Executive Summaries 2002

The book is divided into four sections, the First devoted to the preparation and set-up of the classroom. She provides detailed examples of spatial layouts, materials needed, housekeeping formats, teaching journals that facilitate teaching efficiency and effectiveness, even includes sharing her "typical first day." Carr states that setting up the classroom, making it supportive and predicable, is key to being successful for most students. She allows two months for routines and structures to become established and supportive for learning.

Section Two carefully exposes how reading is taught, using: shared, quiet, partner, and quiet reading methods, book talks, progress monitoring, and the efforts needed with struggling readers. Carr includes examples of lessons, segments of student and teacher interchanges, suggestions on how to gain the quantities of books needed, and references made to the extensive Appendix which is included at the end of the volume.

Section Three moves on naturally to the lessons that surround writing. The majority of the educational effort in first and second grade is on language arts, and Carr's writing program strives to capture the ideas and experiences that the children bring with them to school. Carr carefully models and scaffolds her students' efforts, providing authentic avenues for them to communicate with her, their families, and themselves in what they want to know or say. Again, she includes examples, lessons, materials, workshop descriptions, spelling instruction strategies, portfolios, and efforts in monitoring and assisting struggling writers of this age.

Section Four includes a very extensive Appendix. It includes examples of letters home, curriculum descriptions, favorite big, poetry, and read-aloud book lists, and much more.

I think this book would be invaluable for a new teacher, starting out in primary teaching. Much of the detail has a firm foundation in best practice, justification to assist in equalizing learner outcomes, and commitment to respectful regard of teachers towards learners. Its detail provides a framework to scaffold, resources to inform, or justification to illuminate and provide all learners the same opportunity to gain.

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Cynthia Vaughan Granberg

Joanne Portalupi & Ralph Fletcher. Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8.Stenhouse, 2001.

"We see this book as filling the need for teachers who are challenged to teach the kind of writing that draws less on students' stories, memories, and histories, and more on the concrete 'out there' world."This quote from the authors summarizes the rationale for using this text. It is a wellspring of information and lesson ideas for the teacher who is attempting to guide their students toward the writing of quality pieces of nonfiction.

The "mindset" of Portalupi and Fletcher that "good writing isn't produced by magic, but by learning to arrange particular words in a particular order to create a predictable effect," is evident throughout the book. The K-8 lessons cover all areas from audience awareness to specific nonfiction formats, and cover topics from the use of anecdotes to writing with voice. The authors acknowledge the value of multigenre research projects and other "engaging formats," but make it clear that the focus of this text is "meat and potatoes" content area writing.

The material in the book is highly accessible and well organized by grade level and topic area. The lessons would be described in educational jargon as "minilessons." Each one begins with a brief discussion or rationale for the lesson, then a section on "How to Teach It" and includes a list of recommended resource materials, but individual teachers may find the need to expand the lesson format to suit their classroom setting. An appendix and annotated bibliography is also present.

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Gary Hopson

Watkins, Pamela E. Ed.Voices: Tapping the Child's Voice. Carrollton, TX: Alliance Press.

Voices: Tapping the Child's Voice features works from a wide variety of writers/authors with at least one thing in common, they have written with a young person's voice and point of view. This collection of essays, short stories, and excerpts from longer works of fiction range from highly recognized writers likeMaya Angelou, Langston Hughes and Fannie Flagg to several samples from writers in their formative college writing courses. All authors and works serve as investment guides for increasing writing portfolios: experiences and observations from our youth are rich in resources and investing time and energy in them produces written dividends.

Adding to the range of the 23 works in this collection is ethnicity and background. For example, both Angelou and Flagg write from young women's point of view of Mississippi in the first half of the 20th century, but Angelou's portrayal of even poor white trash'sbigotry toward blacks strongly differs toward Flagg's portraits of "eccentric excess" (to paraphrase Pat Conroy) in a southern family. There are several other samples and models written from ethnic points of view and lend themselves to aspiring writers who cannot always relate to models from a WASP culture. Puerto Rican, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, and Dakota are some of the cultures included in this anthology. While it might be more politically correct to generalize into Hispanic, Asian, Native American, etc., I think it could be significant and instrumental in prompting prospective writers to note the specifics and differences in the cultures, and not to assume all Native Americans have a similar point of view.

