Upcoming Saturday Seminars: Winter 2010

On January 9, 2010, the Saturday Seminar entitled "Writing to a Prompt: Getting Your Students Ready for ISTEP" will be offered from 8:30-11:30AM. This session will aid participants in creating a writing cycle that approaches "writing to a prompt" as a manageable genre. This Saturday Seminar will be held in Room 292 of the Robert Bell Building, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306.

Additionally, on Saturday, April 10, 2010, IWP will host "An Introduction to Writing Workshop," especially for current undergraduates and those new to the concept of Writing Workshop. This seminar will include a 10:00AM-12:00PM session introducing participants to the features and structure of Writing Workshop; then, from 1:00-4:00PM, attendees will observe Writing Workshop in action during a visit to IWP's 'Comp Camp'. All activities for this seminar will occur in the Robert Bell Building on campus at Ball State University.

The Indiana Writing Project is proud to offer a special student registration fee of only $10 for each of our winter 2010 Saturday Seminars. You can register online or by contacting the IWP office via e-mail at iwp@bsu.edu.

The Power of Writing in Our Community: Veterans Day

In commemoration of Veterans Day 2009, Jane Adams (TC 2009) encouraged her third grade students at Alexandria-Monroe Intermediate School to compose letters to the guests of honor at the school corporation's upcoming community-wide Veterans Day program.

Following the program, The Herald Bulletin newspaper featured the front-page article "Student's Letter Touches Guardsman". Visit the link above to read Dave Stafford's article that details the connection writing fostered between a student and a veteran.

National Day on Writing & National Gallery of Writing

Check out the Indiana Writing Project Gallery, which was created as part of NCTE's National Gallery of Writing to celebrate the National Day on Writing, Tuesday, October 20, 2009. Join the fun by contributing your own writing and work from your students to our IWP Gallery. Please note submission guidelines when selecting pieces to share in the gallery.

The gallery will continue to accept submissions until June 1, 2010, and may be visited until June 30, 2010.

Visiting Indiana University Southeast Writing Project

On Monday, June 15, I was fortunate to visit New Albany, Indiana and the IU Southeast Writing Project. Excitement was in the air as the new fellows were starting their Summer Institute and more than 25 Teacher Consultants were returning for the advanced institutes.

Dr. Kevin Sue Bailey welcomed me and made sure I had what I needed for my demonstration. It was my job to get the Advanced Institute Fellows writing this morning. Dr. Bailey opened with a read aloud and we did introductions using a simple activity of writing a memoir of our lives in exactly six words.

Then it was my turn. I presented to the group on using Poetry Slam—scaffolding spoken word poetry in the classroom. It was the same presentation I made at the Indiana Teachers of Writing Conference last year and at one of IWP’s Saturday Seminars, so I was comfortable with the material. This group of teacher consultants was energetic and fun! They were so engaged in the writing of their 6-Room Image Poems (ala Georgia Heard), that they had to be stopped to break for lunch.

I was taken out to lunch at a local restaurant called Tumbleweeds—wonderful food and a country atmosphere. When I returned, teacher consultants were scattered around the building in corners doing their own writing.

It was explained to me that every year at IUSWP they don’t actually have a topic for their advanced institute. All former TCs are invited to return to earn 3 credit hours. Those attending Advanced Institute for the first time split into a separate group (called the Level 2 group) after lunch for a book discussion on Literacy Leadership. Those attending Advanced Institute for a second, third, fourth, etc. time have additional writing time and/or conversation groups with other TC’s about what they are doing in their classrooms. Some collaborative action research projects have grown from these discussions.

The whole group comes back together again at the end of the day for a reflection time and we held a poetry slam with the poems the TC’s wrote that day. What a group of writers they are! Topics ranged from the life of a hummingbird to not being able to urinate in a dirty gas station bathroom. This was a wild bunch that is passionate about teaching, writing, and teaching writers. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this group!

