Want to obtain some high quality professional development at no cost to you? Need some books to sink your teeth into this summer? Feel like kicking back and just enjoying some time off? If you answered "yes," to one of these questions, then read on!
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Blog: TWO WRITING TEACHERS (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: Teach with Picture Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: writing, language arts, Ralph Fletcher, usage, mentor texts, writing rules, literary devices, verbs, Stenhouse, literary techniques, CCSS, Common Core, sentence writing, Steven Swinburne, Steven Krasner, Add a tag
- Encourage students to examine verb choice in novels, poems, picture books, and informational texts. I choose existing mentor texts and rewrite excerpts using “common verbs” (or, as Krasner would call them, place holders). Students are then challenged to replace these with more precise or colorful verbs.
- Direct your students to consider verb choice in their own writing, and work to find action words that are more exact. As a start, outlaw there is, there are, there were, there was phrases. A better alternative always exists. As do exceptions. Remember the first line of Holes?
- Teach children how to use a print thesaurus or online reference source (such as the Merriam Webster dictionary or Wordnik) for assistance in locating more exact expressions.
The term includes (but isn't limited to) puns, invented words, allusions, idioms, metaphors, similes, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and alliteration. (A good deal of the text discusses sentence structure, which is key to complex and elaborated writing as defined by the Common Core standards).
While at first these devices might seem like window dressing, realize this: your best readers can recognize these devices (even if not by name) and understand them in texts, which leads to improved comprehension. Therefore, giving students practice with literary devices in writing will not only make them better writers, but better readers as well.
Among a ton of other issues in this book, Fletcher discusses the need for writing teachers and student writers to switch from the what (subject/meaning) to the how (language), and he follows up with many ways to make this important distinction. And to prove his point, the author provides this lovely extended metaphor:
In another section called Shimmering Sentences by Other Writers, he talks about how's he fascinated by writers who violate common ideas about usage, and get away with it. Not just get away with it, but produce stronger writing as a result! See Breaking All the Rules of Writing at my How to Teach a Novel site which discusses how author Andrew Clements does exactly that.
If you still think that the books' about "play" and not about "practice," consider what not just Ralph Fletcher, but other experts, had to say:
Blog: TWO WRITING TEACHERS (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: classroom expectations, Facebook, writer's notebook, routines, record keeping, Stenhouse, Add a tag
Our Stenhouse Facebook Event concludes today with a final downloadable and printable writing tip is entitled “Record-Keeping Systems That Make Sense for You.” You can find this tip on our Facebook Event. Here’s what you need to do to participate: 1) Go to our Facebook Page. Click on the link that will take you to [...]
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Our Stenhouse Facebook Event continues today. Today’s downloadable, printable writing tip is entitled “Collecting Bits of Life.” You can find this tip on our Facebook Page. Here’s what you need to do to participate in our Facebook Event. 1) Go to our Facebook Page. Click on the link that will take you to the Stenhouse [...]
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Our Stenhouse Facebook Event begins today and we hope you’ll join us. This week we’ll be sharing five downloadable, printable writing tips to get you thinking about the writing workshop you will lead during the upcoming school year. Today’s tip is entitled “Creating a List of Classroom Expectations.” You can find the first of the [...]
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Stenhouse’s Summer Writing “Blogstitute” starts today. My post on student-initiated writing conferences kicks of the Blogstitute today. Ruth’s piece on celebrating student writers will follow on Monday, July 18th. Later in the summer you’ll hear from other Stenhouse authors. Here’s a look at who else will be sharing fresh ideas about the teaching of writing [...]
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Our publisher, Stenhouse, is hosting a Summer Writing Blogstitute starting on Wednesday, July 6th. Ruth and I are two of the seven authors contributing essays about the teaching of writing for the Stenhouse Blogstitute. Ruth is writing about celebrating writers while I’m writing about student-initiated writing conferences. The other Stenhouse authors who are participating are: [...]
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JacketFlap tags: picture books, nonfiction, science, book giveaway, Houghton Mifflin, classroom library, Walker and Company, Pamela S. Turner, content area, 21st Century Skills, Stenhouse, teaching with picture books, Add a tag
First, know this: Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough don’t write in the world of the hypotheticals. Every idea they share for helping children make nonfiction discoveries comes from their real-life experiences with kindergartners and first graders. Every lesson plan has been implemented in “real time,” and it shows through the anecdotal stories, the authentic and very funny student dialogues, and their suggestions for practitioners based upon their experiences.
This isn’t another book of themes or centers; this is an easy-to-implement series of lessons which will assist any teacher, in any school environment, in opening the eyes of curiosity. And while some will argue that children are naturally curious, I would point out that schools have a way of stifling that curiosity. Not purposely, not systemically, but simply through neglect. A Place for Wonder shows how to take that natural curiosity and channel it toward authentic and purposeful explorations of nonfiction topics. What particularly impressed me was the plans for children to write their own nonfiction books, complete with table of contents and glossary!
My wife is a kindergarten teacher so she’s already laid claim to my copy. Looks like I’ll be getting another for my daughter’s teacher. It’s that good! I recommend you check it out online at Stenhouse, and get a copy for yourself
Hi Keith!
I just wanted to let you know that our next Kid Lit Blog Hop is Wednesday, March 6th and we would love to have you back! I'm really enjoying exploring your blog.