VIDEO VIEWING GUIDE - Stenhouse · This guide is designed to help maximize learning from the video in professional learning settings. Included are brief descriptions of each video

V I D E O V I E W I N G G U I D E

Writing with Mentors Video Viewing Guide2

CONTENTS

Introduction . . . 3

Teaching Informational Writing with Mentor Texts 4

Why Teach with Mentor Texts? 4Day 1: Teaching the “Sharing a Secret” Lead 4

Setting a Purpose and Making Discoveries . . . 4Brainstorming . . . 4Modeling . . . 5Shared Writing . . . 5Independent Writing . . . 6

Day 1 Debrief 6Day 2: Teaching the “Sharing a Secret” Lead 7

Recapping the Lesson . . . 7Making a Transition: Using the Lead for a

New Purpose and Plan . . . 7Applying the Lesson to Individual Work: Brainstorming

with a T-Chart and Oral Rehearsal . . . 8Transitioning into Independent Writing and

Whole-Group Share . . . 9Final Reflections: A Writing Community at Work . . . 9

Teaching Narrative Writing with Mentor Texts 10

How Do We Choose Mentor Texts for Our Students? 10Day 1: Creating Rich Descriptions in Narrative Writing 10

Introducing the Lesson: Setting the Purpose and Making Discoveries . . . 10

Brainstorming: Finding a Focus . . . 11Modeling the Lesson . . . 11Shared Writing Through Guided Conversations . . . 12Independent Writing: Small-Group Conferences

Move Writers Forward . . . 12One-on-One Conferences . . . 13Group Share . . . 13

Day 1 Debrief 14Day 2: Creating Rich Descriptions in Narrative Writing 14

Recapping the Lesson . . . 14Sharing in Whole Group: Guided Conversations

That Lead to Revision . . . 15Reflecting on the Lesson . . . 16

References . . . 17Appendix . . . 18

Writing with Mentors by Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Cappelli. Copyright © 2010. Stenhouse Publishers. All rights reserved.

Stenhouse Publisherswww.stenhouse.comCopyright @ 2010 by Stenhouse Publishers

All rights reserved. This guidemay be photocopied for staffdevelopment use only.


INTRODUCTION

Writing with Mentors was taped over two days in early March 2010in the Upper Moreland Township School District in Hatboro,Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. The children in the second-grade classroom of the Upper Moreland Primary School are part of afull-inclusion class. Special education students and general educationstudents work and learn together throughout the day in all contentareas as well as their literacy block. Dawn Costello and KellyGallagher co-teach in this setting. Rose Cappelli worked with theteachers and students on writing rich descriptions. Rose had visitedthe class in December 2009 to establish a comfort level with thestudents and introduce the mentor text, Down the Road by AliceSchertle. Lynne Dorfman worked with Dan Monaghan’s fifth gradersin the Upper Moreland Intermediate School. This classroom was aheterogeneous mix of students, including English language learnersand those receiving Title I services. Lynne and Dan worked togetheron nonfiction leads with mentor texts before introducing the “sharinga secret” lead presented in this video.

This guide is designed to help maximize learning from the videoin professional learning settings. Included are brief descriptions ofeach video segment, questions to guide discussion and set purposesfor viewing, and activities to help these sessions become more inter-active. It is important to note that the second- and fifth-grade lessonsand workshop format follow the Your Turn lesson structure that canbe found in Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children’sLiterature and Nonfiction Mentor Texts: Teaching InformationalWriting Through Children’s Literature. An explanation of this lessonformat can be found in the appendix.

To help teachers organize their thinking as they view eachsegment, we suggest using the three-column response chart providedin the appendix. In addition, there are other checklists and sampleslocated in the appendix to be shared with teachers.



TEACHING INFORMATIONAL WRITINGWITH MENTOR TEXTS

Why Teach with Mentor Texts?In this brief introduction, the rationale for mentor texts is established.Use this opening to consider the following questions:

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. Compare how you learned to write with what you are doing

today in your classroom. How are the processes alike? How arethey different?