Submitted by Jenny Smithson, TC 2003

Book Review of "A Curse Dark as Gold"

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

The novel, A Curse Dark as Gold, takes place in Shearing, a small English village known for its textile industry in the early years of the Industrial Revolution. As one reads, the story starts to resemble Rumplestiltskin, but never makes you feel as if you are reading the same fairy tale. This novel reads more like historical fiction than fantasy. The characters and setting are well developed as the story is woven through the eyes of our protagonist, Charlotte Miller.

The details about the millwork, wool, and sheep are very convincing as we read further into the book. Although the location is fictional, one feels as if they can visualize each character and location. The valley is described with realistic people, dialect, businesses of the times, and towns that also sound as if they could be real enough to look up on a period map.

The names of the people in the story were equally interesting because they related to the jobs or the personality of the person or company, yet it was not so overdone to make one want to scoff and close the book. Charlotte Miller of course is a miller and our main character. She leads us through the story of village superstitions, as her skepticism slowly changes to acceptance of those things that are unexplainable. She generally chooses to be practical as she takes over the mill following her father’s death. This is unusual for a female during this time period. She discovers her father had done the best he could, but had also made some poor decisions that she needed to correct. Those decisions and her attempts to do right slowly entangle her in events that she can not control.

See if you can figure out where some of these names relate to the story: Uncle Wheeler, Mordant, Harte, Woodstone, Pinchfield, Stirwater, and Jack Spinner.

Enjoy the journey to another time while feeling a familiar sense of what might happen. You will be asking yourself questions as you read. This book is best suited to middle and high school students who are not uncomfortable with suggestions of magic and curses.

Check out a discussion between Elizabeth C. Bunce and her editor, Cheryl Klein,
from Klein's blog.

Reviewed by Robin Sowder, TC 2002

Summer 2009 Administrators' Workshop

On June 29 and 30, ten administrators from seven schools in four districts gathered on the Ball State campus to increase their understanding of the Writing Workshop. One attendee, a superintendent, came with her six building administrators, and several principals had teachers spending part of their summer at IWP's Open or Invitational Institutes.

In addition to writing, attendees learned the details of state writing standards, discussed professional literature, and learned about the roles of administrators in supporting the teaching of authentic writing. Administrators had time to assess the needs in their home buildings and corporations, and design a plan to promote Writing Workshop in their schools. During the second afternoon, the participants visited IWP's middle and high school Comp Camp. The administrators were impressed with what they observed of Writing Workshop in action; one participant commented, "I felt like going into the classroom and watching an actual mini-lesson was really valuable. I was able to put the vision I had of it [Writing Workshop] into reality." Another administrator added, "I feel I can support great writing instruction."

For information about future Administrators' Workshops, please visit Indiana Writing Project website.

Meet the 2009 Summer Institute Fellows

Meet the 2009 Invitational Summer Institute fellows; learn about them while reading their reflections on the SI experience, and checking out their project boards...

Jane Adams

"I teach 3rd grade at Alexandria Monroe Intermediate School. This summer in ISI I learned writing is important in all subjects – across the curriculum."

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Jennifer Fisher

"I teach 1st grade at Southside Elementary in Hartford City. I have learned so many great, terrific, and exciting things this summer that is it very hard to narrow it down to just one. If I have to narrow it down, I would say that it is that I/ we must not forget how important Writer’s Workshop is for both teachers and students. We are building a community of writers that “ache with caring”. I have found the writer within myself and I love it. There are so many stories playing around in my head that I want to write – nonfiction, fiction, family, friends, teaching… and I want that for my students. “No matter what have them write every day,” says Katie Wood Ray. I will cherish all of the wonderful, sweet, and terrific friends I gained and loved getting to know. Writing is magic, life is magic, our students are magic. Never forget how important we are and the mark we make in our lifetimes."

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Gail Gayda

"I teach 5th grade at St. Lawrence School in Muncie. I have learned so much, I didn’t know where to begin. I think foremost, I learned to love to write. And I became familiar with authors who I will continue to count on for help in setting up my workshop. ISI took me way beyond my expectation."

