Let’s start a tradition!

Let’s write friendly letters!

Composing a letter by hand—a non-electronic letter—is a relational, social activity that teaches generosity, idea making, and the nature of beauty.

Once upon a time there was no such thing as email, text messages, and social media. Back then there was mail. The art of letter writing began way before Pony Express.  I love watching movies where fancy-dressed people are sitting together after a lovely meal sharing news from friends and relatives living in far reaches of the wide world. Letters. They called them letters.

Ephemera is a wonderful word. Say it aloud. Ephemera.

But ephemera is something that is not meant to be preserved. I would argue that letters, the thoughtfully crafted kind, are not ephemera but rather lasting gifts!

1. Letter writing, like all writing, begins with an idea. It’s November. And November is the season of gratitude. So why not write an idea tied to the theme of gratitude? Starting with a list is always a good idea. Brainstorm! What are you thankful for?
2. Hone in: Once there is some fodder on the page, focus in on a specific topic that you can develop. Encourage student writers to keep ideas simple, being grateful for finding that favorite lost sock,  watching the goldfish swimming in the backyard pond, or accomplishing a difficult task like mastering a new math concept. Brainstorm some more.
3. With a topic nailed down, begin crafting the rough draft. Time to pick up the pencil and tell the story—yes the story! Narrative writing (a story of gratitude is no exception) is an opportunity to share. Write a first draft.
4. Lay down the pencil when all the ideas are on the page. Set the writing aside for up to 24 hours. Let the story simmer.
5. Re-read what was written. Now is the time to make edits, to re-arrange, to add wonderful words and phrases and to read again! Once satisfied, copy the gratitude narrative into the card you have chosen. You can certainly add some “pleasantries” to introduce the purpose of your gratitude narrative (’tis the season, after all), and you can share a bit of personal news after your narrative, but however you shape your letter, don’t forget to mark it with a date, create a salutation, and a friendly closing.

Check out our FREE letter writing worksheet here.

Well-told stories encourage people to see things in new ways.

Snail Mail is not archaic!

To write a letter is to offer a generosity.

To receive a letter is a gift.

Heres to a month of letter writing! Let’s put a stamp on it!

“A letter always seemed to me like immortality because it is the mind alone without corporeal friend.” ~Emily Dickinson

How do students in 3rd Grade who are brand new to the paragraph form and still mastering foundational skills become unencumbered idea makers?

Incrementally and inspired by idea making, of course!

Writing is a creative habit that begins with an idea and ends with words on the page.

Let’s explore how our CORE Integrated Literature and Writing units produce exceptional writers! Gain insight, tips, and encouragement.

Click through to watch a recording of the August Professional Development sessions with Mrs. B & Ms. Clare:

How to Edit Elementary Student Writing! 

~Kimberly

There is a wide range of ability encountered when it comes to Level 1 writers as this post will demonstrate. Students entering the third grade who have been using our curriculum, have been introduced to the whole of phonics (for reading and writing), have acquired a large sight vocabulary (for reading and writing), and have been introduced to all four types of sentences—statement, question, command, exclamation. By the end of the second grade these students are confidently writing journals and simple stories. These students have been introduced to constructing the “Hook” in Storymaker, and understand it is the first sentence that gets any story started! These students are ready to embark on CORE Level 1.

But what happens when students jump into the program at CORE Level 1 who have not been using our curriculum?

When students encounter the weekly writing element in each section, they will be supported with a gentle scaffolding on the page to remind them that a paragraph has an introductory “topic” sentence (the HOOK), 3 supporting sentences, and a conclusion (the TWIST at the end).

This student, who jumped into CORE Level 1 from another program straight out of 2nd grade, is a dyslexic child who was simultaneously remediating phonics. It was important to encourage him to write his ideas even though his skills were limited.. This process would only solidify burgeoning skills. Because he was eager and imaginative, this student had no problem using the phonics he had mastered to communicate a darling idea inspired by My Father’s Dragon!

Here’s what we see:

• Able to copy the word island from the prompt
• Able to encode consonant and short vowel sounds
• Able to encode a few sight words: was, and, made, to

Most important is the fact that, despite being on tippy toes with skills, this student tenaciously pressed into composing a really outstanding idea!

How we approach the edit at this level:

With a young writer, it is best to write suggestions (which takes no longer than 5 minutes!) before sitting side-by-side with the student. Then we talk about what we just read. FOUR positives were offered in this case: 1) Terrific HOOK! and 2) Splendid idea! and 3) Terrific descriptors! and 4) Terrific Twist! Then and only then, after offering genuine positives (always possible to find), do I offer constructive edit suggestions. The most significant edit offered was to correct the spelling. In the last body sentence, I asked the child to tell me more about what the mountains and volcanoes were made of and simply wrote what was spoken. Next, I asked the student  to copy the paragraph with edits. This copy work exercise, because it is tied to an authentic idea, tends to improve the application of phonics skills not yet mastered, more than memorizing rules. This student, by the end of 3rd grade, was moving toward using conventional spelling more often than not.

