Today and Every Day (Freebie)

I've known for a long time that conferring, though a powerful tool, doesn't automatically guarantee the writer will take what's given and consistently put it to use. I finally developed a tool that I hope will increase those odds ever so slightly. 

Since Lucy Calkins has taught me to say, "Today and every day..." to my writers when I'm leaving them with a strategy, I decided to name this tool the Today and Every Day Bookmark. 

When I confer with a writer, I draw the teaching point on their bookmark. (Drawing ensures access even after I leave them. Fluent readers obviously don't necessarily need pictures.) I made the bookmark nice and long so that I can add additional teaching points when the writer is ready to move on. By the way, the bookmark lives in the child's writing folder so it's always available during writing workshop time. It's also printed on cardstock for extra durability. Here are a few examples and a copy at the bottom just for you.  

Saturday Sayings: A Whole-School Priority

I've seen the writing standards beyond my own grade level's, but admittedly I haven't studied them with much intent. Recently, I read some enlightening points from Calkins about what the standards require of my writers not too many years after they leave my room. It solidified this passionate stance I have about the vertical alignment process and why the whole school has to be on board when it comes to writing instruction.

Calkins makes the point that K-4 writing standards build easily upon one another and really don't stretch the writers too much. That doesn't mean we K-4 teachers are off the hook. When our writers hit 5th grade, it all changes. The standards between grades 5 and 8 are astonishingly steep. There is no feasible way the writers who step into that 5th grade classroom will be able to meet expectations unless each previous grade level does its job and does it well, starting in kindergarten. 

I believe that long before Common Core arrived, there's been a great need for writing to be a whole-school priority. Pockets of quality writing instruction interspersed throughout a school or district have never been sufficient. I'm thankful the Common Core has propelled writing instruction to the top of the list for many districts and schools, not simply for individual teachers. Writing deserves this new-found attention.

Saturday Sayings: It's Not Enough

I'm in love with the fact that Calkins said this. In fact, I wish I had said it. I've actually made many mental attempts over the years when listening in on conversations about classroom writing.  Even though Calkins' words sound so simple, I've just never known how to say it so smartly.

There are so many varied examples of what writing looks like in the classroom, and some are not going to enable our writers to achieve their potential, let alone meet the writing standards of the Common Core. I believe Calkins' quote hits on one of the biggest misconceptions out there. 

Writing instruction is intentional. 

Writing instruction is purposeful. 

Writing instruction is strategic. 

Moving each writer from their point A to their point B does not happen by accident. It happens because a teacher instructs, models, confers, celebrates, and nudges...every day.

It's not enough for kids just to write.

Saturday Sayings: The Lone Ranger

Writing instruction must be on my brain, because while perusing for the perfect quote this morning, I realized I had a dream about it last night. As is often the case, the particulars are hazy, but I do recall having a conversation with a young high school teacher about the importance of the writing his kids were doing in his non-Language Arts class. The CCSS truly does make this one thing clear. All teachers must be writing teachers. And wouldn't it be even more helpful if all teachers had a similar belief of what writing instruction looks like.

The Lone Ranger writing teacher is a common problem. An early elementary teacher has their work cut out for them if the writers they receive at the beginning of the year think that writing is filling in the blank ("I like to ____.") or writing letters to represent missing sounds on a worksheet. That teacher can make huge gains with those writers but can surely imagine how much further along they would be if they had arrived with a different skill set. Those young writers might then head to another grade where writing is solely directed by teacher prompts and topics. The writers will grow in that place, but they might lose a bit of their motivation or personal connection to the process. In the situation I've described, as writers progress from one writing environment to the next, I believe the disconnect between foundational practice can impede student progress. 

I am the last person to say that all teachers must be on the same page. In fact, that's one of my least favorite teachery thoughts of all time. I do believe in the importance of being on the same pedagogical page though. I agree with Calkins that vertical alignment and agreement about best teaching practices is vital. The CCSS is raising the bar for our writers, and I believe it's totally within their reach. They just need their writing teachers to step up their game and give them consistent excellent writing instruction from one grade to the next. Anything less is simply impractical.

Saturday Sayings: What It's Not

My district is wisely putting writing at the top of the list of practices to focus on next year. This has been needed for a long time now, and I'm excited and eagerly anticipating its arrival. Yesterday my staff spent about an hour thinking about this new initiative and the district's beliefs about writing.  We were asked to consider the implications for our own classroom practices. From what I could tell, teachers seemed ready to look critically at their writing instruction next year.  This is a great place to start.

As I walked away from our meeting, I wondered if at some point it would be beneficial to have a conversation about what writing instruction is not. Knowing what it isn't can sometimes help teachers filter out any old practices that really aren't beneficial to their writers. I immediately began making my own mental list.

