Writing Technique: Great Beginnings

It's been a while since I've posted a writing activity that teachers can use in the classroom, so here goes.  This is a favotite of mine.  I start out by telling students that years ago I had the opportunity to be a reader/scorer of the state writing assessment which is part of our standardized testing here in RI. I thought it would be great to have an insider's view of the assessment so I could better prepare my own students to do well on it.  I also thought it would be informative to see where other children's writing skills were at - checking out the competition, so to speak. 

The biggest take-away in all this for me was that everybody's writing sounded the same after a while.  The pieces all had a particular structure to them which had been taught.  Other things clearly had not been taught.  Maybe this was because some writing techniques had a significant impact on students' scores and others did not.  Be that as it may, the result was that by mid afternoon the reading became so boring that I could barely keep my eyes open.  Then, when I least expected it, there was that rare piece of wrting that perked me up because it was lively and different from the rest.  So remember, I told my students: When someone is reading your work you want to perk them up right from the start.

In my class, we practiced writing great beginnings using fairy tales because if ever a genre cried out for a great beginning, this was the one.  Think about it.  They all begin with Once upon a time...

Days before the actual writing lesson, I asked my students to bring me their favorite fairy tales so I could read them aloud to the class.  I let them know ahead of time that in a few days I was going to ask them to retell their favorite one on paper, so they should be reading some for themselves as well.  When that day came, they were ready. 

I first did this lesson many years ago and in my inexperience, I had not chosen my instructional fairy tale first and told the kids not to use it.  But that wasn't entirely bad.  As a teacher, it is very eye-opening to require yourself to write on demand just as you require your students to.  No one had chosen to retell Jack and the Beanstalk, so that became mine and I began with the traditional Once upon a time there lived an old woman and her son Jack.  They were very poor.  I wrote this on chart paper, then I crossed it out and told the students to do the same to their traditional beginning.  From there, I demonstrated how to begin this story with an action, a sound, dialogue, and a question.

Action:       Jack kicked over the empty milk bucket and breathed a heavy sigh.

Sound:       Gr-r-r-r   Jack put his hand on his growling stomach as he walked to the barn.

Dialogue:  "Jack, there's no more milk and this cow is too old to give us more." 

                 Jack put his hand over his growling stomach and said, "It's okay Mother.  I'm not very hungry anyway."

Question:  Mother, what's wrong with the cow?"  Jack asked as he peered down into the empty milk bucket.  He got up from the milking
                 stool and followed his mother up the front walk and into the house.  "Did you hear me, Mother?  Is the cow sick?  She's not
                 giving any milk.  What will we have for breakfast?"

                 Mother opened her mouth to answer but a sob caught in her throat.  Jack looked into his mother's sad eyes and watched a
                 single tear spill down her weathered cheek.


The younger the students, the more discussion you'll need in order to tease out their ideas.  For instance, when working on action, ask Who is your character?  How is he/she feeling?  What action would show those feelings?  For more proficient writers, I would ask them to write 2 or 3 different beginnings and see which one felt the best to them.  As their teacher, you'll know how basic or how extensive to go with this part. 

Enjoy!

Ralph and Frankie's 15 Minutes of Fame

Tuesday is the big day!  Ralph and Frankie will have their 15 minutes of fame. Well, okay...Maybe not a whole 15 minutes.  And I guess it's not really Ralph and Frankie's moment, it's my friend Judy's.  For those of you who don't know, Judy L. Adourian is the owner of Writeyes, and the Rhode Island Regional Representative for the International Women's Writing Guild. She provided advice, constructive criticism, and coaching to keep me focused on my goal as I wrote Ralph Simian, I've Had It! 

Although we only live 3 miles apart, our work together went back and forth over the computer.  The assignments she gave me were right on target and specific to the story I was working on.  Knowing that I was scheduled to send her something every week kept me focused, and had I not engaged her services I'm not sure I would have completed Ralph Simian, I've Had It! over the course of one summer. 

On Tuesday, October 4, Judy will be interviewed on Manchester, Connecticut's public access television show Page One where she'll talk about the correspondence courses and editing services she offers through her Writeyes website.  Page One is hosted by award winning cable access host Zita Christian.  During the segment, Judy will mention my book as an example of a project that came to fruition. 

Note to Judy:  Thanks in  advance for plugging my book.  Have fun on Tuesday.  I only wish I could access Page One here in RI.

