Title: Precision and Purpose in the Literacy Block What Rigor Looks Like
1Precision and Purpose in the Literacy BlockWhat
Rigor Looks Like
- Organizing Literacy Instruction
- around a Framework
- Johnnie Tankersley
- Rahshene Davis
- July, 2006
2The Purposes of This Session are
- To look at the components of the literacy block
and the organization of the Cornerstone
Framework. - To view a literacy block and unearth examples of
effective Crafting, Composing Meaning, and
Reflection.
3A Quick Glance at the Framework
4Literacy Block
- a block of time set aside daily to devote to
- literacy instruction. Within a literacy block a
- teacher may manage to incorporate a few
- components of a balanced literacy program
- Readers workshop
- Writers workshop
- Word study, etc.
5Readers Workshop
- an uninterrupted block of time during which
- children participate in
- 1. Crafting
- 2. Composing Meaning
- -Invitational Groups
- -Conferences
- 3. Reflecting
Reflection 10 minutes
Crafting 20-30 minutes
Students Composing Meaning 20-30 minutes
Teacher Invitational Groups or Conferences
6Writing Workshop
Crafting (Mini-lesson) 10-15 min
Reflection (Share) 1015 min
Composing Meaning 30-40 min Invitational Group
Conferences
7Definition of Terms
- Crafting Explicit teaching in whole group.
Modeling what you want students to do. - Invitational Group- Working with small groups of
students who need help on the same skill. - Composing Meaning- Students use what they have
learned during crafting sessions in their
independent work to create meaning for themselves
about their learning. - Reflection- Students teach their classmates what
they have learned about themselves as readers and
writers with the purpose of furthering and
cementing new learning for the whole class.
8Definitions continued
- Speaking and Listening- Oral language development
with an emphasis on students truly listening to
and learning from their peers. - Living Language- The environment, culture, and
climate of the classroom that leads to rigor,
intimacy, and inquiry.
9Cornerstone Framework Learning Outcomes
10W I L FWhat Im Looking For
- View each section of the Literacy Block video.
- In the evidence column of the viewing guides,
write evidence of effective elements of
Reflection, Crafting, and Composing Meaning. - Refer to your copy of the video transcript site
the clip and specific language as examples. - Be prepared to share what you have observed and
written that will help the group better
understand the literacy components.
11In Your Handouts are YourTools to Accomplish
this Task
- Viewing Guides for Reflection, Crafting, and
Composing Meaning - Transcript of the video
12The Use of Transcriptions
- Is an old idea that can be time consuming, but I
think you will find it helpful. - Follows the pattern of The Banks Street School.
- Is used by Emelio Reggio Schools as they tape and
transcribe lessons and student responses. - You will be able to use the transcriptions in
your schools in staff development. You have the
video on your DVD. You can also use it to
introduce lesson study in your building.
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14Building Background Knowledge for
Writing"Wisdom begins in wonder"
Socrates
Building Background Monday, July 17 1005-1150
Notebook
- Composition and the Genre of Historical Fiction
- Monday, July 17
- 1005-1150
15The Wise Woman and Her Secretby Eve Merriam
- the secret of wisdom is to be curious-to take
the time to look closely, to use all your senses
to see and touch and taste and smell and hear. To
keep on wandering and wondering. - To keep on wandering and wondering, Jenny
repeated softly. - And if you dont find all the answers, you
will surely find more to marvel at in this
curving, curling world that spins round and round
amid the stars.
16A Research Community Parent-Kid-Teacher
InvestigatorsPrimary Voices K-6, Volume 8,
Number 3, January 2000
- The secret of research is to take time with the
process, to use a variety of tools and methods,
and to let research questions evolve and guide a
discovery.
17Session Objectives
- Define the genre of Historical Fiction and the
Narrative mode of writing. - As an adult researcher/writer, experience how the
Waccamaw fourth-grade students researched and
developed a description of a swamp setting. - Since parents, teachers, and students are ALL
researchers, chart how each might contribute and
interrelate in writing Historical Fiction.
18Time Schedule
- 1005-1025 Setting the purpose, defining the
genre, and explaining the Research Grid (slides
4-12) - 1025-1045 First Quick Write describing setting
(slides 12-15) - 1045-1105 Second Quick Write describing setting
(slides 16-18) - 1105-1125 Third Quick Write describing setting
(slide 24) - 1125-1150 Compile group findings on Research
Grid and present. Discuss next steps.
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20Research Grid
21Earlier
- In the morning session Precision and Purpose in
the Literacy Block What Rigor Looks Like, the
students are writing historical fiction in the
narrative mode of writing. - Look carefully at the definition of genre
and mode. Genre is the form of writing while mode
is the purpose for writing that considers the
audience. The purpose of writing created in the
narrative mode is to tell something in a
sequence. The something told is a story.
22Historical Fiction Defined
- A metaphor for historical fiction Mind play
with a time period. - Children often create historical fiction in their
play. - Formal historical fiction texts are built upon a
solid foundation of fact. The texts become a
living entity when writers of this genre use
their creativity to speculate upon the
possibilities of living in the past. This is
almost the same process as when students create
historical fiction through their play. - Parents and teachers can aid the child in
understanding that the research aspect of this
genre is interesting. The surrounding community
is full of research resources.
23Historical Fiction Defined by Students
- Historical fiction is a genre that takes you on
adventures through time and history allowing you
to feel and imagine the experiences of people and
places from long ago. - This genre lets you get close to the story and
experience the events by creating sensory images
that are partly based on fact and detail the
characters feelings in such a way that you feel
a part of the story! - There is a connection between your experience or
schema and the story. Research builds deeper
understanding of the chain of events. You see how
one thing causes another.
