Share Time:Beyond Just Reading the Story

Christon CarrollCannons Elementary

June 2011

What does Share Time in your classroom look like?

How often do you do it?

Write down on your index card:

The end of Writing has always been the first thing dropped if we ran out of time.

I would pick three random students to share.

Some students didn’t want to share.Some students always wanted to share. I hated Share Time!

Share Time In MY Room:

Back in February 2011, I heard Katie Wood Ray speak at Furman University.

She was talking about the Writers Workshop and the process of using

Mentor Texts to help teach students how to write. And then she said this about the Share Time; “Share Time is when we do most of the teaching process- share the smart strategies children are doing or

using to get their writing done.”

That is until I heard Katie! (a.k.a. “My A-ha” Moment)

“…over time they must come to expect that their books will be read. Leaving out that last critical part of the process would be like baking cookies with children, taking the cookies out of the oven, and not eating them. Or preparing soil for a garden, planting seeds, and then forgetting to watch to see whether anything grows. The last steps are so critical to children understanding why they’re doing the first steps.”

-Katie Wood Ray, Already Ready

“Share time as a regular classroom routine teaches children so much about what teachers value in their work as writers…”

-Katie Wood Ray, Already Ready

“The more difficult challenge is to be sure that these share sessions help not only the three to four children who have an opportunity to share but also the others who are listening. What I try to remember is that most instruction can happen through these particular cases.”

-Lucy Calkins, The Art of Teaching Writing

So after my “a-ha” moment with Katie I decided I needed to try this out. I partnered with a wonderful teacher at my school (my child’s teacher) and we discussed teaching a Literary Nonfiction unit together with an additional focus on the Share Time (and diving deeper into that concept).

My Journey Began…

It’s my goal to show you how I used the Share Time as a

“teachable moment” and give you a few examples that you might want to try with your

students this year.

My Goal:

Would only be 10 minutesDuring conferences each day we would be “on the lookout for smart work” the students were doing(Ray, About the Authors, 153).

Those would be our children to share their writing for a very specific reason.

Share Time Decisions:

In the beginning, we had a few students share their ideas for their writing and a mentor text they were looking at during the process.

The attack of the ABC books- Mrs. Carroll steps in t0 save the day!

We also had a few students share their “road blocks” with the class and the class provided feedback.

Examples of Share Time as a Teaching

Tool

Examples of Share Time as a Teaching

ToolEthan realized

that he wanted his text to be a repeating line text like our mentor text Walk the Dog.

We had a student talk about how he revised his piece (what his process was and how he marked on his paper and didn’t erase anything)

We had a student show her illustrations and discussed how they enhanced her literary nonfiction book and why.

Examples of Share Time as a Teaching

Tool

Examples of Share Time as a Teaching

ToolWe realized a lot

of students were copying their information. I walked a few

students through putting their

information “in their own words”

Other Items to Call Attention to during

Share Time: Using both writing and

illustrations Made the book all

about one thing Used a lot of what the

child knows about something to help come up with ideas

Organized the book either as a list or a story

Did something like a professional author does in a book the class has shared

Learned something from another writer in the room

Incorporated some feature of picture books such as a title or author’s name, on the front cover

Did something on purpose to make the book more interesting

Ray, Already Ready, p 189

Museum Share- students leave their work on their desks. The class walks around and admires each others works.

Invitation Celebration- Invite parents in for a celebration to showcase students’ hard work (ex- Poetry Reading). This is a big deal with a dress rehearsal and all.

Share Time at the Next Level:

Celebrations

Less Formal Ideas: Share writing in twos and threes after

workshop Peer conferences at any point in the

writing workshop where they might need a response

Visit other classrooms (any grade level) Share a favorite piece of writing with a

Principal Read into the Circle

Share Time at the Next Level:Celebrations

My Share Time

What would you like Share Time in your class to look like now?

How often will you try to fit in Share Time now?

What obstacles are in your way?

So now…

References

Calkins, Lucy, and Leah Mermelstein. Launching the Writing Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: FirstHand, 2003. Print.

Calkins, Lucy. The Art of Teaching Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1994. Print.

Ray, Katie Wood, and Lisa B. Cleaveland. About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2004. Print.

Ray, Katie Wood, and Matt Glover. Already Ready: Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2008. Print.