Three Little Words

I've been thinking about three words of late:  challenge, accountable, and bored.  I hear them thrown about periodically, don't you?  

     Often they are used with the context of learning:  He needs a challenge.  She needs to be held accountable.  He's so bored, he needs... yada, yada, yada... blah, blah, blah.  Whenever I hear one of these words, I think about the onus that surrounds them.

     When I hear challenge (to have a claim to, invite, arouse, stimulated a demand to explain or justify), accountable (capable to being explained, discoverable, reckonable), or bored (to weary by dullness, tedious repition, unwelcome attentions), usually each scenario is accompanied by an overwhelming sense of laissez-faire or passivity on the part of the learner.  The responsibility falls on an outside source (classroom teacher, specialist, para, etc.), rather than on the learner.  I remember once reading a piece by Ron Ritchhart in which he stated, "If you're bored, you must be boring..." I wish I had a copy.  That's a great line... it speaks to the intrinsic nature of learning.

     As I think about the coming school year, I'll be pondering these words, thinking of ways to encourage a more proactive sense of ownership for my students (remember time, ownership, response, and community).  As a learner, I find ways to challenge myself... I think of ways to explain my thinking to others so that I take on the accountability to reflect and share it... And, I only wish I had time to be bored! 

     Learners can challenge themselves and recognize their own need to be accountable, first to themselves and then to others.  And, my role as a teacher is to help empower students with the strategies and skills necessary to do so.  Together, we create the classroom systems and structures and rituals and routines that develop over time... through modeling and using the gradual release of responsibility (I discussed many of these in chapter three of Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop).

     My goal this year is to nudge learners to discover ways to challenge themselves, not by "doing more" or "doing harder," but by "doing more wisely."  My goal this year is to encourage students to hold themselves more accountable for their own learning, not by being punitive, but by finding ways to document their learning independently.  My goal this year is to help students take a proactive stance during times of "boredom," not by acknowledging that boredom exists, but by making sure they develop an intellectual sense of depth that might just supersede a sense of boredom.

     Lofty goals... but attainable.  For now, I'll do a little more pondering and perhaps rent a movie or two so I can enjoy the last week or so of my summer break.  I know, how about Three Little Words with Red Skelton, Fred Astaire, Debbie Reynolds, and Vera Ellen (click on the title to watch the trailer, it's one of my favorites)... 
     I still have some time to ponder.  And, "pondering ain't boring!"

In Pictures and In Words

Katie Wood Ray's latest book, In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study is hot off the presses.  If you're like me, you devour Katie's writing.  If you're like me, your thinking is stretched in new and interesting ways as you read her latest work.  If you're like me, you value Katie's work because at the end of the day, she is first and foremost a writer.  And, from whom do we learn to teach writing from most effectively... from a fellow writer!
   I couldn't wait to talk to Katie about her new book.  It was a pleasure to talk to her about her latest project.  It is a thoughtful and thought-filled read.  Enjoy our interview...

Patrick:  Your initial questions, “What if children are introduced to key qualities of good writing in the context of illustrations.  What If children gain lots and lots of experience planning, drafting, revising, and editing content in the process of composing illustrations for their books?” are so powerful.  So inquiry based. 
    Every time I read your books, or listen to you speak, I’m reminded of the Elephant’s Child by Kipling… you’re so full of insatiable curiosity, you “build your case” so wisely.  Tell us a bit more about how your own curiosity drives you to think deeply, and thoughtfully, as both a writer and teacher of writing.

Katie:  Hmm…I honestly don’t know that anyone has ever described me as curious before, and I’m not sure I think of myself in that way. I mean, I know people who I think of as possessing curiosity as a real habit of mind, and I’m just not sure I fit that bill. Like lots of times I travel to interesting places for work and I never leave my hotel room to go see what’s there. It seems like if I were a truly curious person I wouldn’t let those opportunities pass me by. Hmm… 
   Having said that, I do get interested in things about writing and teaching, and as that interest grows and the edges of it start to fill out a bit, this often leads me to start writing about it. And here’s the thing, maybe it is curiosity that leads me to writing, because one thing I have come to completely trust is that when I do start writing about something, I will know WAY more about it when I’m finished than when I started.
 
