RealWritingTeachers24

The Glee Factor Contestants

2011-07-03T11:24:00.000-05:00

I'm really enjoying The Glee Factor show on the Oxygen Network. Here are some thoughts!
Before I list my favs in order, I want to first go on record as saying I don't for one second believe Ryan Murphy is going to only take one of these kids for 7 episodes and maybe one or two for a guest appearance of some sort. I believe he is going to use SEVERAL of them throughout the season, the primary winner early on for the 7 or more episodes storyline, and maybe two others the first half. Then I believe we will see yet 2-3 more of them in the back half of the season. Then we will see Glee Project #2 getting additional cast members identified for season 4, etc. This will give the writers more time to prepare ahead for storylines by knowing who will be in their cast ahead of time.

OK, here is my list of favs in order.

#1 Bar none, Damian. Talk about an opportunity for exploring the challenges of being from another country and somewhat unfamiliar with a new culture-some minor language obstacles that have HUGE comedic potential-Huge appeal based on his looks-magnetic personality once you get to know him-And frankly, those who say he isn't all that as a singer....well, several million others around the world beg to differ. I'm impressed he chose to audition via the same method everyone else did...He subbed a one minute clip of himself singing into the camera built into his laptop computer......He COULD have subbed a one minute clip from any of his performances from around the world, but he did not go that route. He also has an innate sense of humor and says things off the cuff that are funny-Ryan Murphy and the writers like to work off of that kind of thing. I think Damian will win despite the fact he will struggle with some, if not many of the challenges.....but the fact he struggles and how he handles it is part of his appeal as well. Watching how challenging it is for a yound man who in REAL LIFE is already idolized in other parts of the world, but struggles to make cultural adjustments and fit in here in the states is precisely the kind of character I would love to write for myself! By the way, I would NOT write him in as a foreign exchange student, but rather the son of a parent/s who moved to the states due to a job transfer---as a foreign exchange student he would basically be limited to a one year run and that is it. I think his potential is too huge to waste on a one year character.

#2 Cameron..My initial response to Cameron on the first episode was rather indifferent. As I've become more familiar with him, I see tons of potential storylines within the Glee environment he would be perfect for.....My overall sense is he is 100% genuine and being upfront and honest about who he is....and just as he was rejected in his own high school for being like that, again, he is being rejected by some who are posting that rejection right here in this forum. I find that interesting and worthy of investigating- why that is happening-and I'd write that into his character's storyline....

#3/4 Marrissa and Hannah Both intriguing but in totally different ways. Marrissa has a depth to her persona that draws you in wondering what her "whole story" might really be...And Hannah is almost the exact opposite but leading to the same questions--Her "mask" so to speak is her use of humor to cover up some of her internal pain---I think she genuinely does enjoy life and can laugh freely as well, but you just wonder what more is there to her going on we cannot see up front? Regarding being a "big girl" and we already have two--one of the two sort reflects sadness about her size---the other one uses intimidation/brashness to deal with her size---Hannah would be the big girl using humor to deal with her size---so there could be a place for her.

#5/6 Matheus/McKinleigh--- I see potential for both of these characters---The "small guy syndrome" used to be the primary reason kids were bullied-along with wearing glasses and being overweight..Since the bullying issue has largely been dealt with directly, it shouldn't continue to be the primary focus, but as a continuing connection to that theme, Mattheus bravado and confidence could potentially drive Sue crazy---plus lots of humor potential around his developing romantic life could be fun! McKinleigh has potential in breaking the mold that black girls who sing are probably R and B or hip hop/rap singers and most often are divas...I personally find myself rooting for some of the quieter personality types who get "lost" in the shuffle....I see potential for audience connections there.

#7 Samuel At first I was a tad bit indifferent to him and thought he was maybe just going to be the stereotypical reggae/dreds/stoner kind of guy....but I see a soft side to him that could easily be cultivated. I have to admit, I'm "older"---I prefer "well-seasoned" actually, and despite coming out of the late 60's to mid 70's years when i was in jr.high/high school, I never connected at all to long hair and all the rebellion associated with it...i can see Samuel being a great instrument for helping change that kind of mind set if written that way!

#8/9 Lindsay/Alex Both talented in their own right, but I see them more as future replacements for characters already in place....Now the season is still young so maybe more will be revealed to help me see them better, but right now they look kind of "more of the same-ish" to me---which CAN be used to create new conflict if that is what the writers want to accomplish...

