Setting up Routines During Writing Workshop?

Hi Everyone!  It's Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers.  If you know me at all, you know that I have a passion for Guided Reading and meeting the needs of all students during Guided Reading in my classroom.  What you might not know is that as much as I love Guided Reading, Writing Workshop is actually my favorite part of the day... there are two big reasons why!

 1.      The kids LOVE writing workshop.

2.   Each student is working at their own level! 

Please know that what I write in this blog post is how I run my Writing Workshop.  I realize different things work for different people.  What I am going to write about works for me and my kiddos.  I hope that maybe I can give you some ideas to add to your writing workshop time…

Why do I choose to teach writing in a Writing Workshop format?

• ALL students are working at their own level!
• Students get to choose topics that interest them to write about.
• The mini-lesson allows for Interactive Writing (share the pen).
• Writing Workshop allows the teacher to conference with students individually or in small groups to focus on their needs.

How do I get started with Writing Workshop?

• I start on DAY 1.  I encourage students to just write, write, write from the start.  Anything goes and no matter what they are writing about- it is AMAZING!
• I get REALLY excited each day before we start writing.  I tell them how much I love writing workshop and how much they are going to love it too!  Positive energy about writing is really contagious!
• The first days/weeks I really focus on the rules, routines, and organization of Writing Workshop.

If you were to walk into my room during Writing Workshop, what would it look like?

• Writing Workshop lasts about 45-60 minutes every day.
• First, we do a mini-lesson (usually on the SMART board).  I try to keep the mini-lesson between 10-15 minutes.  Many times we are writing together doing a shared interactive writing and writing stories together.
• After the mini-lesson students will begin writing on their own.  I call table groups to get their writing folder as we watch how well everyone can get started quickly and quietly.
• I have soft music playing.  I usually listen to a Pandora station.
• Students will be spread around the room.  I switch off each day, BOYS will work on the floor one day while the GIRLS are at their seats and then visa-versa.
• Students on the floor are sitting on mats in their own area (they get to choose).  I don’t allow students to go under desks though or else it turns into a fight of who gets to sit where.  They must not be able to hold their arms out and touch another student.
• I meet with students (usually about 5 each day).  We discuss their writing and talk about where they are going with it.  I focus on WHAT they are writing and spend very little time worried about mechanics.
• Students write for about 20-30 minutes and then come to the “story pit” to share. 
• I have sharing/conferencing charts that I use.  Each group has about 5 students and I meet with those students that day and then they also share.  They share their stories no matter where they are in the writing process.  We focus by giving 2 compliments and an idea.

My newest product is structured the way that I run my Writing Workshop.  I did these lessons with my first graders and they are now writing up a storm!  I love to see how excited they are when writing time comes around every day. 

Also, here are some Editing Checklists (freebie) that the kids can use to help them edit their own writing.

Also, here is an EDITABLE letter (freebie) that can be sent home to parents that tells a little about our Writing Workshop!

There is so much more that I could write about but I didn't want this post to go on and on... if you have any specific questions about how I run my Writing Workshop or any questions about this product, I would love to hear them!

Fish In A Tree: A Book Review

Hi everyone! Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope you're out enjoying this unofficial start to Summer with family and friends. Hopefully you have a chance to take a minute to thank the amazing work our armed forces have done past, present and future for our country's defense, including giving the ultimate sacrifice. We here at Adventures In Literacy Land are eternally grateful for their service.

(The following post has affiliate links.)


Take a minute to read the quote below and reflect. When you read this quote by Albert Einstein, what do you think of? Do you think of a particular student, your own child, or even yourself?

We as teachers have all had students who struggle in our classes. We go home thinking about them at night. We think about them as we drive to work in the morning. How can we help them succeed?

Now think of the students who struggle and try to hide it. They act out. They don't participate. They refuse to do work. They've been called lazy, stupid, inattentive, careless, defiant.  How do we dig deep enough to find out what is REALLY going on? What is really at the heart of the problem? Are there adults in the lives in these children who truly care enough to look beyond all those negative behaviors to find out what that is and help them?

As you stop to think about those answers, I invite you to read Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt this Summer.

It's a chapter book (intermediate fiction) about Ally, a young girl with dyslexia. Ally struggles to learn to read and write, but she also has amazing talents. Watch a book trailer here.

I started reading Fish In A Tree with an online group of Orton Gillingham teachers. We see and work with children regularly and can greatly identify with the main character, Ally. She is a child who has moved multiple times, struggles to maintain friendships, and sadly winds up in trouble for not complying with daily assignments which involve reading and writing. “I wish I had my Sketchbook of Impossible Things. It’s the only thing that makes me feel like I’m not a waste of space," Ally says.

Her dyslexia has largely gone unnoticed by her teachers, which makes reading the first few chapters uncomfortable to read. You know Ally struggles and you wish you could scream it out to every adult who misunderstands her. Then, Mr. Daniels, a long-term substitute teacher comes along. If any of you have read Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco, Mr. Daniels has a lot in common with him. You'll find a great deal of similarities in both characters.