Patrick:  In chapter two, you talk eloquently about stamina and its role in the writer’s workshop.  Although you focus on “young writers” in this book, how would you describe the notion of “stamina” as it relates to writers in upper elementary classrooms?    

Katie:  Same thing, more of it! Truly, upper grades writers should have even better stamina for writing than young children, but you know what’s sad is, so often they don’t. Many of them have gotten so used to school being a place where every moment of the day is directed by someone else, that they don’t know how to work their way through time without outside direction.  If kids are going to learn to keep themselves going through time as writers, they are going to need big projects they are working on all on their own to sustain them. This is why I have always felt students should have a folder of totally self-sponsored work (I call it back-up work in Study Driven) they’ve got going all the time. I would encourage them to work on novels, plays, articles, guides – anything that interests them really. Most of it will be not-so-good writing, but if it helps them build stamina for writing, that’s fine.  

Patrick:  I asked Ralph Fletcher this question recently, “What are some of the practices you see being implemented in classrooms in the name of ‘writer’s workshop’ that send shivers down your spine?”   

Katie:  I get frustrated when writing curriculum is not taken seriously. If children were being taught, say, that the nation’s capitol is in Chicago instead of Washington, we’d call that absurd because of course that’s not true. And yet, there are just as glaringly erroneous things (in my opinion) taught to children as writing curriculum and no one bats an eye. The whole myth curriculum that has grown up around “how to write a paragraph” being one notable example. You know, it is just not true that a paragraph must have five sentences and that you build each one with a topic sentence and supporting details and then move on to the next. The evidence for this is in every single text a person reads, and yet children are still subjected to this completely false curriculum in so many places. How can it possibly be okay to teach children something so far off the mark?  And unfortunately, there are other examples I could give, but I won’t so as not to sound off too shrilly.  

Patrick:  When you were writing In Picture and In Words, what was your greatest ah-ha?  Tell us about the part of the book that you’re most proud of as a writer yourself. 

Katie:  I think I was most surprised by how deep it got when I started making the connections between what illustrators do and what writers do. I knew there were connections, but I didn’t realize how significant they really were until I pushed myself to articulate them for all those different techniques. This is probably my favorite part of the book, though I’m not sure everyone will have the patience to dig into them! 

Patrick:  One of my favorite chapters is chapter four.  Your metaphor is filled with your voice.  I love how you challenge us to “read like a writer, on purpose.”  The act of developing a new habit of mind as readers of illustrations and constantly nudging writers to make important decisions plays a critical role in your teaching… how can we best encourage our colleagues to take risks when “thinking aloud” during the teaching of writing?

Katie:  I don’t ever really feel like I have good answers to questions that involve getting colleagues on board with something. The only thing I know to do is to take the When Harry Met Sally approach – “I’ll have what she’s having.”  If we’re living demonstrations of thinking and risk-taking in all our work together, and folks see the amazing places that can lead us, perhaps they’ll want to come aboard.  Interestingly enough, I think I am most at ease thinking aloud when I’m teaching children, much more so than I am sometimes in the company of adults.  

Patrick:  Your predictable framework for planning a unit of study, for generating curriculum, even with a study of illustrations, is so logical, so inquiry-based.  Teaching children to “learn how to learn” plays such a key role in the process.  What are your words of wisdom for someone who wants something more “prescriptive”, dare I say it, “canned”?