So Long, Summer Brain :(

After a week’s delay due to Tropical Storm Irene here in the northeast, school begins tomorrow.  Of course I’ll miss the warm summer weather and my relaxed schedule – okay, no schedule – but what I’ll miss most is looking at my husband, throwing my hands in the air, and saying, “Oops.  Sorry.  Summer brain!”  Kids, do not try this at home.  Instead, start a list of things you have to look forward to in middle age and put this on it.  You can make it work even if you don’t end up working in a career that gives you summers off. 

Now, you know that our kids are grown and it’s just my husband and me here at home.  During the summer, I tell Karl to leave some of the things he usually does himself and enjoy the fact that he has a stay-at-home wife for a while.  So, during the summer he can leave his breakfast dishes in the sink.  Also, I take over watering the flowers and vegetable garden in our yard.  At first it takes him a bit of time to get used to this, and then he gets good at it.  I know he’s made the transition when I find that he’s left me a note on the kitchen counter.   I also know that I’ll have lots to do if the note begins with Good Morning Sweetheart in big letters at the top. 

If Karl writes me a list, things generally get done.  (No guarantees -  Just generally.  Or you might say eventually.)   If he doesn’t, sometimes he’ll email me from work or he’ll just say something during conversation.  These things, as I go about my day, are often forgotten.  A few days later, we’ll have a conversation that goes something like this:

Him:  Honey, did you transfer money into the checking account yet?

Or…

Him:  Did you call the repair shop?  When can we drop off the car?

You know, it’s true what they say:  If you want something to get done, give the task to a busy person.  Well, during the summer I’ m not too busy, so you can guess what happens.  My response to Karl’s queries as to whether I’ve gotten something done is often,

“Oops.  Sorry.  Summer brain!”

After all these years, it’s become our little joke…kind of. 

Well, at least I think it’s funny. 

Remember – Kids, do not try this at home.  If your parents need you to do something, do not say I forgot, or summer brain, or anything like that.  (Also, if I am your teacher, do not say this when I ask for your homework.)  When adults know they can count on you, it benefits you and them in ways you may never know.  But when you’re grown, after years and years of being responsible for a bunch of people in your household, if you find that you’re now only responsible for yourself, lighten up and enjoy it. 

Author bio: Who am I, really?

            I recently read a quick article on the importance of writing a catchy author’s bio and it got me thinking about the person I’ve been and the one I’ve become.  When I was young, I thought of myself in relation to the people around me.  I was the second born and only girl of my parents’ four children (although when we're all together now, I claim to be the baby.)  As the sole sister among three brothers, I stood out in that small crowd of ours. 

            In elementary school, I was neither popular nor outcast.  I was more inclined to be a follower than a leader.  The fact that I defined myself by all the people around me caused me to freeze up until someone else made the first move.  Needless to say, I did not stand out in that setting and that was more than fine with me.  Like my character Frankie, I just wanted to mind my own business and get through the day. 

            When I became a mother, I had to be responsible regarding all my own stuff and the kids’ stuff too.  And of course every parent knows that 24/7, you are always “on.”  So, up until the time when my grown children moved out on their own, I was always “Mom” with all that that entails. 

            Now that my children no longer live with me, I don’t have to navigate each day under their watchful, impressionable, expectant young eyes.  Nor do I have to be responsible just to show how it’s done.  This leaves me free to be lazy, afraid, or super silly if that’s what I’m feeling.  I can eat cookies for dinner, leave dishes in the sink, cry out loud when I’m sad, and go out in the pouring rain without a jacket when I feel like it.  When people ask how I’m doing with my empty nest, I love to give them a sly smile and say, “I don’t have to set an example for anyone anymore.” ( My own mother gives me a stern look and shakes her finger at me when I say that, which makes me enjoy saying it even more.)   –sorry Mom-   What I mean by that is, I can just be myself now.

            So, back to my author’s bio.  I guess it should say Elizabeth Schart has grown up to be herself.  She spends her time exercising at the gym to offset her childish eating habits.  During her summers off, instead of keeping up with her housework she writes stories that may never be read, just because she likes to.

Ta-Daaaa

About 3 months ago I wrote that I asked Erica for some help with my next project, and again she was kind enough to help me out.  Ralph Simian, I've Had It! has now been uploaded to CreateSpace which provides print-on-demand paperback copies.  In addition to formatting the interior of the book, Erica designed the great eye-catching cover.  CreateSpace.com is affiliated with amazon.com, so the paperback can be found by searching the title on Amazon or by clicking the link in my right sidebar.
As I was clicking on all the CreateSpace buttons to finish everything up, I noticed a link to an article on how to write a catchy author's bio.  Of course I had already uploaded my ordinary bio which is included in the book, so I'll write a better one in my next post. 

Thanks again to Erica for helping me get this done before I go back to school. 