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Rachel Hartley-Smith

"I have an M.A. in English Creative Writing, and an M.A. in Telecommunications Digital Storytelling from Ball State. I teach first year English Composition with a focus on creativity and digital mediums. This summer I was able to focus and refine defining elements of my personal teaching philosophy. The Summer Institute gave me the opportunity to become part of a community that I will remember always."

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Melissa Messersmith

"I teach 3rd grade at Alexandria-Monroe Intermediate School. This summer I have learned how important the Writer’s notebook is and the components that make it great."

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Lori Mikel

"I teach middle and high school separate and inclusion special education classes at Selma Middle School. I’ve learned how to make writing more valuable in the classes my students take and to modify my own curriculum to help my learners work to achieve their greatest potential."

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Barbara Miller

"I teach English 10 and AP Literature and Composition at Cowan Jr./ Sr. High School. This summer at ISI I have refined my system of marking standard English errors on final drafts, and timed writing works, in conjunction with tracking student proficiency."

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Heather Poston

"I teach English 9, AP Literature, and Student Publications at Alexandria-Monroe High School. I have really enjoyed being immersed in writing and theory, and collaborating with so many amazing educators. I have rediscovered a love for writing that I’m excited to share with my students."

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Karla Riggin

"I teach 7th grade science at Selma Middle School. I will implement a writing strategy known as RAFTS into my science curriculum. I love to inspire my students to work smarter, not harder. Integrating writing and science does just that using creativity and imagination for communication."

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Julie Rinker-Bailey

"I teach English 9 and Muncie Central High School. I am a writer now!"

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Sarah Sandman

"I teach composition at Ball State. During ISI I learned how to better implement Writer’s Workshop into my classroom and how to conference with my students more effectively."

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Jodie Scales

"I teach 7th grade Language Arts at Selma Middle School. I will start the school year out with Fletcher’s book on the Writer’s Notebook. The Writer’s Notebook will be my catalyst into a true Writer’s Workshop environment."

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Emily Standridge

"I teach 1st year composition at Ball State. I’ve learned the important of playing with language."

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Jamie Stapleton

"I teach 8th grade Language Arts at Alexandria-Monroe high School. Through Writing Project, I have learned the importance of choice and audience not just for students, but for all writers."

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Carolyn Story

"I am a vocational teacher of the Dental Health Careers at the Muncie Area Career Center. I have learned many writing to learn strategies that will enhance my students’ comprehension of my content area. I can’t wait to implement some of these strategies with my upcoming class and see the positive results they will bring! I consider the new friendships I have made to be priceless!"

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Megan Wallace

"I teach junior and senior elective courses and AP Language and Composition. During ISI I’ve learned the importance of showing ourselves as writers to our students."

Summer 2009 Open Institute

Sixteen educators searched for knowledge of writing instruction, treasure made known to each of them initially by the reading of Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide written by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnne Portalupi. Curiosity whet and the desire for more knowledge of the best practice in writing instruction propelled the group of teachers to dig deeper into the research based best practices of Nancy Atwell, Donald Graves, Lester Laminack, Katie Wood Ray, Carl Anderson, and Lucy Calkins. Professional discussions provided additional clues to making sense of the complicated and sometimes confusing concepts of mini lessons, craft, extended writing time, record keeping, sharing, and assessment, the jewels that make up the treasure chest of the Writing Workshop. Who were these treasure hunters? What were the steps the treasure hunters took in their five day quest? How were they guided, developed, and challenged? Did they encounter challenges along the way that previously help beliefs in writing instruction?

Each participant of the 2009 Open Institute brought with them a desire to improve the quality of the writing instruction they provided for their students. But the experience, knowledge base, and reasons for attending the Open Institute of each teacher varied greatly. Some teachers, who were riffed by their home schools due to funding cuts, were hoping to increase their marketability in addition to increasing their writing instruction knowledge; others had observed a colleague successfully navigate the complicated path of standards based writing instruction tied to the Writing Workshop and wanted to learn how to navigate the path themselves; still others understood there was a better way to teach writing, but had little idea how to do it. Experienced ranged from kindergarten teachers to a community college instructor. Despite the differences, the quest for knowledge united the group into collaborative treasure hunters.

