Heart+of+Texas+Writing+Project

Improving Student Writing by Attending to Craft: Poetry as an Example of Reading-Writing Connection: Heart of Texas Writing Project Georgia Heard September 26, 2008 ==**Note: Georgia Heard and Lester Laminick have recently created a K-2 Poetry curriculum called Climb Inside a Poem (3 components: Climb Inside a Poem Big Book, Lessons for Climb Inside a Poem, and Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year). These materials are located in the Leveled Library.**== Creating a __writerly environment__: a space for “word play,” connection to other writers What do experts do? What do writers do to help create that writerly environment? Lots of books – for inspiration, to see how other people have done things, for courage, for company (writing can be lonely) Have books, poems, dictionary, personal connections, pictures, reminders from the larger world and inspiring quotes with you as you read – inspires, triggers your own voice ** Creating a Writer’s Environment  ** **Connections to the World of Words ** WORD AWARENESS: Notice how words feel, awareness of language and the power of language, is necessary in development 1. Developing appreciation of words in both meaning and sound 2. Understanding the importance of selecting the right words – meaning, sound, image 3. Passion for learning new words Ask kids to think about the sounds of words (clunk vs. whisper), different speech sounds make you feel different things Read the dictionary everyday! Have to know what is for. Begin by having kids collect words they love the sounds of and create a collection in your WNB. Walk around with a word in your pocket. Look at it periodically throughout the day and see if meaning changes. Keyrings of words – words they love, don’t know the meaning of, evoke a memory, juicy words, any words they would like to try out. Roald Dahl’s list of collection of words (See Georgia’s handout from last year). Make own personal thesaurus – look over writing and find repeated words – crack open and find/collect alternatives Word walk around the school with words Beautiful – gorgeous, lovely, divine, illuminating, scrumptious, pretty, effervescent Show poem, take out key words, have kids brainstorm possible word choice – words have to have an energy. Go back to own writing and try it – underline words you can change Verbs – make a list of active verbs that would fit into the blank spaces of these sentences The light __through the window.__ The bird __ in the sky. Bring in geode – crack open – just like our writing Talk about the origin of words (eg) anthology means flowers/bouquet of flowers Write a poem from personal narratives

**Connections to Literature ** Immerse in well-crafted language Students select 2-3 pieces of writing that they would like to write like. Have mentor text accessible during their writing time. Self-portrait anthology - Poems as responses to other poems. Imitate the spirit of the poems! Learn from literature – they are your teachers. During read aloud, take notes on inspirational words/phrases, connections Write your own pledges after the pledge of allegiance – What is your dream for the world? Poems during transition time. We Children by Brod Bagart Touch on poems that are like everyday life. (teasing) Linger on a poem over 5 days. “Teased” by Richard Margolis Find quotes and post them around the room. Share personal information about the author with kids. Share book Writer’s Desk (photos of writers’ desks) Heart Mapping (handout): whatever you have stored in their heart. Crack open their heart and then pick one topic and make a heart of that. Use hearts as revision tools – make a heart map of a piece while you are writing to ensure you are telling is truly the heart. Doors (Heart, Observation, Wonder, Concerns about the World, Memory)
 * Connections to the World of Writers **
 * Personal Connections **

** Say More: Teaching Students to Develop Ideas, Elaborate Content, and Provide Evidence: ** ** Valerie Taylor, Heart of Texas Writing Project ** September 18, 2008 They get in trouble because they are supposed to “talk less”, don’t see the value of their everyday moments in their lives, they don’t have the craft lessons, feel like they have to have it correct Spend time looking at good mentor texts and really studying it. Be specific! When you are more specific, you provide greater detail e.g.- Dalmatian vs. Dog Finding the important details – explode the moment! *Make a list of your favorite words, words you encounter that are new to you, words you like the look of. Search picture books for those words. Make a wordpool! *List of senses in rows: look at senses in columns then look at combination of senses in columns. (see handout) *Read a passage with attention to language. As you discuss, do: Notice|Name|Try it! __ Notice __ “Yippee!” I hooted, then remembered the part about being quiet and whispered, “Yippee.” __ Name __ Giving said a break __ Try it! __ “Here I go!” I screamed as I jumped off the high drive and plunged into the dark water beneath me. * Take ½ hour. List 5 things you observe. Write the associations you have with them while you are there in the place. --Find the opposites in their objects. --Feelings of your notes. --Specificity to abstract back to specificity (what is your reason for writing this) --List personal items that have emotional relevance with you. Write why the object represents who you are Good Mentor Texts/Professional Books __ *Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words __ (Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge)– Good for the Take a Walk assignment. email Valerie for a typed up version __ Bird By Bird __ – chapter on getting down your story and being ok with a not-so-hot first draft __ Writing a Life __ (Bomer) – chapter on applying writing to test prep __ I Am, What I Am __ (Romano) – great poem on getting to know ourselves as writers __ Writing Down the Bones __ (Goldberg) list of nouns, list of verbs – combine them to make phrases, metaphors. Also try with different senses. __ Wild Mind __ (Goldberg) __ The Revision’ Toolbox __, __Writing Toward Home__ (Heard) – great vignettes with activities to follow *Write a light, happy version of a childhood memory. Then write it including the fears, shadows, doubts, thoughts that make the scene more complex. Next, draw the place where the story is set. Use the picture to find words, phrases that you now see in the picture that you didn’t include in your story. __ Notebook Know How __ – Aimee Buckner I Saw poem – observations in nature, then write __ Reading ____, Writing, Rising Up __ (Linda Christenson – social justice)– “Where I’m From” George Ella Lyon (google it) poem– try to draft a poem from it __ The Right to Write __ (Cameron) – sharing excerpt (see handout), lessons to follow… *uses senses, tone, verbs *pick a friend to write to. *writing is not just about the “fancy” use of words *comparison to breathing *as simple as facts – specificity is freedom! *writing is about making choices! Let the students choose the form based on what they need to say. Get students in genre and then show them all the different possibilities in form. Give them a __limit__ (rather a minimum). See Frames of Mind handout for picture observation activity! Connection to writing: *creating pictures: from specific to broad *creating mood *describing colors, lighting *uncovering topics/issues to write about *one image – something important *deepening the understanding *gives directions in how to describe *line in a picture – sentence length, shape, tone, mood, voice *writing should have a purpose – the details should have purpose
 * *What is the problem – Why don’t kids want to say more? **
 * Writer’s Notebook Activities **
 * Example: **

See Gretchen if you would like copies of the workshop handout.