How-To Writing, Freebies

Our How-To writing unit has come to a close. We spent more weeks on this than I had allotted on our curriculum map, but, in this new model of teaching (for me) where I have half of my 52 students for less than 10 hours per week total, I realized my planned timeline was an unrealistic timeline for this unit.

Teaching students to write How-To stories is challenging and I believe this is due to the fact that breaking down an activity and explaining how to complete it requires a higher-level of thinking.  Developmentally, asking a kindergartner to take another's perspective is already challenging, but then, asking them to imagine that the person they are teaching does not have the level of knowledge that they do about a particular activity is even more of a challenge.  I have learned to have more realistic expectations of what my students can do and, as a result, I've found myself nothing short of astounded at what they can accomplish with guidance.

Here is the writing process chart we used during our unit:

You can download the pages my students use to compose their how-to books for FREE here: Part 1 and Part 2

It's always fun to see what the students choose to write about.  They choose topics they truly feel they are experts in and I love that this unit empowers them and allows them to feel such pride in themselves. This chosen topic made me feel especially proud of myself:

How To Write A Small Moment Story  Written and Illustrated by Julien    Room 105 Publishing

Materials List     You will need...  a pencil, a eraser, and paper

You need to think about what you are going to write about.

Plan it out so you know what goes first next and last.

You need to write quick sketches.

Add words so the reader knows what you are saying.

Add labels so the reader know what your stuff is.

Add details so your story looks good.

About the author    Julien. He lives in Seattle. He is 5 years old. And his birthday is August 17.

 

This last sheet is a "translation page" I add to stories that may be difficult for the reader to read.  This one was pretty clearly written, but I "translated" it just in case.

This is the display I created for the how-to stories.  The photos below are poor quality, but I hope you can see how I highlighted some of the topics with arrows and labels.  I love how it turned out!

Self-Assessment Rubric: Writing

Self-assessment rubrics are all the talk in my school district these days.  I have always done a version of them, but have always hesitated to use a rating system related to good (smiley face), okay (neutral face) and bad (frown face) because I don't ever want my emergent writers to think they are only capable of "bad" work.  During a semi-recent Pinterest suck adventure, I found a rubric for coloring that made a lightbulb go off:

This inspired me to create this writing rubric with the students, foregoing the smiley, frowny, neutral faces used above and focus on the stars instead:

Prior to sending them off to do their independent writing,  I talk with my students about the type of writers they want to be while referencing this chart.  We review how, in order to be 2 star writers, we need to do what one star writers do, too, and in order to be 3 star writers, we need to do what 1 and 2 star writers do as well. 

I have noticed my most conscientious students using the chart to evaluate their work and decide if they are really "finished" or not. Of course, I also have students that don't use finger spaces or correctly use caps and lowercases, but still tell me that their paper is a 3 star paper when I ask them what they think. ;)  It is kindergarten, after all. 

Word Tackling Strategies

We spent February and last week working on decoding strategies in Readers' Workshop.  We're moving on to Nonfiction book exploration now.  Before my brain completely switches over, I wanted to share a freebie I created for my students to keep in their book baggies to help remind them of the strategies we learned. I also want to give credit to P.S. 11 in Chelsea, where I visited while in NYC in January, for inspiring me to use this format and to include this list in student book baggies. This chart shows a number of strategies we worked on in our classroom that are included on the sheet.

This chart is another that we generated in a minilesson:

Click on the image below to link to the free download in a pdf file:

And click on this image to access a .doc version you can alter to fit your own needs for only $2:

Are there any additional strategies you teach that I might add for future use?

Lighting up my Library

Oh, Pinterest.  How I love thee.  I have periods of time in which I obsess over things and have to do them all the time and then periods in which I do them not at all: exercise, take my vitamins, pleasure read, eat healthy, craft, blog, and pin things. I will spend hours on Pinterest for days then not visit the site again for weeks. I wish I was more balanced, but, hey, I wish that in a lot of areas in my life!  Okay, back to Pinterest.  Crafting is one of the things I mentioned I do a lot of the time for a period and then fall into a big hole of "Crafting? Who, me?"  but I still pin things to craft when I'm in that hole and when I'm having a Pinterest binge.

