What makes a fire burnis space between the logs,a breathing space.Too much of a good thing,too many logs packed in too tightcan douse the flamesalmost as surelyas a pail of water would.

So building firesrequires attentionto the spaces in between,as much as the wood.

When we are able to build open spacesin the same way

we have learnedto pile on the logs,then we can come to see howit is fuel, and absence of the fueltogether, that makes fire possible.

We only need to lay a log lightly from time to time.A firegrowssimply because the space is there,with openingsin which the flamethat knows just how it wants to burncan find its way. --Judy Brown

Fire

"Catching Fire"

Using Inquiry to Ignite Learning in

a Writing Classroom

Juanita Ramirez-Robertson

Denton ISD,

Texas Woman's University

Marla RobertsonTexas Woman's University

Jennifer SmithTexas Woman's University

Polly VaughanLewisville ISD,

University of North Texas

Writing is Learning

Writing is learning quote

Donald Murray:

"meaning is not thought up and then written down. The act of writing is an act of thought" (1985, p. 3). "use writing as a way of learning, a way of discovering and exploring, of finding what you may have to say and finding ways in which you may say it" (p. 6).

Think of your classroom/work

Everyone write:

What are my wonderings?

What are my questions?

What am I struggling with?

Why am I here?

Inquiry

Workshop Agenda:1:00 Introduction1:15 Writing/Sharing1:35 Daily Log1:45 Teaching Demonstration 12:15 Teaching Demonstration 22:45 Introduction to Inquiry2:50 Teacher Inquiry Cycle/Small Groups3:10 Student Inquiry3:25 Writing/Reflection3:35 Wrap up/Discussion

Read Aloud - Journal Writing

Getting Started

Writer's Notebook -Ralph Fletcher

Author's Chair

Daily Log

Dog Daily

Daily Log - How to make a movie out of a PowerPoint presentation

Daily Log

Handout

Daily LogPowerpoint using QR codes

Daily LogHow to Make a Photo Caption

TeachingDemonstration

1

Generating Topics

Students Avoid Writing Because...

10. They struggle to organize and use the mechanics of writing.

9. "The teacher didn't give me a pencil."

8. They struggle to retrieve the right word or words to express an idea.

7. "I had some maverick ideas but I did not put them down on paper as I feared they would be too revolutionary for you to understand!"

6. They feel the process of writing on paper is slow and tedious compared to the fast paced world of texting, tweeting and emailing.

5. They are environmentalists who believe writing on paper encourages lumber-jacking.

4. Students are not allowed to write about what interests them.

3. They don't want to.

2. They don't have the confidence they need and don't think they can write.

1. "I don't have anything to write about."

Help them light the fire!

In the classroom generating writing ideas and topics can be one of the most daunting tasks that young writers face.

The teacher’s role is to provide students with strategies for generating and selecting their own topics and ideas, not to feed or give the students topics.

The Bucket

List

Write, write,

write!

Strategies for Generating Topics

BrainstormingFree Writing

LoopingClustering

ListingCross Pollination

Teaching Demonstration

2

Using Mentor Texts

• �Books or other texts that students can refer to when learning a new writing skill.

• �Mentor texts are for every age and ability level – even the teachers!

• �We use mentors in every aspect of our lives, why not use them in writing also?

What are mentor texts?

Choosing mentor texts

You need to enjoy the text, be drawn to it in some way.

Does the book provide �examples that you want to teach?

Choose a variety of genres: �poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoirs

Introducing mentor texts

• �FIRST, through read-alouds.• �Allow students to enjoy the story, listen to

the words, appreciate the writing.• �THEN, revisit and use as a learning tool.

Using Mentor Texts to Add Detail to Writing

Dorfman, L. R. & Cappelli, R. (2007). Mentor Texts. Portland, OR: Stenhouse Publishers

Choose a book that is familiar to students.

Reread the first couple of pages, leaving out the details.�When students notice, ask them what they want to know that �was not just read.

Reread the pages, including the details.�

Purpose

�When we leave details out of our writing, it

leaves the reader asking many questions. We

want the questions to be answered in our writing,

so we add details.

Help them light the fire!

What do I write about?

�Brainstorm a list of SMALL moments

Start with one sentence

Choose one moment �and write about it in one

sentence.

�The best hot chocolate I ever tasted was in

Venice, Italy.

Look at my sentence.�

The best hot chocolate I ever tasted

was in Venice, Italy.

�What questions do you have?

Add details

�Use the questions to help you add details to your writing.