2. Who are your favorite authors? Who are your students’ favoriteauthors?

3. How do your students choose a topic to write about?

Day 1: Teaching the “Sharing a Secret” Lead Setting a Purpose and Making Discoveries

Lynne connects with a familiar mentor text. Through think-aloud,she invites the students to notice something about its introduction.She explains the purpose of informational text and the focus of theday’s lesson.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How does Lynne make her thinking process visible to the students?2. What is the value of looking for a craft in other texts written by

the same author and different authors?3. How does Lynne connect to the previous work of these young

authors in writing workshop?

BrainstormingHere, Lynne and fifth-grade teacher Dan Monaghan give students achance to create a list of secrets about themselves so they can firstwrite about what they know best. Dan shares his own list and helpsstudents understand the process of evaluating the topics list in orderto make a good choice for writing.



Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. Why do Lynne and Dan confer with the students as they brain-

storm? 2. How does “turn and talk” honor all students’ ideas and build

community?3. How does Lynne naturally incorporate management techniques

into the lesson? How does Dan help students choose a topic towrite about from their list of ideas?

4. Ask teachers to brainstorm a list of secrets about themselves andchoose the best one to develop a “sharing a secret” piece.

ModelingIn this segment, Dan uses his list from brainstorming to compose alead paragraph using the “sharing a secret” lead structure. Noticehow he first returns to the mentor text to establish the link and reviewthe structure used by author Frank Murphy.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. What is the value of writing in front of the students? Is it worth

taking the time to do so?2. Why did Dan spend time explaining his choice?3. Discuss with a partner how you model for your students.

Compare it to what you saw in this segment.

Shared WritingDan chooses a subject the entire class can write about. Dan and thestudents brainstorm a list of things that are well known about thatsubject, as well as some lesser-known secrets they could share withothers. He leads students through the thinking process and acts asscribe to record their ideas. He creates a shared piece of writing withthem. This step provides an additional scaffold to support all thestudent writers in the classroom. Finally, Lynne asks them to evaluatetheir list in order to find the most appropriate writing topic that willhelp them be successful.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How does Dan use the original mentor text in this part of the

Your Turn lesson?2. How does this part of the lesson show the release or transfer of

responsibility from teacher to student?3. Why did Lynne and Dan want the students to write about them-

selves in the third person?



4. Why does Lynne ask the students to revise their brainstorm listafter the shared writing piece?

5. What shared writing topics could you use with your class tocreate a “sharing a secret” lead paragraph?

6. Add to your list of secrets about yourself and choose one secretyou could develop.

7. What is the importance of anchor charts in the writing workshop?

Independent WritingHere, Lynne reviews the scaffold used by the mentor authors,Murphy and Anderson, and asks the students to give her specificexamples in order to check for understanding. She invites the studentsto write their own lead paragraph.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. Why is it important to confer with students during the writing

process instead of waiting until the draft is completed?2. How did students support each other during the peer conference?3. How does Lynne build in whole-group conferences? Why does

she do this?4. Ask teachers to compose their own lead paragraph based on a

secret from their list. Remind them that it is probably a goodidea to choose a secret they could comfortably share with theirstudents.

5. How does Lynne link the importance of talk to communitybuilding and reflection?

Day 1 Debrief1. What is the importance of choice?

Lynne and Dan talk about how the lesson went. They talk about theimportance of giving choices to students so they can consciously decidewhat strategies to use, and when and where these strategies are mosteffective. They also talk about the importance of establishing a qualityculture, beginning with the opening paragraph or lead sentence.

2. Why do we use picture books?Dan provides a rationale for using picture books as mentor texts forall the writers in upper elementary and middle school classrooms.Think about the collection of books in your classroom library. Howmany of them are picture books? Which ones could serve as mentortexts for your student writers?



3. Why should a teacher model with his or her own writing?Dan talks about being a team player. Rose and Lynne discuss theconcept of “teacher as writer” in both of their books. They tell us thatwriting is not a spectator sport and that everyone needs to be part ofthe writing community by writing and sharing their writing—even theteacher!

