Students As Authors: Writers' Workshop Part III

What do writers write?! Each quarter we focus on a different type of writing (narrative, persuasive/opinion, informational, and back to narrative), and I pick a topic that is related to one of our current units of study in science or social studies for their writing pieces. Integration = Connections = DEEP LEARNING! Then when all is said and done, I offer the students activities that extend upon their writing, which often involves technology or art. 

My ultimate favorite writing unit we have done is Who Should be Mayor of Pickle City? for persuasive writing. During this writing unit, the students are simultaneously learning about the elected leaders and responsibilities of local government in social studies. To hook the students, I created two fictional mayoral candidates of the fictional Pickle City. 

Meet…Kate Ketchup and Pete Pizza! 

I presented each candidate’s platform to the students with Voki (a free tech tool used to make talking avatars). They loved it and thought it was hilarious. Then we summarized each candidate’s platform and discussed pros and cons for each point. Following this overview of the candidates, students decided who they wanted to side with. Who would make the best mayor for Pickle City? 

During the Planning stage, they used a flow map from Read, Write, Think (I printed the blank map) and brainstormed introductions and recorded the main points of their candidate’s platform. Then they caucused with their like-minded group through an inner/outer circle format to develop arguments for each of their points. This worked out so fabulously! They collaborated with many different people and gained great information from each other. 

After they had developed a strong argument for their candidate, they developed counterclaims. We started by having a VERY guided debate (debate inspiration from professional development by our county’s language arts supervisor). I asked the students, “Why do you think Kate Ketchup or Pete Pizza should be mayor?” A student would offer an opinion about Kate Ketchup’s platform and then another student would offer their thoughts about Pete Pizza. I continued switching between both sides recording their arguments on chart paper. 

Caucus with Like-Minded Group                                                                                                                  Guided Debate

THEN came the counterclaim. I explained that it’s important to see both sides. and that politely refuting another’s idea can make for a stronger argument. I proceeded by asking the students to look at the arguments documented on the chart paper for the opposition and think of a reason as to why it’s not a good idea and what your candidate could do that would be better. Following this direction, the students developed at least one counterclaim with the following sentence frame: 

"Some may argue that…however… "

What the students wrote was unbelievable! They had become expert persuaders! I wish I had a student example to share with you but from what I can remember, they wrote things like, "Some may argue that more cars equals more pollution however Pete Pizza will offer cars that run on electricity."

After our debate, students completed their planning by adding a conclusion. They wrote things like, "Obviously Kate Ketchup is the best choice for mayor," and, "In my opinion you should vote for Pete Pizza." Then they proceeded through the stages of the writing process. When they reached the Publishing stage, they composed their final draft as a letter to the citizens of Pickle City. And when all was said and done, our classroom was covered with campaign posters, voting booths, and ticket ballots. 

Students as Authors: Writers' Workshop Part II

Most of our writers’ workshop is spent writing, of course! Planning > First Draft > Edit/Revise > Publishing. These are the stages my students follow for each writing piece. They keep their work in a writing folder and move it from magazine box to magazine box based on each stage of the writing process (idea source from The Superlative Six). Nearly all of my Writing Process Labels have become detached from our boxes but if you're interested in seeing the labels, they are available for FREE in my TpT store. The students usually do two to three pieces each quarter. We spend A LOT of time on each piece to really make it quality. I am a big fan of Thinking Maps and have the students use them for the Planning stage. Sometimes I create my own Thinking Maps templates and sometimes I find JUST what I'm looking for from Lisa Lizak and Beth Wright or Read, Write, Think (click links for free Thinking Maps!). 

During the First Draft stage, students use their Thinking Map to compose their writing on special draft paper. If students need me, they sign up for a writing reservation (made with Google Forms) on the computer. I will also pull small groups based on what I see. 

Writing reservations also come in handy for the Edit/Revise stage. I love the writing reservations because it gives me a record of what students need and who I’ve met with but the best part is, the students do all the work! They love going to the computer and completing the writing reservation form. It makes them feel so fancy! I keep my iPad at my fingertips and have the results of the writing reservation form up on the screen and it updates in real time as the students submit a reservation. 

Student View of Writing Reservation                          Student in Action                      Teacher View of Writing Reservations

One of the most overwhelming parts of writing for me used to be editing student work so I then I got smarter and started having the students do most of it. It's a win-win for both the students and I because they become master editors with all the practice (I also like to think that maybe they put more effort into their first drafts so then they don’t have to correct as much, wishful thinking?) and I don’t have to spend hours after school editing every single error. 

