Category: Writing Workshop

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Words are Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

To read is to imagine.

To imagine is to story tell.

To story tell is to write.

This last weekend we went and saw my son in a performance of Mary Poppins. He had been rehearsing for months and it was finally his time to “wow” the audience from the big stage. Everyone came armed with their role and their costumes and their props and their accents. The stage was transformed and we were transported to London in 1910. The main stars of Mary Poppins are of course, Mary Poppins and her magical chimney-sweep friend, Bert. But the story itself really centers around the father, Mr. Banks, who sees his role as a father as strictly providing and not in nurturing. As the musical performance played out, the audience experienced the magic, the struggle and the transformation in the family and especially in the father. Mr. Banks was no longer a 14-year-old boy, but a man struggling in his role of provider, husband, and father.

I reflected later that we as human beings need to share our ideas, feelings, and stories. I never could know how it felt to live and be the head of a house hold in 1910, in London. Things we will never experience, we can feel and learn through stories.

In Pages online, we read a terrific story during this last session with my middle school Level 3 students called Banner in the Sky. This book was about a boy climbing the highest mountain, the Citadel, in the Swiss Alps. It is a fictional book but based on real research and experience climbing. As we read, we were transported to these mountains, holding on for our lives, experiencing the harsh weather conditions and the strength of the climbers both physically and mentally. Before this book I had never pondered what climbers experience.

 

Books take us places we have never been to experience things we will never do.

 

Through books we get a glimpse of the past we never experienced. We learn about things we have never done. We ponder what things might be like in the future. In my Level 4 Pages class, we read The Giver—a book that talks of a newly created community where everyone lives in sameness, under a set of rules where the weak and rule breakers are sent to Elsewhere. Memories are too painful for people, so they are taken away and placed with one single person, a person separate from society, called the Giver. The book is set in an unspecified future with no exact date. This young adult dystopian novel was written in 1993 and has sparked questions about conformity, individuality, unexamined security, freedom and the importance of our past and experiencing pain.

Blackbird and Company has created curriculum to accompany the journey and adventure of books; comprehension, setting, plot, vocabulary, themes, motifs and symbols are covered. But we really dive deep when we ask the student or should I say the writer to write, their ideas, feelings, opinions, beliefs. Our prompts ask, what tricky or fearful experience have you encountered? How did you get through? What would you do if faced in the same situation as the character? What do you want to do when you get older? Who influenced you?

Suddenly we are telling a story—our story—we are the writer of our story!

 

To write, we need only to start with a word, a phase, then one true sentence. It sounds so simple, but the words we choose to use are important, meaningful. We can paint pictures with our words, create dramatic scenes, show painful, tragic moments, create laughter, and love. In the performance of Mary Poppins, one of my favorite scenes is when they sing the song, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Mary Poppins, inventor of this word, gets the whole stage singing her brand new magical word! Simply said, it is something to say, when you have nothing to say!

When you look up “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (the magical word of Mary Poppins) in the dictionary, there it is, defined as: something extremely good or wonderful.

What a challenge that word would be to put in an essay, but much more powerful, might I say magical, than simply saying something is good.

Mary Poppins would say to our students: Learn words, words and more words!

By the age of 5 years old children recognize at least 10,000 words. By 10-years-old, children can speak and write an average of 20,000 words and learn on average 20 new words a day. They can also understand the fact that words have multiple meanings. A High school student may know anywhere from 25,000-50,000 words. When I looked up the average vocabulary for adults, it ranged from 20,000-35,000 words. Children double their vocabulary between 5 and 10-years-old, learning an average of 20 new words a day! But over 10-years-old, learning new vocabulary slows or even stops. An average teen or adult might just have a vocabulary of 25,000 words. That’s only 5,000 more than a 10-year-old, maybe staying this way for their lifetime.

We have moved away from books you hold in your hand and dictionaries you flip through. We’ve have moved to media. As a whole we have moved away from writing with a pencil and instead typing on the computer.

How do we inspire our students to read and to write and to thing? How do we keep them learning, and adding to their vocabulary? To become the communicators of the future? How do we inspire our students to be writers who express that wonderful one true sentence? To bring that idea, that feeling, that story to life? How do we make what feels impossible, possible?

 

Mr. Daniels, of Fish in a Tree, instructs the main character, Ally, to draw a line between the M and the P in that word impossible.

