Sentz-sational Writers

A little revising, good for the soul

2012-05-17T07:20:00.002-04:00

My students are in the thick of it now. Our memoirs are well under way. As a teacher, this is very interesting as I see student memoirs developing. Even at this point in the year, I am learning about my students and their thought process. Next year, I might start the year writing a quick memoir, then go back to it at the end and revisit. So about revision... Every day now, I am teaching my

Marley & Memoirs

2012-05-07T22:13:00.001-04:00

We are back at it this week. We've been reading Marley & Me together, examining the in and outs of what makes a great memoir. My favorite chapter is Chapter 5, "A Battle of Wills." I so enjoy the image of John and Jenny taking Marley to obedience classes and the tribulations of doing so. Ahhh, been there with my own dog, done that. My class was just giggling in fits, listening to the chapter

Still soaking...

2012-05-03T01:00:00.000-04:00

"So...today are we going to start writing?" Ah, the words of an eager writer. When I pulled the Marley book out, my kids flew to the rug area. They are always eager for the next bit of the story. This memoir plan is coming along nicely... "Not exactly." I can feel their disappointment. It's palpable. Good! I want them to want to write their memoir, really WANT to. I want them to

Marley and Us

2012-05-02T01:00:00.000-04:00

Marley and us. It's a match made in Heaven. Fourth graders love to read animal stories. They love to talk about them, and they usually can make pretty good connections. Most of my students have pets, but if they don't, they usually have a relative or a neighbor who does. Life experience is everything when it comes to writing. We are two days into our memoir "work." So far, the work has been

Marvelous memoirs

2012-04-29T08:15:00.001-04:00

At this point in the year, my students always begin writing their memoir. It's time to start reflecting on our school year, on our work as writers and on our lives. You'd be surprised how reflective a 10 year-old can be. And how wise. We always connect our work to a mentor text. Writing memoirs is not different. Together we read the book, Marley & Me, by John Grogan,

We deliver!

2012-04-28T09:58:00.001-04:00

Friday marked the end of our letter writing work in the classroom. All but three kids finished their letters. They really worked carefully! Thursday we addressed the envelopes, stuffed them, and sent them on their way. The rule about delivering the mail was you couldn't deliver your own. The students went in pairs, made sure they knocked very politely at the door of the classroom they were

A Last Word on Letters...

2012-04-26T00:30:00.000-04:00

Once we finish our letters to our friends, we will finish our letter writing by writing a letter to an incoming 4th grade student for the next school year. I have two friends that have done this over the years in their fifth grade classes, and I think it's a very nice end-of-year wrap up. Even though we aren't that close to the end of the year, we aren't that far from it either. While

Let Them Help You Revise…

2012-04-25T18:21:00.000-04:00