TRAILBLAZERS
PUSD Writing Project - Volume 1 Issue 3 - August 31, 2015
Writing Workshop August Goals
- To create an inviting classroom learning environment for writers
- To implement a daily schedule that includes at least 45 minutes for writing workshop
- To begin building a strong community of writers through daily sharing and response
Shout Outs
Blueprints & Heart Maps
Tiny Topics Notepads
Reading/Writing Buddies
Online Food For Thought
Blogs & Websites Worth Noting & Noticing
- 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/
Minilessons to Launch Your Writing Workshop
- Components of Writing Workshop - SCHEDULE ANCHOR CHART
- Establishing Behavior Guidelines for Writing Workshop - BEHAVIOR ANCHOR CHART
- Organizing/Decorating Writing Folders (K-2) or writer's notebooks (3-5)
- Creating Writing Territories (Topics I Can Write About)
- Create Heart Map ("Things I Love") seed ideas
- Sketching to Generate Writing Ideas (i.e., Blueprinting)
- Guidelines for Peer Feedback During Sharing Time
- Writing Conferences
- Writing Process - PROCESS ANCHOR CHART
- On-Demand Narrative Writing Assessment (pre-assess)
Books You Won't Want to Miss
Leo: A Ghost Story
by Mac Barnett; Illustrated by Christian Robinson
You would like being friends with Leo. He likes to draw, he makes delicious snacks, and most people can't even see him. Because Leo is also a ghost. When a new family moves into his home and Leo's efforts to welcome them are misunderstood, Leo decides it is time to leave and see the world. That is how he meets Jane, a kid with a tremendous imagination and an open position for a worthy knight. That is how Leo and Jane become friends. And that is when their adventures begin. This charming tale of friendship—from two of the best young minds in picture books: the author of the Caldecott Honor–winning Extra Yarn and the illustrator of the Bologna Ragazzi Award–winningJosephine—is destined to become a modern classic that will delight readers for years to come.
Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Racoon
by Kate DiCamillo
Francine Poulet is the greatest animal control officer in Gizzford County. She hails from a long line of Animal Control Officers. She’s battled snakes, outwitted squirrels, and stared down a bear. "The genuine article," Francine’s dad always called her. She is never scared—until, that is, she’s faced with a screaming raccoon that may or may not be a ghost. Maybe Francine isn’t cut out to be an animal control officer after all! But the raccoon is still on the loose, and the folks on Deckawoo Drive need Francine back. Can she face her fears, round up the raccoon, and return to the ranks of Animal Control? Join a cast of familiar characters—Frank, Stella, Mrs. Watson, and Mercy the porcine wonder—for some riotous raccoon wrangling on Deckawoo Drive.
The Octopus Scientist
With three hearts and blue blood, its gelatinous body unconstrained by jointed limbs or gravity, the octopus seems to be an alien, an inhabitant of another world. It's baggy, boneless body sprouts eight arms covered with thousands of suckers--suckers that can taste as well as feel. The octopus also has the powers of a superhero: it can shape-shift, change color, squirt ink, pour itself through the tiniest of openings, or jet away through the sea faster than a swimmer can follow.
But most intriguing of all, octopuses--classed as mollusks, like clams--are remarkably intelligent with quirky personalities. This book, an inquiry into the mind of an intelligent invertebrate, is also a foray into our own unexplored planet. These thinking, feeling creatures can help readers experience and understand our world (and perhaps even life itself) in a new way.
Narrative Writing Unit Planning with Jamie & Alyson
Don't forget to bring:
- Your Students' Narrative On-Demands -- You don't have to analyze prior to the meeting. We will do this together at the start of the meeting.
- Your Narrative Unit of Study -- a spiral-bound book in your Calkins kit
- Any other lesson planning book, calendar, or resources you wish to use. We will have some planning templates available for you to use, too, if needed.
Tuesday, Aug 25, 2015, 08:00 AM
On Your Campus
Mark Your Calendars!
These labs will be held on the B Mondays listed below from 2:00 to 3:30 P.M. at McKInley TK-8 School of the Arts. Attendance is voluntary. Goodies will be given away at each lab to those who participate. Let's keep the energy alive!
#1 September 21, 2015 ~ Architecture of a Minilesson
#2 October 19, 2015 ~ Writing Conferences
#3 November 16, 2015 ~ Student Work & Resource Share
#4 January 25, 2016 ~ Qualities of Writing/Mentor Texts
#5 February 29, 2016 ~ TBD
#6 April 18, 2016 ~ Student Work & Resource Share
Trailblazer Writing Lab #1
Monday, Sep 21, 2015, 02:00 PM
McKinley School, South Oak Knoll Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
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