Where do You Get Your Ideas: Options for the Writing Studio

In your writing studio, there are always going to be those days when (or those kids for whom) "I don't have anything to write about" is the song of the day.

Because I personally know how helpful it is choose a photo from my iPhoto as a writing prompt, I will have a basket full of pictures cut from magazines and catalogs for students to choose from if they need a visual prompt.

I will share the strategy of picking a random word from the dictionary as a way to get the writing ideas flowing.

And I will introduce these two resources:

StoryWorld: Quests and Adventures: Create-A-Story
by John and Caitlin Matthews
Templar Books (Candlewick Press), 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

This is one set of cards in a series that includes cards that help you write a story that has fairy magic, is a legend of the sea, or is set in a haunted house. There is also a basic storytelling box.

Each card has an illustration of a character, a setting, a creature, or a prop on the front. On the back is a bit of information about the front of the card, and some open-ended questions to get the writer or storyteller thinking and imagining. The set comes with an instruction booklet that emphasizes that there is no right or wrong way to use the cards. They can be used by one person or a group; they can be used one at a time, or in combination; they can be used for acting, as well as for writing...the possibilities are endless.

The Scary Places Map Book: Seven Terrifying Tours
by B.G. Hennessy
illustrated by Erwin Madrid
Candlewick Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Each of the seven terrifying tours in this book (The Ghostly Galleon Cruise of the Seven Seas, Land of the Mythical Monsters, Roundup of the Western Terror-tories, Tour of the Wicked Woods and Witchfield Village, Trip Through Transylvania, Sleepwalking Tour of Nightmare House, and Museum of Haunted Objects) begins with some information about the setting and directions for the tour.

There is a labeled cut-away diagram of the Ghostly Galleon to go with the Ghostly Galleon Cruise, and the maps for the Sleepwalking Tour of Nightmare House and the Museum of Haunted Objects are labeled cut-aways of the house and museum. Every map is gridded with numbers and letters around the edges, and of course, they each have a map key, including a scale that matches the map (1/2 Hercules Strides for the Land of Mythical Monsters map). Here is a sample of the directions from the Land of Mythical Monsters:

• Begin the tour at Athena's Temple (E3). Look for the peak of Mount Olympus to the west (G4, H4).
• Follow the footpath from Athena's temple southwest for 3 Hercules strides to Heras Secret Garden (J3).
• Then travel east 2 Hercules strides for a stop at the Stables of King Augeas, site of Hercules's big cleanup (G2). Then head southeast 1 1/2 Hercules strides to Nemea (E1). Watch for the famous lion.

Even if a writer did not want to tell the story of the tour in the book, each of the maps gives him/her a rich setting with which to begin a story...or a mentor text for their own imaginative maps and tours!

Hopefully these two resources will help some of our writers get "unstuck" this year!

It's Monday! What are you reading? FLYING THE DRAGON

Thanks to Jen and Kellee at TEACH MENTOR TEXTS for hosting IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Flying the Dragon
by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
Charlesbridge, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

This book hooked me by page 9, after two short chapters.

Throughout the book, the chapters alternate between Hiroshi and Skye, cousins who, at the outset of the book, have never met. Hiroshi lives in Japan with his parents and Grandfather. Skye lives in Virginia with her Japanese father (Hiroshi's father's twin brother) and her American mother.

Hiroshi is focused on competing in the upcoming rokkaku kite battles. "A member of the Tsuki family had always won the master flier title ever since Grandfather had first entered as a boy." This is the year that Hiroshi will enter the competition on his own.

Skye is focused on securing a spot on the All-Star soccer team.

And Grandfather needs cancer treatments that are available in the United States, not in Japan.

So Hiroshi, his parents, and Grandfather move to Virginia to live in a house down the street from Skye's family. No rokkaku kite battles for Hiroshi, and no All-Star team for Skye, unless she can pass into the advanced Japanese language class after Japanese Saturday school.

Natalie Dias Lorenzi is an ELL teacher. She gets the conflicts of language and culture spot-on perfect, both for Hiroshi, who is struggling to learn English, and for Skye, who is struggling to learn Japanese and accept her family's culture.

