4-16-11 - Humble ISD



4-16-11

Writing Project—Gretchen Bernabei

Welcome/Introductions

• Thanks to Houghton-Mifflin for making today possible

• Gretchen Bernabei—National Consultant, teacher (grades 6-12), award winner (2010 James Moffett award for groundbreaking work in teaching expository writing, author (Crunchtime)

Expository Writing

• 5 paragraphs—no more!

• New book: sequel to Crunchtime, teaching expository writing

• “Teaching is profoundly situational.”

• Craft is: knowing what’s in front of us, knowing who’s in front of us…

Activity:

Two word sentence about something you’ve observed or seen.

Template sentence, using the following templates:

• _______ can be described as _________.

• _______ is the opposite of ___________.

• ________ changes (can change) into _____________.

• ________ causes (can cause) _____________.

• _________ is a part of ____________.

• _____ is almost the same as ________.

• _____ is a type of ________.

• _____ is a different version of _______.

• ______ is an ingredient in _______.

• ________ is required for _______.

**Templates came from the SAT analogy sheet.

**AP patterns woven in

Activity: frame sentence

Random object: Find a random object, with your group/or by yourself, in 3 minutes, see how many sentences you can make up with your template.

• Share template sentences with group. Different levels of sentences, some sound poetic

• Curiosity is a key ingredient in writing

• Writing satisfies a reader’s need, questions from the audience is a good way to help writers write

• Students can generate a lot of “stuff” (Learn how to generate more and go deeper)

Copia (website—Google it!)—generating “stuff” is hard for a lot of kids—how to say a lot of different things with the same idea.

5-paragraph essays are known as “American Essays” in Europe.

Introduction, 3 ideas, Conclusion—Why should we abandon this kind of writing? The Reader—the most boring thing to read!!! This is the way to barely pass or fail standardized tests. Not authentic!!

Rubber stamps with random pictures, objects, etc (Info-shots)(Embed information in a little ‘shot’(kids write about the picture/object. Put the sentences together and have students combine and create a paragraph. Layering the information into more complex sentences.

Activity: Quicklist

• Number paper 1-10

• Think about things in your life, write:

o 1 & 2—tiny snapshot moments in your life when you were proud of somebody else (proud)

o 3 & 4—two short moments in your life when you struggled with something (struggle moment)

o 5—moment in your life involving a reptile (reptile moment)

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o 6 & 7—two things that drive you a little crazy (pet peeves)

o 8 & 9—two things that you know how to do (things you’re good at)

o 10—one thing on your shopping list right now (shopping list)

• Notice what the things above the line have in common and what the things below the line have in common. How are the lists similar and different?

o Emotional ties to the top, superficial ties to the bottom list

o Top—big life events, Bottom—smaller everyday things

o Top is more emotional

o Top involves my social life-people, bottom involves me

“Essays should track movement of the mind.” Kids need something concrete and simple and step-by-step. They need structured steps that track movement of the mind.

• Teachable alternatives—something concrete that will produce something readable. What do we know and how do we know it?? Ideas develop over time—timeline. Beliefs have been born, evolved—lifelines

Literacy- the ability to explain what you know and how you know it to someone else.

• What’s one thing you believe and how do you know it?

• What’s one thing you think is true and how do you know it’s true?

• What’s one thing you think is untrue and how do you know it’s untrue?

Two hands visual: (handouts and available on her website)

• Experiences—experiences that led you to those thoughts, beliefs, etc

• Beliefs—things you know, thoughts, beliefs

• Goes back and forth—we are constantly sifting the input and output

• The dialogue between our hands and what that causes us to say and do

Activity: Kernel Essay

Choose one thing from number 8 or 9 from your Quicklist. Write a kernel essay.

• Number 1-4, leaving enough room to write a sentence for each one.

o Think about the thing you can do, finish the sentences.

1. “I’ve never considered myself a ___.”

2. “But then….”

3. “That’s when….”

4. “So now….”

o Now you have a micro essay.

o You can expand the essay and go deeper.

o The only way to know what you’ve written is to put it into someone else’s ears. Listen to it through someone else’s ears.

o Did anyone get curious and want to ask the writer questions?

o Participants share out. Think about the differences in essays:

• Difference in tone (funny, serious, etc.)

• People want to know more, want to know the ‘story’ and experiences behind the thinking

Activity:Text Structures: Alternatives to the Schoolified Essay

• Look at quick-list and choose 1-5 (First 5 things already happened and last 5 things that are happening now)

• Number paper 1-5, kernel essay, writing 5 sentences, answers to questions

• Think about that moment in your life, replay like a little movie.

1. Where were you?

2. What happened first?

3. What happened next?

4. What happened last?

• Put your pen down….think about this…in your life you have had millions and billions of experiences. This moment has come to your mind, it matters. It brought you gifts: life lessons, you were changed by that moment, you understood deeper, etc. Use that life lesson to complete #5.

5. What you thought/realized, etc…”I’ve learned that…”

o Cross off the words “I learned” –take off words/throw away words—change to be more personal.

• Discuss with kids about the life lesson this moment brought to them. Choose one. ”I’ve learned that…” (put one life lesson).

• STAAR will require a reflection paper.

• How can you expand these pieces to make them longer? Each sentence should be a summary sentence. Students can expand each of those summaries and go deeper. (Interrogate the experience)

• Participants share stories, when a listener has questions about story, write down the three questions and give to the author—peer editing

o Barry Lane’s 3 question technique

• One way to start off a personal narrative—layer in that ‘right hand’—the beliefs, thoughts, etc—going back and forth between beliefs and experiences

• BEST way to change a 3-paper to a 4-paper

Favorite way to add details to personal narrative (Cynthia Candler)

• Make a flip book

• Number 1-5 and write each sentence on one part of the flap

• Lift a flap, you have that space and only that space to expand the details of that sentence/moment in time

• Rearrange/revise on to lined paper—Keep the ‘showing’, get rid of the ‘telling’

You can use the same ‘tracking movement of the mind’ idea on ANY kind of writing.