As for their talent level---I find all of the top ten to be perfectly acceptable to me..Glee is partly about discovering talent and helping DEVELOP IT! Diamonds in the rough...Out of 40,000 applicants, I believe the producers have done a fabulous job finding 10 diamonds in the rough---

Would love to read more comments! Please share!

Somebody Wanted But So Then However In the End

2010-11-07T18:43:00.000-06:00

Somebody -- character, traits/flaws, interests, etc.
Wanted -- desire
But -- obstacle (loss, fear, change, insecurity, etc.)
So -- character's attempt to resolve conflict -- a poor choice to complicate things (lie, cheat, steal, avoid, be fake, fight, etc.)
Then -- negative consequence to the poor choice (caught, loss of trust/friendship, punishment, guilt/shame, etc.)
However -- the aha moment, epiphany, internal turning point as climax (advice from an unlikely source, TV commercial, song on radio, flashback, etc.)
In the end -- lesson about life or coming to terms with inner struggle even if external conflict is unresolved, from now on...

I've used story frames like this one and have seen good results with certain kids. While the majority of my experience was with 4-5th-6th graders, I thought this through and am wondering if you might take this approach with younger kids:

During minilesson time, have each kid generate a list of 3 fictional characters they would like to write a story about.

Ask them to narrow their list down to one. With this one character, ask them to answer this one question_ What does he/she/it want? Then ask them to go write a story about it.

Next session, ask kids to share their stories. After they have shared, ask them to read it aloud a second time but tell them this time you are going to ask them to stop periodically so you can ask the class a question about their story. Anytime you hear them include elements that answer the "But/So/Then/However/In the End" elements, that is when you can interject a question for the class pointing out how important or interesting it makes the story for that element to be included.

Next round, have them choose a second character, but have them include the Somebody/Wanted/However/In the End elements. Repeat the process of sharing and pointing out how the "But/So/Thens" you hear help make the story more powerful/interesting/understandable/etc. Using these terms a million times over will help kids to imbed these things in their thinking---- the auditory input from you using their actual stories will be what makes it stick for the long haul.

Why We Do What We Do (Author Unknown)

2010-11-07T08:35:00.000-06:00

I'm sure many of you have seen variations of this story, but it is a great reminder for writing teachers to see and share the power of the written word.

One day a
teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room
on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Then
she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of
their classmates and write it down.

It
took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as
the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.


That
Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate
sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that
individual.


On
Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class
was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew I meant
anything to anyone!" and "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most
of the comments.


No
one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they
discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The
exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with
themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.


Several
years later, one of the students was killed in Viet
Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that
special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin
before. He looked so handsome, so mature..


The
church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a
last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the
coffin.


As
she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her.
"Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "Yes." Then he said:
"Mark talked about you a lot."


After
the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon.
Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his
teacher.


"We
want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his
pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might
recognize it."


Opening
the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that
had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew
without looking the papers were the ones on which she had listed all
the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.


"Thank
you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark
treasured it."

All
of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather
sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my
desk at home."


Chuck's
wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding
album."


"I
have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my
diary"


Then
Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet
and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at
all times," Vicki said. Without batting an eyelash, she continued, "I
think we all saved our lists."


That's
when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all
his friends who would never see him again.


The
density of people in society is so thick we forget life will end
one day. And we don't know when that one day will
be.



Remember,
you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into
your own.

D.I.R.T. Daily Individual Reading Time

2010-10-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

Give Me the D.I.R.T.

Writing about books we are reading is part of many real writer’s lives. In our Write NOW Notebooks, one option you have is to write about your D.I.R.T. books and Novel Team books.

You might do an entry at the beginning of a book when something really grabs your attention.

You might write an entry somewhere in the middle of the book when you have exploding thoughts about the story line.

You can always share predictions you absolutely must make.

You might wait until the end of the book to discuss how the author wrote a dynamic, thought provoking conclusion. Maybe you will write about how you would have ended the story differently.

Feel Free to write as often as you want about your D.I.R.T. and Novel Team books, but instead of writing a review of what is going on in the story, focus more on your thoughts and feelings about the story and characters, and also writing craft you notice the author using to make this story work!

Cliffhangers

2010-10-26T22:14:00.000-05:00

Cliffhangers

When the teacher finishes reading a great chapter of a great book during read-aloud time, why do kids beg and plead for the teacher to read on into the next chapter?

Because the writer, or author, of the book did something special near the end of the chapter to make you hungry for more. This is known as a cliffhanger.

