS
Image of Self as a Writer
Honoring Approximations
Nudging vs. Pushing
Stages of Word Making Development
Composition Dimensions
Vision - Importance of Making Books
Reading Like a Writer
STARTING WITH STUDENT WORK:LETTING OUR CHILDREN LEAD US
Imagine you are conferring with Max. He is writing “The Day I Got Cricket.”
Using the small sticky notes on your table, record THREE possible teaching points, each on its OWN sticky note.
AFFINITY MAPPING
IN SILENCE put all sticky notes on chart paper.
REMAINING SILENT organize the teaching points into “natural” categories.
Then place the sticky notes on the chart paper in neat columns.
Discuss the categories and come up with a name for each one.
BALANCING COMPOSITION AND CONVENTION
COMPOSITION Thinking-Realm Planning out the
book, what to include, what to leave out, and how to write the book
More difficult to see and support
CONVENTION Spelling, letter
formation, conventions, and mechanics
Word-Making Realm Easy to work on
because they are so evident
PROFESSIONAL READING:FROM ALREADY READY BY RAY & GLOVER
Composition Dimensions 1s – Understandings About Texts (58-73) 2s – Understandings About Process (73-79) 3s – Understandings About What it Means to
Be a Writer (79-83)
Jigsaw Read and record 3-4 most important points
(MIPs) from your section. Gather in like-numbered groups and come to
consensus on what will be shared. Regroup in mixed groups of 1, 2, 3’s to share
new learning.
TAKE-AWAYS ABOUT COMPOSITION DIMENSIONS
It is developmental and continues throughout our lives.
Is the book about something? Is the book focused? Is the book organized-list book vs. storybook? Does the child read the book the same way
each time? Is the child intentional about what is being
represented on the page? (with craft as well) Does the child engage in revising? Is the child showing stamina when he/she
writes?
MATT’S MESSAGE REGARDING “COMPOSITION”
Composition is a WHOLE way of thinking He equates “writing” to words and
“composition” to “putting words and pictures together to make meaning”
Honors both actions children may be taking during writing workshop writing words illustrating
May not sound natural to use the word, but what matters is the meaning behind it, the message related to supporting children in their illustrations, too.
DRAWING IS COMPOSING
Drawing is an essential component of a young child’s composition.
“Drawing the pictures” is not a reward to be saved until the “real work” of “writing” is done.
Drawing IS “writing!”
Honoring the child’s history of writing as a Kindergartner will be essential in getting to know them as a writer.
CONFERRING
Supporting both composition and convention The difference between nudging and pushing Integrating mentor texts
COMPOSITION-GENERATING IDEAS
Conferring is NOT the best time to generate topics
Planting seeds all day, every day “You could make a book about that!”
NUDGING VS. PUSHING
“When working side-by-side with young writers, teachers want to nudge development along, not push it or force it. The goal of the teaching, in addition to moving development forward, is to leave children with energy and enthusiasm for the whole idea of making books.”
~ Ray and Glover
IT’S A FINE LINE…
Watch for verbal cues and body language. Make sure the child is happy and comfortable
with the interaction. If the child seems frustrated by the questions
you are asking or the suggestions being made, the line has most likely been crossed.
ANTICIPATING THE BOUNDARY
Knowing your children Their interaction styles Their learning styles
Assessing what they already know and can do
Taking them the next step
STACK OF MENTOR TEXTS My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba
Moore Gray Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs by Tomie
dePaola The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons Grandma’s Records by Eric Velasquez A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant The Gardener by Sarah Stewart Stone Soup by Heather Forest So Much by Trish Cooke Frog, Where are You? By Mercer Mayer
TIME TO DISCOVER, COLLECT, AND REFLECT Explore the texts at your table. Find the texts that you can collect and use as
mentor texts for the upcoming school year. What are the teaching points that each book
has? Did you select books with balance? Do you
have books that model both conventions and composition?
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MENTOR TEXTS? A text used to teach about or demonstrate an aspect of
writer’s craft The best ones can be used numerous times throughout
the year to demonstrate many different craft moves. Most mentor text mini-lessons fall into one of three
categories: Idea: the text inspires the writer to create an original idea
based on one from the text. Structure: the text presents on organizational structure
that the writer tries to emulate using original ideas. Written Craft: the author’s writing style, ways with
words, or sentence structure inspires the writer to try out these techniques.
Remember - we are teaching a particular strategy or craft move – we are not teaching the book.