Writing, Technology and Teens

In 2008, the Pew Internet Trust released a report titled, Writing, Technology and Teens.  While the study is a few years old, I was pleased to see that “93% of teens say they write for their own pleasure.”  They also have a great graphic about writing done outside of school.

Here’s the list of their findings:

The full report can be found here.  This really got me thinking about my Writing Workshop block and am I doing enough authentic writing.

Write Fifteen Minutes A Day

What a great challenge!  I was just talking with a colleague (and part of my PLN) last week.  I was lamenting about how I have not done much writing since school was out.  Best laid plans and all…when WHAM!  This blog post comes to my feed reader:  Write Fifteen Minutes A Day, from none other than Laurie Halse Anderson.  Squee!

I’m in, are you?

Planning for Summer (Reading and Writing)

As we wrap up the school year (whoo, hoo!), it's time to think of our plans for summer reading and writing and set some goals. I created a document (click to see Google Doc) to assist teachers and students in planning and setting goals for the summer.


I am also wondering how this can translate into the first weeks of school in the fall. Will students have an opportunity to share their writing? How about give a book talk about their summer reading? What will that look like?

Anybody have goals for summer reading and writing you’d like to share?

Save National Writing Project! #blog4nwp

I write this post in support of National Writing Project (NWP), which is slated to lose its federal funding come Friday, April 8. Without a doubt, NWP has been the BEST professional development I have EVER received. There are three basic tenants:

1. Teacher as Writer

2. Teacher as Teacher of Writing

3. Teacher as Researcher

I know it sounds simplistic, but let me tell you that in six years as a Literacy Instructional Coach, I completely see the value of #1 and #3. (#2 is one most people buy into already.)

One cannot teach writing if one does not see oneself as a writer. How can we ask our students to do something that we are unwilling to do ourselves? How do we plan lessons and prepare for potential hang ups if we haven’t tried it ourselves first? Have you ever tried to write a myth? It’s HARD! When I taught in Michigan, seventh grade students were required to write a myth. It wasn’t until I sat down to attempt it myself that I realized what supports students would need.


While I may never write a novel, I write every day. I write email messages to teachers whom I coach where every word makes an impact. I write objectives and lesson plans. I write notes of encouragement to colleagues, friends and family. I compose my thoughts into a concise 140 characters for Twitter. I have written a few articles for publication. I see myself as a writer and that is because of the NWP training I received.

It is because I write every day that I know the power of words. It is because I write every day that I know the importance of words. It is because I write every day that I know National Writing Project is valuable and worth fighting to save!

I #blog4nwp!

Planning Writing Lessons

Last week, I again had the pleasure of working with a consultant from Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. While in our building, he facilitated planning sessions with teachers, who then tried these teaching points with students.

Here’s the planning process we used:

1. What do you want students to know?

2. What does it look like when students are doing this proficiently?

3. Do it yourself...model the work for the students.

4. What was your process?

5. How can you articulate this process for kids?


This follows the National Writing Project tenant of Teachers as Writers! If we are not writing ourselves, how can we teach it to others?

Write on!

Conferring...reality check

After posting about conferring last week, I had an opportunity to work with six, reluctant, boy writers.  Now we all know boy writers are a special breed, and these young men were no exception. 

I have been working with a social studies teacher who has implemented some excellent reading and writing assignments into her sixth grade class.  This assignment was a culminating project for her WWI unit.  The students had to create a journal as if they were a WWI soldier.  They needed to create a persona, discuss training, trench warfare, conditions of battle, availability of supplies, etc.  They were asked to get creative with their presentation by distressing their journals and using strips of muslin to bind their book.

I'm thinking...great, no problem.  I worked with these young men to complete the assignment and/or improve on what they had turned in to their teacher.  Some needed to add more details.  Some needed to complete their journal entries.  Some needed to start their journal.  Since all of them were at different places in the process, I was trying to incorporate my new skills.  I will say I fell down on the compliments!  Absolutely failed.  I was so busy managing six boisterous personalities that compliments were not on my mind.  Also, one student had nothing to compliment as he had not begun the project.  Can we say conundrum?

I did however, find a teaching point and set some writing goals.  One student's goal was to write three sentences.  One student to complete a half page.  One student needed to review his notes on trench warfare and add specific details to his entry.

Good thing there's always next time for the compliments!

Conferring

Last week I had the pleasure of working with a consultant from Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.  While in our building, he modeled writing lessons for teachers. I’ve conferred with kids for years.  I’ve led book studies on conferring, How’s it Going?  However, we can always learn something new!  It was laid out like this…

Three things to address in a conference:

1. Collect research – Where is the student in the process? How’s it going? Take notes to document evidence/set goals.

2. Give compliment – Point to the spot in the student’s writing and name what he is doing well so he will make the connection.

3. Teach – Find one thing he can improve.


While I probably do these things and I typically like students to show me three areas where they have questions, I’ve not seen it broken down in this way before.  I especially like the idea of the compliment. And to steal from a dear friend, I like telling kids during a conference what smart thing they are doing as a writer.

Goals for 2011

I know, I know, I'm a little late to the game...

1. Get published.
Well, last year I worked on this. I took a professional writing course facilitated by Joan Richardson, editor of Kappan Magazine (formerly Phi Delta Kappan). My dear colleague and I wrote an article and submitted it for publication to Educational Leadership. We were rejected - Ouch! Now we want to rework our piece and submit to another journal.

2. Read more books.
The past two years, I’ve been stuck on 45 books per year. I’d like to move that to 50 books! I constantly have a running list of books to read, so I’m in no shortage for titles from which to choose. However, I find myself frittering away time in other areas…can we say mindless tv and Facebook?!