Effective cliffhangers often leave us with big-time questions which will only be answered if we read on. Good authors know how to plan for cliffhangers and know how to leave their audiences begging for more.

As you write your stories, make sure you leave some questions unanswered until later in your story. The trick is knowing when to do this. Try using cliffhangers throughout your story, even if it is not a chapter book.

Zingers!

2010-10-22T14:38:00.000-05:00

Zingers!!!

Zingers are defined as “endings that ZING the reader so he/she is:

surprised,

provoked to think about,

or made to laugh or cry.”

Is the ending to your story a ZINGER?

If not, how can you rewrite the ending so it becomes a zinger?

Ask yourself this:

Will my audience be surprised by this ending?

Will my audience be provoked to think about something?

Will my audience laugh or cry because of this conclusion?

If you cannot say yes to at least one of these questions, you might want to rewrite your ending.

Advanced Connections

2010-10-13T11:57:00.000-05:00

Advanced Connections

1) An event or experience in this reading CONNECTED TO an event or experience in your life___________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2) A character in this story CONNECTED TO a character in another story______________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) A character in this reading CONNECTED TO a character in your life. ______________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4) A job, activity, interest or a skill of a character in this story that would be useful in real life.___________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

5) A setting in this reading CONNECTED TO a setting in your life.______________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6) A theme being developed in this reading CONNECTED TO a theme that was developed in another story_______________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7) A setting in this reading CONNECTED TO a setting in another story.______________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8) A plot being developed in this reading CONNECTED TO a plot that has happened to someone in real life________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Robert A Redmond 2010

Things We Say Wrong

2010-10-12T09:53:00.000-05:00

Parable of the Pencil- Author Unknown

2010-10-09T18:51:00.000-05:00

Parable Of The Pencil

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with

purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow

yourself to be held. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going

through various problems, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No

matter

what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

By understanding and remembering, let us proceed with our life on this

earth

having a meaningful purpose in our heart.

Author Unknown

Student: "I'm Stuck." Peers: "What If...?"

2010-10-08T12:43:00.000-05:00

Sometimes writers are clicking along and out of nowhere realize they are "stuck." What to do? With young writers in a classroom or small group setting, using peers to give them a jump start usually does the trick. I used the "What If" strategy to teach kids how to ask this question of themselves as well as with peers to keep their story moving.

Try it! What do you think?

Being a Good Writer: Writing tips and strategies from Lucy Calkins

2010-10-07T11:26:00.000-05:00

You Might Try...

2010-10-07T11:17:00.000-05:00

This is an easy way to teach kids to give one another feedback and keep it positive and constructive. The ultimate goal is for kids to do this without any kind of frame to work from, but to introduce this kind of feedback I sometimes used little strips of paper that had the Sentence Starter "You Might Try..." Each child would get maybe 3-5 of these when we were going to have a share time. The child sharing could call on anyone he/she wanted feedback from unless they had already run out of strips. This way they call on peers they trust to be supportive. I also sometimes would have the young author choose two and I would reserve the right to call for feedback from two or three peers myself. This kept the kids on their toes and helped them be better active listeners in case they were called on for feedback. Of course, I transitioned off the written slips ASAP once I felt comfortable the kids were a fully functioning, supportive writing community!

Bow Wows

2010-10-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

Bow Wows

Bow Wows are:

Boring

Overused

Words !

Boring Overused words are:

useless, disgusting, pointless, a waste of time, a waste of space, annoying, dull, lifeless, worthless, monotonous, tiresome, uninteresting, dead, stale, generic, fruitless, futile, normal, feeble, flimsy, inaccurate, inadequate, and icky !

Why would anyone use boring BOW WOW words ???

REAL WRITERS DON’T !!!

We Agree/ We Disagree

2010-10-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

We Agree/ We Disagree

Interview someone about a topic you both agree on. Write about the conversation the two of you had.

OR...

Interview someone who disagrees with your opinion. Write about the items you disagreed on.

Possible Topics:

Bedtime

Favorite TV Show

Allowance

Pierced ears for boys

Make up for 4th grade girls

Ask Robert: #1

2010-10-05T00:26:00.000-05:00

Over the years I have participated in several teacher workshops and online discussion groups. Many questions have been thrown my way and I attempted to toss an answer back! This "Ask Robert" segment will be an on-going feature for this blog. I never claim to have the only answer or even the best one, but offer responses as suggestions based on my own experiences teaching kids to write. If you have any questions stirred up by the ideas I post on this blog, please feel free to post them! I'd like this blog to be interactive!