What Did You Learn In School Today?

Although it's July, I'm kind of in school this week and next.  I'm participating in some training that goes along with a technology grant my school was awarded and I'm being introduced to some interesting websites.  Check out delicious.com.  It's a place to store your favorites which you can then access from any computer.  Very convenient if you sometimes work at school and sometimes at home. 

Some of the interactive sites I've saved are honorpoint.com, arcademicskillbuilders.com, and internet4classrooms.com.  I teach 5th grade and if my students don't know their basic math facts when they come to me, they will struggle during math class.  These sites can help them with that. 

When talking to students, I refer to this as unwritten homework.  There's no paper and pencil task that needs to be completed and turned in, but those kids who need the practice should be doing this nightly. 

I'm also working on a website at classjump.com.  They'll host your site for free.  They have a message board feature I plan to use for students' literature responses and for students to reflect upon, summarize, or ask questions about what they learned in math class. 

There are about 10-12 teachers and a couple of principals participating in these training sessions and some interesting philosophical discussions about teaching and learning are popping up among us.  I'll post about some of those as the session goes on.

Ralph Simian, I've Had It!, Chapter 1

"Have a nice day Honey, and don't worry. Everything will be fine."

I lifted my hand in a half-hearted wave as Mom drove away. Mindful of the banana inside, I tucked my lunch bag into my backpack, pushed my glasses higher up onto the bridge of my nose and turned to face the playground full of kids climbing on the monkey bars, playing on the swings and chasing one another. When the bell rang, the laughing and screaming died down and everyone lined up to enter the school building. I was relieved to have avoided that bully, Ralph Simian. Mom had to drive me to school because last week was a nightmare. 
On Monday, Ralph tricked me into handing over my lunch money. I still can't believe I fell for it.
"Want to see a magic trick?" he said as he approached a group of us, and before we could answer he was reaching into his pocket for a few coins. He fumbled around with them, uttered a few "magic words" and pretended that the whole thing was a flop. Somehow he even made his face turn red. I thought he was embarrassed and like a fool I tried to help him out.

"My coins are too small," he explained, displaying a palm full of pennies and dimes. Then he started to walk away.
"I have quarters," I offered, reaching into my pocket.
"Hey thanks Frankie. You're a real…"  …nice guy I thought, finishing his sentence in my mind. He thinks I'm a nice guy. We could be friends, or at least stop being enemies.

In the instant it took for these thoughts to pass through my brain, Ralph finished his own sentence and punctuated it with the loudest belch I've ever heard.
"…SUCKER!" he yelled, waving his fist full of my quarters in the air.
"BUURRRP! How's that for magic?" He pounded his chest with a sideways fist. "I just took your money and turned it into mine!"  He ran away laughing while I silently prayed for the ground to open up and swallow me.

On Tuesday Ralph really threw me off balance. He gave me back my money! What's up with that??? That's what I want to know.

"Here Frankie, take these," he said as he deposited the quarters into my hand and ran off.
I was almost afraid to. He probably rigged them so they'll explode or something. Is that even possible? I was jumpy all day, just waiting…waiting. I DON‟T NEED THIS STRESS!

On Wednesday in the cafeteria I was standing in line and… Oh, never mind. You get the picture.
Here's what I think: On any given day, a guy (Okay, I'm talking about myself here.) can waver from feeling safe and in control to feeling squirmy and on edge in the world. Anyway, that's how I am most of the time. I go about my business. I have my ups and downs. Things work themselves out. You know.

That's what I used to think before Ralph Simian came to my school. Now, I'm not so sure.  Ralph's not in my grade.  (So he's a year younger than I am.  You want to say something about that?)  I only see him two times during the day. First, in the schoolyard before the bell rings in the morning. The bus drops me off and he's already there, but if I can survive the first fifteen minutes of the day then I don't have to worry again until lunchtime.

Now that Mom's driving me to school, I think I've eliminated any potential problems at the start of my day. She drops me off just before the bell rings so although I don't have time to hang out with my friends before school starts, I also don't have time for a run-in with Ralph. Life's a trade-off, don't you think?
Anyway, school's almost over and if I can just keep a low profile for a couple of more weeks, summer vacation will be here and I can relax. Maybe Mom was right.

"Just try to avoid him," she said, and that's what I've been doing. But soon, avoiding him was no longer an option.

