The lesson plans the book describes and how they teach the different aspect of writing makes sense.  The only thing is I wish they would have been a little more detailed on the lesson plans and how they taught the lessons each day/week.   I really like the writing lesson on the trickster tales and how they could see a big growth with the students after the unit was finished.  This would be a great lesson to implement in your own classroom.

I enjoyed the articles by Cassady & Reese.  I found this very interesting that this is our next discussion because my students are really starting to get into wordless books.  They have been talking to me about them and are very interested of how the books are fun but still complex at the same time.  To give an example: one of my students check out the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Biran Selnickthe author explains the book: “it is a 550 page novel in words and pictures. But unlike most novels, the images in my new book don’t just illustrate the story; they help tell it. I’ve used the lessons I learned from Remy Charlip and other masters of the picture book to create something that is not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things. “  the students love that some pages have words and the other pages have pictures that also tell the story.  When one student is finished another checks it out, it can not stay on the shelf.  I also introduced them to one I found at Barnes and Nobles The Arrival by Shaun Tan the author says the book is “in a wordless, wondrous pictorial narrative — an immigrant’s parting from his family and journey toward the future in a new land that is simultaneously ominous and hopeful. Told in drawings of varying sizes — sometimes there are 12 panels to a page, sometimes 4; there are many full-page images –”.  Both of these books the students love and can’t quick talking about.  Then my instructional coach came into my room last week and heard the students talking about the books and the next day she brought me a bag of wordless books for me to share and discuss with my students.  I really like how the articles gave good lessons that you can do with wordless books and how writing can be Incorporated with these.  Telling you how to model using wordless books was very helpful.  I never really thought about a student not understanding a wordless book but it makes sense so, I will definitely model how to read a wordless book from my perspective.  The articles metions that students need to feel comfortable telling their story because everyone’s interpertation may be different but not wrong.  Like the article says “In fact their greatest asset seems to be that they ensure succesfull reading experiences because there are no ”right” words.”   

This week’s reading really answered a lot of questions I had in my mind.  I was questioning how mutigenre writing would go along with my county’s writing plan.  I teach four grade and as you all know it is a vital year for writing.  Our county makes us go by a strict writing plan.  I would love to mutigenre write but we have to go by the weekly plan they give us.  I feel now from reading these chapters that I can adjust some of the lessons they give us to incorporate multigenre writings.  Like the books mentions they believe that mutigenre writing prepares the students for narrative, informational, and persuasive writings. It allows students to explore different types of genres and combine them into writings of their own.

5130.ppt

This is set up as a powerpoint so click the page to go to the next poem.  Thanks

poetry-assignment-5130-2.doc

analysis-of-poetry-assignment.

(this link is pictures of my project with my students)http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=pecgmvu.co917h1y&Uy=-ajlw7o&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=277928375763_264158969110&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

(this is the link to our published “I” Poems) http://www.kids-space.org/story/class.html

Teaching and Managing Multigenre Writing Chapter 4 gives a lot of great ways to help students with how to manage their writings.  The examples they give and show of how you help students manage will come in great use for first time teachers.  I love the weekly goal sheet.  This not only helps the students but will help you assess where and what the student needs help with.  Peer Conferencing is very important to me I have my students peer conference on a lot of their writings they can give ideas to each other in another way form the how the teacher can.  Have the students group by genre will help them give ideas to each other because they are familiar with their genre.  I love the sharing and celebrating form this will be a great and positive lesson for the students to learn and grow.  Chapter 5 gives a more detail look on how to units of study within the multigenre writing.  Persuasive speech with a focus on historical figures and biography, biography in the primary grades, unit on the Revolutionary War and response to literature.  I like the Persuasive writing and response to literature writings.  

These are some topics and subtopics that I am or will be teaching about.   I usually group my students up into four groups and they work together on a project.  I’m not sure if this is how I need to approch the muligenre project for the first time or not. 

Pirates: famous North Carolina pirates.  Not really sure on how to narrow this down.

Food Nutrition: heath, food, exersise are some topics within this unit.

State Capital “Raleigh”: places we will visit on our field trip

North Carolina Moutains: people, appalachin, cultures

Lighthouses