The last section focuses on "fancying up" writing for publication.
-What are some ways that you have celebrated the end of a unit with your class? Have you invited parents in, and if so do you have luck with many people coming?
-From a management perspective, Lucy talks about using color as part of the final publication process. Do you discourage or not allow color up until this point?
-Do you have any mentor texts that you use to teach either writing a title or a strong ending?
I usually celebrate the end of a writing topic just with my class. Other than reading to a UPK class, I have not included others. I worry that not every student will have someone from home be able to come. In the future, I would love to have families/parents come and maybe have possible "just in case" adults (Ginther folks) available to join us for the students who do not have family there.
ReplyDeleteI have crayons available for illustrations available all of the time during writing. I know that Lucy has students just sketch the pictures as a way to support their writing (and help the students to remember what they are writing about!), but I think that this is really hard for many students-not adding color right from the start. I am thinking about leaving crayons out for students who really struggle with just sketching, but then have special coloring tools (colored pencils, markers, special crayons) that are only available during publication. Maybe this will encourage students to only sketch, wait to color, and put more time into writing :)
The book that jumped into my head for a strong ending is My Lucky Day. It was in the Scott Foresman series...one of the few good books! It's about a fox who is trying to catch a pig and thinks it's his lucky day, but at the pig tricks the fox into making him have the lucky day instead...and we find out at the end that the pig had it all planned! It really shows students that the ending of a story can change everything and make the story even better/more interesting.
I have not invited parents in to celebrate the end of a unit, but I liked certain aspects of the celebration Lucy described. I like how she had parent circulate through ALL students before ending with their child. I think that receiving attention from other students’ families could soften the blow for any students who do not have a family member in attendance, or like Lisa said, invite a substitute Ginther grown-up. I know sometimes when I send all the pieces (finished and unfinished) in the writing folder home, parents have a hard time reading the invented spelling. Having families come in and their child and classmates speak about their writing/writing process could help parents see the real work we do in kindergarten!
ReplyDeleteI let students use color right from the start. Sometimes that is the biggest hook to draw them in! I use thin markers at the beginning of the year and as those dry out we naturally transition into using crayons.
I definitely want to focus more on ending stories with a feeling this year. Discussing and labeling feelings encourages using richer vocabulary (mad becomes furious, etc.). I’m trying to think of mentor texts that end with strong feelings- Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco makes me tear up EVERY time I read a certain page in the middle! I’ll have to refresh my memory with how it ends. In Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, it ends on a hopeful note when the bully has a change of heart.
Years ago, my classes celebrated their writing with middle schoolers who came over to share children's books they made. It was a great opportunity for the students, kindergarteners and teens, to share their writing. I also did some celebrations with Sue's class in the past. I had gotten away from that in recent years, but I love Lisa's idea of sharing writing with the pre-K kids! I have not invited parents in, as I know how hard it is for many of them to come during the day and I didn't want kids to feel left out. I wonder if we could combine an event (gingerbread houses, etc.) and start it off with the sharing of writing. When I sent work home, I always attached a note giving some insight into the unit that was completed and including some discussion points for the parent and child. I went over it ahead of time with the kids, as well, so they knew their "assignment."
ReplyDeleteI also used crayons from the start. However, I put out colored pencils or markers on publishing days. (I switched up what I put out for different units to keep it fresh and fun.)
I also like how Lucy talks about ending with feelings. I used to have a poster with different feelings, which helped broaden the kids' vocabulary when writing their feelings (hopeful, excited, disappointed, etc.). I like how one of our writing prompts also asks for kids to describe how they felt. I'm drawing a blank on mentor texts, but I also like "My Lucky Day" which Lisa described!
Thank you to everyone to participated in our blog!! I hope you found it beneficial! :)
I have celebrated the end of a unit mainly just with the students in my class. I like idea that Lucy poses about having parents come in to see student’s work. I think it makes it more authentic and gives them purpose for their writing. When I taught 3rd grade we had parents come in for a Wax Museum and students took their parts so seriously because of the authentic audience. I think the same would be true if I had parents come in for an end of the unit writing celebration. I feel that with enough notice, parents would be eager to come in and see their child’s work. Another idea I thought might work would be to have a first grade room come to visit the True Stories Museum.
ReplyDeleteI have not discouraged the use of color up until this point. I typically like to have students start with their writing and add color after they have done some writing. However, for some of my students it has worked best for them to get their coloring done then go back to edit and revise. I like the idea Emily gave about allowing her students to use colored pencils and markers for publishing. I think this would make it even more special for students. I also like how Lucy talks about teaching students not just to add color or pictures for the sake of adding them, but to add them if it is meaningful.