Drama=what is happening

Narrative=what happened

Expository=what happens

Persuasive=what should happen

How do you create an informative essay out of a kernel essay? Where do you go with it?

• Begin with the first part of kernel essay, include the information during the middle, end with the ideas from the end of the kernel essay.

STAAR writing: Lively, true and engaging to the reader.

• No fake or formula writing

• Kids need to:

o Generate information

o What do they need or want to know

o Personal spin

o Layering info

• Quality writing is quality writing that won’t change

Total body rubric: “Gretchen’s simplified TAKS rubric”

1. Gretchen points to 4 things, the teacher can’t see because her eyes are covered-- Reader is not involved in it (eyes covered)—HUH?

2. Gretchen points to 4 things, the teacher can sort of see because only one eye is covered-- Reader can kind of see it (with one eye)—OKAY?!

3. Gretchen points to 4 things, the teacher can see with both eyes--Reader can see it (with both eyes)—AAHH!

4. Gretchen physically makes the teacher point to 4 things, and moves her body-- Reader physically gets involved with it (both eyes, physically pointing)—WOW!!

Connection to student writing/rubric, on assessment:

1. If the reader can’t see where you’re going, etc. The reader says “Huh” Score point 1.

2. If you have a little more for the reader to see, experience, etc. The reader says “Okay!” Score point 2.

3. If the reader effortlessly sees it and the writing can take the reader somewhere. The reader can easily follow and say “AAHH!” Score point 3.

4. If the reader can totally get into the story, is completely engaged and involved, it will take the reader to a new level. The readers says “WOW!” Score point 4. Good writing moves us and makes us think, no matter the form.

Activity: Ba-da-bing

• How to teach the craft of getting the reader to slip into the skin of the narrator.

• What are chunks of things the writer does to cause the reader to slip into the skin of the narrator?

• Draw 3 boxes on your board, to make one sentence.

1. What were your feet doing? Feet

2. What did you see? Eye

3. What were you thinking? Thought Bubble

• Go back to one of the quick-list moments and try Ba-da-bing. Color code each part Ba=blue, etc. Can take this into paper to mark when occurs.

• You can change the verbs(good way to add voice and deepen word choice.

o Feet/walked—ran, dashed, …

o See/Saw—spotted, imagined, …

o Thought—believed, assumed, understood, …

• Re-enacts cognition

• Don’t strap them down to a form; give them flight to take off with their words.

• Can change it up a bit---Ba-Bing-Da

“I sat in the backseat of the taxi, wondering if I were over dressed for the night. When I looked out the window and saw my mom rummaging through the dumpster.”

• Where can you use this?? Anywhere!! Kids start to notice in the writing in their reading.

Activity: How this works on other forms than personal narrative

• Number off by table 1-5, everybody needs two small sheets of paper

• Put your name and email on a sheet of paper

• One side of paper—

o 1: different kinds of time/name different times

o 2: other kinds of possessions you have (unusual, uncommon)

o 3: different activities (specific or general)

o 4: different places (specific or general)

o 5: abstract concepts (feelings, freedom, happiness, etc)

• Prompts

o What I really like about ____

o What I really hate about ____

o My favorite thing about ____

o The worst part of ____ is

• Other template sentences: first few will be ordinary, then they get deeper

o Most people think ___, but I think ____

o ____ is more ____ than ____

o The best place to go for ____ is ____

o ____ is almost the same as _____

Everyone is potentially an expository piece—go against the grain

Create a bank of truisms

“Does it serve the needs of the reader?”

o Learn about something

o Make a decision about something

Teaching is like acting…so is being a student!!

Persuasive or informing?

A statement that is debatable but can be backed up with facts is an argument. If this is true and this is true, so this must be true.

Explaining my Opinion (Informative)

What I thought before (My recent experience(My reaction to it now

Persuasion adds a push for the reader to do something ( + and so we must do this

Explaining my Opinion (Persuasive)

(What I thought before(My recent experience(My reaction to it now) + and so we must do this

Use template sentences with photographs, environment, etc

Article from Tween Tribune—Bear Honks Horn, Takes Car on Joy Ride

o High interest reading for kids, read articles and post comments/respond

o Both informative and a story—informative narrative

o Look at layers in terms of “Info-Shots”

▪ Highlight every piece of text that has to do with your info-shot

▪ Text structures are embedded

▪ Look into information all around us and find those text structures that are engaging.

▪ Learn to code the text

▪ Can we imitate it?

Reminders:

May 6th

• All day session

• Begin working in sub-groups

• Launching the work!!

Additional dates to come

All documents from Wednesday and today will be posted online next week

Handouts:

Reviving the Essay: Text Structures frameworks

Real Time: Tools for Non-Fiction Writing

But aren’t opinions really persuasive?

Websites:





(Crunchtime—tab for companion resources will lead you to handouts, downloadables, etc.)

(high interest, one page articles)

Referenced Books:

Holding onto Good Ideas in a Period of Bad Ones by Thomas Newkirk

Teaching the Universe of Discourse by James Moffett

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Resources:

National Assessment of Educational Progress-Federal Report Card (NAEP)

Common Core Standards—rest of the country is using, not Texas

Visual prompts available on the Heinemann website

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Competency:

So now…

That’s when…

But then…

I’ve never considered myself a….

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