Category: Writing

2023 Summer Series of Saves: next year…

Thinking about next year.

Okay, I have reasons, okay? Okay?! At the end of the year, it occurred to me what a strange brand of English teacher I am. I’m not a red-Flair-pen, writing feedback kind of teacher that students 1. don’t read, 2. don’t understand, or 3. read, and then give up when they see 5/50 points. Yes, they rip it up.

https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExb3gzMjByc2RzcTAzb3M3ZzYwemI1a3JtZXJ3YWRwanpwaDIzbXpqMiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/kdvL5zzSTVbl3akbdR/giphy.gif
Yes, I would, too.

I am an art-major-writer-reader-creator-collaborator-scholar-creative kind of teacher. (I hope that clears things up.)

But next year, I’m going to do better. And by better, I mean using the expertise I possess, using the rubrics the ELA department uses, and weaving together a substantial and formidable instructional practice. And I won’t ever have to use a red pen.

The ideas:

  • Existing Rubrics and deconstruct into single-focus rubrics
  • Existing rubrics: parse into mini lessons
  • Weekly Wednesday Writing
  • Writing Workshop
  • Composition Notebooks (there will be a follow-up post about these)
  • Tabulate and curate the resources — a living archive

Now, how I’m going to tabulate this information, I’m not really sure. I’m thinking I’ll set a date on the calendar that’s called “After things are cleaned up and tidy in the house, dedicate a notebook/binder to this, Kelly” day. Maybe July 7th would be a good day for this.

https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExcjN1cjIxNnd2bDVid3p6eWhzeDY4eXB5OWI3eHFrZmdrMTFwZXg4dCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/luwpLDkeM49HyG3R52/giphy.gif
The World’s Most Boring Topics
With a Rebel Yell She Cried More Essays, More Essays, More Essays

#writing #Wednesdays: back to basics

Recently I asked the sophomores about what they’d like to see for fourth-quarter instruction, and overwhelmingly they requested more writing instruction.

Allow me a moment to replace “pictures and words” with “SBA” and “test scores.” I grew concerned years ago when the writing test changed or essentially disappeared. The SBA test does test writing, but to me, in an odd, clunky way. And I know amazing people who worked on this test. I’ve worked on instructional models for this test.

But students don’t just automatically “write.” None of us do.

So, my goal is to bring back solid writing instruction, which is nonexistent in the current scope and sequence curriculum. And no, having students write a formulaic Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning paragraph is not writing instruction.

But what is writing instruction?

How much time do you have?

To avoid hypocrisy, I confess I haven’t been writing as much as I would/should/could. I have time, space, and oh-so-many words swirling around my noggin, but I feel incredibly rusty and dusty. For the past three years working in an alternative high school, the sparseness of instruction and consistency that is in the comprehensive high school has become exponentially worse. As I try to gather and regroup my strengths as a teacher of writing and a writer myself, it’s time to return to some of the fundamentals.

Remember the Six +1 Traits? Resource Link

Writing Resources/pingback

A few book recommendations

and and and and

“Kelly!”

write when they’re writing

I think I know why this works: have you heard of the term body doubling?

Body doubling is a tool some adults use to help them start and complete projects. Sometimes referred to as an accountability partner, it is a technique for better productivity. A body double is a friend or partner who works simultaneously, either in the same room or virtually through videochat platforms. Having another person in the same physical or virtual room can help you with productivity because you have someone present to check in with and keep you accountable. Body doubling is a support activity for ADHD that can be easy to do and cost-free.

https://chadd.org/adhd-weekly/could-a-body-double-help-you-increase-your-productivity/

I do my best to remind students that in almost everything piece of media they consume, someone wrote it first. The challenge of having students create versus consume is real and sometimes feels defeating.

Some music for writing:

#mentortext #monday: RAFTS

Not me having to take a few deep breaths to calm my spinning brain down so I can pretend to be a linear thinker for a few hours…

Here we go!

With a Google Form survey, I asked my sophomores what they would like to do for the fourth quarter, and while some of the texts we teachers are required to teach were underwhelming, almost every student said they wanted more writing instruction. To that end, I’ve been trying to weave together my bits of string and yarn to support deeper, authentic writing instruction.

RAFTS Writing Promises:

@forgeeksbygeeks

And “Gochisōsamadeshita” 🙏 Learn Japanese with #SideQuestNPC at #C2E2 . . . #sidequest #sidequestchallenge #anime #weeb #japanese #geek #geekinout

♬ original sound – forgeeksbygeeks
Here is a great example of a RAFTS: Pretend you are an NPC in a game and provide sidequests to travelers and heroes. What sidequests would you give to the other players? You can choose any setting, plot, range of characters, and story map. Consider making what would be ‘side quests’ in our school environment.
@kurttocci

the happiest workout on EARTH 🏰😅 #comedy #funny #humor #disney #meme #fun #pov #cosplay #trending #viral #music #nostalgia #gym #foryou #fyp

♬ original sound – Kurt Tocci
RAFTS: Put famous characters in a perfectly predictable and likely scenario: washing dishes, vacuuming, slipping on ice, etc.
https://www.tiktok.com/@adrian.blissl/video/7215769140051725611?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7031701622444049925
Take a different point of view on a commonly known story from your own life, culture, nation, or beliefs. Be respectful!

