TRAILBLAZERS
PUSD Writing Project - Volume 1 Issue 20 - February 1, 2016
Dear Trailblazers
This week we were on fire with collaboration!
Teachers took time out of their busy schedules on Monday to collaborate as a Trailblazer community at Writing Lab at Norma Coombs Elementary School. We studied the importance of mentor texts in writing instruction and how to best use them to teach into specific qualities of writing. See photos below.
Coaches and CRTs took time out of their demanding schedules on Thursday to collaborate as a Trailblazer community as we visited a K-5 demonstration school in Huntington Park to see balanced literacy - and reading and writing workshop in particular - in action during year 4 of implementation. We then traveled back home to McKinley TK-8 School of the Arts to see what this workshop environment looks like during year 1 of implementation. We also spent our afternoon studying the architecture of a minilesson and collaborating about how we can best support the brave, bold teachers at our schools who are and will be piloting this important work.
Through this collaboration, you continue to inspire us. Our district is full of educators who are on fire with learning and making great efforts to light fires and fan flames within each of our school communities. We look forward to designing more opportunities for us to come together and collaborate as a community.
Jamie & Alyson
Writing Workshop February Goals
- To demonstrate your own writing and process as a writer -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- during your minilessons and conferences.
- To build students' stamina and volume as writers.
Shout Outs
Student Authors Spotlighted
Conferring & Note-Taking
Student Authors Displayed
Student Models Best-In-Show Interview
Student Writers Interview One Another
Anchor Charts and Mentor Texts
Reading Log in Action
Peer Support For How-To Book Writing
Student Goal Setting
Writing & Art Hand in Hand
A Student Teacher Confers
Easels Help Us Teach Up Close
Trailblazer Leader Team
Trailblazer Principal
Trailblazer CRT
Studying Guided Reading
Making Time for Guided Reading
Studying Teaching Methods
Studying a Workshop Demo School
Together, we closely examined the teaching methods of both a 1st and 5th grade teacher during reading and writing workshop. We also engaged in a special Instructional Round using a Building Walk-through Workshop Learning Environment tool from Teachers College Reading & Writing Project. We visited every K-5 classroom and gained new ideas to bring back and share with our teachers and school leaders.
Special thanks to the following CRTs and Coach who were able to be part of this learning experience with Jamie:
- Tina Chan, Mandarin TOSA
- Jason Green, Franklin CRT
- Hanh Le, Field CRT
- Alan Lebada, Field Teacher
- Lindsay Lewis, Sierra Madre CRT
- Debra Lucas, Instructional Coach
ONLINE FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Websites & Blogs Worth Following
- Two Writing Teachers - https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/
- Nerdy Book Club - https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/
- Read Write Think (NCTE) - http://www.readwritethink.org/
- Chart Chums - https://chartchums.wordpress.com/
- Choice Literacy (some free and some paid here) - https://www.choiceliteracy.com/
- There's a Book for That - http://thereisabookforthat.com/
- Teachers Write - http://www.katemessner.com/teachers-write/
- Read Write Reflect - http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.com/
- Watch. Connect. Read. - http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/
- A Teaching Life - https://ateachinglifedotcom.wordpress.com/
- The Goddess of YA Literature - http://professornana.livejournal.com/
- Kid Lit Frenzy - http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com/
- TC Reading & Writing Project - http://readingandwritingproject.org/resources
- Growing Educators - http://growingeducators.com/events/
- Heinemann - http://www.heinemann.com/blog/
- Stenhouse - http://blog.stenhouse.com/
- Scholastic - http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-ideas
Columbia University's Teachers College Reading & Writing Project has a collection of classroom videos on Vimeo that take you inside reading and writing workshops at various grade levels. Check them out here: https://vimeo.com/tcrwp/albums
BOOKS YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS!
Picture Book: Freedom in Congo Square
This poetic, nonfiction story about a little-known piece of African American history captures a human’s capacity to find hope and joy in difficult circumstances and demonstrates how New Orleans' Congo Square was truly freedom’s heart.
As slaves relentlessly toiled in an unjust system in 19th century Louisiana, they all counted down the days until Sunday, when at least for half a day they were briefly able to congregate in Congo Square in New Orleans. Here they were free to set up an open market, sing, dance, and play music. They were free to forget their cares, their struggles, and their oppression. This story chronicles slaves' duties each day, from chopping logs on Mondays to baking bread on Wednesdays to plucking hens on Saturday, and builds to the freedom of Sundays and the special experience of an afternoon spent in Congo Square. This book will have a forward from Freddi Williams Evans (freddievans.com), a historian and Congo Square expert, as well as a glossary of terms with pronunciations and definitions.
Middle Grade: Audacity Jones to the Rescue
An irrepressible orphan named Audacity Jones is headed on an adventure of historic proportions! The first book in a brand-new series from beloved Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson!
Audacity Jones is an eleven-year-old orphan who aches for adventure, a challenge to break up the monotony of her life at Miss Maisie's School for Wayward Girls. Life as a wayward girl isn't so bad; Audie has the best of friends, a clever cat companion, and plenty of books to read. Still, she longs for some excitement, like the characters in the novels she so loves encounter.
So when the mysterious Commodore Crutchfield visits the school and whisks Audie off to Washington, DC, she knows she's in for the journey of a lifetime. But soon, it becomes clear that the Commodore has unsavory plans for Audie--plans that involve the president of the United States and a sinister kidnapping plot. Before she knows it, Audie winds up in the White House kitchens, where she's determined to stop the Commodore dead in his tracks. Can Audie save the day before it's too late?
Young Adult: Salt to the Sea
In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia, and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety.
Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.
Important Dates - Mark Your Calendars!!!
Join us for our FINAL 2015-2016 Trailblazer Writing Lab for the 2015-16 school year. More information to come soon regarding location and specific goals.
April 18, 2016 ~ Writing Lab #4: Student Work & Resource Share
WRITING UNIT PLANNING RELEASE TIME (see calendar invite for details)
February 8, 2016 ~ Wilson & McKinley Grades 6-8 (@ McKinley Room 109)
February 16, 2016 ~ McKinley Grade 3
February 17, 2016 ~ Norma Coombs Grades 1, 2, 4, 5
February 18, 2016 ~ Madison Grades K to 2
Note: If you don't see your school or grade level listed, we're likely still working out the details.
Alyson Beecher
Email: beecher.alyson@pusd.us
Website: http://www.kidlitfrenzy.com
Location: Pasadena Unified School District, South Hudson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States
Phone: 626-644-1642
Twitter: @alybee930