Resources for Young Writers

This list of links was lifted from the always interesting WordSwimmer blog.







Claremont Review
Giggle Poetry
KidPub: Where Kids Write!
Lightening Bug
Merlyn's Pen
NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program
New Moon Girls
Ralph Fletcher's Tips for Young Writers
Skipping Stones
Stone Soup
Teen Ink
Write It
WriteGirl
Young Poets (Canada)
Young Writer (UK)
Young Writers Online
Young Writers Society

New 6-Traits / Writing Process poster available

New product from the NWREL: Help support their great work!

Get your poster here!

Here's a question for you all to ponder! Where do Web 2.0 concepts and tools like information fluency, blogs, wikis, and e-learning environments fit in the dynamic 6-Traits / Writing process landscape?

Information Fluency Skills (the ability to efficiently search, evaluate and ethically use digital information) certainly fit in the Ideas/Pre-writing area. This is particularly true for modes of writing like the expository, persuasive and research.

What about Blogs, WIKIS or Google Documents?

Where do you see these 21st Century tools fitting in the diagram above?

Anyone willing to take a stab at creating a poster with Web 2.0 integrated into it all?

Let us know?

National Poetry Week: October 9, 2008

National Poetry Day (October 9) (Resources from Annenberg Media/Learner.Org)

Watch beautiful hour-long documentaries about the lives and works of 13 American poets in Voices & Visions <http://www.learner.org/resources/series57.html>. Featured poets include T. S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman, Sylvia Plath, and William Carlos Williams.

Literary Visions <http://www.learner.org/resources/series41.html> offers mini-lectures, dramatizations, and poet interviews to illustrate the most important elements and devices of poetry. See Programs 11 through 17 to explore the role of imagery, tropes, symbolism, theme, character, and much more.

Observe high school English teacher Chris Mazzino teaching about stereotypes by having students interpret and edit a poem in Teaching "The Children of Willesden Lane" Program 12, "Gaining Insight Through Poetry" <http://www.learner.org/series/cowl/ch13-19/>.

See how poetry teaches about American societal trends with "Rhythms in Poetry" <http://www.learner.org/amerpass/unit10/>. This program in American Passages: A Literary Survey features the poetry of Langston Hughes and William Carlos Williams.

The American Passages archive <http://www.learner.org/amerpass/slideshow/archive_search.php> contains artifacts related to poetry and poets such as Phillis Wheatley, Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, and Marianne Moore, as well as poetry related to specific eras and social movements. Search by keyword and/or era and/or ethnic group to explore the archive.

Consider different approaches to teaching poetry with Write in the Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers, Workshop 3, "Teaching Poetry" <http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/middlewriting/prog3.html>.

Teaching Reading K-2: A Library of Classroom Practices <http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/readingk2/> presents ways of working poetry into language arts lessons at the early elementary level.

In Engaging With Literature: A Video Library, Grades 3-5, watch a fourth grade poetry lesson based on poems from "Baseball, Snakes, and Summer Squash" by Donald H. Graves and "Hey You! C'Mere: A Poetry Slam" by Elizabeth Swados. See Program 3, "Starting Out" <http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/engagingliterature/starting/>.

6-Traits Spanish Laguage Resources from NWREL

The 6-traits of writing hold true for all languages. The early research was conducted in multiple languages and found to apply. I did a quick search for Spanish Language resources on the NWREL site. (To see everything click here.)

The Highlights:

NWREL has a Spanish language scoring guide for you right here:

http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/scoring.php?odelay=3&d=3

Here are Spanish language lesson plans:

http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/lessonplans.php?odelay=2&d=3

There is also Spanish language scoring practice at:

http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/scoringpractice.php?odelay=3&d=3

Spanish teachers! I know this approach, combined with a writing process based workshop will work for you!

NCTE's newest policy research brief "Writing Now"

NCTE's newest policy research brief "Writing Now" explores what writing means in our changing world. The brief defines key terms, debunks common myths about school-based writing, outlines our understanding of writing now, and shares research-based recommendations for effective writing instruction and assessment. For the next step, try any of the following ReadWriteThink lesson plans, which all explore ways we write and teach writing now:

Elementary Level Lessons

• Authentic Writing Experiences and Math Problem-Solving Using Shopping Lists (E)
• Once Upon a Time Rethought: Writing Fractured Fairy Tales (E)
• Teaching the Compare and Contrast Essay through Modeling (E)
• Using Picture Books to Teach Characterization in Writing Workshop (E)

Middle Level Lessons

• Cooking Up Descriptive Language: Designing Restaurant Menus (M)
• Fairy Tale Autobiographies (M)
• Leading to Great Places in the Middle School Classroom (M)
• Reading and Writing Workshop: Freak the Mighty (M)

Secondary and College Level Lessons

• Creative Outlining—From Freewriting to Formalizing (S-C)
• Modeling Academic Writing through Scholarly Article Presentations (S-C)
• Persuading Readers with Endorsement Letters (S-C)
• The Children's Picture Book Project (S-C)
  

NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this INBOX is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 9-16-08.

Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary, M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, TE=Teacher Education, G=General).

To subscribe to INBOX, NCTE's free weekly e-newsletter, visit http://www.ncte.org/forms/lists/inbox.asp.

6-Traits Online

Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6 Traits: Classes are are Filling Fast!

WRITING COURSE:

EDUC 744 920F Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-TraitsElementary (Gr. K-4) - 3 gr. cr. begins September 22, 2008.

EDUC 744 909F Teaching and Assessing Writing with the 6-Traits - Middle/High School (Gr. 5-12) 3 gr. cr. begins September 22, 2008.

Learn to teach and assess writing with the 6-Traits of writing (voice, ideas, word choice, organization, sentence fluency and conventions). Learn to use the 6-Traits with the writing process to teach revision strategies. Help learners meet higher standards and improve test scores.

Please forward this announcement to teachers in your district.

Earn graduate credits via online courses that support your professional development goals for licensure renewal, salary advancement and advanced certification.

Sign up soon to reserve your spot! Registration closes this week!

to allow time for assigning user names, passwords and ordering/shipping the textbook.

Classes are TOTALLY ONLINE. You may participate from your home or school computer. Registration is limited to 20 participants per section.

Syllabus and other details:

http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/traits.shtml

REGISTER ONLINE
or
REGISTER BY FAX
Fax: (715) 232-3385

Books for Teaching 6-Traits

Looking for just the right book to present a traits concept?

Checkout my Writer's Bookshelf!

6-Traits: Vickie Spandel

6-Traits: Ruth Culham

Great Writing Advice

Teaching Ideas & Content

Teaching Voice

Teaching Organization

Teaching Word Choice

Teaching Conventions