I like the idea that Lucy talks about revision being “a way to honor and care for one’s writing.” She goes on to say that making revisions is not a punishment which I feel is important to point out to students. I also liked how she had students take the pages of their books apart and lay them side by side so they could visually see the differences between pages and see what needed more revision.
I am so glad we were able to participate in this blog this summer. I found it to be very helpful!
I have never invited all parents in for a celebration. I have asked my parent volunteers (the ones that helped out weekly in class) to come in and help students share their work in a small group. Then, we would have a special snack and I would give a toast celebrating all of their accomplishments through the bend or the book. We would raise our juice cups and cheers to all of our hard work, they LOVED this!! I have always thought that it would be too much for parents to come in during the week and I didn't want kids to feel bad if their parents couldn't come. I love what Kylie shared about how Lucy asked the parents to look at all of the students work before focusing on their own child's. What a good idea! I have done many celebrations where the room was full of balloons and streamers. I have also had an art walk with the students. I like to change it up and have something fun for the kids to really get excited about!
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you about inviting the kids to use colors from the start. I have tried before to encourage the kids to use only one color to do a quick sketch by using markers rather than pencils and crayons. I have also tried using colored pencils or even pens. I thought that using only one writing utensil would help limit the time they spent on their illustrations but they wound up finding ways to use more colors! They would switch with their classmates or try to get their pencil boxes. Lol!! Ever since I have just had the kids use their pencil boxes rather than having different buckets with special writing tools and they do wonderful with it. When the kids are "fancying up" their work, I encourage them to use colored pencils and markers. I share pictures of many books to show them that the pictures have lots of colors on the pages. They really don't have many white parts to their pages. This entices the kids to fill in the entire picture! It always turns out very cool. 😃
Laura, I also love the part where she had the kids lay out their work to see it as a whole. It's such a good idea. I have had many kids focus on one page and the rest of the book is lacking something. I'm definitely going to try that this year. Plus, they would love to staple it back together. Hehe!
I have also really enjoyed being a part of the book study! What a good way to dive into these books! Have a great start to the school year, ladies! I'll see you all in November!
I have not invited parents in but I do, like everyone else, love the idea of reading to the PreK kids. We have just a had celebrations in the room and sometimes I make the chair really fancy, and call it the author's chair and really make a big deal when kids sit in it and read their writing.
ReplyDeleteI love that Lucy starts the celebration by saying "this is a big day" and really gets the kids excited about it, even earlier on in the day.
I too think it's super important for kids to understand that revision is NOT a punishment, just something that everyone does while writing. It's also never to late to revise.
I let the kids use colors but sometimes change it up with new types of markers, etc.
Another thing that she promotes is that their writing is a gift, which is truly an AMAZING gift when you have received it.
Many authors, like Jan Brett and Mo Willems, have videos on YouTube about the amount of time it takes them to write and revise.
The blog has been great!
Happy Writer's Workshop!!
I have not invited parents in during the day for the same reasons everyone has mentioned...not everyone's parents would be able to come, and then kids (and probably parents too) would feel bad. Some classes get together with their Hill/Barclay buddy rooms throughout the year. That might be another way to mix it up for a celebration. The older kids think the younger ones are so cute and they love to come back to Ginther. Or, writing can be brought to Hill/Barclay and it might be motivating for kids to make their writing really special if they are taking it to another school.
ReplyDeleteI loved the way she compared feelings with different shades of the same color. Another reading/writing connection here! It is always a challenge to increase feelings vocabulary so characters are not always happy sad or mad. I think this is a nice visual way of thinking about it for kids. With practice it could improve their writing and comprehension. :)
Thanks for organizing this blog. It was nice to have a different way to do some PD.
Usually, to celebrate the conclusion of a unit, I have the students share one of their writing pieces with the class. After sharing, we share compliments about what we noticed about each other’s writing. I try my best to make the writing workshop time feel special. I have never invited parents before for a celebration. During my end of year celebration, when parents and families were invited, I did have each student share a writing piece. Usually, the writing piece was about their favorite part/activity of Kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteI have always allowed students to use color (crayons) right from the beginning of the school year. I may try incorporating markers, colored pencils, etc. to make writer’s workshop seem like a novelty.
I have really enjoyed participating this blog! It has given me lots of great ideas that I will use next year. Looking forward to a new and exciting year!