4. Dan and Lynne talk about the value of reflection. Why is reflection soimportant?

Day 2: Teaching the “Sharing a Secret” Lead Recapping the Lesson

Lynne makes a connection with the work from the previous day andreviews the nonfiction lead scaffold for “sharing a secret” using thementor text. Then, she asks some students to share their lead with thewhole group to honor their work thus far. As the students share, sheoffers constructive praise, letting the students know what they didwell—such as the use of transition words and variation of print (e.g.,all capital letters for emphasis).

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. What is the reason for gathering students together on the rug?2. How do you make the connection to the previous day’s work in

writing workshop? Why is it important?3. What, do you think, is the overall effect of sharing student

samples? How should a teacher choose those samples? Why is itimportant to get a student’s permission before sharing?

4. During the sharing of student samples, Lynne chose to empha-size the positive characteristics of each student writer’s piece.Why did she do this?

Making a Transition: Using the Lead for a New Purpose and Plan

Lynne shares some samples of lead paragraphs about famous peoplewritten by another class. She talks about how to become a “mini-expert” on a topic and the need to do research across myriad books andresources when using this kind of lead. Dan continues to talk about thisprocess by using a familiar mentor text that naturally lends itself to thiskind of lead. Furthermore, he introduces the use of a T-chart to studentsas an effective graphic organizer to “get their thinking down.”



Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How does Dan lead the students to create the graphic organizer

in their writer’s notebook as a prewrite?2. What other picture books or chapter books do you know that

could use this T-chart format as a prewriting experience for aninformational piece in writing workshop or writing in othercontent areas?

3. How do you use oral rehearsal as a form of prewriting or gettingready to write? Why is it valuable?

4. What are some other ways you can brainstorm to get ready forinformational writing?

5. Do you think prewriting is worth the time it requires? Why orwhy not?

Applying the Lesson to Individual Work: Brainstorming with a T-Chart and Oral Rehearsal

Dan’s class was involved in a hero essay project. The students hadpreviously brainstormed a list of their everyday heroes after spendingsome time reading biographies of famous heroes. They were excitedabout this project and committed to the process because they wereactually going to mail their essay to their hero as a gift. In thissegment, Lynne and Dan ask the students to return to their list andapply the T-chart graphic organizer to help them organize theirthinking in a “sharing a secret” format. First, Lynne and Dan modelwith their own writing.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. Lynne is clutching her writer’s notebook. Why is the physical

evidence of her writerly life important? Do you keep a writer’snotebook?

2. Why were Lynne and Dan’s choices appropriate and effective? 3. Invite teachers to brainstorm a list of everyday heroes. Using a

T-chart, create the “sharing a secret” scaffold. Finally, use the T-chart to orally rehearse your lead paragraph with a partner. Anexample of this T-chart can be found in the appendix.

4. Dan spends time conducting roving conferences to help studentsmake a good choice. How do you help students make goodchoices in writing workshop? How can peers help each othermake good choices?



Transitioning into Independent Writing and Whole-Group Share

In this segment, the students have already written their lead para-graphs about their everyday heroes and are sharing them with theclass. At one point, Lynne directs their attention to the anchor chartsabout heroes—who they are and what characteristics they have—sothe students can evaluate their choice of secret and understand thepurpose and goal for writing a hero essay.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How well do you think the oral rehearsal work transitioned into

the written form?2. How were anchor charts used in this segment? Why is it impor-

tant to refer to anchor charts after creating them, even days later?3. When do you think students should be allowed to start over and

scrap a piece of writing? How can you direct them to use a pieceof writing at a later time, depending on the purpose?

Final Reflections: A Writing Community at WorkIn the final segment, Dan leads the community in the good work ofreflection. He begins by asking the students whether this work waseasy or difficult. Finally, Dan reminds them that this lead is one possi-bility, and that writers have to imagine the possibilities when theywrite and choose those they believe to be most effective. Additionalsuggestions for leads that work well with nonfiction writing can befound in the appendix.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How do you bring closure to the writing workshop?2. What are some ways to share writing at the end of workshop,

when the community gathers? In the appendix, we offer sugges-tions for different ways to use share time.

