Let the Madness Begin!

It's November First, that means it's National Novel Writer's Month!

Along with leading a bunch of 3rd graders through the process this year, I'm also writing my own 50k work novel.  Unlike past years, I have no idea what I'm writing this year.  All I have is an opening:

My family is the punchline of a joke: an Orthodox Rabbi, Catholic nun and Buddhist Unitarian Universalist minister sit down for a family Thanksgiving dinner together.....

I'm not sure but I think it will involve a (possibly) haunted house, an overgrown park and pixies.  I don't know the gender or age of the main character as they haven't told me yet.  I have a vague idea where it might be going, but I'm not positive.

My 3rd graders are excited.  Yesterday they received a composition book and a NaNoWriMo pencil that has "There's a novel in this pencil" printed on the side of it.  I have stickers and pins for the kids as well and I'm going to have a couple more pins I'm going to have made up for them.  Many of the kids are shooting for 100 words a day (kids set their own word count).  Part of the reason I'm doing this is because I believe that many of the reluctant writers will will lose their fear of the MCAS - a huge source of anxiety already - if they know writing an essay is no big deal.

Heck... after writing a novel, it will be no big deal.

It will be interesting for me because these kids really only made the transition to being writers a month ago when Writer's Workshop started for them at the beginning of October.  Last time I lead a group of students through, they were fourth graders who had been writing, many of them reluctantly for a year.  It will be interesting to see if this group of 3rd graders go into 4th grade thinking of themselves as writers and how that changes them as they continue on.

I have been developing some tools for the kids as well: writing prompts for when they get stuck and progress charts (which I have to modify as different kids are going for different counts).  I'll keep talking about here as well as my own progress.

In the meantime, think about jumping into the deep end with us this year.  There's still time and 1667 words a day isn't too bad.  It's a great habit to get into.

Review: Writing Magic:Creating Stories That Fly

Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly by Gail Carson Levine.  2006 HarperCollins Publishing New York, NY; 161 pages.

In looking at books for instructors, I am also looking at books to recommend for kids, after all, what's the point if all the books out there are technical and school like? Don't kids need a place to turn to for instruction and advice that speaks to them?  What kind of books should teachers have available to students?  

I have always liked Gail Carson Levine's easy style so I wanted to take a look at this book and found, like her fiction, this has an easy style to draw the reader in.  Each of the 30 short chapters cover an aspect of writing and finish with a writing exercise.

For the student, Levine starts by making the reader "promise" to save everything they write for at least 15 years.  Each writing exercise ends with "save what you wrote," harkening back to that promise without that nagging reminder: you promised.  It is merely part of the writing exercise instruction.

She draws heavily on books of her own the students most likely know (Ella Enchanted, Dave at Night, etc.) but also on other books that they are most likely familiar.  Just like teachers in a writer's workshop, she gives her own stories and examples along with advice.

For example, chapter 17 "Stuck," has the words, "There is no such thing as a perfect book or a perfect story," set in large, italic type so it truly stands out on the page and draws the reader's eye.  She goes on to explain why perfection doesn't matter and options for approaches when a writer is stuck. 

Geared for kids ages 9 and up, this is a great resource book for a classroom library or for exercises in the classroom.    Like Lucy Calkins, Ruth Culham and others, Levine is hitting on writing habits and traits but her lessons are echoing what the students hear in the classroom in a language that is comfortable.  Adults can benefit from this book as well in spite of the target audience as the quick mini lessons with advice and exercises are universal.

Overall, this book is well worth the price tag.

Book Review: Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide

(This is the first in a series of reviews about books on teaching writing to kids.)


Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi.  2001 Heinemann Press, Hanover, NH; 159 pages.

For those going into teaching and trying to slog their way through Lucy Calkins books and curriculum materials, this is a companion book that you may want to have on your bookshelf.  What Fletcher and Portalupi do is take Lucy McCormick Calkins method of teaching writing and boil it down into essential steps right down to a timeline for the educational year for teaching writing.

At the end of each chapter is a bullet pointed breakdown called "Making it Work in the Classroom" and the appendices contain a variety of check lists and materials that can be used in the classroom for charting various writing, editing, evaluation and progress steps necessary for the teacher and student.

One main drawback, because it is a boiled down version of the full curriculum, the authors are trying to cover everyone from primary teachers through upper levels of education.  The results are the kernels are there but not everything applies to everyone, which can be a bit frustrating.

While this can't replace the broad spectrum of materials and instruction provided in the books and series by Calkins, it is a solid quick reference book for teaching professionals for a reasonable price.