This interaction between Hiroshi and his ELL teacher broke my heart. I have had conversations like this so many times. Times when I know that there is a wealth of information and intelligence locked behind the barrier of language:

" 'I like kites.' 

But he wanted to say so much more. He wanted to tell Mr. Jacobs about the kite battle he had to miss because he'd moved to America. He wanted to explain that the dragon kite was the first one he had made himself. Well, mostly himself--Grandfather had helped a little. He wanted to say that grandfather was a rokkaku champion and Hiroshi's best friend. And that he hoped Grandfather would get better soon so they could keep flying kites together. 

'Yes,' Hiroshi repeated. 'I like kites.' "

One of the things I love best about this book are the believable ways that both Hiroshi and Skye grow and change. I love wise, wise Grandfather, and his role in bringing Hiroshi and Skye together.

I am in awe that this is Lorenzi's debut novel. I wish there were a William C. Morris Award, not just for YA authors, but for middle grade authors as well.

I've already picked my first read aloud for this year, but I'm pretty sure this will be my second. Check it out -- you'll be glad you did!



Author's website: Natalie Dias Lorenzi | Author
Author interview at Read, Write, Repeat
One of Jama Rattigan's amazing Book Birthday posts at Jama's Alphabet Soup

10 for 10...plus two more!!

I know, I know.
#pb10for10 was on August 10th.
But what if I want to add two more books to my list?
Books that the UPS guy just delivered?

Can we please have a PLUS TWO day on August 12th, where everybody gets to add just two more books to their list?

Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John "Appleseed" Chapman
by Esmé Raji Codell
illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins
Greenwillow Books, on shelves August 21
review copy provided by the publisher

Just in time for Johnny Appleseed's Birthday (September 26) comes this picture book that takes us back to the

"...quiet, tree-bough-tangled world,
the world before the cement was poured
and the lights turned on..."

Codell doesn't give us the same-old same-old cutesy Johnny Appleseed story. She identifies and elaborates on not just the apples, but 5 examples he planted for us:

Use what you have.

Share what you have.

Respect nature.

Try to make peace where there is war.

You can reach your destination by taking small steps.

This book is all kinds of perfection, from Codell's beautiful writing, to Perkins' gorgeous illustrations. I think we'll be adopting Chapman's five examples in Room 228.

Cat Tale

by Michael Hall (author of My Heart is Like a Zoo, which I reviewed in 2011)

Greenwillow Books, on shelves August 28

review copy provided by the publisher

This book will wind up living on my Word Study shelf, but I won't tell my students that when I share it with them.

I will introduce this book by asking the students, "What do you notice?"

"From word to word

they find their way,

Lillian, Tilly, and William J.

They pack some books

and kitty chews.

They choose a spot.

They spot some ewes."

What do you notice?

...Later in the book:

"They flee a steer.

They steer a plane.

They plane a board.

They board a train."

What do you notice? What do you predict will happen next?

The three cats' crazy romp through a tale filled with homophones and homonyms gets completely tangled up...but then, with the help of a purple whale, they make it back home again. Fun, fun, FUN!! (And did I mention, visually stunning, with art that "consists of acrylic painted textures and paper cutouts that were combined digitally.")

PW Starred Review

10 for 10 -- Picture Books for the First Weeks of School

I've used the same set of picture books (including these books about names) to start the school year for several years now. It's not a bad set, in fact, it's a GREAT set, but I challenged myself to pick 10 different picture books to start this new year in a new position, and to think about what I'll be saying to my students (through these books) about my hopes for them, and for our year together.