I came across a pin that I didn't actually repin, but I clicked on it and read the whole crafting tutorial and then just did it.  The pin showed what looked like lit up letters on a marquis, all made out of paper. Since I didn't pin it, I can't show you what that looked like, but I did make my own version and my version is pictured above. The original photo showed red letters and that looked awesome, but I am wary of having that color appear prominently in my room. I have read study findings that it has been shown to encourage hyper behavior and sometimes seemingly agressive behavior.  When I saw this picture, I immediately thought of these four letters in my classroom library and how I've been meaning to paint or découpage them for some time. I bought them at a fabric store local to me, but I have also seen them at Michael's. I set to work on making them light up the library, per this tutorial (that I can't direct you to) thanks to Pinterest.  Here is my tutorial, in lieu of the original:

Materials:
3-D craft paper block letters that spell your message
A can of spray paint in a color of your choosing (I used a mini-can for 4 letters and had just enough)
Yellow cardstock, cut into circles the width of each line of each letter 
(I used a circle cutter and glass mat that I bought at Michael's last year with a 40% off coupon)
adhesive foam squares (I used three per circle)
Latex or plastic gloves to protect your hands from spray paint
Old clothes that can get paint on them without you having concern

Instructions:
First, I used a craft knife (Xacto was my choice) to cut the top of each letter off.  I followed the edge of each top piece, which sounds like it should have been easy but was easier said than done, to make a straight cut.

I was surprised to find that the letters contained cardboard "filling", but relieved to discover that these were not adhered to the inside in any way and thus easy to remove.



After I cut the top off of each one, I tested the size of circle I would need to cut from the cardstock by guessing and cutting and placing the guess-sized circle into the "well" of one of the letters.  I guessed 1" and it turned out to be accurate for my size of block letter.  If you use larger block letters, your circles will need to be larger.


I then put each letter into a shoe box and spray painted it in a well-ventilated area, following the directions on the can to ensure there would be no drips or runs.

When the bottoms were dry, I spray painted the interiors of each one. This required good light to ensure I coated every curve, joint and corner evenly.

While these dried, I cut out my circles.  I didn't know for certain how many I would need so I guessed again and just cut 20 or so.

When all were dry, I made a plan for the circles by placing them where I would want them in the letters without adhesive.  I then determined if I would need to cut more or not.

After all of the circles were cut, I placed three adhesive foam squares on top of one another and adhered the stack onto the back of each yellow dot, one at a time adhering them where I had planned them to be.

I played around with this, first thinking I had too many in there and that they didn't look right.  When I took a few out, though, I realized I liked the effect of more rather than less.

Less circle "lights".

More circle lights.

My letters aren't as captivating as the original, I think, because the red color really made the original ones pop.  I also think she used a larger version of these letters and that made the "lights" look more real.

I do like them, though.  In my itty bitty room this year, I can't do the things I did last year in my classroom library (like my reading tent!) and I've felt my current library to be fairly lackluster.  This is the first addition I've felt has added appeal.

If you create a marquis using this tutorial, please post a picture or link in the comments.  I promise to add it to my Pinterest board this time!

Authors as Mentors: Mo Willems

For the past four years, I've been using Mo Willems as our author focus in the Authors as Mentors unit I do with my students each year. I can't help it.  I love him.  I love Pigeon and Gerald and Piggie and Trixie. I love his use of photographs with drawings, his ability to convey emotion without the use of words and, well, every other craft move he uses in his fantastic books.  I mean, I think, if we knew one another, I mean, I really feel like.... we could be friends.

/gush

Ahem, so, yes, I'm a fan. :) I think it works, though, that I'm so obsessed with jazzed about him, because I am able to pass on my enthusiasm to my students with ease.  And, believe me, my students L-O-V-E him.  Yearly, I successfully create little Mo Willems stalkerfans.

When I start out the unit, I begin by reading a variety of Mo Willems books as read alouds, all the while guiding the students to notice various unique things (such as the use of drawn on photos, the use of word bubbles to share the character's dialogue, thought bubbles to share their thoughts and ellipses to add suspense or draw out one idea across multiple pages.)  All the while, we construct a chart of his various craft moves:

One of the reasons I really love using Mo Willems as inspiration during small moment writing is because the photographs he uses in Knuffle Bunny books are of places where he lives (in NYC) and the story is based on real people and events in his life.  There really is a Trixie and a knuffle bunny. We talk about how his real life inspires his stories, just as their real lives inspire theirs.  And we discuss how, even though there is no real life pigeon or pig or elephant in his life that speaks, he likely knows someone who loves hot dogs, likes to stay up late, and wants to drive a bus.  I think this realization helps them make a greater connection to their own writing and the power of "writing what we know about" when reading his books.

