Ch 12 Make Every Minute Count

p. 282 Secrets of Good Writers
Good Writers
Think about their writing all the time
Get their behinds in the chair every day and write
Read a lot...noticing what authors do


P. 283 Look into Their Eyes
When I work in schools, I look into children's and teachers' eyes seeking to find learners who love what they do and who find energy in joyful work.

Since this book, I have changed my "old way" practices when teaching writing but it takes revisiting the important ideas in this book before it becomes an every day routine. I honestly feel more confident in working with my kids and their writing. Thank you, all!

p. 287 My Best Advice
1. Keep it short.
2. Keep it simple.
3. Slow it down.
4. Start with the whole.
5. Move on.
6. Teach it first. Label it later.
7. Trust yourself as a writer and as a teacher of writing.
8. Stop when energy is high.
9. Use common sense.
10. Enjoy writing!

Ch 11 Build on Best Practice and Research

p. 260 Take the Lead

Advocate for Saner Teaching and Assessment Practices
Teachers can't be expected to be accountable if they are told specifically what to do. Accountability requires professional autonomy to do what's right. The best teachers are "not followers" and have an "independent spirit." ....they override directives when something else will work more effectively.

p. 280 Change happens one person at a time, one school at a time, but when it's lasting change (not the fake kind that comes from a teaching-to-the-test obsession), change brought about by hearts and minds working together as knowledgeable, caring colleagues, it has a very large ripple effect.

Ch 10 Make Assessment Count

p. 245 "So much time spent teaching to the tests exhausts teachers and students and makes everyone anxious. Kari Oosterveen says by the time her students took the test, they were completely worn out. The following year she concentrated on excellent teaching of writing, and the scores soared. Afterward, we went right back to what we had been working on, and we continued to move forward."

That's exactly the reason we took state assessments before spring break. Everyone was anxious even though I felt I've concentrated more this year on excellent teaching of math and reading. We're heading right back to what we had been working on, and we'll continue to move forward.

p. 247 "Help your students visualize the reader/scorer. Picture the reader of your writing. Her name is....and she's exhausted. She has been reading writing samples now for six hours......"

Hey, 5th grade teachers, here's a picture for your kids. Talk about making their writing interesting!!!!

Ch 9 Conference with Students

I love the quotation:

"When I confer with you about your writing, you are more important than the writing."

I really think we need to think this way on everything. There's been so much stress with state assessments that I would hate being a kid. They need to know they are more important than the tests.

p. 206 "Always begin with something you notice that the child has done well."
p. 224 "Always start with a compliment....we have the power to encourage the writer for the whole year or destroy his desire and energy to write with one negative comment."
p. 225 "Note everything the writer has done well..."

I'm putting all of these as a reminder in my teacher folder.

This entire chapter validated that conferences are not 24 kids/24 conferences which I've always thought that it was. I am guilty of having a list on the board to see kids on a one on one for 5 minutes or so. I work and work on getting through the list but it never goes away when kids want to know how they're doing in their writing. I love going around the room and helping but I never saw that as the same as conferencing.

I also want to work on moving the writer forward. I will keep in mind that our goal is to have student monitor their own writing and problem solve independently so they can eventually draft, rewrite, revise publish and edit mostly on their own.

Ch 8 Organize for Daily Writing

P. 176 " We make time for what we value.
Writing is one of the best ways I know for developing deep thinking, so
I make time for it."

I think she has given us this message on every page of this book.

P 178 "Fiction is difficult to write well ... so tell students to write your fiction stories at home."

I disagree, my kids have done a great job of two different fiction stories this year. We rewrote their own version of The Three Bears. They are so precious and you can hear so much voice in their stories. We also wrote a problem/solution story based on animal characters. Even my low writers got into this writing.

P. 189 "Eliminate Distractions
Have all pencil sharpening done before school and have a ready supply of sharpened pencils at hand to avoid the added ... time wasted."

I have two different students who hate to get started. One will stand at the pencil sharpener sharpening until there isn't anything left of his pencil. This would definitely stop him. : ) I read in this chapter that the reason kids can't get started is because they're not personally engaged in the topic. This is not the case with my other non writer. He's just afraid to start, I've had conferences with him many times but it doesn't change his apprehension to start the story. Somewhere he's got a block that keeps him from coming back and changing the beginning after he's written some or all of the piece if he doesn't like the starter. I will achieve a personal goal if I get him writing before he has time to consider he's already started!

Ch 7 Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills

p. 141 "We've been overfocused on standards, rubrics, a correct teaching sequence, procedures isolated skills and looking for the "right" program. Instead of asking What skills should I be teaching? we need to ask How can I be a more effective teacher of writing? and How can I engage my students' hearts and minds so they want to write and do their best writing?"

This says it all!

p. 144 "Having students share their writing regularly as a basis for celebration and great teaching moments."

They beg to share, and when we run out of time without giving everyone a chance, they'll let me know.

p. 145 "One of the problems with skills teaching is it leaves out the audience."

Teaching isolated skills makes teaching writing awful.

p. 147 "Voiceless writing is like soup with no seasoning. Remember, though you can identify voice, but you can't measure or quantify it."

What does this say about 6 trait scoring?

p. 149 Here's how I respect such mandates but still teaching in a way that makes sense...I will teach your students how to do all that is required... engage students in writing about topics they care about for a reader who matters to them."

Time Out

I was sick with all of this respiratory stuff going around the second week of February and in my hurry one morning, I pulled this book from my bag. Teacher conferences came the next week and then I started reviewing for state assessments for my kids. My book sat until I uncovered the dust on the cover this afternoon. ( Not that I need to dust, we live on a dirt road and I've had the windows open these last couple of days. )

Even though we've been writing in class still, I found myself going back to webbing just last week to get the kids ready for a story for Young Author's Night coming up in April. Yuck.

I have to take a time out and go back and reread. I've forgotten parts of what I've learned. : (
I'll be back!