 

I M / P O S S I B L E

 

“So, now, Ally…….that big piece of paper in your hand says possible. There is no impossible anymore, okay?”

We can create possibility. We can create words and meaning. The possible starts with YOU. And the way I see it, with a good book and some time.

“In this world of words, sometimes they just can’t say everything.”

Or can they? I would like to find out!

 

~Clare

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Haiku of Stars

Did you know you can see 20 quadrillion miles away? That’s how far it is to the very brightest star in the sky, Cygnus. And, did you know every single star you see in the night sky is bigger and brighter than the sun? Our sun, after all, is a dwarf star. That’s right a dwarf!

So what has this got to do with poetry?

Everything! That’s what!

Learning to write well does not happen by learning the rules. No! Learning to write well is rooted in wonder. And what is more worthy of our wonder than the 200 billion trillion stars in the universe?   That is an unfathomable number, right? On any given clear night, we humans can only see around 2,000 stars.  So let’s press into curiosity and consider what 200 billion trillion actually means. Seeing only 2,000 of the 200 billion trillion stars is like looking at a single speck of sand compared to all the grains of sand on the beach! This should make us marvel.

Now, back to crafting haiku, it all begins with a single 16 to 18 syllable sentence. This one is 17 syllables:

Words are like stars spilling a symphony from the night’s indigo stage.

Next, break the sentence into three lines:

Words are like stars spilling / a symphony from the night’s / indigo stage.

Finally, polish the sentence into haiku form:

Words are like stars spilling

a symphony from the night’s

indigo stage.

Enjoy the following singular sentences shaped into haiku form:

Looking up into

the sky, a twinkling star was

winking down on me.

~Ayela

Looking up in the

sky, dazzling stars illuminate

the darkness of night.

~Elias

I wonder if there

are different types of vibrant

stars in other cosmos?

~Jude

Looking up in the

night sky, you will see small stars

but they are fiery.

~Jackson

Little star in the night

glowing light, floating high

in a cobalt sky.

~Aylen

Looking up into

the sky, something brilliant,

something like a giant star.

~Claire

Little star in the sky,

your shimmering glow

was shinning so bright.

~Emma

Far away Cygnus, bright

star, radiant pearl in the night

sky illuminates ’till it dies.

~Rowan

Looking up to the dark sky,

I began to see the glowing

bright Big Dipper.

~Kate

When I see the stars

at night, I wonder at the

brilliance of the sky.

~Brynnan

Thank you Mrs. Kontos (Walla Walla Homeschool consulting, WA) and your terrific students. Wonder-FULL. Simply wonderful. Congratulations to these student writers who courageously brought shape to an idea with pencil on paper.

~Kimberly

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Writer’s Voice and the Essay

What is. There are. I am. These are passive phrases.

But what about: sister is and heart is? Well, these are passive phrases too!

When writers are constrained two ways—no passive verbs allowed and write an idea through the sense of sight—it’s rare that a passive verb doesn’t appear in the rough draft. Often times they peek in via contractions—what’s, it’s, she’s, the’ve and so on.

When this student opened the “sound” paragraph with,  “We stand in the line eagerly awaiting what’s to come,” my red pen formed a triangle around the culprit. “What’s” is “what is,” after all! There is a list in the student journal to help guide the omission of passive verbs.  Contractions are not listed, but rather, learned quickly!

So, back to that opening sentence. How do we help our students accomplish the task at hand? This was an opportunity to use an important writer’s trick—combine sentences. Voilà!

We stand in line eagerly awaiting as the chatter of the crowd and the thud of footsteps climb in volume.

After reading this refined, combined sentence your ears perk up! Right?

This paragraph is focused on detailing a scene through the sense of sound, and this is the perfect sentence to open the idea!

Introduction to Composition: The Essay, Volume 1 offers an opportunity for students to learn all about essay form and practice constrained writing. Each of the five lessons will explore specific traits of the essay—the thesis statement, topic and subtopics, the magic of three, body paragraphs, and how to open / close effectively. While students will not compose essays in Volume 1, they will engage in weekly writing activities to develop a strong voice. Writing an expanded paragraph through one particular sense without using a passive verb is not an easy task! But students will rise to the occasion and find their footing. At the end of the five lessons, students will be equipped with the tools they need to move into Volume 2 and Volume 3.