Writing instruction is not:

filling in the blank (ie. Over the summer I ____ )

answering questions on a worksheet

prompt heavy

grammar exercises

focusing solely on conventions

publishing every piece

journaling

based on teacher topics

negotiable

limited to one genre

solely content area writing

I trust Calkins' statement about what our writers need.  I believe their skills will develop more rapidly when those things are in place. Without the right belief system, it can sound like a daunting task, but I believe it's doable when we know what writing instruction is and let the other stuff go.

(Feel free to add to my list.)

Saturday Sayings: It's a Non-Negotiable

My life is full of non-negotiables.  I make my bed as soon as my feet hit the floor each morning.  I never put in contacts or remove them without washing my hands first.  I don't eat in my car.  I could seriously go on and on.  My school life is full of non-negotiables as well, and one of them is writing.  I don't mean writing in other subject areas or in response to reading.  I don't mean self-selected writing activities.  Filling in blanks on worksheets, which I don't promote, doesn't count either.  Grammar activities don't even come close.  I mean a planned, daily, sustained writing time with a mini-lesson, followed by time to write and then share.  That kind of writing is non-negotiable for our students.  The craft of writing must be taught and practiced.  It is an essential pathway to both reading and thinking.

A handful of years ago, a new basal series and a call to implement it arrived on my doorstep.   Teachers were admonished and trained to use it with fidelity.  I didn't quite jump on the bandwagon.  Okay, I didn't even hop or budge.  (But I had permission from my administrator.  Insert smile.)  From what I could tell and from what teachers were saying, following it with fidelity meant there wasn't much time for anything else.  Something had to go.  Unfortunately, for many, it was writing workshop.  I don't know how many times I heard something to this effect.  "I just don't have time for writing anymore."  My internal response was, "How can that even be possible?"  Prior to this, there had been a welcomed push to get Lucy Calkins and writing workshop into classrooms. When the basal moved in, Lucy moved to a spot on the shelf, and many writers spent their time with a scripted basal program instead.  The good news is that the grip on fidelity (one of my least favorite educational words) has been loosened and addressing the importance of writing is back at the top of the list where it belongs.  

All classrooms experience the give and take of new curriculum and programs.  It's impossible to completely avoid the effects of such mandates, but one thing we should never hear ourselves say is, "I just don't have time for writing anymore."  It's a non-negotiable.

P.S.  I'm off to run 13.1 miles in downtown Seattle with my best friend and 20 to 30,000 strangers.  Wish me luck!  

(Look who we saw at our race expo yesterday.)

Saturday Sayings: Mental Alarms

Maybe this thought would be a better one to think about at the start of the year.  It's those pivotal beginning months of training that set our writers up for success for months to come.  Or possibly sharing it now is the perfect time.  If Lucy is describing the situation as it stands today, then make a major mental note of how crazy this makes you feel.  Seriously.  Whether it's writing workshop or some other independent part of the day, it would drive me loony if my kids were needing support at every step.  

I've mentioned this before, but I remember the olden days when a writer would finish a piece and then wait for me to read it.  I had my hands on everything they wrote.  I was literally in their business at every step.  I'm fairly certain I thought I was doing them a favor, but in so many ways the opposite was true.  Obviously, when there's sitting, waiting, and downtime while waiting for the teacher, there's not nearly enough writing going on.  They need time to practice their craft, and I was stealing it from them.  Not to mention, downtime equals a management nightmare.  Neither were they were independent writers.  They didn't literally come to me at every step, but I for sure came to them.  It was so long ago I don't remember all the nitty-gritty, but after reading their piece, I'm fairly certain I told them what to do next.  All this must have drove me crazy.  Talk about mental alarms.

Now my writers don't even think about me when they're finished with a piece.  They automatically start another.  "When you're done, you've just begun."  Thank you Lucy Calkins for those words.  The moral of this tale is to pay attention to mental alarms.  Sometimes we put up with the crazy and don't notice the poor foundation that's causing all the fuss.  Maybe these mental alarms can become mental notes for a better start to the coming year.  Our goal can be a room full of kids who don't even think about us from one step to the next.

Before you go, a blogging friend of mine, Kimberley from First In Maine, is starting a new series on her blog.  You're welcome to be a part.  She never fails to get me thinking about best practices and why I do what I do.  You should go check her out by clicking on her graphic below.

Saturday Sayings: My Promise

Recently my school's instructional coach asked our staff to ponder Lucy's question.  She asked each of us to make a Writing Bill of Rights, so to speak.  While I have no idea how others reacted to her request, I was thrilled.  It's a conversation we've needed to have for a long time now.  I'm anticipating what the teachers at each grade level will say  and what enlightening shifts can be made due to future discussions.  Making my list was easy.  Here's my promise to each parent. 

I promise that...  

