Photograph Poem
His eyes are coffee colored
Coffee- with no cream
Deep-
And rich-
And simple
In him-
I see my dreams
Dreams for him
Dreams for me-
He dreams of life
My dream? He.
Ringlets around my fingers
Dark like the night
Whimpers for his mom
Front and back we rock
When his eyes close
Its still night-
Dark-
Outside-
I know.
All the light I find
I find it in his eyes.
Sentence Stalking: You must write the truth. http://www.essortment.com/all/writingtipspoe_rbsv.htm
Blending Genre, Altering Style by Tom Romano gives me a chuckle. For some reason, I imagine Ray Romano (Star of Everybody Loves Raymond) attempting to be suave and sophisticated under the title Blending Genre, Altering Style. Ray never had enough refinement to accomplish such a feat as Tom did in his book. Blending genres is something I have never been exposed to in my entire academic career. Nor have I ever been exposed to it outside of the classroom. My conclusion is that this is a very limited genre in and of itself, quietly tucked away in a dark creepy corner like a surprise ready to make its shocking debut. And it will.
I’m fascinated by this style and technique of blending multiple genres into one; all the while they each stand alone within the whole of a finished product. I tried this style out and felt a great sense of delight in being able to express changing moods as soon as I felt them come into being. I was annoyed for a few moments and used much repetition in my words, soon after found myself overwhelmed and fast talking. As my moods changed, so did my genre and I found myself using all three speeds of “talking.” I would have posted my piece to my blog but it essentially equated to my rants and raves and might not (ok, it doesn’t) contain the kindest words. For the sake of peace, I will keep it personal.
A suggestion in Romano’s book is to pay great attention to the opening and closing lines of multi-genre writing, because they are very important. Grabbing the reader and drawing them in-readers generally only sacrifice a few seconds of their time to decide whether or not a text is worth their attention. It is in the first few lines an author has the chance to gain a reader so the first line(s) are critical. This strong introduction flows into various genres before closing with a tied in punch of a sentence. Something to make it memorable. Something to make it resound. Something to change you as a person, as a reader.
I have every intention of introducing this to my classroom. Students will be likely to engage in “writing” if it can be varied from pictures to comic strips to poems, song, postcards and billboards, scripts or letters or other means of writing. It’s not work if it’s fun. This is a superb way to make what often and easily turns into dreadful repetition of boring busy work become a craft, a creative project and that naturally will grow into skills!
Mentor Text: The act of purging through the writing process (be it with a pen or a keyboard) offers a type of cleansing that discussion doesn’t seem to solve.
Read more at Suite101: Keeping a Journal: The Importance of Daily Writing http://self-awareness.suite101.com/article.cfm/keeping_a_journal#ixzz0eL64GqhY
Keeping a Journal: The Importance of Daily Writing http://self-awareness.suite101.com/article.cfm/keeping_a_journal#ixzz0eL4pCO7Q
Constructive Criticism-Responding
Where ya at? Where are you from? What’s that about? Three common phrases, three improper sentences. “Never end a sentence with a preposition!” my elementary teachers would say. They were all in cahoots every year or something. The teacher would say it again-like a chant. They wouldn’t like my fourth sentence up there either (Three common phrases, three improper sentences) because it’s not a sentence without proper assignment of verb and subject. “She don’t got no money” is also improper. Based on the rule of avoiding double negatives, this sentence is destined for red pen markers if a professor gets sight of it. The thought is to negatives make a positive but this is English, not mathematic multiplication. Rules. Who makes these rules? It seems much of society is balking at many of the ‘rules’ and changing English into a modification of what is proper. All three of the opening sentences are understood by English speakers. The “Proper” sticklers might call the expressions slang or jargon. Why are common and popular phrases labeled a derogatory name if they are more the norm than much of proper English?