 

~Kimberly

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Sharpen Some Pencils

Writing is an art form.

Writing is an art form achieved via a series of steps:

1) It all begins with an IDEA. Without an idea, the writer will simply stare at the blank page.
2) Once there is an idea in the mind of the writer, the PENCIL steps in to translate thoughts to words on the page.
3) When the pencil’s work is complete, the job of the writer is to become a READER. Encourage your students to RE-READ everything they write.
4) Empower students to use the RED PEN as they re-read to REVISE. Teach them to use strong words, to fearlessly re-arrange, to make corrections, and to not be afraid to strike through.
5) Polish the draft, preferably in cursive by hand.

So how does this happen?

THINK Tortoise (not the hare).

Learning to write is a long journey. We know this to be true. And, on this journey, there is NO better technology than the PENCIL.

When it comes to literacy, much of the exceptional work that your students will accomplish is subjective in nature tied to their ideas.  As students read great stories, they make observations. These observations will inspire ideas. Cataloging ideas in writing—pencil on paper—over time builds confidence, develops voice, and promotes perseverance.

The PENCIL enables student writers to engage the brain in multisensory ways. When we write we 1) HEAR the idea stirring in our mind; 2) We SEE the letters and words we are forming; and 3) We engage HAND-EYE coordination.

Here are some ideas to inspire PENCIL work:

Mastering the art of handwriting fosters the ability to concentrate, to contemplate, and to communicate confidently. Download our FREE handwriting worksheets here and here. Cursive is not only a beautiful art form, it is a skill that promotes concentration.

Encourage your students to sharpen some pencils!

More than 15 years ago, my mother-in-law enlisted Liam with the task of sharpening fifteen dozen pencils that she would be taking to an orphanage in Uganda. I appreciate how she organized these perfect child-sized humanitarian activities for my children.

Liam got to work immediately. At one minute per pencil, 180 pencils, the task would take about three hours without a break! The task actually took Liam most of the morning. At one point he came in and asked me if he could use the manual pencil sharpener.

“The electric one might be faster.”

“But it’s clogged.”

“Okay Liam, sure.”

“Thanks Mom.”

***

A couple of hours later Liam came bounding into the kitchen with a pencil stained grin holding the sharpened pencils tucked tidily back into their original packaging.

“Wow Liam, all these sharpened pencils!”

“I hope the children in Uganda are happy when they write!”

I choked back the lump in my throat, “I hope so too Liam. Well done son.”

Later that evening I went into the studio to tidy up, and there it was, a brand new installation—our manual pencil sharpener had somehow been removed from its perch in the pantry and re-attached with screws to our antique Craftsman desk! After a moment of letting the shock settle, I let a little smile crackle. My son set up shop, got the job done, and I must admit, to this day I am super proud.

BIG ideas written beautifully by hand with a PENCIL on paper are a gift!

 

~Kimberly

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Bouquet of Red Pens

The first day of fall is just around the corner! It’s Back-to-School season. Likely your students are close to completing their first CORE journal of the year. Now’s the time to offer a lovely bouquet of red pens.

“What’s your big idea?”

The purpose of writing is to communicate an idea. In order to accomplish this goal, students need to develop the skills and confidence that will prepare them to communicate that idea well.

Teach your students early on to read what they write.

Take this a step further. Hand them a red pen!

Before conferencing with your students, encourage them to read their first draft and to indicate mistakes they catch with red marks. Encourage them to look for misspelling, capitalization, and grammatical errors. They might not catch everything, but you’ll certainly be surprised what they will catch. Once they are confident, challenge them to consider word choice, to rearrange phrasing, to strike through redundancy, and to avoid what we writers call waffle!

All writing comes into being through a process:
1. First comes the IDEA. Without an idea, the writer will simply stare at the blank page.
2. Once there is an idea in the mind of the writer, the pencil steps in to translate the idea to words on the page.
3. When the pencil’s work is complete, the job of the writer is to become a reader. Encourage your students to READ everything they write—absolutely everything! It is often best to leave space between the “draft” and the “read” stage.
4. Next, make sure students use the RED pen as they read through the first draft of their idea. Teach them to look for spelling errors, for capitalization errors, and for grammatical errors. Beyond this teach them to use strong words, to fearlessly re-arrange, and to not be afraid to strike through unnecessary words.
5. Lastly, teach them to polish the draft, preferably in cursive.

There is NO substitute for consistently encouraging your children to write their ideas. No matter the level, kindergarten through high school, make sure your students are equipped with a pencil and a red pen. We urge you to courageously coach your students in the process of writing! Teaching your students to engage in the process of constructing ideas—to read what they write and use their very own red pen—will certainly teach them more about writing than hours and hours of deconstructive writing tasks.

Come June, your students will have not only brought shape to significant original ideas, but also learned to enter into the work that makes those ideas shine. More importantly, they will have gained confidence in their ability to communicate. Writing an idea is genius.

 

~Kimberly

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Intersection of Science and Writing

Research writing for middle school moves from research of people to research in the field of science! Over the course of eight lessons, students will explore and research the diversity of the animal kingdom—journalling what they learn each step of the way.

Have you heard of Carolus Linnaeus?

His life’s work will inspire you.

All living things can be ordered according to their common biology. Classification allows scientists to explore levels of similarity, dissimilarity, and interconnectedness of cells, systems, and structures. The first level of classification is the Kingdoms. There are five: Protista, Monera, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.

Here’s how this writing unit is organized:

Week 1.

SORTING IT ALL OUT

The unit begins with an introductory section for students to begin gathering information that will enable them to enter into more advanced non-fiction research writing. In this case the culminating research writing is conducted in the five kingdoms of life, from simple living things to more complex—Kingdom Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.

Week 2.

TAXONOMY THROUGH THE AGES

In this section, students will continue to gather information that will enable them to understand the history of classification which will, in turn enable the student to, beginning in Week 4, conduct more advanced research and write an expanded, information packed paragraph tied to one of the Five Kingdoms of Life. This week culminating research writing is biographical.  This assignment can, of course, be differentiated—from simple paragraph to expanded paragraph to essay.

Sample Prompt:

RESEARCH PROJECT

Read: Classifying Living Things
» Page 27 – Linnaeus and His System

After reading the above assignment, use books or the internet to do your own additional research on Carolus Linnaeus.

Use what you learn to write a paragraph about him on the following page.

Week 3.

THE FIVE KINGDOMS

Week 3 provides the final informational notes that will set students, geared up, to write about living things through the Five Kingdoms of Life.

Weeks 4, 5, 6 7, and 8.

Weeks 4 through 8 provides the scaffolding to enable students to conduct research in each of the five kingdoms—Monera, Protista, Fungi, Animalia, Plantae. While this unit is topical, the goal is not necessarily teach biology but to help students acquire the vital skill of note-taking and the knowledge necessary to write a non-fictional idea. Simply think of the student workbook filled with the student’s new knowledge (“the notes”) as a springboard to the writing. Each week the writing can be differentiated—simple paragraph to expanded paragraph. Expand the research two more weeks, compiling one paragraph for each week (4 through 8), add an introductory paragraph, plus a concluding paragraph and, voilà, at the end of week 10 your student has completed an essay entitled: The Five Kingdoms of Life.

 

~Kimberly

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Extending Storymaker

Storymaker teaches student writers to craft an amazing HOOK!

The HOOK is a topic sentence that inspires writers to write their ideas and encourages readers to read on. The subtle distinction we are making between the topic sentence and the HOOK is this: Think of a literal fishhook that catches the reader and makes them want to read on. A great HOOK might be charged with sensory details or concrete examples. It may be full of imagery and action!

Storymaker is designed to HOOK 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students into the art of narrative journal writing. With three terrific thematic options to choose from—Farm Tales, Fairy Tales, and Fun Tales—the possibilities are endless.

Each week the primary goal is to craft a HOOK by combining:

One HOOK starter:  “Everyone agreed except…”

One Character in Situation card: “carrot writing a story”

One Setting card: “in a treehouse”

There are a myriad of possibility with these three parts! Encourage your students to play around with the phrases and to add, subtract or change connecting words. Here are a few possibilities:

1. Everyone agreed except the carrot writing a story in a treehouse.

OR

2. Everyone in the treehouse agreed except the carrot writing a story.

OR

3. Except for the carrot writing a story, everyone in the treehouse agreed.

OR

4. Except for the carrot writing a story about the treehouse, everyone agreed.

OR

5. Once upon a time, except the carrot writing a story in a treehouse, everyone agreed.

Remember to help your students think about the last sentence being just as important as the first. Remind them that the goal is for readers to be surprised, for readers to want to keep thinking about the story they just read. We call this the TWIST at the end. Here are a few endings that might hold up to the above HOOK:

In the end, as the carrot finished reading the story written in the treehouse aloud to all the other vegetables, there was a moment of collective silence and then a roar of whistles and clapping!

OR

Everyone agreed that Carrot writing the treehouse story was not a good idea, but in the end they all agreed they were wrong.

Sometimes, once the HOOK is composed, offering a TWIST for students to write toward helps them bring shape to an idea with a beginning, middle, and end.

Following are some ideas to be creative with story-making.

Create a Collaborative Story
Here the teacher begins collaborating on HOOK crafting as above on a whiteboard. This is the HOOK demonstration. Once the HOOK is settled upon, students copy it into the journal and the fun begins—What happens next?  Continue gathering ideas up to 5 story details composed together into sentences. Create one sentence to end—the TWIST.
Student creates the HOOK + 3 Story Detail Sentences & the Teacher Writes the TWIST at the end
Sometimes knowing that a treat is waiting at the end of the journey is all the motivation our student writers need!
Round Robin
Students each create an original HOOK in their journal.  Journals are passed around. Classmates reads what is written so far and adds a sentence in the friend’s journal. Keep passing  until there are 6 sentences including the Hook. Journals are then returned to the student to read and create a closing TWIST.

 

Everyone has stories to tell. Help your students tell them well the fun way with Storymaker.

 

~Kimberly

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Introducing Composition: Easy as 1, 2, 3

Great essays have the power to encourage, empower, and enlighten. For this reason, essay writing should not be treated as simply a mechanical endeavor, but rather, as a pathway for the writer to communicate the depths of the heart and mind.

Big ideas can be communicated through a range of writing genres in both prose and poetry. It is vital that students discover and explore the potential of all genres. Some writing describes, some narrates, some exposes, and some persuades. Some writing is simply meant to entertain. All writing has the power to inform.

Utilizing our CORE units—Earlybird through Level 3—students will encounter weekly prompts that challenge them to not only write, but also to care about their ideas. By the time they reach the end of elementary, they will be confidently composing expanded paragraphs utilizing many genres including the five big ones: Descriptive, Informative, Narrative, Observational, and Persuasive.

In middle school, as students press into CORE Level 3, they are ready to journey into an introduction to formal composition. We have created three introductory volumes that introduce students to essay form, then guide them into the art of composing the descriptive and the literary essay—both of which integrate an expository element, requiring the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, and develop the idea in a way that is authentic to the writer’s voice and engaging for the reader. After all, producing clear, coherent, and creative writing that captivates the reader is an ultimate goal.

Each of the following units contains five lessons designed to be completed over ten weeks. This said, we’ve built in opportunity for the important work to be slowed down to fifteen, even twenty weeks.

Volume 1 – Essay as Structure: Become an Architect!

This exploration of essay form will introduce students to the strategies and stylistic techniques that will enable then to compose authentic essays.  Students will not write essays in these five introductory lessons, but rather do a deep dive into essay form, gathering stylistic tools along the way. The word essay derives from the French infinitive essayer meaning “to try” or “to attempt” something. Ultimately the purpose of an essay is to wander through an idea, it is an opportunity to try to communicate that idea within a specific structure. Writers utilized essay form long before educators made the form mandatory, overshadowing the original intent that the form was to shelter an idea and not the other way around! Think of Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, Thomas Paine, Louisa May Alcott, George Orwell, Virginia Woolf—I am certain these great writers were more concerned with the idea to be communicated than the form that would shelter the idea. All you have to do is read an exceptional essay to see this truth—try E.B. White.

When it comes to composing essays, Form Follows Function is paramount!

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.

The goal with this first volume is to offer students an understanding of the form, its purpose, and potential, while simultaneously offering exercises that will enable them to elevate their voice in preparation for Volume 2 and 3.  Learn to meander through an idea in a constrained manner, explore the role of threes in writing, the HOOK, the THESIS, and much more.

Volume 2 – An exploration of the Descriptive Essay.

During elementary, students have learned to craft expanded descriptions. Descriptive essays take describing to a new level. When writers explain the differences and similarities between two topics or ideas, this is descriptive writing with an expository punch! Here, the writer gives a complete explanation of the topic at hand, providing evidence, examples, and even background history. This because, the ultimate goal is to try out an idea that is set forth via a thesis statement. Expository writing, of course, has a clear purpose: to educate the reader.  As example, students will embark during the first week on a journey that will enable them to Write an Orange. In order to develop a thesis they will explore the concept of orange, explore some science of the color and the fruit, they will even consider a famous quote by Vincent Van Gogh:  “There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”

Over the course of five lessons, again designed to be completed in ten weeks but easily adapted to longer, students will journey with Volume 2 into the work of bringing shape to an original idea conveyed in the form of an expository description, a descriptive essay.

Volume 3 – The Literary Essay

Students are mentored through each step of the process as they compose five original literary essays in response to five exceptional small tales—beginning with a prompt, brainstorming, crafting a thesis and developing the idea through the self-edit and final draft. The literary essay is, of course, expository in nature because the writer will be exploring topics encountered in great stories to provide information gathered from a close reading. While the student essayist will decide which information—character development, themes, symbols and so on—is to be presented, the information is presented not as opinion, but as wonderful factual information gleaned from fiction that applies to the non-fictional realm. The student essayist will explore the literary work from various angle, providing information in an objectively creative manner.

Introductory essays will spring from the following stories:

  • The Tin Forest, by Helen Ward
  • Grandfather’s Journey, by Allen Say
  • The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf
  • Train to Somewhere, by Eve Bunting
  • Letting swift River Go, by Jane Yolen

Let me leave you with an important quote from E.B. White:

“If there were something that was less than nothing, then nothing would not be nothing, it would be something – even though it’s just a very little bit of something. But if nothing is nothing, then nothing has nothing that is less than it is. Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.”

I think what he is saying, more eloquently than I ever will is: Form Follows Function!

Your students will transcend benchmarks as you challenge them to write their ideas!

 

~Kimberly

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Yes, YOU can teach writing!

We’ve all seen scaffolding set up around a building during construction or renovation, right?

Scaffolding is simply a temporary support.

When it comes to learning to write, our students need scaffolding. And that scaffolding is a partnership: Blackbird & Company + YOU!

But I often cross paths with parent-teachers who feel ill-equipped to teach writing.

Each and every time I say, “YOU are equipped to mentor writing! Trust me. You are…”

I go on to share the reality that writing is NOT calculus. Writing is an art form. Then I ask, “Do you like to read (even a little bit)? If so, this equips you more than most to mentor student writers.” That’s right, more than most.

Let’s go back to “writing is an art form” and begin there. Everything you’ve ever read and everything you ever will read began as an idea in someone’s mind. So when you approach a student’s idea as a reader, you will be doing exactly what happens in a graduate school writing workshop!

When it comes time to read your student’s first draft, rough draft, sloppy copy, whatever you want to call it, the task at hand is to ask yourself, “What is my student’s BIG idea?” From there the task of helping your students communicate concisely and creatively. Your task, as writing mentor, is to mine for the idea that has been drafted, and to excavate as if you might score a diamond! The thing is, you likely will if this is your mindset.

During the mentor/student conference, have the student read the draft aloud. Use your red pen to correct spelling and punctuation errors along the way, as the idea is being read. Put a friendly little check mark atop sentence fragments, run-ons, or places that are missing something. Discuss these areas after the student has finished reading. Often during the read aloud the student will catch little errors. Keep the conference caring and consequential.  Consequential, yes. Think of it like this: The consequence of not using the red pen is the shrinking of the student’s idea! Remind your student, the red pen is a friend!

You don’t need to hold an advanced degree in writing to be a writing mentor.

You DO need to keep in mind that ideas are the substance of art, and as such are subjective in nature. Writing is always meant to be read. Approach ideas, not as a grammar-and-mechanics-patrol-person, but as a reader who wants to be intrigued and inspired. Being intrigued and inspired will motivate you, the writing mentor, to simply protect and promote the idea at hand.

The scaffolding inside each of our Discovery Guides, supports your students in the important work of writing.

Whether your child is in the 1st grade learning to encode simple ideas while mastering advanced phonics and constructing the four types of sentences, in the 3rd grade learning to construct sentences using the eight parts of speech,  in the 6th grade being introduced to essay form, or in the 11th grade exploring intermediate composition and constructing persuasive essays, we’ve got you!

Our scaffolding provides step-by-step guidance that inspires students in the writing process, while equipping you to support them each step of the way.

~Kimberly

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Research Writing Informs and Inspires!

Who was? What is? Where? When? Why?

These are the questions that writers ask as they read for information. Research writing is a unique writing genre where students simultaneously gain knowledge and share ideas to inspire readers to do the same.

Research writing begins in 2nd grade with Taxonomy of living Things: Introduction to Animals. Over the course of 13 weeks, students will be guided into the work of learning about the animal kingdom, journaling their discoveries along the way. This opportunity to research will not only help them to gain knowledge, but also to springboard into the realm of early non-fiction note taking and the writing of complete factual sentences.

From there, students are ready to move into Research People in grades 3 through 6. A great place to begin research writing is by adding two Research People units to your 3rd grade back-to-school writing plan. The d’Aulaire books,  published by our friends at Beautiful Feet Books, are just right for the 3rd grade entry to research writing. Take Lincoln for example,  the quintessential embodiment of American possibility in his myth-like rise from rail-splitter to Chief Executive and Emancipator of the oppressed. What better way to start off learning to write a biographical essay—YES, a biographical essay!

Each of the Research People units takes the prep and guess work out of the process of writing the biographical essay, so you can enter the process as a mentor, inspiring your student to glean and gather ideas as they read for information.

Students will grow a vocabulary specific to each famous person, will review the plot of the weekly reading in a handful of complete sentences, and most importantly, learn to brainstorm and narrow down ideas in a topic wheal as they tackle constructing each of 3 body paragraphs over three weeks. On the fourth week, students will be lead into the construction of an opening and closing paragraph (three sentences each) which will bookend the body paragraphs.

Utilizing the Research People units year after year, you will mentor and inspire as your  students become increasingly independent. If you are familiar with the rich history and beauty of the d’Aulaire books, you might consider purchasing the Superset here. Moving into 4th through 6th grade, we have a wide selection of exceptional people for your student to write about—John Muir, Rosa Parks, and Mr. Rogers and more. Scroll through to discover.

When students arrive in the 7th and 8th grade, informational reading moves from biographical, historical research to science reading and research. When students engage in non-fiction reading and research writing, they are not only tackling benchmark reading + writing skills, but also gaining cross-curricular knowledge. At this level, students have become very independent, and, because each self-contained unit is organized with a familiar supportive scaffolding, you will, once again, be supported in the role of writing mentor!

As with all research writing, students will begin with a great question: Have you met Carolus Linnaeus?

His life’s work will inspire you. All living things can be ordered according to their common biology. Classification allows scientists to explore levels of similarity, dissimilarity, and interconnectedness of cells, systems, and structures. The first level of classification is the Kingdoms. There are five: Protista, Monera, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
This unit can be easily incorporated into your spring semester. Over the course of five lessons, students will explore and research the diversity of the animal kingdom. They will gather knowledge that will connect to many corners of the field of biology, and they will posess a journal chalk full if information to apply to a great many writing projects: a persuasive or compare/contrast essay, a lyrical poem, even a non-fiction inspired narration. Pick up a copy of our Taxonomy of Living Things unit today!
And last, but not least, Elemental Journal, will guide students on a wonderful voyage through the mysteries of the periodic table. What at first looks like an unapproachable block of numbers and letters begging to be decoded, will be opened up to discovery in an easy and interesting way. Each element has its own quirks and purpose. As students engage in the ongoing work of decoding the table, they will marvel at the diversity of these building blocks of the universe. Students will not only summarize and organize information, evaluate, interpret, and draw conclusions, but more importantly, learn to strike a balance between original information and original ideas. Embarking on an exploration of the periodic table is like traveling across an amazing landscape full of surprises.

And it all begins with a simple question: What do stars and human beings have in common?

Elements, of course!

Everything you can imagine is made of elements — an octopus, a basketball, and each of us humans!

Blackbird & Co. research writing units are designed to foster inquiry, spark imagination and get students writing in the non-fiction realm.

 

~Kimberly