Katie:  Start small. Instead of planning a whole year of units from an inquiry stance, start by planning just one or two. I haven’t met many teachers who didn’t tell me that they loved how energizing it is to get in there and learn alongside their students.  Once a teacher has gotten a taste of that, it’s hard to not want more of it. Going to work every day is so much more rewarding when you can expect the unexpected instead of always expecting the expected. But you have to learn to trust children and trust yourself to be able to teach into what children think and notice. 
   Some of this, also, is connected to having a deep understanding of the nature of writing curriculum. In many ways, writing is so complex and multi-faceted, that to imagine it can be programmatic, is to not really understand the nature of it. With almost anything I can think about that is important to know about writing, there are multiple ways to know it, multiple ways it could go. There’s no way to make it simple, as programs seek to do. Teaching from an inquiry stance allows the complexity of writing curriculum to maintain its integrity in our teaching.  

Patrick:  The last five chapters focus on a fifty illustration techniques (again following that predictable format).   Each chapter is organized so explicitly.  I’m in awe.  I imagine you sitting in your library, pulling book after book out of your collection… noticing and naming… Tell us about writing that section.   How did you stop at 50?  Do you have a favorite technique?
 
Katie:  A lot of the techniques were ones I had explored with Lisa and her students in their writing workshop. But yes, there were new ones I found as I indeed sat and pulled book after book off my shelves. And of course, with some of the ones I already knew,  I wanted to find the best possible examples to describe in the book, so that sent me exploring as well. This part was great fun to write actually – like going on a treasure hunt. Making all the writing connections to the illustration techniques sent me back into some classic books about word crafting that I hadn’t looked at in a while, and I enjoyed that immensely.  
   I stopped at fifty because it just seemed like a good round number. I could have done more, but I think I made my point and accomplished my goal – to give teachers enough examples of this kind of noticing, thinking and connecting that they go could forward and work independently of what I write about in the book.  
   Probably my favorite technique is the beginning and endings that match (#26 I think). This is so common in writing as well, and I love that I was able to show that lead and ending from Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible.  

Patrick:  On a personal note, tell us how you handle writing with four dogs at your feet, or under your feet… how did you stay focused?  Perhaps you have a picture book in mind with your dogs as the characters? 

Katie:  My dogs are too big to sit under my feet! My smallest dog – “little” Ivy we call her – is 70 lbs. They just lie on dog beds all around my office. To be honest, I came to my love for dogs late in life, and I can’t imagine how I lived or wrote books before I had them. They are so wide awake to everything around them (except when they’re asleep of course), that I just experience everything more fully when they’re around. And they do make what can be a very long, lonely day sitting at my desk much less lonely.  

Patrick:  On page 97, you say, “To write well, writers need ideas, and then they need ideas for how to express those ideas…”  With that in mind, what is your next project?  What are you thinking about as a writer?  Where is your insatiable curiosity leading you….
 
Katie:  I am interested in the day-to-day decision making of a teacher who is not following a script for teaching in the writing workshop. While s/he may be working within a predictable framework for teaching as I describe in so much of my work, day-to-day decisions about what comes next still must be made. The best writing workshop teacher I know, Lisa Cleaveland, and I are going to explore this next year in her classroom. I don’t know if a book will come out of it or not, but I feel if I could name the ways decisions are made in her teaching, it could be very helpful for other teachers who are wanting to break free of programs and make their own decisions.
   I’ve also been thinking about the quality of talk in the writing workshop for some time and have collected lots of thinking about it, but so far I haven’t felt I have anything really different to write about it than what Peter Johnston so perfectly captured in Choice Words. If I ever feel I have anything significant to add to that, I might have a go at it.  
   Word crafting continues to pull at me. It’s something I toy with going back to all the time, but don’t know if ever will.  
   And then Matt Glover and I are working on a project that will be in the form of an E-Book and will be a combination of text and video clips of writing conferences with very beginning writers. It’s pretty exciting stuff and hopefully will be out in the next year. It’s all stuff we’ve just filmed during normal days in writing workshops, no big film crews and bright lights, so it’s very real, very raw. When we show it to teachers in workshops, they love that about it, so making it available to folks in an affordable, easily accessible format is our goal.

Patrick:  Thanks for sharing your thinking with us and thanks for once again challenging us to think more clearly and deeply about our work with the writers in our care.