• there will be a structure or plan to your child's writing time.  It will begin with a mini-lesson, followed by time to write, and finished with an opportunity to share and celebrate what's going well. 
• Every mini-lesson will teach them something they can try in their writing that day. 
• I will give your child feedback.  I will acknowledge what they're doing well and nudge them to try something that will hopefully improve them as writers, not just improve the piece they're currently working on.
• your child will be constantly writing during writing time.  There will be no waiting for me to read everything they write.  When they finish one piece, they'll start another.
• your child will write for a variety of authentic audiences.
• your child will frequently see me model the writing process.  They will also share the writing process with me as the class writes together.
• your child will study the work of mentor authors.
• your child will experience writing a variety of genres.
• your child's use of conventions and spelling is important, but their ideas and content will be valued first.

Amen.  

(Did I miss something?)

Saturday Sayings: Launching Pains

I've written 84 Saturday Sayings and luckily most have felt inspired.  It's been a long week though and inspired does not quite fit the way my mind and body feel right now.  (Anyone with me on this?)  So searching my book of quotes for today's post proved to be a ho-hum undertaking until my eyes landed on this one by Lucy Calkins.  It's such a perfect thought for this moment that I think she probably meant to say, "Tammy, when you launch a writing worship, the one thing you know for certain is that there will be problems..."  Maybe she didn't want to exclude anyone so she chose pronouns like "we" and "us."  I'm pretty sure she was talking directly at me though.

Training up writers in the way they should go is almost painful.  I won't miss a day, but there are times when I have to talk myself into another writing workshop.  (I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.)  The persistence pays off in the end and the writing they produce is one of the most rewarding parts of my job, but the launching is so much work, especially when my writers aren't necessarily familiar with the writing workshop practice of writing every day, writing about their lives, stretching moments across several pages, independently working for a sustained amount of time, using pens, and the list goes on.  They're wired for this though.  I am too.  Even amidst the pain of problems, they were born to be writers and I was born to teach them.

Saturday Sayings: Their Lives Matter

I could go a million different directions with this quote, so I hope I can pull it all together.  Hold on, just in case my thoughts give you whiplash.  

My recent experience with persuasive writing is proof that writing is about the writer's life.  I believe this applies to all genres, but it's about as plain as day when a student writes persuasively to a local radio station and hears back in a big way.  (Read about that here.)  Pushing a topic and audience onto this writer would never have brought these results.  Neither would they have impressed upon him the all-important lesson that his life matters.  

Sometimes I wonder why teacher-given topics are so prevalent.  Is fear a factor?  My students don't know what they're doing.  They might flounder, so I'd better provide a scaffold.  Is it state testing?  My students must know how to write to a topic, because that's how they'll be tested.  I'm not sure that either reason is reason enough to remove choice from their lives.

"Don't steal your neighbor's thinking power."  My kids often hear me say this, because those pals of theirs need an opportunity to think before someone blurts out their own thoughts.  In essence, providing topics steals our writers' thinking power.  It handcuffs their right to think, to struggle for that idea that might turn into something extraordinary, to value their own experiences and thoughts, to find that their lives really do matter.  

When given the opportunity, they'll come up with their own ideas and creative ways to express them.  With the right guidance and practice, they'll be able to write successfully, even on that random day when a stranger expects them to write to a topic.  Their lives do matter and choice within writing teaches them just that. 

My apologies if you're currently recovering from the affects of whiplash, but you'll so want to make your way over to visit Dawn and Kerri as soon as you can.  They are my inspiring guests for the day, and I'm absolutely thrilled about it.  Please, please, please do pay them a visit!

Dawn

Kerri

On-Demand Writing

Have you heard about Lucy Calkins' Curricular Plans for grades K-8?  (Read here about them.)  Lucy never ceases to stretch my thinking.  In this document of hers, I learned about on-demand writing assessments.  Here's what Lucy says about this.

"At the beginning of the year, and prior to beginning any unit, we encourage you to do an on-demand piece of writing, and use this data as a way to plan your minilessons for your children.  If this is really going to be a true assessment, we cannot stress enough that you cannot scaffold kids' work during this assessment.  Do not remind children of any examples, do not confer with kids, and do not give any spelling tips."  

This is what she recommends a first grade teacher would say at the beginning of the year before starting a Small Moments unit study.

"Before we get started on this new year, I would love to see what you can do as writers of Small Moment stories, of true stories.  Today, I'm going to give you a booklet that you'll use to draw and then write a story on one particular thing that you did.  Make this an example of the best true story writing you can do.  I hope your writing shows me what you can do as a writer.  I'm not going to be helping you today - instead I'll just be observing you so that I can get to know you better as writers."