1. Choose kind.
Little Bird by Germano Zullo

2. Make friends, not enemies.
Enemy Pie (Reading Rainbow book) by Derek Munson

3. Be faithful to your friends.
Otis by Loren Long

4. Work hard to solve your problems...but don't forget to think about what your solution might do to others.
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

5. Live in this moment. Be present.
You're Finally Here! by Mélanie Watt

6. Be yourself. No matter what.
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

7. Be persistent. Believe in yourself. Follow your dreams.
Learning to Fly by Sebastian Meschenmoser

8. Know yourself. Be yourself. Follow your dreams. (And a special note to myself: make sure your "dance academy" has room for everyone.)
Brontorina by James Howe

9. Make memories, because memories make stories.
Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran

10. The world around us is amazing, awe-inspiring, and diverse. It is there for us to notice, learn about, and appreciate.
The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins

Thank you to Cathy, at Reflect & Refine: Building a Learning Community, and Mandy, at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for sponsoring this 10 for 10 Picture Book event for the third year. Be sure you hide your credit cards and then go look at all the fabulous lists!

10 Books in Which Characters are Eaten #TeamBear

We love August 10--one of our favorite book holidays. Thanks to Cathy (Reflect and Refine) and Mandy (Enjoy and Embrace Learning) for organizing 10 for 10 Picture Books. Visit their sites to see everyone's lists!

Many of you may remember the ongoing conversation that many of us had around the brilliant book I Want My Hat Back (E. B. White Read-Aloud Award. Picture Books) by Jon Klassen. (SPOILER ALERT but I can't imagine we have any readers who haven't read this book...)  There seemed to be some controversy and unhappiness around the bear eating the rabbit. There were also some issue around whether the bear actually ate the rabbit. I was one of the first #TeamBear members. I was #teambear from the first reading and I never waivered. I was so much #teambear that I was shocked that a #teamrabbit even existed. A few readers (you know who you are...) seemed to think it was just too mean of the bear to eat the rabbit.  So, I decided to use this opportunity to further prove that readers have no reason to be upset with the bear for eating the rabbit.  After all, the rabbit did steal his hat.

Here's the thing. I DO think that the bear in I WANT MY HAT BACK ate the rabbit. AND I think it was justified. AND I think it was no big deal. I don't think eating something in a picture book is the same as killing it off.  I think it is just a temporary swallowing thing to make a point. (And if you've read EXTRA YARN by Jon Klassen, you know that the rabbit is alive and well after the eating!)  Through this #hatback experience,  I realized that books in which the characters get eaten make me laugh.  That is the point.  No need to feel badly for the characters.

So, today's list is 10 of my favorite books in which a character gets eaten. And mostly things are okay. It is even actually funny. Eating characters is just a thing that happens in books sometimes.  I am sharing it in hopes that this list will convince a few of you #teamrabbit members to join #teambear instead:-)  We always welcome new members.

(I Want My Hat Back is clearly my #1 on this list!)

Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller is one of my favorite books in which the characters get eaten. Actually, Arnie does not get eaten but is shocked to find that many of his friends in the donut shop know they are going to be eaten and are OK with that!  They are happy to be donuts that will be eaten an enjoyed by someone.

And then there is Beware of the Frog by William Bee.  There is some eating in this book because the Mrs. Collywobble's guard frog eats anything that causes danger to the old lady. How can a guard frog that eats giants not be funny?  If anything tries to get into the house, the frog just eats him up.  There is some other eating going on in the book but all of it is justified, and quite amusing.

And there are so many versions There Was an Old Lady (Classic Books With Holes) in which the things eaten are just fine at the end. Depending on the version you read, the lady at the end explodes or hiccups or something. It is then that we find out that everything she swallows is just fine!

I'm The Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry is a new favorite with our younger readers. This one is more reality-based, but still quite fun:-)

Let's not forget Little Red Riding Hood: By the Brothers Grimm  in which the wolf eats Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother (and in some versions, he also eats Little Red Riding Hood).  But the woodsman frees them both with one swing of his ax:-)

Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue by Maurice Sendak is possibly my absolute favorite book in which people get eaten.  The book is only a favorite when the words are sung by Carol King.

Do you see how no-big-dealish eating Pierre was? How he actually emerged a better person? How the lion actually HELPED him by eating him?  (just as I am sure the rabbit emerged better after being eaten by the bear....)

If you remember, there is some eating going on in Pinocchio (Little Golden Book)  When Gepetto goes off to find Pinocchio, he is eaten by a whale. Later, when Pinocchio goes off to find Gepetto, he too is eaten and the two are reunited in the whale's stomach. They are quite clever in making the whale sneeze so they can escape and live happily ever after.