3. Blog more often.
Well, since my move and acquiring a new job, the blogging during the second half of 2010 was abysmal. I want to do better. I’ll attempt to blog three times per month. I’m trying to find my groove/area of focus as a blogger, so that’s definitely something I want to explore.

Writing is...

I was playing around with Wordle and thinking about what it means to write.

Meaning

Here we are, at the end of Dan Pink’s six senses, or essential aptitudes, for success: design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning. As I have explored each, I’ve not only thought about how to include them in my own life – to strengthen my own skills – but how can we include these in the classroom?

Meaning: Meaning is the key to happiness. One should see one’s work as a calling. Drive/ambition is the pursuit of meaning (and the topic of Pink’s current book, I presume).

Some strategies to try in order to improve this aptitude in your life:

• Keep a gratitude journal (p.235) – Oprah would approve! Writing a thank you letter would be a great Writers’ Notebook entry.
• But out (p.238) – Look at the obstacles in your life and replace “but” with “and.” For example, “I’d like to travel, but and I don’t have time.”
• Take a Sabbath (p.239) – Spend a day resting, relaxing, reflecting, praying.
• Check your time (p.243) – Make a list of what’s important to you. Next, look at your calendar; does your list align with how you spend your time? This one is resonating with me as I recently read an article about “tolerations” (things we tolerate in life). What do we really want to do and what do we just tolerate?

A few months ago, I wrote about my passion for teaching others. I have always seen my work as a calling – something I was meant to do. I enjoy my work and my colleagues. I like working with students and helping them to see new things in their lives. My life has meaning because of this. What brings meaning to your life?

Play

Next up in Pink’s six senses/aptitudes for success is play.

Play: Problem solving, self-expression, self-exploration and humor.

Now, anyone who knows me knows this is not my area of strength. My family jokes that I came out of the womb a mature thirty-year-old. So, games, humor and not taking myself seriously don’t come easily to me. Pink give a few suggestions for how to strengthen this aptitude.

• Look at cartoons and try to create the caption (p.210). This would work well as a Writers’ Notebook entry.
• Play video games (p. 212). I don’t think we’d have to tell most kids more than once to work on this one!
• Think of writing prompts to promote self-expression and self-exploration. You could certainly bring in some poetry here too!
• Play ‘A Day in the Life’: Have each participant write his or her name on a large piece of paper and then make two columns with the headings: My Frustrations, My Rewards. Next, post all of the sheets on the walls and ask everyone to walk around the room and write what they think the answers are for their co-workers. Then, each person reclaims his/her own sheet and everyone takes a turn responding to their classmates' guesses while explaining what their day is really like. This would also work well with characters from a novel.

That last one might have been from the empathy chapter, but felt like it could fit here too. My apologies to Mr. Pink if I put it in the wrong place.

Symphony

Next up on Daniel Pink’s six senses, or essential aptitudes for success, is symphony.

Symphony: Left-directed thinking analyzes; right-directed thinking synthesizes. This synthesis is  looking at all the components and using them to create a symphony.

A major component of symphony is the ability to see relationships between relationships. One must synthesize rather than analyze in order to imagine how pieces fit together. Sometimes this is called seeing the big picture.

Some suggestions for improving one’s symphony aptitude:

• Listen to great symphonies (Mozart, Hayden).
• Draw – consider taking a drawing class.
• Use metaphors to explain relationships. Keep a log of metaphors you encounter.
• Read magazines you’ve never read before and look for connections to your own life.
• Create an inspiration board – would be a nice use of visual literacies.

Students can consider how to integrate the various pieces into a whole instead of breaking the whole into various pieces. Some of the above bulleted items would make great Writers’ Notebook entries.

Story

The second of Daniel Pink’s six senses, or essential aptitudes for success is story. As a former high school English teacher, and current Literacy Coach, this was a HUGE one for me.

Story: Anyone can argue a point, but in order to effectively persuade and communicate, you need to develop a compelling narrative.

Pink says story is integral to human experience. (p.101) It’s how our minds work – how we remember. If we are able to place facts in context and deliver with emotional impact, then we have a good story. (p.103)

Some things to try:

• Visit storycorps.net, the largest oral history project of its kind, and listen to or post your own story. I could see this turning into a great memoir assignment for students.
• Riff on opening lines from a novel (p.124) – Write compelling first lines on index cards and have students use them as story starters or a springboard for their own story. 
• Photo finish (p.104) – Choose a picture as a story starter. Students can create the back story that may not appear in the picture. I’ve done this before by collecting interesting pictures from magazines. 
• Incorporate 21st Literacies by creating a digital story. I have a colleague who is a master at this.

These of course fit nicely with Writers’ Workshop, but are great stretches of our creativity too.

Design

This is my first post exploring Daniel Pink’s six senses, or essential aptitudes for success: design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning. I’ll just go in order for ease of my memory!

Design: Not just creating a product, but creating something that is aesthetically pleasing.

Pink says, design is utility enhanced by significance. (p.70) We must master design for personal fulfillment and professional success. Design principles are crucial for differentiation in business. Good design, (well, even bad design) can change the world.

Pink suggests a few things to work on in this realm. First, pay attention to the things around you. How are things designed? What works well? What colors, shapes, materials are used?

• Is there an item that you think needs to be improved? Draw a sketch of how you could improve the item.
• Take a drawing/art class. Why is it that beyond about third grade, the drawing stops? In school, we could definitely encourage more students to represent their thoughts visually/graphically.
• Instead of a typical outline, how about allowing – even encouraging – a storyboard? There are some great samples of these online that could jumpstart a writing workshop.

I think that in this global society we all must make ourselves more marketable. It never hurts to look for areas for improvement. From an educator standpoint, these six aptitudes are simple things we can incorporate into our classrooms.