As educators, we strive to help our students grow into fluent readers and writers. We often find that students are quick to develop a lack of interest in writing. We are faced with questions like, "but do I have to?" and "what do I write about?". As we launch the writer's notebook in our classrooms, we must provide several avenues of inspiration for our young writers.
"Only by hearing good literature can a child come to realize what it is and to understand what writing has to offer him- an opportunity to describe, define, and perhaps understand his world" -
Carol Gay (Dorfman & Cappelli, 2017)
Connecting with Literature
In Dorfman and Cappelli's book Mentor Texts, the authors discuss the importance of providing literature as an essential component of the writing workshop. We must allow our students to create meaningful connections to the stories that we read in our classroom. "When students connect to literature on a personal level, they can begin to see that they have similar experiences or feelings" (Dorfman & Cappelli, 2017). The authors explain that in order to provide opportunity for rich connections, we must ensure that our books are representing our students in many ways. The literature we provide should represent characters from various backgrounds and cultures. As our students see themselves in the books we read, their connections will grow stronger. "The books that our students connect with on many levels are the books they fall in love with and want to return to for many reasons. These are the books that become mentors for our writers" (Dorman & Cappelli, 2017).
Dorfman and Cappelli provide several pieces of literature that we can use to spark writing connections in our classroom:
Fireflies! by Julie Brinckloe
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting
Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
Imogene's Antlers by David Small
George Shrinks by William Joyce
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
Matthew A.B.C by Peter Catalanotto
And many more!!
Brown Girl Dreaming
(pp. 1-41)
"Deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome someday."
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, is an excellent source to use as a mentor text during writing instruction. While I have only read through page 41 so far, there have been several instances where I have been inspired by Woodson's effortless words. One theme that is apparent in the novel so far, is identity. We are introduced to the main character on page 6 as we learn about "a girl named Jack". The reader learns about the history of her family and the history of her unique name. Woodson provides an excellent mentor text as we begin to help our students think about who they are and where they came from. A specific moment captured my attention on page 4:
"I do not yet know who I'll be
what I'll say
how I'll say it..."
In this moment, we see the character self-reflecting as she wonders who she will grow up to be. Through helping our student reflect on their previous life experiences, we can help them find their place in the world. Brown Girl Dreaming provides several examples for students to reflect about their own lives and experiences. I look forward to finishing this outstanding novel!
Check out Jacqueline Woodson's website here.
Heart Maps
One activity that I plan to use when I launch the writer's notebook in my classroom, is the creation of a "heart map". Writers are invited to play and explore as they map out their heart. In an article titled, Heart maps: Helping students create and craft authentic writing, Heard discusses several suggestions for creating heart maps. After reading his article, I was inspired to create a Blank Canvas Heart Map in my personal writer's notebook. Heard invites writers to "use the Blank Canvas Heart Map Template to map things, people, and experiences that matter to them" (Heard, 2016). After writers have mapped out their heart, Heard invites us to choose one item that speaks to us to further discuss on a separate page of our writer's notebook. As a student that struggled with writing throughout school, I throughly enjoyed engaging in this writing activity. I felt passionate about mapping out my heart as I reflected on what humans, things, and experiences are the most important to me.
Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal
As I continue reading Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal, my writing inspiration continues to flourish. My favorite aspect of Amy's style of writing, is how conversational her tone is. Through engaging in this mentor text, I have become more comfortable in my writing process. TAKR has shown me that it's okay to jot down random thoughts, questions, or comments about the world. I often stress over perfect grammar or writing passages that sound "good" to others. TAKR has shown me to write freely and confidently. I love how much I have been living in the moment and embracing the world around me. I look forward to gaining more inspiration from Amy in the following weeks.
Citations
Dorfman, L. R., & Cappelli, R. (2007). Mentor texts: Teaching writing through children’s literature, K-6. Portland, Me.: Stenhouse.
Rosenthal, A. K. (2016). Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Penguin Group USA.
Heard, G. (2016). Heart maps helping students create and craft authentic writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York, NY: Puffin Books.
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