Notes from Wednesday, June 27th

Kristen Hall's demo lesson: Kristen Hall's Research Question: What are the benefits of using picture books to teach reading and writing skills? As many teachers often find, in my classroom writing is one of the more painful skills to teach students. I am often met with a variety of excuses to justify a lack of completion or even attempt at the assignment, “We were never taught this!” “I don’t know what that skill/trait means.” Or the ever popular, “I just can’t think of anything to write.” I had taken the idea of using picture books to teach and encourage writing in my classroom from my experience with reading to my younger students. And it just so happens that this practice is supported by many. As it turns out, it has been proven that the use of picture books help students to analyze literary elements such as character, plot, and conflict. They can then transfer this knowledge of story elements to their knowledge of grade-level literature, as well as their own writing (Heitman, 2005). Besides character, plot, and conflict,picture books can also be used to teach literary devices like dialogue;character motivation; setting; scenes and transitions; character conflicts; and theme. In a condensed story, students are able to focus on a particular literary element and then apply it to their owngrade level work. The experience oflearning or reviewing the skill through the reading of a picture book is relaxing for students, but also is an easy way to help them develop one particular skill at a time. Picture books can also help students improve their writing. In my own classroom, I have had much success with reading a picture book to my students, such as ChrisVan Allsburg’s Jumangi. Together,my students and I discuss the background information, rising action, climax,problem, and solution. When I set students off to write their own stories, I ask that they take the elements we have discussed and rewrite a version of the story we read. This lesson almost eliminates the excuse, “ButI just don’t have anything to say!” In addition to teaching the process of writing a story, picture books can help to teach style, word choice, and mood (Heitman, 2005). Since every picture book tells a story,students are able to see how to integrate certain elements of an author’s craft in their own writing Picture book’sstories simplify language arts concepts. They help students to write more readily and apply literature andwriting skills (Graham, 2000). Lastly, aside from taking much of the stress out of teaching writing and reading, picture books can help develop oral language proficiency. “Children’s listening habits and skills are good predictors of oral language proficiency, reading,writing skills, and later school success. Good listening skills must be taught and practiced; they do not develop naturally. Picture books invite careful listening to help develop good oral language skills (Jalongo, 2007).” By integrating picture books into reading and writing instruction, students willlearn how to listen to and respond to literature. They will learn the pragmatics of discussing these texts with their classmates, and, in turn, how to discuss, agree , and disagree in opinions with others throughout their lives. In summary, picture books can be valuable supplements to teach reading, writing, and oral language skills in classrooms ingrades K-12. References Graham, Jan. (2000). “Worth a Thousand Words: UsingPicture Books to Teach Literary Elements.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council ofEnglish Teachers. Copeland,Brenda S. and Messner, Patricia A. (2006). “Using Picture Books to Teach LanguageArts Standards in Grades 3-5.” Libraries Unlimited. Jalongo,Mary Renck. (2007). “Learningto Listen, Listening to Learn: BuildingEssential Skills in Young Children.” National Association for the Educationof Young Children. Heitman,Jane. (2005). Picture This: Using Picture Books to Teach WritingSkills. Library Media Connection, Vol. 23 (Issue 7). Retrieved fromhttp://web.ebscohost.com/eproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost

Chris McClure's Demo Lesson: Chris McClure's Research Question: "The writer writes in order to teach himself, to understand himself, to satisfy himself; the publishing of his ideas, though it brings gratification, is a curious anticlimax." ~ Alfred Kazin How can teachers inspire students to write passionately with outside forces motivating the curriculum>? Chris McClure, 8th grade language arts teacher, Alva Middle School (FL) In college I was a journalism major. I worked on my school newspaper, the GSU Signal. As a freshman, I mainly worked as the men's basketball beat writer, which I thought was exciting at the time because the team was on its way to its best winning record ever. The team was ranked in the top-30 nationally, and the head coach was at the time was Lefty Driesell, a future hall-of-famer. As the team's beat writer, my job was to write about events that occurred during a game, keep track of player and team statistics, and