Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:29:03 -0400
From: tchkg...@gmail.com
To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org
Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] writing scary stories or guns
I teach 2nd grade, and our school uses Lucy Calkins' Units of Study. During
the first couple of units (Launching the Writing Workshop, and Small
Moments), kids are taught to write about something they did or something
that happened to them. I've asked kids before: "Did you play with the
butterflies and rainbows?" or something similar. Of course, they haven't. We
use mentor texts to model things that happen to us, like A Chair for My
Mother.
I have a group of boys this year that write about the computer games they
play (non-violent, thankfully). I let them write one, but then they have to
come up w/ other things to write about, and then publish. As a class we make
a list of things we can write about. Here are some examples:
A time when I went somewhere (beach, Walmart, field trip)
A time when I did something with someone special (cousins, mom, grandpa)
Something I saw, smelled, tasted, touched or heard
Something I've done once and would like to do again
Something I've done once and never want to do again
Something I did that made me happy, sad, embarrassed, angry, excited,
surprised
etc.
We worked on this list during a couple of minilessons. The next step is to
"zoom in" on a small moment. For example, say a child writes about his week
at Outer Banks beach. We talk about how to zoom in on the putt-putt game, or
the water slide, or when the wave knocked him over, etc. Makes for MUCH
better writing!
We do get into creative writing later, but this is a nice way to start,
because you can refer back to it when starting the creative writing.
Melissa/VA/2nd
On Sun, Oct 25, 2009 at 3:34 PM, Waingort Jimenez, Elisa <
elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca> wrote:
Hey Sue,
I'm glad you brought this up. I don't have much time to write a response
but I am a bit uninspired with what I see some kids writing and have decided
to make changes to my writing workshop; I'm still in the thinking stage.
While there will still be an element of choice I don't feel I can let days
go by with kids writing about the same 'ole butterfly and flowers theme
without intervening. In the past, my response has been to just put a stop
to it but this time I am doing some writers' notebook lessons instead.
I am looking forward to reading others' replies.
Elisa
Elisa Waingort
Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual
Dalhousie Elementary
Calgary, Canada
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even
touched. They must be felt within the heart.
—Helen Keller
Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message.
http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/
Hello everyone,
I teach 3rd grade and every year I go through students writing stories
about
guns/violence or scary "not Halloween" stories. I teach in a rural area
and
students do hunt and we talk about the difference between writing a story
with a gun that is about hunting or "video game" violence. Last year I had
a child obsessed with writing scary stories and I eventually let him write
but he could not share with the whole class because I had kids that would
get scared.
I am wondering how you handle this in your room. I don't want every story
to only be a "happily ever after" story or stop them from writing but I
need
to have some limits.
I just had a little boy write this story and he is SOOOOO excited and he
wants to share it. I don't want to dampen his enthusiasm for writing but..
"Scary" is presumed here because they are Halloween prompts and we talk
about the difference here as well. Although maybe I shouldn't even
encourage this with the prompts.
It began with a prompt I got from Laura Candler: No one was ever seen going
into the old house at the end of the street. No one was ever seen coming
out. So when my friends and I saw lights flickering in the attic, we just
had to go check it out..
Here is what he wrote: When I went in I had to climb a creaky staircase.
Creeeeeeeeek. Finally I got to the top. I looked over to the other wall.
I saw a AK47. I grabbed it. When I looked back I saw..dancing skeleton
dragging a chest full of candy. I ran up to the skeletons and said "eat
led" BBBBBBBBBB Bones were scattered all over the place. I went home and
ate all of the candy. Buuuurp. The end.
Should I go back and help him think of "another way, without the gun to
get
the candy"
Just not let him share it with the whole group.
Let him share it and use it as a lesson about not using the guns- maybe
have
the class brainstorm other ways to get the candy.
It is early in the year and I want to get this under control now.
The other problem I have is kids writing something that happened in a movie
or tv show. Sometimes I think they have a good story but when they read it
to the class the kids are like.that happened on "blah, blah, blah"...
HELP>>>> Sue
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