3. Why do we need to bring our writers together in a living area or on arug when we reflect and share? Where is that place in your classroom?

4. How do you feel about the “sharing a secret” lead? How willyour students handle it? How can you adapt these lessons tomake them work at your grade level and for your students?

5. How do you use the gradual release of responsibility model inwriting workshop?

6. How does reflection help students understand themselves betteras writers?

7. What are some things you will definitely try out in the next fewweeks?



TEACHING NARRATIVE WRITING WITH MENTOR TEXTS

How Do We Choose Mentor Texts for Our Students?

In this introduction, Rose shares how teachers can get started withmentor texts and how to choose them. Primary teachers Dawn andKelly discuss how the use of mentor texts has influenced theirstudents’ writing in the full-inclusion classroom.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. What is a mentor text?2. How do you choose the books that you share for read-alouds?

Would these same characteristics apply to the books you choosefor mentor texts?

Day 1: Creating Rich Descriptions in Narrative Writing

Introducing the Lesson: Setting the Purposeand Making Discoveries

In this segment, Rose connects with previous work and a mentor textto set the purpose for the day’s lesson. She leads the students to makediscoveries about the strategies that authors use to describe setting.The students’ thinking is recorded on anchor charts. Additionalsuggestions for writing rich descriptions can be found in theappendix.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How does Rose get students to think about ways to craft a rich

description?2. In this segment, Rose does not begin by reading the entire text to

the students. Why is it important to use familiar texts as mentortexts in writing workshop?

3. How is the anchor chart used?4. Why is it important to let students add to the anchor chart?



5. How does Rose lead the students to discover “gem” words—wonderful adjectives and nouns that help the reader to visualizeand experience?

6. What are some books in your school or classroom library thatcould serve as mentor texts for writing good descriptions?

Brainstorming: Finding a FocusRose asks the students to imagine the place (setting) they want todescribe and to share their thoughts with a partner. She writes theirresponses on a chart and helps them narrow their topics so they canbe more specific.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How does Rose use questioning to help students find their

focus?2. What is the purpose of charting the student responses?3. Rose adds her own thoughts to the chart in addition to the

student responses. Ask teachers to brainstorm possible settingsthey could describe and what mentor texts might serve as modelsfor their description.

Modeling the LessonIn this segment, Rose gives the students the strategy of “borrowing aline,” a technique she learned from Linda Rief. She shares a mentortext and shows students how she can change some of the words tomake it her own. On the chart, Rose models with her writing. Sherereads her writing, demonstrates how to use the caret, and revises byadding another detail to create interest through the use of a differentsense. Rose brings closure to the modeling portion of the lesson byasking students to imagine their place and talk about it with a partner.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. Why is “borrowing a line” such a useful strategy for struggling

and resistant writers?2. Ask teachers to think about some books with which they are

very familiar. Is there one memorable line that may have helpedthem get started with writing? Alternately, they could sharebooks in their classroom library that make use of a repeatedphrase or sentence that students could use to “borrow a line”and write in their own notebooks to get started.

3. Why is it important for teachers to model with their ownwriting? Is it worth the time it takes?



4. Why is it important to model with revision possibilities?5. At the end of the modeling segment, Rose reviews all the strate-

gies she uses in her description and introduces a new strategy.Why is this review important for the student writers?

6. How does sharing their ideas orally help move students forwardin the process?

7. Have teachers choose a place from their brainstormed list andcreate a rich description using appeal to the senses and color,shape, and size words when applicable.

Shared Writing Through Guided Conversations

In this segment, Rose conducts guided conversations with students.She refers to the “borrowing a line” strategy and, together with thestudent writers, tells the writing community what they talked about.Rose brings in the mentor books and authors to guide the students’thinking about what they can imitate from the mentor texts.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How would you define a guided conversation?2. How does the guided conversation look different from a more

traditional shared writing experience in which studentscontribute ideas to a common piece with the teacher’s support?