interview key players and coaches after the end of games. My school was gaining a national profile, and students jumped on the team's bandwagon due to its success. Essentially, (and perhaps a little bit due to local publicity in the newspaper - if you will excuse my self-promotion) it became cool for the Georgia State Panthers fan base to "pounce" its prey and for "Lefty's Loonies" to distract our opponents with their antics. Nevertheless, as exciting as it was covering the team everyone in Atlanta was talking about in 2000, I struggled writing articles on a weekly basis not because of any waning interest. It was because my editors placed word-count limits on the articles. It was because my articles needed to cover the basic information pertaining to each game, the "nuts and bolts" so to speak. And (excuse the grammar mistake) it was because my articles needed to be submitted to my editors forty-five minutes after the games concluded so it would post onto our school's website. All those stresses put on by outside forces caused me to lose my passion for writing. and as a result, my antidote highlights my focus towards my research question. Students in elementary and secondary grades lose their own passion for writing because of many outside forces. Students complain about the number of assessments they are required to do. Many schools are worried about low test scores, not meeting their AYP, and having qualified teachers covering specific subjects, all in the name of receiving federal and state funding (McCarthy 465). Teachers are concerned that results from statewide high-states tests, the same ones in which students complain about, are used to determine their job performance (McCarthy 465). Another researcher, George Hillocks, states at the beginning of his report "...many teachers resent the assessments, were angry or fearful about being held responsible for the work of their students, and felt that too much pressure was being brought to bear of them (29-30). As a result of this prevalent fear or anger, many schools focus on the (formulaic) writing process (McCarthy 468). By the time students graduate high school, they are expected to: comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and use what they read; write well-organized, effective papers; listen effectively and discuss ideas intelligently; and know our literary heritage and how it enhances imagination and ethical understanding, and how it relates to the customs, ideas, and values of today's life and culture (Hillocks 2). In addition, "students in the crucial eight grades leading to high school should specifically design (curriculums) to provide a sound base in such areas as English language development and writing...(Hillocks 2). However, that sound base of English language development and writing is not translating as well as some would expect. "Eighty-five percent of eighth grade classrooms were devoted to a combination of lecture, question and answer recitation, and seatwork. Discussions and small-group work were rare" (Hillocks 2). Many students have only 45 minutes to write a five paragraph prompt ripe of formulaic work and little scaffolding support to help them develop new strategies and skills (NCTE 1). Prompts are evaluated by a topic's focus, its support and elaboration, organization, and mechanics, and not geared toward making sense in a life outside school (Hillocks 108; NCTE 1) So what can teachers do to help students find the passion to write about things that help make sense of life outside school? According to the NCTE and the National Writing Project, here are a few things that teachers can do. First, teachers need to create time to help students develop their writing skills and strategies. Second, they need to be up on the most recent research, and know the methods for turning that theory into practice. Third, teachers need to explain to their students in class discussions that writing is a process rather than a product, contrary to what's happening in many schools today. Finally, everyone in the classroom become better writers by writing more, which causes motivation to write better as a result. If the teacher and students can create a safe community for providing constructive feedback for writing, then students will develop and maintain a long-lasting passion for writing. Works Cited Hillocks, George. (2002). The Testing Trap: How State Writing Assessments Control Learning. New York: Teachers College Press. McCarthey, Sarah J. (August 2008). The Impact of No Child Left Behind on Teachers' Writing Instruction. Written Instruction 2008, 25: 462-505. NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing. (November 2004). Writing Study Group of the NCTE Executive Committee. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/writingbeliefs/ Wiley, Mark. (2000). The Popularity of Formulaic Writing (And Why We Need to Resist It). English Journal: 61-67. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~krowlands/Content/Academic_Resources/Composition/Fo rm/wiley%20r esisting%20formulaic%20writing.pdf.