In Inside Out, Kirby, Kirby and Liner discuss in Chapter 8 the importance in helping students improve their writing by constructing your response to their work in critical but constructive ways. There are example pieces written by students which receive responses from an instructor who offers encouraging responses. This active participation in the development of students shows the students that the teacher is engaged and cares about what the student is doing. Inside Out authors also suggest keeping responses specific, detailed and personal. Picking out what the student does WELL and balancing it with criticism. I’ve always gone by the rule it takes three positives to balance one criticism. Letting the students know their work is valued is important. Another way to help in the writing and revising process is to have students gather into peer editing groups to read over their peers work and offer advice, suggestions or concerns about their peers work. This is sometimes a great way to engage the entire class and to also keep students in a comfort zone of having their peers read what they wrote. There is something kindred about kids in the same age groups.
Chapter 9 in Kirby, Kirby and Liner’s book asks the question “What is good writing?” Chapter 8 helps answer this question by explaining how to respond to a piece of writing. Chapter 8 answers the question because good writing is writing that is written, revised, subjected to constructive criticism and encouraged to develop further. It is the responses that encourage growth of a writer and of their writing.
Sentence Stalking:
Do respond to the ideas your child expresses verbally or in writing.
Sentence Type: “You” is the subject. “Respond” is the verb. “Do” is the helping verb. “To the ideas…” is a prepositional phrase. So I think that makes it a complex sentence?
Is This The Person To Whom I Am Writing?
Writers craft their words onto paper for various reasons. Sometimes it’s personal. Other times it’s for the world-anyone who will listen. It takes time to develop skills allowing a writer to write broadly, across many genres and to many audiences. Those skills however, are critical to the complete and continuous development of a writer. In the classroom with students, there is abundant opportunity to instill early habits and develop skills to help them grow confidence in writing to different audiences. In Kirby, Kirby and Liner’s Inside Out, Chapter 7 discusses this idea in length. Their suggestion to have students practice writing to various audiences is practical and beneficial for students. Chapter 6 also suggests different forms of writing, such as letters and also the changes in voice, or character in a piece of writing. Depending on the level of formality, who the intended audience is and what the writer is trying to accomplish, there are different forms of writing, different voices to use and different mode of delivery.
For students who are challenged or simply cannot bear the thought of public expression of their work (think a speech in front of 30 other students, or worse an assembly) I have seen students who exhibit their writing beautifully if given the time they need to prepare themselves. A unique and incredibly successful mode of this writing expression I have seen is a pair of students who were mortified to be in front reading their work. They were however, successful in a pre-recorded fake news cast video taped and played back to the class. It was an intensely successful endeavor on part of the students, and a great challenge by the teacher to get these students excited about writing and putting their work out into the world. Though these students needed a different vehicle to deliver their work, their first contribution of writing to the world was such a hit they grew to become quite popular in school and their confidence grew to try different vehicles.
The voices students have are all different and all require different encouragements to develop their craft. It is important students learn the importance of ways to communicate through writing, and the undeniable need to use writing through out life, whether it be in constructing a resume, communicating in an interview, writing in a diary, a formal professional letter, a report at work, or scribbling down a poem or jotting down a note to grandma. Voice and delivery are important aspects in the development of writing skills. It is essential both are utilized fully. For teachers or anyone in the path of a developing writer, there is a responsibility to encourage and lead students in the way that best helps them develop their voice as a writer. It is the responsibility of the student to internalize the leadership and use their voice to change the world-one word at a time.
Sentence Stalking: I can recognize voice in other people’s work. I simply have a difficult time seeing it in my own.
Falling through the cracks
I was always a good reader. My mother was always an attentive teacher. With a mother who taught me the alphabet at age 2 and simple sentences by 3, my fourth birthday brought boxes of children’s books I devoured.
When I entered the public school system, the solid foundation my mother spent time building, began to erode under the elements of mass schooling. I was too advanced. At parent teacher conferences, the teachers would tell my parents to not let me read at home. I was already in the top reading group and by public school construction, had to remain in a group. I was slipping through the cracks. There was nothing in place to help students who were ahead of the game. School practices kept all students moving in mass groups. Those who were on either end were cut off from the resources they needed to reach their full potential. As a result of this I began to despise reading. I was limited in the selection of books to read. I had either read them already or they were simply too elementary.