Another contrast in the models for writing are the rural and urban models. Rural teachers of young writers benefit from exposing students to differing of view, but often the best models may be something closer to home. By demonstrating to novice writers that their best well-source is what they know best, whether ethnic, urban, rural, male or female, and, of course, the combination these, writing models help students access their stored material, greasing the skids toward developed writing.

Topics of the writing also vary greatly, and an instructor may gatekeep their use to fit inside the larger picture of thematic units, etc. Titles of works such as "The Day I Lied My Way Out of Summer School," "Chicken Tetrazzini," and "My Sharkskin Suit" serve as hooks for younger reader/writers and have more universal themes that transcend geographical and cultural backgrounds. Being dishonest with parents, avoiding dinner at home, and obsessively desiring material objects are deep, relevant topics to youth.These writings would be where I'd choose to begin using this anthology, then moving outward to cultures and points of view that are more specific and perhaps new to a reader.

Each piece of writing is followed by prompts for the reader to respond to the writing. Most of these I found too typical, and perhaps could hamper (kill?) the prompting process. However, there are some that would serve writing well, so careful gatekeeping by an instructor is recommended. Perhaps an open forum of discussing the more mundane questions would be helpful to an entire class. This could simply serve as a review of the work, and benefit some who may be struggling or examining options of paths to travel in writing.

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Susan Lindley

Delton, Judy.The 29 Most Common Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them).Cincinnati: Writing Digest Books. 1990.

Judy Delton's The 29 Most Common Writing Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them) is a must read for writers and teachers of writersIn her introduction Delton states, "Writing is something warm and dependable to snuggle up with when everything else is in flux.It's a little secret that you carry with you in public- the knowledge that you alone have the ability to escape to a wonderland where you can make anything happen."

The first chapter is aptly titled "Don't Procrastinate!"It discusses the little procrastinating distractions writers have a tendency to invent.The author suggests setting a specific place for writing.Also, setting aside writing time and disciplining oneself to stick to that time.And remember to"Give inspiration a chance" (3).

Delton tells the reader not to edit as he or she writes.Just get something down on paper or computer, which ever the case may be, you can always go back and correct grammar, spelling, etc. later."The writer who rewrites as he goes will never finish his piece" (16).Another mistake writers make is to "tell and not show."Delton suggest the writer can "show" is by the usage of dialogue, incident, and anecdote.

Chapter thirteen "Don't Forget: You Need a Beginning, Middle, and End.Sounds simple but this is exceedingly important.The story must be organized and flow with the sequence of events.The beginning of a story must catch the readers attention, since it is probably the only chance the writer has to hook the reader."If you do not capture his attention there (the beginning) you may not have another chance" (31).

Chapters 20-29 address mainly the ways in which a writer can be published, but many of the concepts are relevantto any writer.

I would recommend this short book to all writers.It is 65 pages and can be read easily in an afternoon.It is uplifting and has simple solutions to the problems writers, especially students, face.I will implement many of Delton's suggestions into my own writing and into my writing curriculum at school.

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Sara Mickelsen

Schlick Noe Katherine L. & Johnson, Nancy J. Getting Started With Literature Circles.

Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, 2002.

This book is written by two women who are both professors at Seattle area Universities.Targeting the K-8 audience, Getting Started With Literature Circles introduces and discusses many different facets of Literature Circles.Organized into logical chapter, this book outlines everything that a teacher would need to know from how to get started, conducting discussions, onto the assignments that could correlate with a unit on Literature Circles.

Establishing a classroom climate is one thing that is discussed heavily.Making sure that all students have a voice in the group discussions.A fourth grade teacher suggests the following to establish climate from the first day of class: make clear what you value, infuse collaboration throughout the day, and introducing skills of respectful interaction.Before delving into the possibility of creating a learning centered classroom climate be sure to reevaluate the atmosphere you hope to attain.Be sure to invite your students to take responsibility for the way the classroom will be run. In doing so, the students will be more attune to their behaviors and those of their peers.

Structuring a unit on literature circles is often times one of the largest roadblocks that a teacher will face when introducing something new to their curriculum. Schlick Noe and Johnson recommend first that a timeline be outlined.While it is obvious that an outline won't go as planned, having a rough idea of what other units will be happening to correspond Literature Circles into cross-curricular instruction is a goal.There are also suggestions as to how to introduce various books to students as well as guiding groups to decide how much material they read per session.

