writing portfolio ryne - edrl 427
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TRANSCRIPT
Writing Portfolio
Stephanie
RyneEDRL 427 -
DizonSpring 2011
An idea for teaching…
Ideas1. Read Dear Mr. Blueberry2. Explain RAFTS3. Students choose random animal (toy) without
letting peers see it.4. They research about the habitats and living need of
their animal.5. They write a letter to the zookeeper, telling him
what they need in order to live happily at the zoo.6. They seal their letters, properly address them, and
put them in the classroom mailbox.7. I read their letters aloud8. Students try to guess what type of animal wrote the
letter.9. Student who wrote the letter, shows their animal
toy for verification.
R – AnimalA – ZookeeperF – LetterT – Explain what you will need when you arrive at the zooS – Informing
Dear Mr. Zookeeper, March 12th, 2011
I am traveling from far, far away on the continent of Africa. I grew up in the savanna and on grassy plains, so I would prefer a sparsely vegetated desert landscape with shade for me to rest in. You will need to plant some very large trees, however, because I am quite large. As far as food goes, you better make sure you have an awesome garden. I love to eat roots, bark, leaves, berries, seeds, and lots of fruit…actually I will be needing 300-350 lbs of this stuff every day. Also, I will need a large supply of water – perhaps a stream running through my new home – so that I can drink at least 50 gallons of water each day.
That’s basically it, but here are a couple of things to keep in mind: Although they are horrible for my “girlish” figure, I will never turn down a peanut as a snack. I hear there are other herds who live in Asia. Contrary to popular belief, I can’t fly holding a magic feather. And you better put my home as FAR AWAY from the mice habitat as possible, if you don’t want a disaster at the zoo!
Looking forward to meeting you!
Your friend,Ellie
Sample
of
“RAFTS”
Biocrostic
Rotten adults in every story
Outside the normal children’s author’s box
Always writing about kids that struggle
Loud, rambunctious characters
Descriptions that touch all senses
Dives right into the character’s mind
Action surrounding every story
Hard to believe his biography is true
Laugh in shock of what happens
A way to… Organize
Steph
Married high school
sweetheartGraduated
college
Bought a home
Moved across the country 11
times
Held at gun point during
robbery
Got 2 awesome
dogs – Lucy & Ethel
Husband left for Iraq 4
times
Writing a Narrative Biography
• Using a “Web Map”, they brainstorm ideas about events in their lives.• They share these ideas with group members who vote on most interesting topic.• (After teacher modeling) students will create drawings of the scene they choose with talking bubbles etc.• They will then use these drawings to write a narrative (short, appx. 10 min).• They will exchange papers & write 3 questions they have for their partner’s narrative.• They will revise their original drafts & present final drafts w/ drawings.
Sample Web Map:
ReflectIon
What connections exist between real-life writing and school writing?
• Students need to make authentic connections to the writing assignments that they are given – in all levels of schooling.• As teachers, it is our job to help our students find the bridge that connects these two very different aspects of their lives. • Simply having students “write about what they did over the weekend” is not sufficient for a teacher to be able to say that they are connected with their students’ interests.• We need to make sure that our students know (not think) that we genuinely want to know their thoughts, lives and aspirations.• In every grade level, we can pay attention to the lives of our students – we should keep in mind the area of the community they live in, the country (or state) their family came from, their religious heritage and traditions as well as what they do on a daily basis outside of the classroom.• I think one of the teachers in a video we watched said it best when he said: “It takes more energy to stay up-to-date with what your students are interested in, but it can make all the difference.”
RJ #3
A Hook
for promoting
creative…
…Word
Choice
I will begin by
explaining to my
students that we will be
learning how words
work through
the use of antonyms,
and explain
what they are.
As a fun way to get
them thinking
about antonyms, I
will read The Foot
Book by Dr. Seuss.
Interdisciplinary Teaching
DINOSAURS!Grade 3-5:
Create a “Diamante
” Poem using
Opposite words
relating to Dinosaurs.
T-RexPredator, Carnivore
Hunting, Searching, KillingTeeth Scales Neck
LegsHiding, Walking, Eating
Lengthy, HerbivoreBrachiosaurus
Reflection:Our presentation went pretty well. Because of time
constraint, I think we went faster
than normal, but the class seemed to understand our ideas. Next time I
would spend more time
collaborating in our group.
Tell ‘emto usetheir…
Voice
Sometimes when we get into “teacher-mode”
it can be easy for us to forget to remind our students
to be themselves in their writing. When discussing
specific content, especially when reading novels, they
might accidentally use the voice of the author they
have been studying. It is important that we model
writing for the students that use various types of
voice, so that they understand that it does not have to
always be exactly what they would specifically do or
say if they were the ones “speaking” or “acting” in the
piece. By having a bag of tricks for teaching young
students to use voice in their writing, we can try out
different methods and find out what really gets their
creative juices going. One of the best ways I have
come across for getting my reader to really
understand my voice, is to constantly remind myself
to get them to feel like they’re “walking in my shoes”
as they read.
• Sit down and figure out what
parts of grammar my students
struggle with, then develop
my lesson plans around fixing
these problems for them.
• Teaching grammar within
the context of a lesson,
rather than just grammar
on a worksheet, makes it
more memorable and
meaningful with students.
WritIng
WorkShop
• “Revision is not
failure, revision is an
art.” I want my
students to understand
that it is okay to make
mistakes in their
writing, but that it is
also important that they
take a second look at it
to fix those mistakes.
Book Talk Strategy I Plan to use:
“Write-Around”In a groups of 3-5, students write short notes and pass them around to create a string of conversation.
The first person quickly writes their comments on a sheet of paper (each person can start a sheet, or there can be one for the whole group to share, depending on grade level).
When the teacher says “Pass”, they pass it to the next person who reads it and adds their own.
This continues until each person has written on each piece of paper.
They then receive their original piece of paper and read what their peers wrote.
Teacher Tool Box
Have younger students draw a picture as their “plan for writing”.
“Senses” activity where they are given 3 possible topics about a specific sense. Then write descriptions & guess each others’.
“Switcharoo”, “Bumper Sticker”
& “License Plate”
for familiar stories.
Ideas for Literacy Centers
• Magnet Boards• Sequencing
centers for poems or stories• Flash cards• Pocket Charts• CVC Erasers
• Retelling center
Free Space
“One day, I too will make a difference.”
I know am heading into a profession that takes a lot of heart.
There
are not many jobs that compare when considering the how we can
affect a person’s life from a very young age. There are a few
teachers in our lives that we all remember, for one reason or
another, and I hope that I can be that teacher who instills a love for
learning deep inside the souls of my students. I hope that they can
walk away from my classroom with a confidence in themselves that
in some way I was able to help them find. If I can help one person
do better in their life, whether they remember me or not, then I
believe my career choice was perfect.