Changing Perspectives: The past, present, and future ME

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Changing PerspectivesThe past, present, and
future ME
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Questions to Ponder

1. How could you adapt this for your classroom?
2. Did this lesson make you think?
3. How did it help you as a teacher of writing?
4. Any suggestions?

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Purpose

• No matter the age, students will always find
  success when given the opportunity to write about
  what they know the best...themselves. However,
  telling students to go write about whatever their
  heart desires is not necessarily the best route
  either. Choice within structure is key. This
  lesson provides a framework for students and
  allows them to focus their ideas. More
  specifically, students will think about what they
  were like in the past, what they are like now,
  and what they hope to be like in the future. They
  will be asked to pay close attention to how they
  change over time by thinking about word choice
  and detailed descriptions. Through read alouds,
  drawing, storytelling, teacher modeling, guided
  instruction, and plenty of independent writing
  time, students will be able to successfully write
  a piece that is important to them. While the
  focus of the lesson is learning to write, it
  could easily be writing to learn...about oneself.

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Research

• "Characters are the most important part of the
  story. If your characters are going to come alive
  on the page they must first come alive in your
  mind. Start with what you know. Give physical
  descriptions of your characters. Use all five
  senses when you describe a character. Tell not
  just what's happening to a character but what's
  happening inside that character. Get your
  characters talking. Reveal the complexity of
  human nature. Name your characters. As a writer,
  you will have to experiment to find out what
  works best for you.
• Ralph Fletcher, Live Writing Breathing Life
  Into Your Words

I will share more research as we go.
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Changing Perspectives Structure

• The Past What were you like in the past? What
  did you like to do? Where did you live? Who were
  your friends? What were your favorite activities?
  What else?Thinkhow did I sound when I was a
  four year old, teenager, etc.Read AloudsWhen I
  Was Little A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth
  By Jamie Lee CurtisStudent writing
  samplesPoetry written by kidsExcerpts from my
  own personal journals
• The PresentWhat are you like now? What are your
  hobbies? What are your loves and loathings? What
  is your favorite subject, sport, food, tv show,
  etc? What are your personality traits? What
  else?Write like yourself. Read
  AloudsChester's Way By Kevin HenkesStudent
  Writing SamplesPoetry written by kidsExceprts
  from my own personal journals
• The FutureWhat do you want to be when you grow
  up? Where would you like to live? Do you think
  you'll get married and have a family? Where would
  you like to travel? What are your goals, hopes,
  dreams? What else?Write like you think you would
  sound.Read AloudsHow I Became a PirateStudent
  Writing SamplesPoetry written by kidsExcerpts
  from my own personal journals

What other books could you use?
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Read Aloud

• How do you know this character is four years
  old?
• Listen and enjoy! ?

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• Dear Teachers (Students),
• I hope our writing time today will help you
  discover where you came from, who you are, and
  where you are going on this voyage of life. You
  may come from different backgrounds and you may
  hold different beliefs, but you all have one
  thing in common...you may choose your next step.
• I would like us to spend some time thinking,
  drawing, sharing, and writing about what we know
  best...ourselves. More specifically, what we were
  like in the past, what we are like now, and what
  we hope to be like in the future.
• Along the way, I imagine we will discover how our
  perspectives on life have changed from what they
  were in the past to what they are today. I
  challenge you to think about how your
  perspectives will continue to change in the
  future. As Henry Miller eloquently states,
• "Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of
  discovery." Happy writing and
  discovering, Mrs. Ziegler ?

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Doodle and Share

• I would like us to start with some doodling. I
  will show you an example first and then you may
  begin. Fold paper in thirds. I will draw what I
  did when I was younger, what I do now, and what
  Id like to do when Im older. When you are done
  drawing, we will share in a circle! ?
• "Prewriting is necessary to produce effective
  writing but need not be time-consuming or
  laborious - or even written down." Routman
• "Stories are how we relate to one another in the
  world and form the necessary bonds that build
  trust." Routman
• "Storytelling has all the benefits of
  read-aloud. It improves language skills such as
  vocabulary, prediction skills, sequencing,
  comprehension, story structure, and recall. These
  skills also help children become better
  writers...storytelling also creates a love of
  narrative that can translate into a lifelong love
  of books." Codell

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Teacher Demonstration

• From my picture, I'm going to write some
  thoughts about myself in the past, present, and
  future.  I really want to capture these memories
  so I never forget. As I'm writing I'm going to
  think about how I would sound. If I write about a
  memory from when I was five I need to think, how
  did I sound? What kinds of words did I use? SHOW,
  don't tell. (Personify the UPWP in the past,
  present, future.)

"Children who find writing difficult can learn
how to write well when they watch teachers
demonstrate and think aloud...day after day."
Cunningham Allington "Effective writing defies
a cookiecutter model, but our students do need to
see and experience the thinking that goes into
producing effective writing." Routman "Our
students are more likely to experience success
when they see us write and think of us as
writers." Routman
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Shared Writing

• Before I let you get started on your own, I
  would like to create a class list or story
  together. What would you like to write together?
  Past, Present, or Future?

"For all learners...shared writing helps provide
the rich oral language modeling that stimulates
literacy development." Routman
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Independent Writing

• Any questions? If not, go ahead and start
  writing. Use your pictures and conversations to
  help you. You may start wherever you feel
  comfortable but try to get something in each
  category (past, present, future).

"If they (students) are to become excellent
writers they have to spend most of a writing
lesson composing continuous text, not
participating in lessons and activities about
writing." Routman "Choice within structure leads
to high-quality work if the topic is important to
students." Routman "Writers work best when they
feel a sense of ownership - personal investment -
in their writing." Fletcher and Portalupi "Strong
writing has its roots in the real stuff of life."
Fletcher and Portalupi
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Small Group Share

• Take turns sharing your writing.
• "Rereading during the composing process improves
  the quality of the writing." Routman"All
  students, especially those who begin school with
  limited literacy skills...are most successful
  with contexualized, social learning - not
  isolated drills and skills." Routman

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Whole Group Choral Read

• Before we begin our Authors Chair, lets reread
  our shared writing. Then I will place it in our
  student authors bin.

"Frequent rereading of texts they have taken part
in writing is also a terrific strategy for
improving the fluency, reading skills, and
confidence of developing readers, English
language learners, and readers who struggle."
Routman
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Authors Chair

• Pick a few to share. Remember to give glows and
  grows!

"Writers don't improve their craft unless they
have a real purpose, a real audience, and a real
investment in their writing." Mem Fox,
Routman "A critical part of teaching writing is
having students talk about their writing before
they write, while they write, and even
afterward." Routman "A community of writers who
share ideas and respond helpfully to one another
makes it easier and more enjoyable to write."
Routman
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Revisit Writers Notebook

• Thinking about what you heard during Authors
  Chair and what we talked about at the beginning
  of our writing time, please go back to one of
  your pieces and write a small moment story.

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Publishing

• Photo Story
• Class Book
• Personal Letter
• What else?

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Think Outside the Box

• How else could you use this lesson concept?

Character Study - How does a character change
over time?Author Study - How do his/her books or
how does his/her voice change over time? Content
Area Study - How does a bear/sunflower/forest/rive
r/country/war/soldier change over time?Use it as
a framework to organize thinking, discussion, and
writing about ANY topic...Changing Perspectives
- The past, present, and future ______!
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Thank you!