The main purpose of a Literature Circle is to allow students the chance to discuss literature.I had never thought of the various ways of holding discussions.Offered are the following group compositions: teacher as a group facilitator, teacher participates as a group member, teacher sits near and observes, and teacher roams as both observer and guide.When conducting various Literature Circle groups, the format of your classroom would depend on the independence and make-up of your groups.It may work best to go from being a facilitator to a roamer as the students gain a better understanding and confidence when participating in Literature Circles as a group member.

Before allowing students to conduct their own group discussions as a class it is recommended that a purpose is set, being sure to discuss each area of the discussion (what to talk about, how to find what is to be shared, and how to take part in the discussion).Providing questions and prompts in initial discussion is advised; however, don't want to dampen students and their ability to create and conduct unique discussions pertaining to their own lives.

Excellent focus lessons and extended project ideas are provided to correlate with Literature Circle instruction.I found these lessons not only to be practical for use with Literature Circles, but they also could be catered to teach at other times in the school year.I found it helpful to have student samples provided that show what students at various grade levels have completed.Assessment ideas are also provided to go along with these projects.

The format of each chapter is outlined with commonly asked questions pertaining to each chapter's topic.As a reader, this answered many questions that I posed to myself as I read the chapters.I found it to be extremely beneficial due to the fact that the book contains information for every aspect of the Literature Circle.At the end of the book there is an extended Bibliography that pertains only to Literature Circles.This would be helpful if there was a specific area of Literature study that someone would like to explore more thoroughly.A reference section is provided to the reader as well as a list of all the Children's Literature books that were referred through in the text.

As a soon to be practicing teacher, I found this book to be full of great ideas and thoughts on Literature Circles.Having seen them in the classroom, this book allowed me to broaden my knowledge of them, while also helping me to develop thoughts as to how I would construct and implement this area of Literature study in my classroom.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in using Literature Circles in the classroom.While it is targeted mainly to an Elementary level audience, all readers could benefit due to the fact that the concepts discussed are very general and that allow for ease in tweaking to suit individual needs.

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Ericka Mitchell

Trelease, Jim.The Read-Aloud Handbook.4th ed.New York: Penguin Books, 1995.

The Read-Aloud Handbook begins with one of my favorite theories--we should teach children to want to read, not simply how to read. It exemplifies and proves my own theory that "What we teach children to love and desire will always outweigh what we teach them to just do" (Trelease xiii).The first half of the book is the research and theories to back up reading to children of all ages, not just for their own enjoyment, but to widen their vocabulary, attention spans and interest in books.The second half of the book focuses on the texts that the author has found to be especially effective in the read-aloud setting.In general, these books are filled with rich narrative and not a lot of dialogue.

My interest in this text was prompted by my own administration which seems to feel that literature has very little place in the reading classroom.I found I was not alone."Many schools," Trelease says, "were forbidden to read aloud to students (because) such behavior was a waste of instructional time and would make the children lazy" (xvii).In fact, such theories are utterly false.The statistics support that in younger grades, where children are read aloud to most, a larger percentage of students read something for pleasure each day.As students progress through school and hear less text aloud, students reading for pleasure decreases tremendously so that by the time students graduate, many will say, "If I never read another book, it'll be too soon."

I, along with almost every other language arts teacher I know, want to create life-time learners, not simply puppets who can spit back comprehension questions from their classroom text.want them to find something they can relate to or get lost in.After all, isn't that why we all read for pleasure?Trelease bases his research on these theories.He says that "of all the qualities a teacher might possess, the most contagious is enthusiasm" (54).If I can make a selection and gather interest, won't students be more likely to ask for a book by the same other or on the same type of subject again?Also, he promotes re-reading students' favorites to them over and over again."A good story is a good story," he says (90).

Teachers shouldn't limit themselves when selecting read-aloud texts for their classrooms.Picture books for older students can have a significant impact and inspire students into discussion, just as books that are above the child's reading level can be read aloud and understood well.Portions of novels, entire novels, and short stories can all be exceptional read-alouds as well.Trelease came out with an anthology of short stories that are great for read-alouds to pre-teens and teenagers called Read All About It!

Trelease also had ideas about having older children read to younger children in his "Rent-a-Kid" program (132) and involving community members in the read-aloud setting.He encourages modern fiction, not the classics (Halleluiah!) and says that the sooner you start, the richer texts you introduce and the bigger enthusiasm you show, the more likely you are to encourage a life-long reader.