Ahh... Father's Day

Father's Day.  My card today read, "Being a father is not about being Superman.  It's about being there."  Signed by all the kids.  Graham, who arrived home late last night after a week in San Francisco with his girlfriend and is now back at work (and neglected to tell me he was arriving home a day later than originally planned... so I enjoyed two drives to the airport).  Jens, who signs everything "Your jolly good son, Jens!", who is on a week-long youth service project with his pals from church, working with inner-city children.  Anneke, signed in absentia by Lauryn, who is working at a summer camp this summer in the mountains (and learning that treating children with respect and smiles has its rewards) with her best high school friend and her best college friend.  And, Lauryn, who helped me celebrate the day at home (with smiles, stories, and song)... beautifully, I might add.
     After church, we drove to downtown Littleton and ate a great lunch on the patio of Merle's  (of course, Lauryn wanted to do The Melting Pot).  A little window shopping (and stopping in at a book store of course)!  Then it was out to my classroom to sift and sort and pack (yep, working even on Father's Day), two days left with children and it's off to a different classroom.  Then, dinner out (an eating fest today) at Qdoba (father's ate free).  And finally, home sweet home, for presents (clothes, I Love Lucy season four, and a great ring for my right hand) and a needed nap on the couch.  It was grand day and the many blessing of being a father abounded.
     Purchases?  Of course.  I found a great book called Whistling by Elizabeth Partridge (her latest book is called Marching for Freedom).  Whistling is a beautifully illustrated story (the illustrations are quilts) about a father and son camping and the father teaching his son to whistle.  Out-of-print, of course.  Poetic and beautiful!  A true Father's Day find. 
     And, if being a father doesn't give you something to whistle about... well, nothing will!  

Caught My Eye

I

I was drawn to the cover of this book at a recent book fair.  There's something intriguing about its simplicity that made me do a double take.  And, then, I read the first page and I was hooked.  Out of My Mind is a beautifully written book.
     In the book the main character, Melody, draws us into her world... she can't talk, walk, or write.  Although she can't speak, she has a photographic memory and her brain works like a video camera.  Her doctors and teachers think she's incapable of learning, only because they don't know what's actually going on inside her head... until she finds her "voice" using a communication device and is transitioned into a regular education classroom.
     Sharon Draper says, "All great stories emerge from deep truths that rest within us.  But the real truth of a story often can be found in places that not even the author has dared to explore."  In Out of My Mind she creates a character who is powerful, intelligent, and intriguing and sometimes makes us forget that she struggles with a disability.  Without patronizing, Draper invites the reader to understand Melody and her cerebral palsy and from page one you're drawn into the story.  This is a good upper elementary read, dealing with some tough issues.  You can read more about the author on her website.  

Back on the Farm

I ran across Elisha Cooper's book, Farm, and fell in love with the illustrations.  There's something about farm life that intriques me (a small town boy at heart, perhaps). 
     The text in this book is simple and quiet and encompasses all the joys and experiences farm life has to offer in simple watercolor.  There's a poetic tone to the book and its simplicity lends itself to a quiet read.  I love the rooster's name, Breakfast.  And, although a simple read, it provides insight into life on the farm (although those of us who have spent any amount of time on a farm know that farm life is not simple, nor easy). 
     I have a basket of books in my classroom called, "Living the Country Life."  It's a fine collection of cowboy and farm books--poetry, picture books, nonfiction, etc.  There's even a Cowboy Sam or two in the box.  It's my personal testament to my family's history...
     Farm makes a perfect addition to my growing collection!

GOAL!