Then at the end of the unit, after publishing and celebrating, repeat the process.  I did this for my small moments unit and was able to share both pieces with parents at conference time.  They were so very impressed, and so was I.  Even if a writer didn't conquer the idea of writing a developed small moment, their growth was too obvious to overlook and very much worth celebrating.  In a few days I'll be finishing a realistic fiction unit.  I can't wait to compare their on-demand piece at the beginning of the unit with the one at the end.  I'm sure I'll be amazed at their progress as well as informed about how I can improve my instruction next year when I teach this unit again.  Thanks again Lucy.

Into the Deep End

Regie Routman says, "I have never worked in a school or classroom where the expectations for students are too high."  Of course if Regie says it, I must agree, and from doing my own classroom research, I know she's right.  Year after year, I find that kids can do more than I ever thought they could.  Sometimes the only way to find out what they're capable of is to jump right into the deep end and know that most will happily follow me in.  I've found this to be true and over and over, especially in the area of writing.  

(Click on the picture to purchase Lucy's PDF.)

I recently posted about Lucy Calkins and her recommended units of study for first grade writers.  (See here.)  Based on her annually updated curricular plan which you see above, I recently started teaching a unit on realistic fiction.  (I love that her thinking shifts and changes just like the rest of us.)  This genre of writing is new for me as well as the kids.  Honestly, it can be a bit scary jumping into something foreign, but it would be quite unfair for my inhibitions to get in the way of their growth.  Amazingly enough, after only four days of instruction, they impressed me with how they were catching on.  They've got a ways to go, but the following pieces are proof that they just needed someone to invite them into the water so to speak.

Sally was walking to the library to retake a book back.  When she got there it was closed.  She did not know what to do.  Then she knew what to do.  She put it in the box.

One day alex was going to ride his bike.  He was practicing for a contest.  He messed up the bike.  It broke in pieces.  Alex said, "But someone can fix it."  So somebody fixed it up.  He really appreciated that.

One day Emily was getting ready for music practice, but she couldn't find her song book.  She looked under her bed.  No music book.  She looked in her music cupboard.  No music book.  She finally looked in her closet.  She found it, and she went to music practice.

Thanks again Lucy for pushing me into the deep end.  My writers and I thank you.

Writing With Lucy

I have a few important people to thank for inspiring me to become a better writing teacher.  First, there's Regie Routman.  I love to sing her praises.  It's safe to say I want to be like her when I grow up.  Lucy Calkins is right up there as well.  I'd been using a writing workshop format in my classroom before I found her, but her Units of Study for Primary Writing: A Yearlong Curriculum K-2 tightened things up and lifted the level of writing in my class several notches.  Thank you Lucy.  (Click on the orange words to read more about her Units of Study.)

Come to find out, she's just like you and me.  Her way of thinking about teaching and learning is in a constant mode of change and improvement too.  Over the summer I came across her downloadable curricular plan for 1st grade writing workshop.  (She's written them for K-8).  She updates her units annually to reflect latest research and best teaching practices.  How did I not know about this before?  

(Click on the picture for more info.)

Thanks to a teacher friend, I have my own copy now.  Here's an overview of the units Lucy's curricular plan recommends for 1st grade.  Those of you familiar with Lucy's units will see some changes.  I can definitely see the Common Core's influence:

• Launching with Small Moments
• Writing for Readers
• Realistic Fiction
• Procedural Writing: How-To Books
• Opinion Writing: Persuasive Letters and Speeches
• Authors as Mentors: Craftsmanship and Revision
• Informational Books
• Cross-Genre Writing Projects
• Informational Writing about Science
• Poetry: Powerful Thoughts in Tiny Packages

I'm not about programs, but I do agree with Lucy's pedagogy and way of teaching writing.  If you're looking to become a better writing teacher and see the level of writing lifted a few notches in your room, which the Common Core expects, I'd recommend looking into Lucy's Units of Study as well as her yearly updated curricular plans.  She knows what she's talking about.

Saturday Sayings: Is Integration Enough?

(Yep, that's gum.)

I totally believe in integration.  I have a worry though, and it's been nagging at me for months now whenever I hear the words "writing" and "integration" used in the same sentence.  (Please wait a sec while I climb up on my soapbox.)  

I don't believe that expecting kids to write throughout the day is enough.  My fear is that some teachers believe they teach writing simply because their students write.  They write in response to reading.  They write during science.  They write about their social studies topics.  They write on worksheets.  I could go on.  Granted, it's better than no writing at all, but learning the craft of writing is the missing piece.  The Common Core is expecting great things from our writers and rightly so.  They will be expected to use their writing skills throughout the day for various purposes, but they must first know how.  Lucy Calkins is so right.  Our kids need a protected daily writing time where they can learn and practice what writing looks like in various genres, receiving that all-important guidance and feedback as they work through the writing process.  So yes, let's integrate, but it will take more than just writing throughout the day to make sure our kids are successful writers.  (Okay, dismounting the soap box now.  Thanks for listening.)