Here are two of the published stories created by my students, using craft moves inspired by Mo Willems.  I don't know how to format it so you can see them all in order neatly, but you could click on picture one to enlarge and then be led through the slideshow of pages:

"Green Lake Library"

"The Lock Down Drill"

The last page of this second story is the "translation page" I will write and attach to the less-legible stories.  This student's was fairly easy to read, but I know we as teachers are more easily able to read kid-writing than the average person so I was just ensuring it truly could be enjoyed by all.  At Teacher's College, they train you to put post-its on pages that are less legible with a translation but I don't do that for two reasons.  1) I find that to be environmentally irresponsible considering the number of students/pages I have to translate and 2) I worry that the student having adult writing on the front of each of their pages might send the message that they can't be understood without adult help.  I feel like the translation page I attach is less obvious to them that I'm actually translating it.

After we celebrated these stories at the end of February, we hung them in our writing gallery:

 

Here is the whole of our gallery with all 52 of my students represented.  52!!!   When I look at this picture and pass this writing in the hallway, I can barely believe I have helped each of these students create these and that I work with all of them on their writing on a daily basis.  No wonder I feel like I need a vacation every few weeks!

 

Do you do the TC Authors as Mentors unit with your students or do an author study of another kind?  While I am not likely to switch my loyalty with this unit any time soon, I do love to explore new authors with my students in other parts of our day. Who do you study to inspire your students? Please share. 

Books for Kids in Need

Just a quick FYI: I was using my Scholastic Bookclubs $3 coupons on books for my classroom and had $1.08 left after putting in all the books I wanted to order.  This happens to me frequently because the books I purchase are commonly at a cost of $3.99 each and not priced at amounts that are multiples of 3.  I often just let that $1 go because there are so few books that cost $1, and even those are not typically appealing to me.  However, in searching for any $1 finds that might appeal to me, I came across the option to donate my $1 by selecting an item called $1 for Books for Kids in Need.  I was so happy to be able to choose that option.  I didn't know if those of you who use Scholastic were aware of this option and if you've also experienced the "leftover" $1-$2 conundrum.  Next time you have a dollar or 2 left over, you might consider donating it rather than letting it go to waste or choosing a $1 book you don't really want just to use up the funds.

We just finished our Authors as Mentors Small Moment writing unit and I'll be posting about that soon.  We are also finishing up are introduction to decoding and I'll be posting a freebie for use with your students.  Currently in our classroom: Writing How-To books. Coming up: Non-Fiction text.  Busy week this week, but I'll get my planned posts up soon!

Coaching Institute Notes Dump

Because of a million things going on in my school since my return, including a house fire that left the  family of one of my students with nothing and the surprise in the days following that another student of mine and her mother were homeless and shuffling from shelter to shelter, I have not had a moment to even think of this blog.  Some things really bring to light the reality that we are responsible for so much more than just teaching curriculum to our students...

Some of the best things I learned during my week in New York are things that I don't need to look back at my notes to remember, of course.  One of my favorites, that I've been applying since my return is,  "We don't need to give CPR to the whole class just because 3 students can't breathe."-Shanna Schwartz  In other words, if a reaction to considering sending home just right books with our students is that it's a bad idea because the students will lose them or never bring them back, we need to stop ourselves and consider, "Do I really believe this about my whole class or only a few?"  Naturally it's usually the latter.  And as such, we shouldn't be punishing the whole class for the extra needs of a few.  We should be implementing the plan, but then brainstorming how to address the concern with the students and families that might be less involved/responsive/responsible/etc.  At the start of this year, when our Literacy team met to discuss the idea of having a school-wide word study program that would utilize the same type of work in all classrooms, I was speaking to the benefits of the Words Their Way program from my own experience with having done it with kindergarten students in the same demographic for the last 3 years.  One of the first grade teachers was very much against using it in her classroom in regards to the fact that students use word cards cut from a sheet to sort sounds and said, "This isn't a program that makes sense in kindergarten because our kindergartners can't cut."  I was dumbfounded mostly because I had just explained that I had used this successfully with kindergartners for three years.  I was actually speechless, as I didn't know how to "combat" that without making her look bad and thus seeming disrespectful.  In New York, I learned a great response to use for a situation like that, as I've found this type of objection is common.  What I should have said then and what I'll say in the future to "My students can't...."  is "Which ones?"  If she truly is concerned about the cutting, I should have said "Which ones have problems?  Let's see if we could seat them in a small group on cutting days so you can work with them to help them get their words cut out. It would be a great way to increase their fine motor development to boot."  