I remember reading The Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale by Jack Kent when I was little. I loved this book and the way that the cat grew and grew.  This one is a classic and the illustrations make it pretty amusing.  This cat goes around eating everyone. He is just really hungry. But not to worry, someone releases them and after a few large bandages for the cat, it seems that everyone is okay after the ordeal.

And my new VERY favorite may be a new one that Mary Lee shared with me.  It is called Bear Despair (Stories Without Words) by Gaeten Doremus (isn't that the best title ever?).  It is a wordless book (even more to love about it) and I am excited about adding it to my collection of wordless books. This is the story of a bear whose teddy bear is stolen. And  the bear has to get it back--so there is some eating going on. The illustrations in this one are great and I am sure kids will love it.

(And I am not saying whether there is any eating going on or not , but Jon Klassen has a new picture book coming soon called This Is Not My Hat .  Really, how can it not be great???)

Poetry Friday -- The Real Work

The Real Work

by Wendell Berry


It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

This poem goes out to all the teachers who are in back-to-school mode, and especially to all the teachers who read OPENING MINDS by Peter Johnston for #CyberPD (I missed the third post AND the final thinking, so I'm counting this poem as my contribution to both. If you read the book, you'll understand how this fits.)

I will carry this poem in my writer's notebook and in my heart this year.

It defies all logic, but I'm hoping for a year full of bafflement, knowing that my mind will be suitably, passionately, diligently employed...and that I, an impeded stream, will be singing.

Yes, I know it is Thursday. Tomorrow is the 10 for 10 Picture Book event. So I'm bringing you Friday a day early. You have a problem with that?!?!

Violet has the Poetry Friday roundup tomorrow at Violet Nesdoly / Poems.

Digital Writing: The First Six Weeks of School

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a few days of the Ohio Innovative Learning Environments Conference.  Every time I attend this conference, I feel so so lucky to have this opportunity so close to home. It is such an amazing week of brilliant speakers and lots of learning.

During the first day of the conference, I had the opportunity to hear Will Richardson. I've read his work and learned from his blog, articles, videos, etc. for years. I was so excited to finally get the chance to hear him in person. I ended up going to every one of his sessions so I pretty much spent the full day listening to him.  He helped me connect some things about digital writing workshop.   I have been thinking for years about what it means to be a writer today. And I struggle with how to make things work for elementary students. I believe strongly that any digital writing experiences need to be embedded in the things I believe about writing workshop in general.

Will Richardson helped me think through the whole connected piece of digital writing. He said several things that stuck with me about the networking that is so much a part of the digital writing experience. He helped me see that so much of life as a digital writer is in the behaviors and stances we have as writers, the expectation for participation, for changing our thinking, for conversation.  I know this about myself as a writer but I have struggled with making this work for kids.

One of the struggles of elementary age students is the safety and policy issues around social networking and young children. After hearing Will Richardson speak, I revisited the NCTE definition of 21st Century Literacies as well as the framework. He referred to this document in all of his sessions and listening to his thoughts around the document helped me solidify my own thoughts:

I thought about what had been missing in my thinking about digital writing in the classroom and I realized it was these connected behaviors of writers because of the tools available.  I realized that just as in any writing workshop, living your life as a writer is key. Building in routines to support children as they grow as writers and learn behaviors of writers is key. I believe our children are already digital writers in their lives outside of school and I want to authentically give them opportunities to bring that digital writing life to school too.

So, I thought through the routines outside of the possible genre or format studies we will do. I asked myself to think about the ways in which we as a class would build our digital footprint, how we would think about purpose and audience, and which routines I could put into place during the first six weeks of school to make that happen. I came up with a four-part plan that would give kids opportunities for many kinds of writing.  Below is the visual of the four types of writing that will hopefully become routine in our classroom:

And below is my thinking about the role of each of the four components:  

4 Components of Digital Literacy in 4th Grade Classroom

Public Relations--District Website/Teacher Webpage

This site will be the “face” of the classroom.  It will house weekly to biweekly posts with general news. Links to newsletters, information, other sites that we are using as a class will be part of this District Page. This will be the formal piece that I, as the teacher, create on my own, just updating community on what is happening.

