Launching the Writer's Workshop
In the article, A Guide to the Writer's Workshop, Calkins discusses the importance of implementing the writer's workshop in our classrooms. Throughout the article, Calkins reinforces how important it is for children to "take small, true stories of their lives and tell those stories in ways that strike a chord to their readers" (Calkins, 2006). As educators, we have to model where writing comes from in order for our students to use their small life stories as inspiration. Through mini lessons, we can demonstrate how we use our own life stories to inspire our personal writing. Along with discussing our small life stories, Calkins states that we should "build our children's identities as writers by exclaiming over the stories they've told" (Calkins, 2006). We can continue to ask questions about our student's lives in order to demonstrate how we can use our experiences to launch a personal narrative. As I read through the article, I began to think about several moments in my life that I could begin to write about. The first moment that I plan to further write about, is my Something Beautiful that I encountered this week.
Something Beautiful....
In my writer's notebook, I wrote about Something Beautiful that I encountered this week. While I have really taken a step back to appreciate several small moments, my Something Beautiful occurred with my students on Monday. We took a step outside of the classroom to enjoy a remarkably warm day in February. We were able to get a taste of Spring weather in the middle of Winter as temperatures rose to 70 degrees!
Brown Girl Dreaming
As I continue reading Brown Girl Dreaming, I was specifically inspired by a poem titled Lullaby. Jacqueline Woodson discusses the many sounds of nature that we hear in the evening. I resonate with this poem as I think about how many times I've laid awake, listening to the sounds of crickets and frogs. The next time I use their voice as a lullaby, I will make sure to write an entry how their song is Something Beautiful.
Mentor Texts
In chapter 3 of Mentor Texts, the authors discuss how we can use conversation to inspire our younger students to write. Based on the conversations that I've enjoyed with my Kinders, I know they have ALOT to share! While conversations may be difficult to maintain during whole group, the authors suggest to have students partner up so that all students have the opportunity to participate. "When too many children are sharing individually in whole group, attention wanders and ideas are lost. Sharing orally in partners gets our students writing more quickly. This process--talking before writing--creates opportunities to ask questions, share mentor texts, exchange ideas, and form partnerships" (Dorfman and Cappelli, 2017). This strategy of conversation allows us to follow the guideline:
Think About It--Talk About It--Write About It
Where I 'm From
This week, I created a "Where I'm From" poem using the template that is inspired by the famous poem created by George Ella Lyon. Before I realized, I was using the strategy that Dorfman and Cappelli suggest in chapter 3 of Mentor Texts. After I thought about my family traits and tendencies, I knew that I needed to have a conversation with my mother. I wanted to use her as a "mentor" to help me walk through my writing ideas. After delving deep into our family history, I created the following poem:
Where I 'm From
I am from hairties,
from Pillsbury rolls and Cheerwine.
I am from the house on the hill,
elevated yet secluded.
I am from the elephant ears,
the banana trees
whose leaves flourish in the garden.
I'm from the late-night bowls of snow-cream
and freckles.
From Frances and Lisa
and Karen.
I'm from the wacky jokes and worry warts.
From Make Good Choices
and Pray About It.
I'm from family Bibles
and old church hymns forever engraved on my heart.
I'm from the Key family acres
from chocolate cake and sweet jelly.
From Nana Betty who sweeps the driveway
and Fellman who pops his toes.
I am from unbreakable family ties that are
rooted in the Foothills of the South.
From daily prayers and
I love yous.
References
Woodson, J. (2019). Brown girl dreaming. Vancouver, B.C.: Langara College.
Dorfman, L. R., Cappelli, R., & Hoyt, L. (2017). Mentor texts: teaching writing through childrens literature, k-6. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Calkins, L. M. (2006). A guide to the writing workshop, grades 3-5. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann