Tuesday June 2, 2009
Breakfast: Julie made breakfast this morning. She had sausage & cream cheese crescent rolls, pancakes, and watermelon. Julie the food was delicious! Don’t forget to put that yummy recipe on our blog.
Olgetree started the morning out by saying “Were all waking up today a little bit. Yesterday we were all on time. Today. . . . Not so much!!!
We were prompted with the question “What did you think about last night when you got home, or this morning when you woke up?”
Cathy said “When I got up this morning, I felt like I wanted to write!” I think we all are starting to get a deeper connection into the writing world, aren’t we?
Read around with Ralph Fletcher’s book, What a writer needs
The majority of us agreed that this book was a pretty easy read. We discussed the fact that we were actually interested in reading on farther in the book than instructed to go.
Some parts of the book really spoke to us and here are a few of our favorite parts:
On page 11
“Mrs. Damon took a vigilant stance toward my penmanship
problem. She made it OUR problem, and set me to work on
rectifying it.” (said Miranda)
“But in first grade I was branded with a sloppy personality,
and I never quite got over it.” (said Eston)
On page 17 (which seemed to be our favorite page)
“Any writer who labors under such a right/wrong schema will
never allow herself the fluency and playfulness, the time and
perseverance she will need over the long haul to become a
skillful writer.”
“We need to redefine the success ethic, not just in writing
classes but during the entire school day, to mean not only
“Did you get it right?” but also “Did you take a chance? Did
you try something you have never tried before?””
“Passion remains the most important quality the mentor has to
offer. When we think back on those teachers we looked up to,
we don’t always remember exactly what they taught. Above
everything, we remember passion. Fire.” (said Julie)
How many of you agree with that?
On page 19
“We must speak to our students with an honesty tempered by
compassion: Our words will literally define the ways they
perceive themselves as writers.” (said Brooke)
Ogletree reminded us shortly after the book discussion that when we put our thoughts on paper, it is okay to chase rabbits!
Carol was worried and she said “Maybe I am one of those teachers [Fletcher] is speaking against.” But as we discussed her situation we decided that she probably just has high expectations for her children!
Work shopping with Cher Hendrix
She started off by asking us why are we here? What made us decide to do the Cherokee Rose Writing Project?
Sheri jokingly said “I am here for the free classes, not going to lie, BUT also to make myself a better writer to help my 4th grade students in English/Language Arts.”
Then she asked “How many people have written a fictional story before and why?
Cathy said “I wrote because I saw a lot of writing in my family. If it made us happy we would write about it.”
Charlene said “I wrote when I was a child because it was fun.”
Cher went on to give us a synopsis of what a writing workshop really was all about. She said that people will get together after writing a piece of work and sit around a table for about 2 hours and critique one another. She said to remember two things in your first writing workshop:
- Leave your ego at the door
- Learn to build trust in your group
She also informed us of a place called Hamidge Center for Creative Arts in Raben Gap, GA. You have to apply by sending in your writing or art work. A committee will review it and then invite you to their place. You pay $125.00 a week and it includes dinner, a studio/cabin, etc. and they have scholarships available for those who are in a financial bind.
She passed out a sheet titled “Format for Work shopping a Story” and then went over the correct way to work shop a story.
- Remember the Golden Rule*
It doesn’t do anybody any good to make them feel like they are a failing writer.
- During workshop everyone critiques. Everyone has to say something about the piece, so come prepared to talk.
- Take the time to actually read into what was written to provide the writer with more help.
- You are NOT allowed to speak during your critique- This is a time for group members to discuss strengths and weaknesses to best improve your story.
- Take notes during your critique, you will have a time to talk at the end.
- Read the pieces you are critiquing at least 2-3 times
- 1st time- read it as the reader
- 2nd time- read it as the writer
- 3rd time- read it and write notes to make improvements
- At the beginning someone will be chosen to give a short synopsis of what the piece was about. It can usually be summed up in two to three sentences.
- Start with the good notes then go into the areas that need improvement. Do not simply say “It didn’t work.” Provide feedback and suggestions to help improve their work.
We read a short fictional story, Wants, by Grace Paley and we did a brief writing workshop to help us out when we create our own piece.
“Tiny Little Disturbances of Man” is the book of short stories this story came out of. Cher informed us that Ogletree would not like this type of book because it “wasn’t her style.”
Then we read the short story of Shiloh, and discussed points of view.
Cher told us to move our students away from 3rd person omniscient because nobody reads that anymore.
Then we read Pam Houston’s, How to talk to a Hunter, which was written in 2nd person. We found out that the writer was talking to herself and Cher had us think about what quality or emotions would be lost or gained if we changed the point of view of this story.
- Description
- Dialogue
- Action
These are the 3 things people will usually have in their story.
Towards the end Dan brought up a great question. He said “So when I’m in the workshop and two people have different views on my work, which one do I go with?”
Cher responded with “It depends on whatever your purpose for writing is. If you have a point you are going for, do which ever one is more closely related to that.”
Here is what we found out that you DON”T do-
DON’T describe too much
DON’T use big, descriptive words when writing dialogue. Simply stated, just say what was said.
DON’T modify verbs into adverbs. Everything does not have to be elaborated
DON’T use exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DON’T keep the parts in your work that readers tend to skip.
The point is to write something that can make the reader feel
Brandi was afraid of making common mistakes writers tend to make so she asked “Can I have the long list of rules for writing, or is there like a ‘Golden Bible’ somewhere for me to look at?” LOL
We broke into study groups to discuss our reading selections and Doheny went around making sure all were satisfied with our book choice. She took the words from Frank Smith, and said we had the choice to abandon our book if we wanted to, and that it was all about choice! Shortly afterwards we met with our mentors to get help with our teaching demonstration.
Craft Lesson w/ Doheny: Finding Significance
She said conferencing is at the heart of teaching writing. We discussed the On-and-On story and how to get kids to avoid it.
She showed us an example titled “My Weekend” which was a list of things she had done over the weekend but written in narrative form.
Doheny said to think about PURPOSE and AUDIENCE. She said you have to find a way to get children to add details. So she showed us another story with a few more details added but still it was missing the “Wow Factor.”
She told us about what Lucy Calkins says which was if we give our kids big topics they will write a lot of nothing, so you have to get to the seed of the fruit.
So, as teachers we have to get a child to pick out one thing they did over the weekend, for example, and focus completely on that topic.
Doheny said the two things that really help in writing are Balance and Purpose. She used Calkins “seed idea” which is to take a snap shot in your memory and grow that one instance into a story.
ADD DATES TO ALL OF YOUR WRITING
Fish Bowl Model Writing Groups
Doheny shared her writing called My Sister’s House, with Saurino and Ogletree doing her critique. This was to model writer’s workshop, and we got to see what and how to do it.
Ogletree and Saurino did a GREAT job critiquing Doheny’s work. They provided a positive-negative-positive feedback approach which was beneficial to both the writers and those who are critiquing.
Ogletree announced out writing groups where we got together and exchanged information. The writing groups are as follows:
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
Brandi Miranda Cathy Gary
Dan Nena Ian Esten
Sheila Julie Sheri Rochelle
Brooke Carol Debra Charlene
Sign-up sheets should be ready this morning so make sure you sign up for a day to do your Teaching Demonstration!!!!!
That’s All Folks!!!!!!!!!!!!