The Open Institute participants discovered effective instruction does not need to involve lengthy lectures, skills taught in isolation, and process writing. The brilliance of this knowledge jewel grew brighter as the participants learned about the facets of the Writing Workshop: the use of mini-lessons, daily writing time, conferencing, and sharing. Participants then observed the Writing Workshop in action by spending time each day in the Composition Camp conducted by fellows of the Indiana Writing Project. They witnessed student responses to mini lesson instruction and observed the sustained writing time needed for students to produce quality writing. Then participants became students themselves and experienced the effectiveness of mini lesson instruction after creating a necklace of memories after hearing the mentor text, The Memory String written by Eve Bunting. Each participant then became a writer when asked to select a memory from her memory string to retell in written form and share the writing with peers. Discussions centered on the importance of the teacher being a writer and the vulnerability a writer feels when asked to share his/her writing. Techniques for conferencing were practiced and discussed, illuminating the necessity of positive comments as well as constructive attainable goals for students to work toward.

The jewels of knowledge glowed brighter and brighter and magically increased in number as the Open Institute focused the participants’ attention on the creation of mini lessons. Guided by the wisdom of Katie Wood Ray’s Wondrous Words, participants dove into novels and picture books, mining craft from the expertly written text and they discovered that teaching writers about craft improves the content of all writing through revision. One participant realized that revision is really the “re-vision” of a piece of writing. Another remarked that she never realized that it was actually craft that improved writing. Still others discovered that any well written text can be mined for craft and can be used to teach several different types of craft. What a plethora of discovered treasure!

Participants were asked daily to reflect upon the day’s content, instruction, and insights through the use of exit slips, allowing them to discover the power of student reflection to instruction. Personal comments by the co-facilitators written on exit slips addressed individual concerns and questions, complimented insights and practices, and questioned previously held concepts creating a model of written dialogue that can occur between instructors and their students.

As the Open Institute neared its end, participants realized that the treasure chest of the Writing Workshop was huge! The jewels were multifaceted and complex. A five day treasure hunt was not going to be enough to uncover all the knowledge, but more research and further study was necessary and the experts would need to be consulted and referenced again and again to solidify understanding. The Open Institute concluded with the presentation of research based mini-lessons by each participant. Participants self selected topics for developments and each participant were coached and conferenced into the creation of a meaningful mini lesson that was shared with the rest of the group. Each participant left the Open Institute with 16 research-based mini lessons and a desire to learn more.

This is the second year Susan Darling and Tammy Taylor have co-chaired the Open Institute and they felt that their instruction and coaching flowed extremely well, even better than last year. A missing jewel in the Open Institute seemed to be the modeling with students piece. Tying the Open Institute together with the Composition Camp enabled participants to see the Writing Workshop in action this year. This marriage of the Open Institute and Composition Camp shows great potential and collaborative planning is essential for the union to be most beneficial to all. Our personal and professional relationship grew stronger through working together in the Open Institute. Susan and Tammy both look forward to future partnerships benefiting the Indiana Writing Project and each participant.

Compiled by Susan Darling and Tammy Taylor

Summer 2009 Advanced Institute: The Study of Craft

Using text from your own classroom, we will analyze the craft, read like writers, and develop lessons. Our text, What You Know By Heart by Katie Wood Ray, will guide our journey for the week. Our goal comes directly from Katie, “We need to know, by heart, what it is we are trying to teach when we are teaching writing.” Come “muck around” with the text you are familiar with and find new practical applications for the classroom.

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Primary and secondary teachers came together for a week of conversation, learning, and sharing. Each teacher, the scope of experience ranging kindergarten to twelfth grade, eager to take Katie’s words, “know, by heart, what it is we are trying to teach when we are teaching writing” and apply it to our classroom curriculum.

The first day blossomed into rich discussion surrounding the contents of the book, What You Know By Heart. Writer’s notebooks, our own writing, and a clear understanding of choice dominated the morning conversation, while the afternoon gave way to the difficult concept of craft study thinking vs process study thinking. One participant made the analogy of heart vs standard. When looking at writing and curriculum it is useful to look at craft and understandings as synonymous, where you want to go – the outcome and strategies and process are how you get there – the authors purpose and thought process.