My natural love of reading dissipated when it became a chore to get my hands on a book I hadn’t read yet. The vibe from teachers was strong. I shouldn’t be reading anything extra. I had to stick to their plan. They didn’t know what to do with me otherwise. My mother ignored the public school system. I read as much as I wanted at home and pretended to follow along with the lesson plan in class. The teacher never called on me to read, not even if my hand touched the ceiling. I didn’t need the practice, she’d say. Let someone else read, she’d say. I didn’t receive much attention from teachers after that point. I didn’t receive their attention because I no longer attended their school.
Sentence Stalking:
“Kids could thrive if given a different system. Teachers could thrive if given a different system.”
Creating The Write Atmosphere
Mechanically Inclined pgs 51-59 and Inside Out pgs 24-75
Book Review
Grammar and mechanics are important components of solid writing. Proper use of grammar and mechanics reflect an educated individual who has learned to respect the craft of writing for its small parts and the sum of those parts in knowing how to best organize letters into coherent words and several words into coherent sentences. However, proper grammar and mechanics are not the only important ingredient to the holisitic experience of writing. In 2nd grade, my teacher constructed in-class writing workshops, where we would take an alotted amount of time and write in our journals or perhaps draw a picture and illustrate it how we chose. In order to inspire each student to simply write for the sake of writing, the teacher was committed to refraining from negative comments or pointing out errors in our work. It was supposed to be a positive experience for the students but for any teacher slightly concerned with properness of spelling, it must have killed her! My mother kept old assignments we completed in that class room and parts of them were atrocious! School, for example was spelled “skool” and ketchup was spelled “catchup”. While encouraging creativity and some sense of pride in individual writing, we were inadvertanly directed to give little regard to details- about right and wrong ways to spell or the order of words in a sentence. Although I understand the approach this teacher was attempting to practice, grammar and mechanics are critical foundations to effective writing,that if not laid early have tendencies to expand and continue to be challenges through out life. There is room for improvement in blending the creativity skills with editing skills to create creative and correct, yes correct grammar and mechanics. That’s right, I said it. There is right and wrong in writing, much like there is in every other part of life.
In Inside Out, written by Dan Kirby, Dawn Latta Kirby and Tom Liner, topics of discussion are classroom environment, creating a comfortable environment for students to write, and the utilization of journals. For each of these topics the authors provide elaborate examples and explanations indicating how and why their applications work for students in the classroom.
In Mechanically Inclined, Anderson goes into detail explaining how classrooms at their best, are a mixture of spontaneous creativity and organized planning. He suggests the implementation of wall charts in the classroom. He explains how and why these work and the positive tool they are in orchestrating a productive and learning classroom.
Both of these texts, Inside Out and Mechanically Inclined offer insights on creating the right environment, using the right tools, actively pursuing and engaging students to be excited about writing. Inspiration is the key element in growing lifelong learners, readers and writers. Students must be inspired and find purpose in what and in how they write. By construct, active engagement and genuine interest by the teacher is extremely resistant to students falling through the cracks of a faulty system. An excellent teacher is able to create an environment that is safe for students and writers to expose their work without judgement. An excellent teacher knows how to implement the right tools to make the chore of school positive and enjoyable. An excellent teacher knows how to make learning seem like anything but work. Both books showcase methods to create such a classroom and teaches you how to adopt the right attitudes, in order to teach students how to write.
“I do what’s asked in assignments but it often has very little to do with what I’m thinking and feeling and caring about as I read.”
Wilhelm, Jeffrey. You Gotta BE the Book. Second Edition. New York: Teachers College Press, 2008. 39. Print.
My Name
I have had people spell my name crazy ways such as Cera, Sahara, Serha and Sierra. Who would think a five letter name could be so challenging? I am proud of my name. I like the sound of my name when it’s said in full. It’s a name resistant to shortening though it still is shortened to Sar by those closest to me, which secretly annoys me a great deal. All in all, I am glad to be a Sarah and it beats my parent’s alternative name which means ‘from the ash tree’!
Sentence Stalking: But I am always Esperanza.
–Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books, 1984. 10-12
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