Writing Portfolio

Stephanie

RyneEDRL 427 -

DizonSpring 2011

An idea for teaching…

Ideas1. Read Dear Mr. Blueberry2. Explain RAFTS3. Students choose random animal (toy) without

letting peers see it.4. They research about the habitats and living need of

their animal.5. They write a letter to the zookeeper, telling him

what they need in order to live happily at the zoo.6. They seal their letters, properly address them, and

put them in the classroom mailbox.7. I read their letters aloud8. Students try to guess what type of animal wrote the

letter.9. Student who wrote the letter, shows their animal

toy for verification.

R – AnimalA – ZookeeperF – LetterT – Explain what you will need when you arrive at the zooS – Informing

Dear Mr. Zookeeper, March 12th, 2011

I am traveling from far, far away on the continent of Africa. I grew up in the savanna and on grassy plains, so I would prefer a sparsely vegetated desert landscape with shade for me to rest in. You will need to plant some very large trees, however, because I am quite large. As far as food goes, you better make sure you have an awesome garden. I love to eat roots, bark, leaves, berries, seeds, and lots of fruit…actually I will be needing 300-350 lbs of this stuff every day. Also, I will need a large supply of water – perhaps a stream running through my new home – so that I can drink at least 50 gallons of water each day.

That’s basically it, but here are a couple of things to keep in mind: Although they are horrible for my “girlish” figure, I will never turn down a peanut as a snack. I hear there are other herds who live in Asia. Contrary to popular belief, I can’t fly holding a magic feather. And you better put my home as FAR AWAY from the mice habitat as possible, if you don’t want a disaster at the zoo!

Looking forward to meeting you!

Your friend,Ellie

Sample

of

“RAFTS”

Biocrostic

Rotten adults in every story

Outside the normal children’s author’s box

Always writing about kids that struggle

Loud, rambunctious characters

Descriptions that touch all senses

Dives right into the character’s mind

Action surrounding every story

Hard to believe his biography is true

Laugh in shock of what happens

A way to… Organize

Steph

Married high school

sweetheartGraduated

college

Bought a home

Moved across the country 11

times

Held at gun point during

robbery

Got 2 awesome

dogs – Lucy & Ethel

Husband left for Iraq 4

times

Writing a Narrative Biography

• Using a “Web Map”, they brainstorm ideas about events in their lives.• They share these ideas with group members who vote on most interesting topic.• (After teacher modeling) students will create drawings of the scene they choose with talking bubbles etc.• They will then use these drawings to write a narrative (short, appx. 10 min).• They will exchange papers & write 3 questions they have for their partner’s narrative.• They will revise their original drafts & present final drafts w/ drawings.

Sample Web Map:

ReflectIon

What connections exist between real-life writing and school writing?

• Students need to make authentic connections to the writing assignments that they are given – in all levels of schooling.• As teachers, it is our job to help our students find the bridge that connects these two very different aspects of their lives. • Simply having students “write about what they did over the weekend” is not sufficient for a teacher to be able to say that they are connected with their students’ interests.• We need to make sure that our students know (not think) that we genuinely want to know their thoughts, lives and aspirations.• In every grade level, we can pay attention to the lives of our students – we should keep in mind the area of the community they live in, the country (or state) their family came from, their religious heritage and traditions as well as what they do on a daily basis outside of the classroom.• I think one of the teachers in a video we watched said it best when he said: “It takes more energy to stay up-to-date with what your students are interested in, but it can make all the difference.”

RJ #3

A Hook

for promoting

creative…

…Word

Choice

I will begin by

explaining to my

students that we will be

learning how words

work through

the use of antonyms,

and explain

what they are.

As a fun way to get

them thinking

about antonyms, I

will read The Foot

Book by Dr. Seuss.

Interdisciplinary Teaching

DINOSAURS!Grade 3-5:

Create a “Diamante

” Poem using

Opposite words

relating to Dinosaurs.

T-RexPredator, Carnivore

Hunting, Searching, KillingTeeth Scales Neck

LegsHiding, Walking, Eating

Lengthy, HerbivoreBrachiosaurus

Reflection:Our presentation went pretty well. Because of time

constraint, I think we went faster

than normal, but the class seemed to understand our ideas. Next time I

would spend more time

collaborating in our group.

Tell ‘emto usetheir…

Voice

Sometimes when we get into “teacher-mode”

it can be easy for us to forget to remind our students

to be themselves in their writing. When discussing

specific content, especially when reading novels, they

might accidentally use the voice of the author they

have been studying. It is important that we model

writing for the students that use various types of

voice, so that they understand that it does not have to

always be exactly what they would specifically do or

say if they were the ones “speaking” or “acting” in the

piece. By having a bag of tricks for teaching young

students to use voice in their writing, we can try out

different methods and find out what really gets their

creative juices going. One of the best ways I have

come across for getting my reader to really

understand my voice, is to constantly remind myself

to get them to feel like they’re “walking in my shoes”

as they read.

• Sit down and figure out what

parts of grammar my students

struggle with, then develop

my lesson plans around fixing

these problems for them.

• Teaching grammar within

the context of a lesson,

rather than just grammar

on a worksheet, makes it

more memorable and

meaningful with students.

WritIng

WorkShop

• “Revision is not

failure, revision is an

art.” I want my

students to understand

that it is okay to make

mistakes in their

writing, but that it is

also important that they

take a second look at it

to fix those mistakes.

Book Talk Strategy I Plan to use:

“Write-Around”In a groups of 3-5, students write short notes and pass them around to create a string of conversation.

The first person quickly writes their comments on a sheet of paper (each person can start a sheet, or there can be one for the whole group to share, depending on grade level).

When the teacher says “Pass”, they pass it to the next person who reads it and adds their own.

This continues until each person has written on each piece of paper.

They then receive their original piece of paper and read what their peers wrote.

Teacher Tool Box

Have younger students draw a picture as their “plan for writing”.

“Senses” activity where they are given 3 possible topics about a specific sense. Then write descriptions & guess each others’.

“Switcharoo”, “Bumper Sticker”

& “License Plate”

for familiar stories.

Ideas for Literacy Centers

• Magnet Boards• Sequencing

centers for poems or stories• Flash cards• Pocket Charts• CVC Erasers

• Retelling center

Free Space

“One day, I too will make a difference.”

I know am heading into a profession that takes a lot of heart.

There

are not many jobs that compare when considering the how we can

affect a person’s life from a very young age. There are a few

teachers in our lives that we all remember, for one reason or

another, and I hope that I can be that teacher who instills a love for

learning deep inside the souls of my students. I hope that they can

walk away from my classroom with a confidence in themselves that

in some way I was able to help them find. If I can help one person

do better in their life, whether they remember me or not, then I

believe my career choice was perfect.