Without spoiling this book for you, I invite you to pick up your own copy and even read it to your class. I'd recommend it for grades 4 and up. You'll begin to really feel what it is like to be dyslexic. Since dyslexia is still very misunderstood, this book offers a fresh perspective. As I read it, I began to think about the children I'd had in my classroom or have worked with 1:1. If we can begin to understand what it is like to be dyslexic, we will develop an empathetic heart and mind. Out of that, we begin to see the changes that need to take place to help struggling readers to succeed. Take this journey into Fish In A Tree this summer. You won't regret it!

Here are a few helpful posts and links:

1. Fish In A Tree book discussion guide.
2. Dyslexia Simulation (This is a post I wrote back in September.)
3. Shedding Light On Dyslexia
4. My Dyslexia Support Collaborative Pinterest board. (It's chock full of ideas. I'd love for you to follow me!)

*If you are an Orton-Gillingham trained teacher who'd like to join my private FB group, please email me at theliteracynest@gmail.com. I'd love to have you become a member!

Thank you for visiting Literacy Land today. Feel free to post any questions or comments below. 

End of the Year Memory Books

The end of the year is near...yahoo! It's Jen here from An Adventure in Literacy to share an easy, authentic, LOW PREP, idea for an end of the year memory book.

There are hundreds of options for end of the year memory books. Many teachers have a favorite memory book (I always do an end of theyear countdown book) but here is an idea you may want to do in addition to your "go to" book to provide an authentic writing experience for your students.

Like many other teachers, I stocked up on the Target Dollar Spot blank books earlier in the year. I chose the 16 page version that had 8 in a pack for $3. That's right...it will cost less than $10 for a class set of books. If you don't have blank books already, you can always just staple blank paper together.

This is an ongoing project for my students during the last few weeks of school. They work on their books for morning work or when they finish work early. I give each student a blank book and a sheet of printed subject labels. They choose the topics they are interested in and want to include in their memory book. I believe student choice is SO IMPORTANT, especially in something as personal as a memory book. One student may love word study while another may cringe at the thought of it, hence why it should or should not be included in their book!

Students simply stick the topic label to the top of the page, write about it, and illustrate. It is so sweet to read what they write and what they consider important. The open-endedness of this project really allows their writing to be authentic and focus on what is important in their school lives. I print a set of class pictures complete with our class name, year, and school to glue to the front of the book. Students can also get autographs from their classmates on the back inside cover.

To help with the prep of this project you can download the FREE labels. 

These are just a word document to be printed on standard address labels in comic sans (blahhhhh), but I figured you could edit the font to your favorite and change the topics as necessary. I used Hello Olive from Hello Literacy Fonts for mine. Wishing you and your students a great end of the school year. Summer is near which means lots of soaking up the sun while enjoying a great book!

Super Summarizing in Fiction and Nonfiction Text

           I am a reading specialist at a K-5 Title I school just outside of Boston. I have noticed over the years that we are beginning to get an influx of ELL students and homeless, shelter or transient students for whom traditional methods have not worked. In addition, their time in school may be fractured with frequent visits to their home country for 4-6 weeks during the year. All of this leads to a lack of strong comprehension with fiction and nonfiction text.

         Today, I would like to share with you a recent professional development presentation that I have adapted for use in Grades K-6 classrooms as a starting point for teaching the beginning steps in summarizing. My design and layouts for this set are very simple and streamlined because I find that if they are already struggling in reading.... they do not need any additional distractions on a page. They need a simple layout that they can follow and use over and over again... in my room, with their classroom teacher, with a specialist, and at home with Mom and Dad.

  Super Summarizing in Nonfiction Text !

Anchor Chart for Beginning Summarizers of Nonfiction Text:

Use with a K-1 student or for an older student to introduce the concept of summary:

This chart is appropriate for K-1 students and beginning of the year 2nd grade students. It can be used with upper grade students in ELL/SEI classrooms as well.

 Ideally for upper level 2nd grade students as well as 3rd-4th grade students:

 This anchor chart is appropriate for independent learners at grades 4-6. It would work well for younger students who need an additional challenge in the area of summarizing.

 For accomplished summarizers...

Super Summarizing... Fictional Text !

Somebody Wanted But So... introducing this strategy at a variety of levels...

Anchor Chart for Beginning Summarizers of Fictional Text:

Perfect for K-1 students or older kids who benefit from storyboards and visual support:

For K, 1 and early 2nd grade students as well as older, reluctant writers:



Graphic organizers for students in grades 2-4:



Anchor chart for accomplished summarizers...

Graphic organizer for grades 4-6 students who can summarize independently:

From May 19th- May 26th, 2015, you may download the entire presentation along with graphic organizers as my gift to you.

 



https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summarizing-Fiction-and-Nonfiction-FREEBIE-until-Friday-522-1861643

After that time, you may find this unit in my shop under the name: Super Summarizers  {Fiction and Nonfiction}.  My link is www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Ms-Ds-Literacy-Lab.

I hope all of you have a fun and fantastic start to summer !

 

Thanks to these talented designers for graphics support !