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Cherie Murray

Ferra, Lorraine. A Crow Doesn't Need A Shadow. Salt Lake City: Gibbs-Smith Publisher, a Perregrine Smith Book, 1994.(ISBN 0-87905-600-2)

Subtitled "A Guide to Writing Poetry From Nature," this approximately 125-page book provides classroom teachers, as well as individual writers, a simple approach to a unique way of viewing, sensing, and recording the world around us. However, the author takes her readers on a deeper ìnature walkî experience than the normal pedagogical approaches to helping students write poetry.

Ferra offers well-defined sub-sections titled "Questions and Thoughts to Explore," followed by "Suggestions for Writing."She then supports her suggestions with a bevy of student poems written on what she calls "Poetry Field Trips."Students learn to use the senses in new and varied ways to connect to nature and the landscapes around them, as well as synthesize the natural world with their own lives.Using multi-disciplines, including art, language, and science, students can be taught to visualize poetry not just superficially and externally, but to explore nature's depths, and its connections and contributions to life.

Ferra also provides suggestions for ways to include various poetic devices such as personification, metaphor, simile, imagery, and hyperbole.She show teachers and students alike how to extend visualizations such as seeing "rain as a cat 'walking in fields'"; a "cloud-covered sky stretching like elastic"; or, feeling the "rolling madness of darkness."Using questions prompted by lines from student poems, she suggests such probing questions as "How can a mountain be musical?""Have you ever felt 'a numbing cold' that affected your body 'like a frost-bitten storm'?" And, "How can clouds 'taste better than juicy red apples'?"

Finally, Ferra assists teachers, students, and writers alike to transform subjects into such representations as animals, trees, flowers and plants, tools, people and musical instruments.The readers learn to hear the rhythms of earth mingled with their own; to see what is not visible; to touch what so often is kept at a distance; to smell such unusual things as fog, snow, or lightning; and, to taste textures.

In reviewing this book, Mona Hirschi Daniels, Ph.D., Hunter College, New York City, says: "A Crow Doesn't Need A Shadow focuses on the integration of our inner and outer landscapes....The book develops an imaginative clarity in which we can feel our harmony with the rhythms of the earth....We can use this book to create our own personal field trips.Encouraged by our reading, our curiosity, our need to set out on our own, we can discover a pace, delight in a place."

The book concludes with an anthology of short poems developed by young students in the authorís classroomóthe out-of-doors from wonderful new perspectives.Ferra has made an important contribution to teacher resources for multi-disciplinary poetry.

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Mary Thouvenel

Hillocks, George Jr. Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice. New York, NY: Teacherís College Press, 1995.

Teaching Writing as Reflective Practice is a grand attempt to correlate all the current theories about writing and put them into a cohesive whole for the average classroom teacher. I was immediately arrested in the first chapter by the idea that the basis for this ìmetatheoryî were two simple questions: what do you want to accomplish and how do you want to accomplish it. While these questions should be at the root of all our lesson plans as teachers, they get lost in teaching theories, state requirements, and required curriculum.

Admittedly the theories explored ranging from Plato to the standard steps of writing had me skimming a bit. I did enjoy the way he wove classroom application, teacher reaction, and student reaction into his theory explanations. It gave the theories more depth and made them easier to understand. He also went through several different researchers ideas, the basics for writers, and he letís the reader decide whether or not they are realistic. He spends an entire chapter discussing the importance of questions and communicating both the question and the answer which was interesting, but a little long.

The really interesting part of the book for me was his set of chapters on applying the theories to classroom practice. While I am not sure how realistic some of his ideas are, they do hold more weight because of his years as a classroom teacher. Behind everything he suggests is the overriding idea that reflection and analysis are key. As teachers, we have to constantly analyze our lessons and adjust them to our students. He suggests starting with the personal narrative; then building on that go into argument and perhaps, even, satire.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of revamping their writing curriculum. Not all of the base theories fit into my philosophy, nor do all the elements of his ìmetatheory.î However, this book gave me so much to think about that Iíll be reading it twice. The initial read was more of a ìthatís interestingî approach while the second read will be ìwhat can I apply?î

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Donald Wolff

Olson, Carol Booth.The Reading/Writing Connection:Strategies for Teaching and Learning in the Secondary Classroom.Boston:Allyn & Bacon, 2003.