Get Real About Bully Awareness

A couple of weeks ago I watched a repeat of Dateline Bullying – My Kids Would Never…hosted by Ann Curry.  The key question addressed was “Have we taught our kids what to do when the bullying starts?”  This puts the focus on the bystanders who were obviously uncomfortable in the midst of bullies and victims (played by actors.)  Bullies, victims and bystanders were teens, both male and female.  Bystanders thought the group interactions they were involved in were genuine.   Their moms (I saw no dads) watched on hidden camera. 

The media does a lot to highlight this very real problem and as a teacher, I’m pretty tuned in to this and here’s what I’ve noticed.  I have never heard it mentioned that BULLYING IS A LEARNED BEHAVIOR.   I would like to hear it broadcast far and wide that adults need to carefully consider their own words when talking to or about other people in the presence of children – or when speaking directly to children.  It is my observation that bullying behaviors occur on a spectrum, from mild gossip and subtle rudeness or sarcasm to all out verbal, emotional or physical abuse.  The thing is, children are watching, and listening, and learning how to be. 

I realize that certain less-than-kind words and behaviors that occur between or among adults (especially in their own homes) are not necessarily bullying.  But then, a child takes those words or behaviors and applies them outside the home.  Think about it.  Where does a 4-year-old learn to call another child an idiot?  Where does an 8-year-old boy learn to point between his legs and tell a girl classmate to “bite me.”  Where do third grade girls learn to make each other cry with a whisper, a pointing finger, and a dirty look?  Sooner or later these little ones deliver a barb to a susceptible child within a context or in front of an audience that elevates the action to true bullying. 

I’ve observed these types of behaviors among school children for 20+ years.  Over time I’ve also observed an escalation in the frequency, blatancy and intensity of these types of childhood interactions.  I believe this progression has to do with the advent of deliberate rudeness, meanness and humiliation tactics marketed as television entertainment. 

Addressing bullying with teens and putting the onus on the bystanders to speak up has its place in extinguishing this behavior.  However, I believe that if we truly think bullying is an issue worth our time and effort, we need to look more closely at how we as families and as a society are indoctrinating and empowering bullies.    Is there anyone out there with a high profile media platform who is willing to explore the real catalyst behind the bullying problem?

Quick Writing Activity

I've been fortunate in my teaching career to have had some wonderful professional development in how to teach children to write.  The one thing that all my varied training has had in common is this:  Step 1 is always to get kids to face a blank page with confidence. So try this listing activity.

Tell students that you're going to ask them to make some lists in their notebook.  You'll tell them what to make a list of, and it's likely you'll move on to the next list before they're finished with the one they're working on.  That's okay.  This will be quick paced and students should move on with you - ready or not.

First directions to the class - Write down all the places you've ever been.  Everything counts so whether you've been to your friend's house next door or traveled to another country, write it down.  Have you been to the grocery store?  ...to the beach?  ...to the movies? ...to Grandma's house?  Then say, "Ready, Set, Go!"  This sets the tone.  You don't want them to think too much.  They should just write.

When most kids have 4-6 items on their list, move on.

Next list:  Write down all the pizza toppings you can think of.  You don't have to like them.  I promise not to make you eat them.  Go!

Next:  Write down all the objects you've held in your hand over the past 2 days. 

By now the kids should have the idea.  Hopefully they're having fun with it.  It should also be getting easier for them and their lists should be getting a bit longer. 

Last list: Write down just the first names of all the kids you remember from kindergarten.  (Even if your students are in 5th or 6th grade, ask them to think back to kindergarten.)  Tell them that if they get a name wrong or someone from their 2nd grade class ends up on this list, it doesn't matter.  Just make the list.

Now, ask the kids to look back at all their lists and put a star next to anything they wrote down that reminds them of a funny story.  Then instruct them to choose something they starred and tell a story about it to the person sitting next to them.  Give them a few minutes.  It's okay if they don't finish telling their story.  Then say, "Switch."  Now the partners switch roles so that the speaker becomes the listener.

Look out over the class and take a moment to enjoy the energy and animated conversation amongst your students.  Then, call for everyone's attention.  Acknowledge the fact that they probably didn't finish telling their stories.  Now ask them to go to the next clean page in their notebook and write.  They might write down the story they were telling, they may choose something else from their list, or they may write about something that their partner's story reminded them of.  Some kids will take off with this and will not be able to spill that story onto the page fast enough. 

For those students who feel that they have nothing good to write about, ask them to extract the most boring story from their list and tell just a short part of it as though it's happening in slow motion.  After you help them to talk through it a bit, they should be fine. 

The best thing about this activity is that it not only generates a lot of excitement on the day you do it.  It also leaves the kids with a handful of starred items in their notebooks that they can write another story about on another day.  Don't forget to set aside some time for your young writers to share their work aloud.  Have fun.

