Anita's+notes+-+April+12th+session

HVWP/PDS // Wondrous Words // Study Group

April 12, 2011 minutes

Debbie, Trace, Jan, Lynn, Judy, Brian, Ruthie, Sue, Dotty, Mary, Anita

Thank you, Lynn and Jan for the wonderful snacks!

Check-in: several people tried the performance poems lesson in their classrooms. Dotty shared student work from her kindergarten students, who wrote individual performance poems from three different books that they independently read.

Not everyone has made their way to the wiki space. Dotty will re-invite those who have not joined in case the original e-mail was lost.

Writing prompt: Write about a memorable time you shared with your relatives. Thank you Sue, Judy and Jan for sharing your writing. Writing wasn’t easy for everyone. Lynn noted she can understand how her students feel when they aren’t inspired or can’t get started writing. Anita wonders if it is important to discuss individual writing process with students.

Ruthie and Sue introduced “reading like a writer.” Choral reading: __The Relatives Came__ “As we are reading, think about what grabs you.”

After the reading, we worked in pairs or on our own to fill in the inquiry chart. · What did you ** notice **? Show an example from the book. · Why and how did the author achieve this particular writing trait? ** Make a theory. **  · ** Name ** the trait · Have you seen this done in other writing? ** Make a connection. **  · Can you** envision ** using this technique in your own writing?

Three groups shared: Dotty and Anita identified short phrases punctuated by exclamation mark. Theory: used to create excitement and rhythm. They both tried using the trait in their own writing. Dotty mentioned that it seems as if Cynthia Rylant had gotten into her head as she was writing to the prompt.

Brian and Judy identified many traits in the author’s writing: use of then, and, so, unconventional sentence structure, repetition, long sentences. They also noted the way the story began and ended in similar ways. They said that the long sentences created a sort of urgency. If you read it in a single breath, reading until you run out of breath propels the reader forward, creating a sense of urgency.

Sue and Ruthie identified “Those relatives” as short phrases for catching attention. Short, intentional and yet vague. Non specific language, such as “Those relatives” creates a vagueness that allows the reader to imagine themselves and their relatives in the story. They also noted that many of these phrases seemed to be from a kid’s point of view. Long, long sentences felt crowded and that matched the image of the crowded sleeping arrangements. Also, phrases like // hugging time // seemed poetic.

The group noted that ordinarily short phrases and run-on sentences would be unacceptable in a student’s writing. However, validating the use of these crafting techniques through author study is acceptable.

Sue and Ruthie shared their student’s work. After reading __The Relatives Came__, the students looked for striking language and developed theories for why the author wrote in that way. Many of their observations matched our observations. Some additional observations from the student work: · passage of time is indicated by the change in the grapes · relationship between picture and text · unusual parings of language such as shining faces Sue and Ruthie plan to take this to the next step and share their students’ writing again at the last meeting.

Informal discussion: Jan introduced the discussion with a question: How does this work in non-fiction writing and reading? Several ideas were generated for this type of study, including reading non-fiction books that could help students with organizing information through the use of sub-titiles, adding graphs and maps, etc. Thanks, Jan, for extending our thinking about “reading like a writer.” We wrote letters of appreciation and reflection to Ruthie and Sue.

Next session, read Chapter 5 Judy will bring student work from her Pre-K class. Anita will bring K-1-2 work. Snack: Sue, Debby, and Ruthie