~Kimberly

When we teach a student calculus, we are teaching them to attend to small parts of a larger form. The word calculus comes from the Latin, meaning small pebble.

When teaching our students to write, we should begin by teaching them writing is an art form!

So why have we turned the art of writing into a calculus?

Great writing never begins with capitalization, punctuation, or grammar!

Great writing begins with an IDEA!

This is the rule of art: Form Follows Function

Writers must focus first on the function or purpose of writing—the idea. Once the idea is drafted in rough form, the writer digs back in and applies mechanics—corrects misspelling, capitalization, punctuation, embellishes word choice, improves syntax, and so on. Writing is a process.

So, let me clarify, I’m NOT saying don’t teach capitalization, punctuation, or grammar.  I’m simply saying that primarily focusing on mechanics over and above actually constructing ideas will never produce exceptional writing.

The best way to learn to write is to WRITE.

Who, when asked to write a sentence about an apple, will begin like this: “I will need an interesting adjective, an adverbial phrase, plus a dependent and independent clause,” with a deep dive into grammar and mechanics and rhetoric? NO! You will pick up your pencil and you will write your idea! Once you get an idea on paper, you will, as time permits, reread and polish that idea—improving word choice here and there, possibly rearranging phrases, correcting spelling and capitalization and so on. Writing, like all art forms, requires that the writer engage in a process.

For the past 30 years, in addition to educating my own children (who are now thriving adult readers and writers), I’ve guided countless students through our CORE Literature and Writing Discovery Guides. And what I’ve learned is this:

The key to success over time?

Choose your battles.

Each week in the CORE Literature and Writing Discovery Guides, students will encounter a writing prompt inspired by the week’s reading. These prompts will require different types of responses utilizing different types or domains of writing—narrative, observational, imaginary, persuasive, and so on.

The weekly writing prompt will:

1) Allow students to write their ideas in a vast array of writing domains.

2) Move students through the process of constructing ideas, from draft to polished form.

3) Motivate students to engage in the work of idea making.

The best writing teacher is a mentor who encourages the student’s idea. This 4th grade student is responding to the Section 4 prompt in the Pablo and Birdy student guide. You can see by simply reading, that this young writer cares about the idea being constructed. You can see by examining the effort  made to communicate the idea coherently. Like any construction zone, this is messy, there are sections scratched out, there is scribble in the margin, there is darkened in pencil where spelling is being considered by the student writer. This is all GOOD!

How to Conference One-on-One:

During the 5-minute conference (keep it pithy), have the student read aloud what is written on the page. Use your red pen to make edits and suggestions as the work is being read aloud. For this paragraph, I focused on the following 4 topics:

The HOOK

This is something that is a focus each week, teaching students to open their idea with a sentence that moves beyond a “topic opener” toward a sentence that actually HOOKS the reader into the idea. This writer, who had been working in our CORE for over a year, opened this with a really well constructed, informative sentence—a terrific hook! What’s so great about this sentence? Consider that less experienced writers might write something like this:

Birdy left Isla to fly away.

This sentence is a very flat statement, lacking the detail that engages readers to read on. But this type of simple sentence is often where young writers begin. The goal of the teacher is never to re-write the hook, but rather to encourage the student to add details. Why did Birdy fly away? Where did Birdy fly? In the sentence written by this student, there is also a bit of intrigue in the phrase “for the first time in ten years” that makes the reader sense a bit of courage in the act of flying away!

As Birdy left Isla for the first time in ten years, her instincts told her to fly east.

Indentation

The indentation is a small, but constant reminder.

Spelling

I typically don’t make writers look up misspellings in a dictionary, but rather create a checklist in one of the white spaces on the rough draft. As the student reads I am checking misspelled words, then, as I discuss what I’ve discovered after the read, I make the corrected spelling list. There are two misspellings in this paragraph.

Twist at the End

The TWIST at the end has a bigger purpose than concluding. The last sentence of an idea should keep the idea in the reader’s mind to ruminate and ponder. With the phrase “in conclusion” at the beginning of this student’s Twist, the reader is jarred from the flow of the lovely narrative. Something about this phrase is out of sync with the rest of the voice. The phrase is formulaic. Simply omitting it transforms the last sentence:

(In conclusion,) Birdy will keep traveling the world for the next ten marvelous years before heading back to Pablo, and, who knows, maybe she will bring back another baby!

This statement is actually a rhetorical question, so the exclamation mark at the end is acceptable.

Imagine now this sentence with different syntax:

For the next ten marvelous years before heading back to Pablo, Birdy will keep traveling the world, and, who knows, maybe she will bring back another baby!

This rearranging was not offered because I felt the student’s sentence (minus “in conclusion”) was lovely as is. However, it’s always good to imagine possibility and to have many tricks up your sleeve!

Ultimately, if you can read, if you can enjoy an idea, and if you can be delighted in the potential of language, then roll up your sleeves and get into the garden!

~Kimberly