24Historical Fiction Defined by Waccamaw
Fourth-Grade
- Historical Fiction is a story that recreates a
period of time or the setting or a period of time
in history that often uses Historical Fiction
figures as its characters the author writes from
research rather than personal experience and may
use imagination or schema to embellish the
details.
25What Students Should Learn about Historical
Fiction
- Historical fiction has three simple forms or
types. These are the three basic things students
should learn about historical fiction - 1. Setting
- 2. Character/Person
- 3. Events
26Literacy Block Video
- The children are researchers. They used
paintings, researched books-fiction and
nonfiction, watched movies, studied timelines,
and scrutinized graphs. They used drama and talk
to build the language of the period necessary for
writing. - Writing in this genre requires extensive building
of background knowledge research, research,
research, attentiveness to accurate historical
details, and practice in the descriptive and
narrative mode of writing.
27Narrative Mode of Writing What the students
were taught
- Hook the reader with an interesting beginning.
- Keep a big idea across the composition.
- Include a big event.
- Include a problem. Resolve the problem.
- Use details to let the reader know my characters,
setting, and big event. - Use adjectives, adverbs, and verbs to paint a
mind picture by showing and not telling. - Use interesting and effective dialogue.
- Include a specific time and place.
- Include a surprise or something interesting in
the conclusion. - Use precise, appropriate vocabulary. The verbs
should be active.
28Narrative Writingand Historical Fiction
- These two are joined by the use
- of details to let the reader know
- the storys characters, setting,
- and big event.
29Descriptive Mode of WritingWhat the students
were taught
- Showing Not Telling Chart
- Descriptive Writing and Creating Sensory Images
- Show me without telling.
- Strong verbs show action and feeling or emotion.
- Action verbs create emotion and mood in writing.
- Verbs are more descriptive than adjectives if
they are well chosen. - (Adapted from Shelton, R. (1999). Write Where
You Are.)
30How does it feel?
- How does it feel to develop a description of a
setting for a historical fiction piece of
writing? - We will do 3 Quick Writes using photos, music,
paintings, and video to compose a description of
a swamp setting.
31Preparation for Quick Write 1
- Turn and talk to your partner about what you see
and what you feel when studying this photograph.
Make a mental picture in your mind. - You have 2 minutes.
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33Developing SettingQuick Write 1
- As a researcher, drop yourself into the time
period before the American Revolution. - Travel with me as I read a mentor text describing
a swamp adventure of Francis Marions boyhood.
Follow along on your Handout 1.0 The Swamp
Adventure. - You may mark your text for details of a setting.
Pay close attention to text chunks that show
without telling such as I catch the glimpse of
flashing white, razor sharp alligator teeth
searing the edge of a too-slow large mouth bass.
34Pretend
- You are Francis Marion in South Carolina.
Research carefully the following photographs of
the swamp and write a description of what you
see, hear, smell, and feel. Listen carefully to
the swamp sounds. - Refer to H.O. 1.3. Here is your stem
- I am excited about this day of travel into
the swamp. I push my small pirogue out - You have 5 minutes and 34 seconds to start this
quick write on setting. Remember you can refer to
your Mentor Text Swamp Adventure.
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36Turn and Talk
- You have 2 minutes.
- Turn and talk to your partner about your writing.
- Read one line that shows the swamp setting
without explicitly telling the reader.
37Prep for Quick Write 2
- With your partner, prepare to research a painting
by studying HO 1.3. Continually use your Mentor
Text Swamp Adventure. - This will aid your ability to add more details to
your first Quick Write.
38With a partner list the details from the painting
of people, objects, actions, and setting on the
grid belowUse Handout 1.3 and 1.4 to give
focus to your research.You have 5 minutes and
20 seconds.Watch Me First!
Photograph or Painting Analysis
Sheet www.archives.gov/digitalclassroom/lessons/an
alysisworksheets/worksheets.html.)
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40Quick Write 2 and ShareYou have 3 minutes to
write and 2 minutes to talk.
- Add to the writing you have composed on H.O. 1.3.
- While researching the painting, take about three
minutes to add a few more sentences to Quick
Write 1. - After you finish writing, talk to your partner
for about 2 minutes and share your sentences. Try
your hand at showing without telling. Use the
page of verbs on your table.
41Prep for and Quick Write 3
- Observe a video clip of The Birth of the Swamp
Fox to develop more details about the swamp
setting. - Video no. 1 339-419 AND 1311-1427 Video
no. 2 226-426 - Use the Analysis Grid Handout 1.4 to take notes
on the people, objects, actions, and setting in
the video clip. - Talk to your partner about your notes and orally
share one sentence you are going to add to Quick
Write 3. - Take 5 minutes and add more to your Quick Write
Handout 1.3.
42Reflection on Quick Writes
- Literacy Fellows please choose two pieces of
writing to aid the groups learning. - Would our writers please share what they learned
about themselves as writers?
43At your table
- Discuss all the possibilities when parents,
teachers, and students are researchers in a unit
of study involving Historical Fiction. - Use your individual Research Grid Handout 1.5
to think together and discuss the possibilities
for gathering materials, providing experiences,
and insuring collaboration in the study. - Transfer your best thinking to a large Research
Grid. Each table report out on one area that you
consider your best thinking on how parents,
teachers, and students might contribute and
interrelate in a unit of study.
44Did we meet ourSession Objectives?
- Define the genre of Historical Fiction and the
Narrative mode of writing. - As an adult researcher/writer, experience how the
Waccamaw fourth-grade students researched and
developed a description of a swamp setting. - Since parents, teachers, and students are ALL
researchers, chart how each contribute and
interrelate in writing Historical Fiction. - "Never let your memories be greater than your
dreams. -
Doug Ivester