How to "combat" resistance in teachers to try new things was among the most useful of things I learned, as it's the greatest obstacle in my current situation.  I learned a ton of other great tips for coaching teachers in Literacy. If you are interested to know what they are, email me or comment here and I will create a post.  I know most of my readers are teachers, though, rather than coaches, so here are things/tips I learned that were useful from a teacher's perspective:

• When conferring with students, encourage more student voice with things like "Say more about that."  As teachers, we tend to feel like we are not doing our jobs if we're not teaching (the ones talking).  Aim for half the conference to be in the student's voice and half in the teacher's voice.

• During mini-lessons, don't read the WHOLE book. Save that for read alouds.  Use parts of the book--most ideally, parts of books they already have read with you--to highlight your teaching point.

• Aim for 3-4 minute conferences. Kids can't learn if you're with them too long and also, you can't be with many kids a day if you are spending more than 4 minutes with them. Don't be afraid to move on without having taught them anything.  (Sounds, crazy, right?! :)

• When you pull students to do a strategy group, when you finish with them, leave them where they are and then pull another group elsewhere.  Moving kids too much and transition times can impede learning. 

• Kidney tables can be barriers between you and the students. Try to eliminate barriers and pull kids to the rug to work with you instead. (I love this idea because my postage-stamp room is cramped and I would love to get rid of furniture!  I already tried this last week and really felt like I was so much more connected to my kids.)  

• Always give an intro to a book you are going to read to the students for the first time.  Warm them up to it to get their minds working. Read aloud time is one of the best ways to teach comprehension in isolation.

• Use read aloud to expand student vocabulary:  "What do you think 'thoughtful' means?"

• Choose shorter books for Interactive read alouds (IRA's). Every IRA should have accountable talk  (turn and talks during the reading followed by a grand conversation afterwards).  If you choose to use a chapter book, don't spend more than 2.5 weeks on it.

• After many student ideas are shared during a Read Aloud, do a "sayback": "I heard....and....and....and... Now turn and talk about one of those."

• For students reading levels J and above, invite them to bring their own books to be read during read aloud. Afterwards, have students turn and talk to share how they will apply skills taught in their own books.

• In Kindergarten, mini-lessons should be less than 10 minutes, 7-12 minutes for higher grades.

• Don't involve students during the "Teach" part of your mini-lesson. This is the time you are modeling for them.

• Students through level L should have 10-12 just right books at a time to read and explore in their book baggies. 

• During Shared reading, model decoding strategies. If you are running short on time in the lesson, don't be afraid to scrap the rest of the lesson's teaching points and just read the rest of the book.

• Don't answer the questions, "Why will this best for the teachers? parents? schedule?". Always answer, "Why will this be best for students?"

• Reading levels C, J, M, and R are common "stuck" levels.  They are not levels that students can gradually slope up/advance through/beyond to the next level. They are plateaus butted up to a cliff that has to be climbed to get to the next level.

• Instead of having kids do "Intro Work/Morning Work/Entry Task" of some random worksheet, have a "Talk Now" in every classroom, the same topic all week, where kids discuss this topic with those at their table or in desk partnerships.  The teacher can record notes on all their ideas s/he overhears, then create a shared talk/shared reading lesson on a summary of what they discussed.  (In areas where students speak a dialect of English, the summary should be written in that dialect and the teacher can make the shared reading a lesson in English grammar and on editing.)

*Please note that when I state reading levels, I am talking about Fountas and Pinnell guided reading levels, as assessed using the Teacher's College Running Records Assessments.  
 
Resources:

• Children's books we used in K/1/2 at P.S. 11 in Chelsea, NYC: Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer, Katie Woo chapter books,  A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, Iris and Walter chapter books

• Children's book with a character development focus recommended for use in all classrooms: How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham

• Professional texts: Great by Choice by Jim Collins, Stray, Visible Learning by John Hattie, Professional Capital, Choice Words, Opening Minds, Lost at School

• Websites for our growth: TED.com, leadandlearn.com, chartchums.wordpress.com

• Website for student growth: sni.scholastic.com (for Non-Fiction articles to use in class with students)

• Apps to use with conferencing: Noteshelf, Confer

Sorry this is so long!  Again, if you want a summary of tips I learned from a coaching and leadership perspective, just ask and I'll try to get to it before July.  Otherwise, that's when you can expect it. :)