I promised my science teammate some science RAFTS, and if anyone has a science or math background and would like to share some in the comments, I’d love that!

Essay, that’s what I say

These are a fraction of books about writing I have collected over the years.

Great conversations happening regarding writing and the teaching of writing — here are some of my current noticings/wonderings, and attempts at supporting students craft their writing lives.

Every student who asks, “How many sentences does it have to be?” has been exposed to either Jane Schaffer or another prescriptive writing curriculum. There is nothing inherently good or bad in Schaffer’s program: some need a paint-by-number mode of writing instruction, and the product serves the purposes. But we teachers, and I mean all teachers, will be forever stuck in the siloing of teaching writing poorly across content areas. And when I say “writing,” I don’t necessarily mean typing out lengthy tomes: writing can be many forms and avenues. Across content areas, teachers should focus on the Role of the writer, audience, the form, the topic, and strong word choices.

Here are some Sunday-morning-I’m-still-sleepy resources:

Moving to the comprehensive high school, I’m currently teaching two periods of 10th grade, one 9th grade honors ELA, (and yes, have already had a debate with one young student about the merits of the What It Says graphic organizer– my sweet summer child, I know you), and two periods of 9th grade ELA. And yes, after being somewhat scolded about how they’ve used Jane Schaffer forever, I had another deeper conversation with my evaluator about how it was okay that I looked and researched the materials, and then collaborate with my PLC about instructional methods. Cool, cool, I can do that. I totally can. And, I can also go back through my previous blog posts and share them again, along with other resources:

focus/writing advice from Jason Reynolds
Writing: Voice
Dismantling Essays: essays in the wild
Summer Series of Saves: Written Reminders
Writers’ Workshop

Again, this is just a fraction of resources, and it can be overwhelming. My instructional advice is to start with fostering students’ ideas; ultimately, this is what serves them and their creative growth. You may find a different path that meets your students’ needs, and that’s the joy of this process.

Writing: TikToks as Storytelling

How to think of TikToks as short story formats

Years ago my friend and mentor Holly introduced me to RAFTS — Role, Audience, Form, Topic, and Strong Verbs. Using the RAFTS format for teaching writing and writer’s craft helps students break away from the ‘blank page’ and word count fears. And, my friend Jennie finds the most amazing TikToks, and shared this one this morning:

@michaelmyersofdecatur

My camping nightmare!!! #youreanidiot #camping https://etsy.me/3dTVK0m

♬ original sound – Sabrina Zimmerman
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js

Here is one possibility in deconstructing this RAFTS:

You’re the wife of Michael Myers, the notorious serial killer from the Halloween series. You have two small children, and now live in a suburb of Chicago. For a family vacation, you go on a camping trip to a somewhat crowded campground though you’re concerned Michael might be up to his old ways.

  • Role: Wife
  • Audience: your TikTok viewers
  • Form: short TikTok film
  • Topic: camping trip embarassment
  • Strong verbs: defy, ignoring, yelling

Resources:

273 Strong Verbs That’ll Spice Up Your Writing

Google Slides of RAFTS (this is old, so feel free to update)

Writer’s Retreat for One

Sometimes we just have to make our own fun.

Like all summer breaks, they slip and slide away too easily, and after the past year, in particular, this summer feels urgent and necessary. I am fortunate to not have to have a side hustle, and my sons are grown, so there are little to no caretaking responsibilities.

One of the quarantine refrains, the incessant earworm is “why didn’t you write every day?” I have no spent my time well, but I have spent my time as needed. Our collective trauma over the past five years+ affects us in different ways, but make no mistake, it is trauma.

Last week I did some gardening, and a flurry of housecleaning, and because I am not in great shape (see quarantine) my back week out about three days ago. The exact lower back muscles that are responsible for getting out of a chair, bed, or any sitting position, protest in pain. I have a standing desk that’s ready for assembly, and perhaps my son can help me with this today.

The thing is, though: I need to take a break from the quarantined world, and in a homeopathic way, am going to retreat further this week. I’m going to pretend I’m in some fancy, crunchy Vermont writers’ retreat. I have the shed, I have the coffee pot, and my own brain.

So wish me luck, wish me words, and mostly, wish me the strength to get my dopamine fixes in other ways.

Last Writes.

This past week I circled back to something we tried in the fall: some students remembered, some didn’t, but dang –once again I have to give Kim Norton and Holly Stein a huge YOU ARE GODDESSES thank you! No fancy gimmicks, no assembly required: just spontaneous and authentic writing. As mentioned, the kids are growing anxious and snarly, and this really helped.

Here is the walk-through of the lesson, and the adjustments I made on the fly:

[embeddoc url=”https://blog0rama.edublogs.org/files/2017/06/Photopoem-book-1q814vc.docx” download=”all” viewer=”microsoft” ]

Writing Prompts

https://www.edutopia.org/article/50-writing-prompts-all-grade-levels-todd-finley

focus/writing advice from Jason Reynolds

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