I was shopping with my wife and daughter to purchase a book for an end of the year teacher gift (as we make that grand leap to middle school).  We've been at our elementary school for 18 years (we open-enrolled our oldest there when he was in Kindergarten) and it's sad for us to even think about leaving (but that's a blog entry for another day).  My daughter settled on Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes by Susan V. Bosak for her fifth grade teacher.
     I, of course, couldn't leave the bookstore empty-handed and I left with Mina Javaherbin's book Goal.  I couldn't resist.  Somehow, even when I'm in the bookstore buying something for someone else, I have to leave with a treat for myself.  And, oh what a gem this book is... my wife made me sit down and read it (I think she wanted it just as badly as I did and so it made its way into our pile).  Check out her website Mina Javaherbin or blog.
     In her debut picture book, the author writes a wonderful story of soccer and its role in the life of a group of boys in a small South African township.  Jamal and his friends play soccer in the streets and win a "football" at school.  They use soccer as an outlet to forget the realities that surround them.  Their federation-sized ball is a prized possession and a group of bullies arrive on the scene to steal the ball.  Jamal's quick thinking and a bit of fancy footwork add a surprising twist to the outcome.  "The streets are not always safe..." is a reminder throughout the book, but the boys find solace in their sport.  The last page is amazing...
     "Left is clear, 
     Right is clear, 
 
     Down the alley, as far as we can see is clear.  

     The streets are not safe here.  

     But we have a plan.  

     When we play, 

     the sound 

     of our kicks 

     on the ball 

     is music.  

     When we play together, 

     we are unbeatable."

I am moving to 4th grade with many of my students next year.  I'm saving this book for the first few weeks of school... as we revisit the idea of "stamina and endurance."  I write about it in Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop.  I can't wait to begin the new school year.  This book is a perfect addition to my (our) collection!

Pyrotechnics on the Page

Ralph Fletcher's latest book, Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing is now available through Stenhouse (http://www.stenhouse.com).  You can also visit Ralph's website http://www.ralphfletcher.com for other great resources. 


I picked up my copy at IRA in Chicago and this book is an extraordinary read (I read much of it during my flight home and even the turbulence of a bumpy eastern Colorado thunderstorm couldn't tear me away from its pages).  In the foreword Katie Wood Ray writes, "...with this new book, Ralph is poised to teach so many of us once again in a whole new way, and we're going to have a grand ol' time learning what he wants to teach us about playing with language."  It's true.  Like an old friend, Ralph once again invites into his writing and teaching life to explore writing and to bring "play" back into our writing workshops.   

I interviewed Ralph about his book.  It was a pleasure to chat with him about his thinking.  It was just the spark I needed. Enjoy!

Patrick:  I love how you describe pyrotechnics as “deliberate playfulness with language used by writers.”  Tell us a bit more about the title of your book and how you came to develop the term “pyrotechnics.” 

Ralph:  Well, pyrotechnics has at least two meanings. It relates to fire, of course, but it can also mean “a brilliant or dazzling display, as of eloquence, wit, or virtuosity.” To me, pyrotechnics refers to any language that makes us sit up and take notice.    

Patrick:  It’s clear that a sense of play is critical for young writers.  What are some of the practices you see being implemented in classrooms in the name of “writer’s workshop” that send shivers down your spine? 

Ralph:  Nowadays the workshops I see tend to be more scripted. Real choice in writing seems to be disappearing. I see a lot of paint-by-numbers writing. As an author, I receive letters from a class that has read one of my novels. Sometimes those letters all have the same format, and it’s clear that the kids are following a “recipe” given to them by the teacher. 

Patrick:  Throughout the book, you clearly describe your love affair with words.  What are the best ways for teachers to train their ears, eyes, and hearts to notice language at play so that they can, in turn, nudge their students to do the same? 

Ralph:  There are many ways. I think it begins with what Don Graves has said—good writing teachers must be readers and writers themselves. That’s such a powerful idea! So, read a novel and post sticky notes at places where the language makes you ooh and ahh. Share a few appropriate sections with students. Kids need to see us delighting in language that is skillfully—and playfully—used.

Patrick:  One of my favorite chapters in the book is chapter five.  In it, you talk wisely about the developmental perspective of language play.  You challenge us to “romp through the lush and forbidden grass” and to acknowledge that children often know more about language than we do.  Would you speak briefly about the developmental aspect of young writers?  What are your recommendations for teachers who have lost sight of the developmental nature of writing?
 
