Joan’s group is wrapping up a Small Moments Unit of Study. We have explored writing true stories from our lives, working to zoom in on the specifics of the experiences. Children often go into more detail when telling a story orally. Before we began writing, each student told a small moment story to a partner. We also practiced recording our stories in Educreations on iPads. Then we wrote them. Partners conferenced together as they developed their books. We have enjoyed sharing our personal stories together.
As part of writer’s workshop, Tom’s language group has begun
an in depth study of writing techniques that the author, Angela Johnson, uses
in her books. This week the students shared their observations after reading Joshua’s Night Whispers, Rain Feet and Joshua by the Sea. Each book featured
Joshua as the main character. The
students decided that he must be Angela Johnson’s son in real life. The students offered keen observations about
each book. They are starting to incorporate
some of her techniques into their own writing. The most noticed technique they call "dot, dot, dot," formally known as ellipses, to indicate a pause, often at a suspenseful place in the story. Other techniques observed were her use of repetition,
exclamation marks, action words, and sound effects.
Natasha's language group recently completed a unit of study in writing workshop focusing on books that share a message. We began by reading a variety of books that conveyed a message and examining the different ways in which authors shared these messages.
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| Writing a "message" book |
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| Charting our discoveries |
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| Reading to the group |
Each student picked a message that was important to them and
chose a writing style to share their message. Midway through the unit, students read their books to the group and received valuable feedback from their peers. Some students started a new book and others revised their existing work.
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| Reading to a partner |
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| Reading to the group |
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We concluded our unit with a small celebration, listening to each student read their final piece and toasting, with tea and popcorn, the diligent efforts of each and every student.
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| A toast to the hard work of each author |
As part of writer’s workshop, Tom’s language group has begun
an in depth study of writing techniques that the author, Angela Johnson, uses
in her books. This week the students shared their observations after reading Joshua’s Night Whispers, Rain Feet and Joshua by the Sea. Each book featured
Joshua as the main character. The
students decided that he must be Angela Johnson’s son in real life. The students offered keen observations about
each book. They are starting to incorporate
some of her techniques into their own writing. The most noticed technique they call "dot, dot, dot," formally known as ellipses, to indicate a pause, often at a suspenseful place in the story. Other techniques observed were her use of repetition,
exclamation marks, action words, and sound effects. 