The Reading/Writing Connection is a compendium of teaching techniques, strategies, and full-blown demonstrations all based on successful classroom-tested approaches to using writing to teach reading.Carol Booth Olson is the director of the University of California at Irvine Writing Project and the strategies and techniques presented in the book have been honed in the classrooms of UCI Writing Project Teacher-Consultants.The book was written for preservice teachers to provide an overview of the subject, along with theoretical underpinnings and specific, practical ideas and techniques readily applicable to the secondary language arts classroom.

There are fourteen chapters and an extensive bibliography.The chapters cover such topics as the cognitive strategies that underlie the reading and writing process (Olson treats reading and writing as a single, recursive process, emphasizing how much they resemble each other rather than how they differ), scaffolding, creating a community of learners, employing a multiple intelligences approach, integrating multicultural materials, grammar, assessment, and reflection.Each chapter includes a complete demonstration that is itself made up of multiple techniques and strategies that integrate reading and writing, complete with student and professional writing samples. There are countless useful tips and techniques (like "exit slips," where students use the last five to ten minutes of class to reflect on what theyíve learned that day, which the teacher collects as students leave class) and many helpful graphic organizers, which can be printed on your computer from the companion website:

http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_olson_readwrite_1

--if you have Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded for free from this site. (I've attached a copy of the microtheme form as a sample.)

Olson has created a remarkably rich and serviceable introduction to the teaching of secondary language arts.Her introductory material for each chapter lays out the theoretical foundations for the strategy under consideration, with an impressive display of quotations and citations but which makes for dense, difficult reading.These passages are more than balanced by the rest of each chapter's devotion to a thoroughly elaborated demonstration, with multiple and integrated reading, writing, and collaborative strategies.In the end, one has an encyclopedic overview of sound, specific strategies culled from successful classroom teachers brought together by their dedication to their students and to National Writing Project principles.

OWP Summer Writing Institute 2002

Executive Summary

Sandy Woodward

Irvin,Judith. Reading and the Middle School Student-Strategies to Enhance Literacy.NeedhamHeights,MA.: Allyn and Bacon, 1992.

Judith Irvin has put together an interesting collection of practical strategies on the teaching of reading at the middle school level which she has aligned with the developmental characteristics of middle level learners.In many cases, middle school teachers have not been adequately prepared to teach reading.Many have been trained as high school teachers under the old erroneous philosophy that by the secondary level, students should know now to read sufficiently so that theycould master the content that the teacher presents.The book is fairly comprehensive and includes middle school issues as well as reading strategies.

The first two chapters discuss literacy at the middle school and the characteristics of middle grade students.In the first chapter, the author discusses the fact that "...middle schools teem with language."Students eagerly relate stories of last night's party or triumphs on succeeding levels of a video game.Mounds of notes are passed, read, and answered, and sometimes intercepted throughout a normalday."Early adolescents read, write, speak, and listen enthusiastically, for appropriate reasons; they wish to communicate."This chapter continues by discussing the fact that middle school is thelast chance for educators to help students become proficient readers and writers.Students who are confident in their ability to read and write hold the key to independent learning.Chapter two discusses the intellectual, social, and physical characteristics of middle school students.Knowledge of the rapid and important changes that early adolescents experience can help teachers to understand the behaviors that they display.The chapter also, and perhaps, most importantly discusses implications for instruction that can be drawn from what theare going through.If one doesn't know where their students are developmentally, how can one develop appropriate strategies for teaching and learning?

The next several chapters deal with such topics as learning environments that motivate students, demands of text, vocabulary knowledge, building background knowledge and activating prior knowledge, comprehending text and using literature across the curriculum.In each chapter, there were various strategies explained with ideas on how to implement them.

Along with giving me many ideas on howto better the reading skills of my students, my favorite was chapter 10 which dealt with using literature across the curriculum.Dueto the fact that I teach both Language Arts and SocialStudies, I need to teach my students to read differently in each area.Reading a Social Studies text or other informational pieces of material is different from what might encounter in the reading of a novel or short story.Literature is an important part of the middle school curriculum and can be readily integrated into all content areas of the classroom.This chapter ends with three lists of books intended to supplement content area curricula.This could help me to locate various sources or strategies from which to develop units of study for my future students.From these starting points, I can find other materials which would enable me to help students to become more proficient readers and writers.

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