Here is Q/A #1: Do ALL the kids in your class share on Friday Share Day?

Robert Says: This is a great question! In fourth grade, early in the year, our pieces are not all that lengthy, so we can get through the whole class during a normal Writing Workshop time. As the year goes along, and stories are becoming more well-developed, I

do a variety of things.

Sometimes we have everyone share, but only the odds (by ID#) receive peer feedback), then the next week the evens get peer feedback. I made a point to give feedback to everyone though. For those who do not get verbal feedback I try to give them a bit more written feedback.

Sometimes, if time gets short, you can have them break into their writing teams and have them share their pieces in small groups.

If you have access to a parent or para or an adult you can train as a volunteer, you can split the class in half and share. You would meet with each group every other week while the other adult takes the other half.

Another way to save time late in the year is to have everyone give written feedback. I have a variety of quick, short formats to make it relatively easy for kids to do.

I pass out little slips that say things like....

I am wondering......

You might try.........

For voice, I would rate this a 5-4-3-2-1 because.........

Or whatever means of feedback you want them to focus on. That way the kids are hearing stories and getting written feedback to use for revising, but it does not take as much time as listening to four or five kids give verbal feedback.

Does this help? Every class's schedule is unique, so a one size fits all explanation will rarely work, but at least I hope to have shared a few ideas you can tweak to fit your situation!

You've Got to be Kidding!

2010-10-04T11:03:00.000-05:00

You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

Real stories built around a repeating phrase can be a fun way to share real experiences!

Think of a number of different situations in which you could have or might have said to yourself,"You’ve got to be kidding!” or “How could they?” or “Oh, No!” Write a series of short descriptive paragraphs about each of these situations, and end each paragraph with the target phrase you are focusing on.

There are thousands of possible repeating words or phrases.

“CRASH!”

“Babooom!”

“Get Real!”

“How Can This Be!”

Just to clarify. I shared these writing ideas with my kids in a mini lesson, but did not REQUIRE them to use the strategy that day. I gave them a handout with this information, then allowed them to write whatever they wanted to write each day. However, the handouts were most helpful when a student needed an idea later down the road. The handouts were intended to be a long term resource to use anytime they needed them.

Also, in making a reading-writing connection, I used a number of picture books that use this pattern. Reading picture books daily is actually where I got the idea! Many times I observed what I saw picture book authors doing, then created a mini lesson to teach kids a new crafting strategy.

Do you have any favorite picture books in mind for this lesson?

Share Day

2010-10-03T15:40:00.000-05:00

Gathering Seeds for Writing

2010-10-03T14:50:00.000-05:00

Ralph Fletcher talks about watching for "seeds" to gather for future writing and keeping those seeds in our writer's notebooks. There are hundreds of ways to gather seeds and create seeds. Here are just a few:

Gathering Seeds

Draw a self-portrait

Write about your name and how you got it

Write memories related to favorite objects.

Write about a special person

Collect strong story leads from news articles or books you read

Make maps: bedroom, neighborhood, classroom, your house, etc.

A special 5 minute time in your life

Describe places you love

Glue in photos and write about them

Collect newspaper/ magazine headlines

Collect magazine/newspaper pictures

Glue in letters/notes from friends

All of these activities are meant to lead to some seriously good writing !

Sometimes we need to take time to collect thoughts and ideas for future writing! In my classroom every two or three weeks we had a designated day in workshop for gluing/pasting/etc. Kids would collect artifacts like those listed here and keep them in slip covers in their 3-ring binder writer's notebooks until we had an "Open Workshop" day. This was simply a management decision on my part because then I could be better monitor how much time was being spent on actual writing!

Feelings In Your Stories/Entries

2010-10-03T14:24:00.000-05:00

Feelings in Your Stories/Entries

Well-written stories and Notebook Entries will include feelings. As an author, it is your job to write so your audience will experience the feelings you want them to connect to as a result of reading your piece!

Feelings come in many different flavors. Each flavor has a unique taste. The more precise you are in deciding which flavor you are writing to attain, the better chance you have of helping your audience taste that flavor.

Many people believe emotions can be categorized as one of FIVE BASIC FEELINGS-mad,glad,sad, hurt, or scared. When developing your character and plot, decide which feelings you are going to create with the help of your word choice.