Try It Now

This time of year, teachers are thinking two things, alternately. Yea! It's the tail end of the school year! or OMG, it's the tail end of the school year.  Either way, I've found this to be the best time of the year to try something new.  Here's why:

• You're comfortable with your students and they with you. 
• Classroom management with this group has long been in place.
• You're not stressed about your lesson falling flat.  That's probably already happened more times than you can count this year.  If things are headed in that direction, you'll know what to do.

So here's something quick to try.  Prompt students with What is your earliest memory of an experience with a book? I used this with 1st and 2nd graders years ago and it worked well because it gets kids writing about their favorite subject - themselves.  If students can't remember something from way back in their lives, remind them that it could be something from pre-school or K, or even earlier this school year. 

Pre writing, get them talking.  Say Does anyone already know what they're going to write about?  This will help those children to verbalize some details.  It will help others to come up with ideas. 

As always, the teacher should respond to this prompt in writing and share as well.  You'll let the person who just shared call on the next one.  You raise your hand like everyone else. 

I won't spoil it by giving too much away.  If you have some time to try this, I'd love to know how it went.  Oh, and I almost forgot.  Do this early on in a new school year.  It's very revealing and will help you to plan instruction when you have little else to go on. 

Weren't You Just Here Yesterday?

Why yes...yes I was.

You may notice that my first post was in February and my second post was yesterday.  I get it that a blog should be written more often than that but, no kidding, where do all these bloggers find the time???  I have time now because I'm home from work recuperating from foot surgery.  OUCH!  But now that prescription pain meds are no longer necessary and my head has cleared, here I am with lots of time on my hands.  I emailed Erica this morning to ask for her help with my next project.  It will be hard for her to duck me, living right next door and all, so hopefully I'll have some news about that soon.  Stay tuned.

Where Do Story Ideas Come From? The Short Answer: Quick Prompts

A FAQ posed to writers is Where do you get your ideas?  As a teacher, I've spent years convincing my students that they can find something to write about every day.  But I never just told them that.  I showed them.  I kept a writer's notebook at my desk just as they did, and when I gave a writing assignment to my class, I completed that assignment too.  For daily writing, I used prompts.  (Google writing prompts for kids.)  There were several benefits to writing with my class.
Pieces of writing that begin in my notebook are not beautiful, and yours don't have to be either.  I liked to project my notebook on a screen at the front of the room.  As I responded to a prompt, students could see that I crossed things out, drew arrows to add things in, used sloppy handwriting sometimes, circled words I wasn't sure how to spell, etc.  If you are a teacher or a student, you're nodding and smiling right now.  This is all very familiar.
Quiet writing time.  An elementary classroom is not free from distractions; not for the students, and not for the teacher.  Once the class started writing, there were always a few kids who procrastinated by talking or asking me questions.  My response:  I can't think about what to write if you talk to me. Setting a timer and focusing on my own notebook usually bought me 15 quiet minutes in a third grade classrom.  That's all it takes for a quick response to a generic prompt.  Very non-threatening to a student who's a reluctant writer or to an adult who's pressed for time.  Once we had all accumulated a number of prompts, it was time for...
...the big revelation.  The prompts I used were along the lines of Tell about something that frightened you; or Use your 5 senses to describe your journey to school from the time you set foot out the door.  Notice that the writer is being asked to tell about something that really happened.  Students loved it when I told them that the you in their written response could become a fictitious character, and the events or observations could be transformed into an outlandish piece of fiction.  Then I offered my own notebook up for revisions.  With the kids' help, we made a list.  The adult woman in my brief piece of writing could become a child, a time or space traveler, or the neighbor's great dane.  The setting could be changed just as easily.  And for those students who hadn't written anything during quiet writing time, they were now free to take elements of mine as a starting point.
My classroom experience is described in the past tense because I currently teach 5th grade math.   For now, writing with children has been replaced with writing for children.  I hope my former writing students have gained a sense of freedom about their creative writing.  It doesn't have to be beautifully done (at first), it doesn't have to be true, and it doesn't have to be shared with others if they'd rather not.  As for me, I learned the self-discipline needed to write on command.  (Important for a self-published author with only self-imposed goals and timelines.) 

How I Spent My February Vacation

Well, finally.  I wrote Ralph Simian, I've Had It! 2 summers ago.  It was something I've always wanted to do, and during all this time it mostly just took up space on my thumb drive.  Then I discovered epublishing, only to realize that uploading was not as easy as it sounded for someone like me with only the most basic computer skills.  Lucky for me I live next door to Erica, who I now refer to as my e-goddess.