�By answering the questions, the writing will be clearer and more interesting.

Let's Try It!• �Volunteers?• �Your turn:◦Turn to a neighbor.◦Read your sentence and record the questions your partner asks.◦Listen to your partner’s sentence and ask questions.

◦Answer the questions in your writing.

Independent Writing

Trade your writing with a different neighbor.�As you read the writing, mark if there are any areas that you �have additional questions.

Trade writing back and revise.�

�

The goal is for students to begin to ask and answer

their own questions in

writing.

Introduction to Inquiry

Without purpose, significant learning is

difficult if not impossible to achieve.

(Wilhelm, p. 8)

Help them light the fire!

By recasting a curricular topic in terms of a guiding question, we set the

stage for a model of teaching known as "inquiry"

(Wilhelm, p. 8 - See Jacobs, 1989; Smith & Wilhelm, 2006; Travers, 1998; Wiggins & McTighe, 2003)

Marla

Juanita

PollyMulticulturalism in writing. How can we help students write in their cultural voice?

Jennifer's Inquiry Question

How can teachers integrate digital tools into the Writing

Workshop?

Dog Daily

Coming Back To Inquiry

Teacher Inquiry Implementing the Inquiry Cycle

in your teaching practice

Early Elementary - Marla

Upper Elementary - Jennifer

Middle School

High School

Students with Services- Polly

Content Area/ELL - Juanita

Your Teacher Inquiry

Student Inquiry Implementing the Inquiry Cycle

in your classroom

Help them light the fire!

Writing is a process of "learning to write and writing

to learn" -Zinsser, 1988, p. 16

Journal Writing/Reflection

We only need to lay a log lightly from time to time.A firegrowssimply because the space is there,with openingsin which the flamethat knows just how it wants to burncan find its way. --Judy Brown

Wrap-up/Discussion

Ah ha Moments

Catching Fire Workshop References

Allington, R. L. (2001). What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-based Programs. New York, NY: Addison-Wesley.

Allington, R. L., & Cunningham, P. M. (2006). Schools That Work: Where All Children Read and Write. New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon, Inc.

Brindley, R., & Schneider, J. J. (2002). Writing Instruction or Destruction? Lessons to be Learned from Fourth Grade Teachers’ Perspectives. Journal of Teacher Education, 53, 328-341.

Cambourne, B. (1988). The Whole Story: Natural Learning and the Acquisition of Literacy in the Classroom. Auckland, New Zealand: Ashton Scholastic.

Capello, M. (2006). Under Construction: Voice and Identity Development in Writing Workshop. Language Arts, 83(6), 482-491.

Corden, R. (2007). Developing Reading-writing Connections: The Impact of Explicit Instruction of Literary Devices on the Quality of Children’s Narrative Writing. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 21(3), 269-89.

Elbow, P. (2000). Everyone can write: Essays Towards a Hopeful Theory of Writing and Teaching Writing. New York: Oxford University Press.

Graves, D. H. (2002). Testing is Not Teaching: What Should Count in Education. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Murray, D. M. (1985). A Writer Teaches Writing. Dallas, TX: Houghton Mifflin.

National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges. (2003). The Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution. New York: College Board.

Catching Fire Workshop References National Writing Project, & Nagin, C. (2006). Because Writing Matters: Improving Student Writing in our Schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Ray, K. W. (2006). Study Driven: A Framework for Planning Units of Study in the Writing Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Shelton, N. R., & Fu, D. (2004). Creating Space for Teaching Writing and for Test Preparation. Language Arts, 82(2), 120-128.

Short, K., Harste, J., & Burke, C. (1996). Creating Classrooms for Authors and Inquirers. 2nd ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Smith, F. (1988). Joining the Literacy Club. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemman. Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, trans. M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, and E. Souberman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press. Whyte, A., Lazarte, A., Thompson, I., Ellis, N., Muse, A., & Talbot, R. (2007). The National Writing Project, Teachers’ Writing Lives, and Student Achievement in Writing. Action in Teacher Education, 29(2), 5-16.

Wilhelm, J. (2007). Engaging Readers and Writers with Inquiry: Promoting Deep Understandings in Language Arts and the Content Areas with Guiding Questions. New York: Scholastic. Zinsser, W. K. (1988). Writing to Learn. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Catch Fire!

Juanita Ramirez-Robertsonjrobertson@twu.edu

Marla Robertsonmrobertson6@twu.edu

Jennifer Smithjsmith30@twu.edu

Polly Vaughanvaughanp@lisd.net