After reading the article by Moulton and the chapters in Writing Without Boundaries I understand what a multigenre writing consist of.  I’m so excited about teaching this within my class.  As a fourth grade teacher I sometimes feel that we only have to write for the writing test.  I think that multigenre writing is a way to make students love to write and learn at the same time and this is so exciting!  I would start this type of writing at the first of the year and expand on it throughout the year.  I feel that students will enjoy this type of writing and it will help tremendously with their writing fluency.  The article and the book explains that multigenre writing encourages creativity in several ways.  The students learn different types of genres but they also create art, poetry, music, short stories and other creative styles of writing.   The students learn to work together and give corrective criticism on each others writings. I agree that as a teacher you need to have several examples of these types of writing for the students to better understand what their final product should look and sound like.  I agree with the readings that this will give the students a personal connection to their writing and help them gain more of an understanding of the topic they are researching.

having-a-healthy-diet.doc 

i-poem11.doci New and improved.  2/20/08

I am connecting my I poem with my Science Health Unit.

What make a good poem? 

• Mood, poems strike you differently at different times of your life.
• It portrays the author’s feelings and emotions with clarity.
• Tone, you can relate to the author’s tone and word choice.
• Imagery, you can clearly see the picture the author has painted with words.
• Rhythm, how it flows
• Theme, if it relays a message or lesson
• A good poem is one you can relate to, it “speaks” to you.
• Reflection time, after you go back and look at it again, you gain new insight.
• Vocabulary, do you have to analyze it to understand it?

 Poetry Models:

• Models are helpful, but sometimes limit student thinking. 
• They are helpful for reluctant writers.
• They give the impression that there is a “right” and “wrong” way to write a poem.
• They can be restrictive.
• They are good for scaffolding.

I’m not really sure if I have a favorite poem. ”YET”  I like this poem alot by Maya Angelou.

This article was very interesting to me.  I have never tried to write an “I” poem, but I really like the idea of it.  I liked several things the article mentioned of why “I” poems are a fun way of teaching and learning.  One way it mentions is that it can be a way for students to deepen their literary experiences of characters, setting, plot and narrative point of view.  These poems will make them see, feel and experience the characters, setting, and the plot within a story. I like how they built a background to Sara, Plain and Tall with the I poems.  This made the readers understand Sarah and where she came from and where see was going by describing the setting.  I like the outline they give you, this is a starting point for you and the students.  I will try creating “I” poems with my students.

This chapter focuses on the planning/prewriting strategies to several different types of writings.  What has bothered me most about this year in fourth grade is hearing how many teachers k-3 do not teach, model or show students how to plan prior to writing.  The book mentions that planning is an very important part of skilled writing.  Planning is an important part to writing.  The most important thing I agree with that the book mentions is that teachers need to model and show students how to plan and brainstorm.  Being supportive and having a supportive classroom environment is very important for the students as well as the teacher.  I really liked the beginning words they used on page 125 for having a supportive environment:  Create, Establish, Allow, Encourage, Ask, Conference, Praise, Reinforce and Promote!  This are such strong and bold words to use.  I got a lot from the seven principles of teaching planning especially principle #1 modeling and scaffolding students.  This is so important in all aspects of writing just not planning.  If teachers can get this part they can get all the other aspects of teaching writing.  I enjoyed this chapter especially going into our writing workshop, I will try several things it mentions from the seven strategies.

From the readings from this week and last week, I have learned so much about how to approach writing with my students.  After reading the articles I went to my classroom and had a discussion about writing.  Just like the articles say students want to write but do not want to be told what to write.  I explain to them that there are reasons we have to write about certain topics and how we learn from those writings.  I also explained Journal writing to my students and they were really interested in this. 

Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer.  Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.  Leonardo da Vinci

Thanks for your feed back Dr. Frye.  The comment I was talking about was the very last page of Amelia holding the good and bad baskets.  Her reflection of the year ended up being a surprise to her.  I would tell my students that unless we look back or reflect we will never learn and grow as better people.  I would explain to them it didn’t kill Amelia to write her notebook.  She learn a lot and is even excited about writing one next year in 6th grade.