By the end of the day we realized the rough work ahead of us. Thinking about how we think does not always make for particularly easy curriculum development. “A line of thinking that begins with telling the stories of our writing experiences and ends with the development of writing curriculum that we can actually envision our students using in their work” became our mantra for the task before us. We would do all of this hard work keeping in our heart something we did know as teachers of writing, “there is no single, right, and magical process for writing.”

Enter Wondrous Words into our week.

To begin this hard work of analyzing the text we use in our classroom, we needed to look at chapters 9 and 8 from Wondrous Words. From these chapters came our guides and references for the mucking around we would do. In order to look at text, we needed to know what we were looking for. Knowing our classroom and our hearts as teachers, we began by looking at the “craft terms” Katie lays out in her book. By utilizing her list, we each made a list that would benefit our own work.

Next, we used three picture books, Night in the Country, Grandpa Never Lies, and Canoe Days to help us transition from “craft thinking to process thinking” according to Katie. This actually was harder than we thought. Realizing the illustrator puts his own spin on the story with pictures, we found it easier to work with the text minus the pictures first, identify the craft and then pull the book with the illustrations in later.

A suggestion was made for a fieldtrip to the Muncie Public Library. This gave us the opportunity to look at other books, see the craft, and discuss the use in the classroom. We were reading like writers! Although many of these books contained a wealth of craft, we knew our task remained – use the books in your classroom!

Mucking around with our own texts – finally!

The purpose of this Institute for each of us was the same, yet different. Yes, we wanted to take the text we use with our class, analyze the craft, read like writers, and develop lessons for those texts, yet the lessons were what set us apart. Keeping Katie in mind and how she uses text, we envisioned ourselves “pulling this book (our classroom text) out to show a ‘writing move’ to a student.” Then we began crafting our own lessons for our own classroom. Fingers flew across keyboards as each participant typed text and made charts of craft in each text.

Occasionally interruptions of “ah ha” moments would happen. Tammy noted, “There will be reading going on in the writing workshop as your students learn to read like writers.” Shirley made the analogy of an orchestra conductor, “you can bring it all together when you are the conductor, bringing the reading and the writing part together.” Alena commented, “We can include the speech and reading strategies and standards. We listen to the different pieces practicing.”

Submitted by Tammy Taylor and Linda Valley

Special Saturday Seminar: Writing to a Prompt

A Special Winter Morning for TCs and their Colleagues:

Writing to a Prompt
January 9
8:30-11:30 AM
RB Building, BSU
$20 registration

Several years ago, IWP began to approach ISTEP writing as a genre, a genre we teach like any other writing application in the standards. We developed a four-week writing cycle that prepares students of any age to write on demand. January is a good time to start preparing students for Spring ISTEP testing, so mark your calendars now for the morning of Saturday, January 9.

The lead presenter, TC Susan Darling, helped develop the cycle and uses it in her class every year with impressive results. In one trial of this unit in a rural school, all but one third-grader scored 4,5 or 6 on the language development rubric and the sixth grade class scored higher than the state average. It works so invite your friends and colleagues.

You can register online or by contacting the IWP office via e-mail at iwp@bsu.edu.

Fall 2009 Saturday Seminars

Wes-Del Elementary in Gaston, the home school of IWP Core Council President Shirley Thacker, has graciously offered to host three fall Saturday Seminar sessions, which will run from 8:30-11:30AM. The cost for the series is $100, but only $90 per person if three people register together; single sessions cost $35 each. Details about the sessions and registration information are online at iwp.iweb.bsu.edu. Below is the schedule of Saturday Seminars:

September 12 (two concurrent sessions):

• Kindergarten News

• Making Writing Workshop Work in Your Classroom

October 17 (two concurrent sessions):

• K-1 Writing Workshop

• Writer's Notebooks

November 14 (applicable to all levels):

• Revision: Teaching Writing from Text

TCs: please share this information with interested teachers in your building as word of mouth is our best marketing tool.