Mad: angry, furious, outraged

Glad: happy, joyful, cheerful

Sad: depressed, unhappy, discouraged

Hurt: heartache, distressed, persecuted

Scared; afraid, frightened, terrified

One Way to Plot a Story

2010-10-03T13:21:00.001-05:00

There are numerous approaches to plotting a story, but this relatively simple format gives young writers a guide when writing fiction, or even when thinking through a real life story they want to tell others.

ONE WAY TO PLOT A STORY

Something happens to someone

and

this leads to making a goal

and

that needs a plan of action

but

forces try to stop the protagonist

yet

he moves forward because there is a lot at stake

then

things get as bad as

they can and he learns an important lesson

however

when he is offered the

prize he had sought so hard to get, he has to decide whether to take it or not

thus

in making this final decision, he satisfies a need created by something in his past.

For the teacher, the key to making this work for kids is to teach them how to add in DETAILS for each phase of their story.

Real Writers...

2010-10-03T11:43:00.000-05:00

Donald Graves Tells Us How To Get a Writing Class Started

2010-10-03T10:37:00.000-05:00

Write N.O.W. Basics

2010-10-03T00:25:00.000-05:00

WRITE N.O.W. Basics

Daily Mini Lessons 5-15 minutes

Daily Independent Writing 30 minutes

Turn In Copies One per week (Fridays)

Share Chair Everybody Every Friday

Open Workshops Every 2-3 weeks

Quarterly “Project”:

Celebrations w/ Parents

Student Treasures

Writer’s Fair

Hard Cover Final Copies

Kids Need:

Notebook (Binder/Composition/Spiral)

Pencils/Pens/Paper/Glue Stick/Slipcovers/Computers/Etc.

Write N.O.W. Notebooks Getting Started

2010-10-03T00:06:00.000-05:00

WRITE NOW: Getting Started

1) Organize Notebooks

2) Over-dramatize what a cool thing WRITE NOW Notebooks

are... Do this ALL the time... Tell about all the kids in New York and all over the country who use them, and how real writers (authors, reporters, etc.) use them. Tell the kids YOU TOO will be keeping a Real Writer's Notebook.....

3) Emphasize to the class using WRITE NOW Notebooks

will become a class "team" activity... Sharing in class will be

safe...Everyone's ideas will be accepted. Let them know how

much you respect their willingness to TAKE RISKS when they

share their thoughts/feelings in writing.

4) Tell them before writing fiction, most authors keep Real

Writing Notebooks (aka WRITE NOW Notebooks) as a way of

gathering and storing ideas... More fully developed Fiction Stories can be DEVELOPED FROM WRITE NOW entries later on.

5) Discuss the concept of "STEALING" ideas. Ask them if this is acceptable...Most of the class will respond in unison that it is not. Tell them in our WRITE NOW class, it is

EXPECTED!!! This will get their attention ! (Actually, later on we talk about "borrowing ideas" as opposed to STEALING !!!)

Two Non-Negotiables are:

1) All entries MUST be written in their “I” voice... You cannot emphasize this enough...The first couple of times students begin to share entries, every single child should recieve feedback about adhering to this standard.....This will help them differentiate whether they are writing fiction or non-fiction. My approach and use of the notebook is different from many others. I ran two kinds of writing workshops- REAL Writing and FICTION Writing. I am convinced young writers in 3-4th grades benefit from this a great deal. The Fiction Workshop at this age starts out highly structured as they learn about story elements, with gradual release as they become proficient.

2) Every detail written in the WRITE N.O.W. Notebook must be:

Real/True/Authentic/Actual/Honest/etc.

These are REAL stories, REAL thoughts, REAL feelings, etc.

For the resistive and hesitant children who say they don’t want to share...Tell them you know... But assure them within a week or two they will be begging to share...Tell them you’ve seen or heard kids before who didn’t think they could write or get in front of a group and share their writings, but assure them once we get started and they see how this thing works, they will be begging and won’t want to stop!

Just a note here. I know there might be homeschooling parents wondering if this approach Notebook/Workshop approach is workable for them. My response is yes, provided the children have at least a few other peers to interact with from time to time.

My Personal "Cover Sheet"

2010-10-02T18:34:00.000-05:00

Some folks like to have kids use spiral notebooks for their writer's notebook, but I prefer three-ring binders. I got the ones with the clear view fronts so we could change out covers anytime we felt like it.

Here is an example of a cover I created for myself!