Ralph:  Skilled writing teachers steer by several stars: what you know about individual kids, what is appropriate for writers at the grade level you teach, and, yes, the writing curriculum. But there are rough developmental levels for young writers, and we forget this at our own peril. Second grade teachers may feel pressured to teach paragraphing in order to get kids ready for the state writing test but, in my opinion, paragraphing is a skill better left to be taught in 4th grade.

Patrick:  You write about play and the essential elements that define play (chapter 12).  When you walk into a classroom, how do you know it is "play-full"?  What do you hope to see and hear when you visit a classroom (both primary and intermediate)?
 
Ralph:  I want to hear laughter. Humor is essential! I want to see writing displayed on the walls that reflects what kids do at that age. Instead of typing up correct (standard) first grade stories, put stories on the walls written in their own handwriting, in their own zany spellings. I want to see diverse writing: different kinds of topics. Most important: when I read those stories I want to hear kids’ authentic voices.

Patrick:  In chapter twelve, you talk about igniting pyrotechnics in the classroom and you share some common principles for promoting language play in the classroom.  How might you further encourage teachers to notice when it is time to introduce a specific strategy or skill and to take the pyrotechnic concept “deep”? 
     Speaking of deep, I often hear teacher’s say, “I want to know how to take students deeper.”  Would you take a few moments to give us your definition of “depth” when it comes to pyrotechnics?

Ralph:  I am the (co)author of Craft Lessons, and Pyrotechnics on the Page has 24 new craft lessons showing kids how they can play with words when they write. I am all about craft, but at the same time I think we have to be careful not to focus too much on craft. Yes, we teach our students various strategies, craft elements, techniques. But at some point the writer should put that stuff aside and just write.
    It’s a slow-growth model. In math we introduce a concept, demonstrate it, give kids homework (to see if the are picking it up), then give a pre-test, then a final test to see if they have mastered the concept. Writing is completely different. We may introduce a craft element in the fall, but the young writer may not really use it until the spring—or even next year!
       So “depth” requires requires kids to have sustained time to write with all the conditions we know are so important for writers: choice, ownership, and supportive response.

Patrick:  In chapter sixteen, you provide teachers with rich and varied craft lessons and you mention that they should “not be taught randomly or as part of some arbitrary preset sequence.”  Don Graves always referred to these one time shots as “cha-cha-cha” curriculum.  What would you say to a teacher who introduces a pyrotechnic craft and then checks it off his/her list and moves on to the next lesson?

Ralph:  I would say: good, you have introduced it. But pay attention to their choice writing (including jottings in their writer’s notebook) for hard evidence that they are actively using the strategy, that it has truly become part of their repertoires as writers.

Patrick:  What do you hope readers will walk away with after reading Pyrotechnics on the Page? 

Ralph:  Paul Overstreet has a country song, “Take Another Run At Our Love,” that has these lines:

    Let’s have a little fun with it, darling,
    Love don’t have to be so serious…

    Grammatical errors aside, I think we all get the point. Instead of “working” on our relationships, we might do better to play at them.  Let’s enjoy each other! And writing is the same way. Writing in school doesn’t have to be so drearily serious, so sanitized, so stripped clean of all the qualities that we enjoy when we read for pleasure: irony, humor, whimsy, musicality, double meanings, etc. 

    Strong writing contains language used in a way that is playful and fun. Kids do this naturally—they really are interested in language—so in this regard writing teachers are already halfway home. Facilitating language play in the writing classroom begins with paying attention to the playfulness with language that is already there in our students’ speech as well as in the world around them.

Patrick:  What project is next for you? 

Ralph:  I have four different kinds of books under contract (yikes!) including a young adult novel, a picture book, and a professional book about using mentor texts with in the writing classroom. It will be a busy year! 

Patrick:  Thanks Ralph.  I can't wait until the next one!