Reading Like a Writer

So I was in Hobby Lobby last night and was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this...

It seems like I had been transported to the North Pole instead of Racine, Wisconsin...

Christmas???  Already??? 

I know it's because there are a lot of crafters out there who need these supplies to get ready for this big holiday...which is still six months away...but I have barely gotten through the 4th of July yet.   Oh well...

Yesterday I wrote about using mentor texts in the revision stage of writing.  If you missed that post, scroll down or you can click here. 

Using mentor texts in writing is one of the best things you can do! Why not teach your students to learn from an expert?   As a teacher, using mentor texts in your writing instruction is like having a writer-in-residence and a teaching partner in your room.  You never have to be alone in the teaching of writing again!

If you stop to really think about it, everything we have learned in life, we have learned from someone else -- riding a bike, knitting, baking, driving a car, writing a blog :).  Writing should be no different!  We learn from the authors of the books we've read, the experts that have come before us.

Many of us have used mentor texts -- but usually at the beginning of the writing process.  I am advocating for bringing in mentor texts during revision. 

Why revision?  Because the when students draft, they are not producing their best work. They are just getting their ideas down on paper.  In revision, students are given the opportunity to improve their writing, make it better, make sure it says what they want it to say.

Think about how we revise our lives....If we try a recipe and it doesn't work, we may try it again.  When we craft, each time we make something it gets better.  In sports, we practice and repeat to help our game improve.  Kids play video games over and over to get a better score.  Our life is one big revision, isn't it?

Just reading a mentor text is not enough.  You need to teach your kiddos how to read like a writer. 

Here are some suggestions:

• First, a text should be read a time or two for comprehension.  Kids need to understand the story so they can free up their brainpower for looking at the writing in a different way. 

• Next, students will need to be taught to put on a different pair of reading glasses, so to speak, so they know they will be looking at the "how" of the writing, not the "what."

• Teach students to slow down and reread many times, looking at the "how."  Rereading is very important!

• Focus on a small part of the reading.  For my activity for my presentation, I passed out a bunch of picture books and I asked the group to simply focus on the introduction.  They went around the table and read the first line of each story out loud then talked about what they saw.  Patterns started to emerge here.

• Develop a common vocabulary for the things you see.  If you see that several authors are beginning their writing by talking about interesting details about a character, call it 'character development' or something like that.

• Discuss how this technique helps you as a reader -- does it create a certain mood, set a tone, help you make a connection, etc.

• Talk about how students can apply what they've read to their own writing. This is very important because students need to be able to see how their mentor text can help them improve their writing.

• Encourage them to be purposeful in giving it a try!

For my presentation, we focused on introductions because I feel they are one of the most important parts of writing.  You need to snag your reader into your writing or they will walk away.  Also, many students really struggle with introductions, and it paralyzes them so they don't write.  Using mentor texts is a great way to get them started.

Here are some other techniques you can use mentor texts to discover:

• Use of figurative language
• Sentence structure -- use of fragments, many one-syllable words in a row, etc.
• Repeating words and phrases throughout
• Use of dialogue
• Humor, facts, tension, etc.
• Character development
• Strong endings (Note that "The End" are not the last two words in most stories :)

I hope you will give using mentor texts during revision a try!  Because this was my own presentation, I have lots and lots to say (in case you couldn't tell!).  If you have any questions or need more resources to read about this topic on your own, just let me know!

Have a great Saturday!

National Writing Project Day #5 & Revising Revision

Whew!!  Is it Friday already???  We have had a beautiful week here!  I want to share a quick pic of my flower garden from this morning.  I wish I could have stayed and stared at it longer, but I had to get to class.

 

Speaking of flowers, my husband is at the Boy Scout Jamboree and sent me these...

 

They are alstromeria, one of my favorite cut flowers.  Isn't he sweet????

One week down and two weeks left for the UW-Milwaukee Writing Project.  I am learning SO MUCH about new ways to teach writing.  I can't wait to get back in my classroom to try them out!  Again, if you get the chance to get involved with a local Writing Project chapter, I hope you will do it!

My big presentation was today.  THANK YOU so much to those of you who sent words of encouragement!  They really, really helped!  :)

My Teacher Inquiry Workshop (TIW) was about using mentor texts to revise writing.  I picked this topic because....1) I knew nothing about it; 2) I have a gazillion picture books; 3) I struggled with how to teach my students effective revision strategies, and 4) I am tired of the "one and done" mentality toward revising.

Many of us have used mentor texts in the writing classroom before, but we usually use them during the mini-lesson stage.  I am suggesting (as a result of my research) that mentor texts be used in the REVISING stage instead.

Consider how many students write...

The usually skip prewriting.

They draft for several days (or sometimes a few weeks).

They correct their spelling, punctuation, capital letters, etc. (sometimes).

They copy it over neatly on new paper.  ("Isn't that revision?" they ask)

They turn it in, ready for a grade.

The truth is many students (and probably some teachers) do not know how to revise.  (And no, revision is NOT correcting spelling, etc. and recopying onto new paper...)

Revision is where the magic can happen in writing!  It is where a majority of a students' time should be spent during the writing process. 

Most of us, I imagine, currently spend the most time with our students writing during the drafting phase.  We teach a mini-lesson or two, set a deadline for publication, and the kids go to it (with guidance, of course).  The students write and write, sometimes for days on end.

One of the researchers I studied (Janet Angelillo) suggested that we shorten the drafting phase to just a day or two and spend a majority of our time (a week or more) revising.

This made a lot of sense to me...For many students, the simple act of putting a pencil to the paper is a huge, tiring deal.  They struggle to come up with ideas or struggle with motivation.  For many students, writing (the physical act) is difficult.  Add to all of this, they have just learned new writing strategies in your mini-lessons that they are expected to apply to their writing.  And oh yeah, it needs to all make sense...What kind of quality writing can they really produce under these conditions?

In this book, I read about looking at the draft almost as a quick write where students simply get their ideas down on paper without a lot of flourish.  After they have the skeleton of their writing, they are ready to move on to where the real magic begins!

Enter the writer-in-residence, aka, the Mentor Text!

Using mentor texts during the revision stage gives students a model for what good writing looks like, encourages them to take risks with their writing, and can be highly motivating.  Professional writers have been doing it forever so you know it works!  They read, and read, and read, and read...trying to absorb everything they can so they can apply it to their own writing.

But in order to use a mentor text to revise writing, students need to be taught how to read like a writer.  What exactly does it mean to 'read like a writer?'  That's an important topic that deserves a post of its own and this post is already long enough.  (Thank you for reading this far!)  I hope you'll come back tomorrow to read the next part of this topic -- how to teach your students to read like a writer -- and more about mentor texts!

Until tomorrow!