During the Edit/Revise stage, I’ll pull a small group based on the reservations. They bring a marker, clipboard, and their first draft to the carpet. I keep a dry-erase board with me to do brief lessons based on their errors. I will instruct the students to check every sentence for a capital letter, punctuation, etc. and they use editing marks to make the corrections. As the year progresses, I add additional steps during the Edit/Revise stage, such as pick a word to find a jazzy synonym for, check for contractions, etc. During the final part of this stage, I pair the students up and they read their writing aloud to one another while I rotate around and listen in. The purpose of the partner read aloud is for them to give each other compliments and suggestions. Two brains are better than one, right?! They also catch a lot of errors once they hear how their writing sounds out loud.

Finally, the students move to their final draft! They write their story on loose-leaf notebook paper (it takes them forever to remember what side the holes go on! Does anyone have any tricks for that?) and sometimes they make it into a book! Every other month I organize an event called Quill and Scroll with my colleagues where five students from each class are invited to share a "published" piece of writing one evening after school. Families are invited, the kids dress up...it's real special! Every student in the school gets invited to at least one Quill and Scroll during the year. Stay tuned for a more detailed post on how to organize your own Quill and Scroll!  

Hello, again! First Year Recap

Hello, again! I'm back! Turns out my first year of teaching was a little VERY busy... but it was also AWESOME, rewarding, challenging, and FUN!! There are so many things I want to share but for now I'll leave you with a recap of some of my favorites activities...Enjoy!

1. Native American Tribes in the United States

 

In Virginia, 2nd graders learn about the Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo Native Americans. They must know their regions, land, climate, modes of transportation, occupations, architecture, and contributions. Students worked in groups using construction paper and markers to make a map (I already had the outline of a blank US map printed for them) demonstrating the essential knowledge.This was an excellent hands-on, cooperative activity, especially for the art smart and visual learners!

 

2.World Map with Sugar Cookies

This cooking activity was a hit! The final outcome it what you see above... to have a world map labeled with the continents, oceans, and specific rivers and mountain ranges. So much happened before this though and we got a little messy!! First, the students made the sugar cookie dough!

I had stations set up around the room with an ingredient and measuring utensil at each station. Then each group of 5 to 6 students had a big mixing bowl at their table. Each group member received one or two ingredient cards with a measurement. They were responsible for using their ingredient card(s) to go to an ingredient station, measure, the ingredient, and put the ingredient in their mixing bowl. Everyone was held accountable, had an important role, and had to make sure their measurements were correct! If your students haven't learned measurement yet, I suggest doing a mini-lesson beforehand so their cookie dough comes out...normal. Then came the mixing, the cookie cutters (purchased from Amazon), and the baking.

The next day, when the cookies were all done, the students used their textbook to research the location of the continents, oceans, rivers, and mountain ranges that are listed in our state's standards. Each group received a baggie of labels and divied up the labels between the members of their group. I had the students put the labels on toothpicks and write their student number on their labels so I would know who was responsible for what. Not only did we integrate our measurement and map skills, we had a yummy treat when all was said and done. :)

3. Inferencing Investigation (from The Inspired Apple)

I LOVE this reading activity from Babbling Abby at The Inspired Apple!! Here's a synopsis from Abby's TpT store:

"By investigating "Snow Day Case Files" students will sort through evidence to determine what the main characters in a mini-story did during a snow day. As "Inference Investigators," students are encouraged to make inferences based on the clues in the evidence."

Tree Map for classifying evidence (the heading of the map says "Clues")

I had my students work in pairs and each pair made inferences about two pieces of evidence. After the students made inferences about their evidence, we had a whole group discussion about their discoveries. I had discussion questions, like Abby suggested, but I also made a tree map with masking tape on our rug to classify our evidence. Each branch of the tree map connected with a discussion question. For instance, if the first discussion question asked, "What are some activities Tim and Grandma Sue did," then the students would place any evidence that they thought answered that question under the first branch on the tree map. Classifying the data with the tree map really helped students see the connections between their evidence.

I LOVE the "Snow Day Case Files" because the kids LOVED it. However, my favorite thing about this activity is how it makes inferencing, an abstract reading comprehension skill, concrete and hands-on. As a result of this activity, the students really knew what it meant to inference and be a "reading detective". They became expert inference investigators!! Be sure to check out Abby's Inferencing Investigation!

4.  Gallery Walks

 

I love using Gallery Walks to get kids up and moving around the room! During a Gallery Walk, students rotate around the room to an image or piece of text, like a discussion question or problem. The students may work independently at each gallery or may have some kind of discussion, it's up to you! My students have done Addition and Subtraction Story Problem Gallery Walks, Fraction Gallery Walk, and Matter Gallery Walks. In the picture above, the students had to identify and illustrate the change in matter based on a real-world example. Here's a close-up of one of the galleries and recording sheet:

Stay tuned for a recap of my favorite technology integrated activities!! Thanks for visiting. :)