Individual Opportunities--Social Networking/Connected Learning in Protected Environment

District ELGG

ELGG will give the 4th graders the opportunity to write in a networked environment that is safe and secure.  We will utilize individual blogs as a way to communicate information. Blog focus will be on personal interests with a focus on writer’s craft and audience. We will also utilize the Social Bookmarking tools, as readers/researchers, and the “wire” as a way to understand the difference between quick messages and actual posts. Use of ELGG will help 4th graders learn what it is to be networked, how to make sure they are creating quality work, and to think about purpose and audience.

Collaborative Communication--Dublin Wikispaces (internal district users)

As a way to create collaboratively, we will use the Dublin Wikispaces to share our story as learners.  This wikispaces wlll be focused on classroom learning and will grow as the year goes on. It will serve as parent/family communication as well as a way to review and reflect on learning.  We will build the site in a shared way during the first few weeks of school and then will move forward to everyone in the classroom adding content about our learning.  Because this is an internal site, we will make the pages “members only” so that we can be honest about learning, include photos and student work.  

Global Audience--Shared Experience/Teacher-Only (Moderated) Account

To help the students understand the importance of a more global audience, a class blog will be created to share our classroom with the world.  I will create a Blogspot blog in my name and set it up to be moderated by me. As the only person able to publish, I will oversee the blog, moderate comments, etc.  As a class, we will be able to learn about what is okay to be “out in the world” by having this as an option for sharing.   I will also create a class account for a Google Reader, Google Doc (For survey creation, etc.), a Twitter account (for news to families), and a Skype account (for expert visits when needed).  As the teacher, I will be the sole moderator of all of these accounts.  These tools will allow us to connect to other classrooms, authors, blogs, etc. in a safe way.

By having this variety of tools, students will not only grow as readers and writers, but they will learn technology skills as well as important online safety behaviors. Audience, purpose, and safety will be part of many discussions as we learn to be readers and writers who connect with others.

**The first 4-6 weeks will be dedicated to learning to use these tools and type of writing required for each of these tools well. Much of the experience early in the year will be modeled and shared so that students understand the purpose and role of each tool.  

I am hopeful that these routines will help me to teach the qualities of good writing with traditional and digital tools.  Below are the slides I created to share with some teachers at a district  conference this week.  It was a good time for me to think through how I can think through the first six weeks of school in a way that builds behaviors that will carry us through the year.  You can see Will Richardson's quotes that stuck with me spread throughout the slides. I would love feedback or thoughts on the plan and I'd love to hear other people's routines for launching a year of digital writing.

Digital Writing: First 6 Weeks from Franki22

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Kids BIG BOOK OF WHY

I received a copy Sports Illustrated Kids Big Book of Why Sports Edition of from the publisher and am so happy to have this one to add to my classroom this year. I know already that it will definitely be a popular one.

The book is filled with interesting facts about sports. (The cover states that there are 500+ Sports Facts in the book!)  The facts cover lots of sports and lots of topics.  At first I thought I'd pull out lots of math facts--statistics, measurements, etc. to keep handy for math work. But as I read through the book, although I found some number facts (Why is a standard marathon 26.2 miles?), I found far more interesting facts about words:



Why is football called soccer in America?
Why is it called a turkey when you get three straight strikes in bowling?
Why do baseball players sometimes "choke up" on the bat?
Why is the middle of an archery target called a bulls eye?
Why are some dunks called alley-oops?
Why is the home of the Boston Red Sox names Fenway Park?

I learned so many interesting things in this book and can see pulling it out for word study minilessons all year. If I can get my hands on it, that is.  I think kids are going to love this book. I sometimes worry about books with random facts spread all over the page, because so often, kids merely skim and scan and never really get to the reading part.  But this one seems very accessible for kids.  There are 2-3 facts per page with a paragraph or two about each fact. It seems like the pieces are the perfect length for kids to read and the font and layout is not intimidating at all.  Very inviting and filled with great stuff!