3. Notice how Rose reviews the strategies for writing rich descrip-tions one more time before she asks the students to write. Whatdo you do to revisit important concepts and strategies within awriting lesson?

Independent Writing: Small-Group Conferences Move Writers Forward

Second-grade teacher Kelly Gallagher presents the rationale for small-group conferences as students write independently. Dawn Costello,Kelly’s co-teaching partner, refocuses students on Rose’s writing andthe strategies she modeled.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. What is the rationale for small-group conferences?2. How does Kelly encourage metacognitive thinking?3. How does Kelly get students to understand the interconnected-

ness of the parts of the writing process?



One-on-One ConferencesRose stresses the importance of talk and how it helps teachers askstudents questions and give them gentle nudges to revise their writing.She demonstrates a new strategy to help a student add a sentencewhen there is no room on the page.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. What is the advantage of going to the student rather than having

the student come to you for a conference?2. What is the importance of establishing routines in the writing

workshop? What can your students do when they are finishedwith their writing and waiting for a conference?

3. As Rose concluded the conference, she left the student with moreto think about. How did this help that student become moreindependent?

Group ShareIn this segment, Rose is checking in with students as a formativeassessment—checking for understanding and getting a feel for wherethe students are and what they will do next. She continues to guidetheir thinking so they can evaluate their own writing, sharing words,phrases, or sentences that show evidence of strategies for writingeffective descriptions. A variety of ways to share in the writing work-shop are offered in the appendix. Rose brings closure to the lessonand sets a purpose for the work they will do the following day.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How does Rose help the young writers connect their writing

with the piece that was shared?2. How does Brianna’s description of her bedroom show evidence

of the transfer of information from the guided conversation withRose in the previous segment?

3. How does Brianna’s description show evidence of elaboration ofcontent?

4. Why do you think Rose refers to the word wall? How importantis it for writers to use environmental print when they writethroughout the day?

5. Ask teachers to share their model of a rich description with apartner or small group and to evaluate it based on the criteriaestablished for the second graders. Depending on the grade level,what other characteristics or qualities should be added?



Day 1 Debrief1. What can you understand about the students from observing writers at

work? What are the tracks, or evidence, of the teaching? Rose talks with Dawn to share her observations about the students—their writing, their familiarity with workshop format, their nomencla-ture, and their ability to transfer new learning to their texts.

2. How do these students make connections with mentor texts and usethem in their writing? How do they feel about the mentor texts andmentor authors?The second-grade students have a comfort level with the books andauthors—they even refer to the authors of the mentor texts formodels of rich descriptions as “Linda” (Linda Oatman High) and“Alice” (Alice Schertle). Their familiarity with these texts—first asread-alouds and again in writing workshop lessons—firmly estab-lishes their connection to these books and authors.

3. Why is talk important—especially oral rehearsal with a partner, in smallgroup, or even individually?Purposeful talk enhances the sense of community in this second-gradeclassroom. Talk is clearly the social dimension of writing workshopand helps students to draft, revise, and imagine the possibilities.

4. Ask teachers to think about the anchor charts and environmental printthey have in their classrooms. How accessible are they to the students?How do their students use them?Anchor charts are important because they document the students’thinking and make the process visible to them. It is important thatthey are revisited often and that students have a sense of ownership.They should help create them with their teacher and even add to themwhenever possible and appropriate.

Day 2: Creating Rich Descriptions in Narrative Writing

Recapping the LessonRose focuses the students on the mentor text and rereads the first twopages. The students close their eyes and try to visualize the text. Thishelps them understand the importance of word choice. The studentsshare the specific words and phrases that build description. As Rose



gets them to share, she revisits the anchor chart and continues to eval-uate what these words do and how they help a writer to construct aneffective and interesting description. Then she asks the students torevisit their writing.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. How does Rose make connections with the work from the

previous day? Why is this important?2. How well did the students understand the previous day’s lesson?

How do you know?3. What is the value of the think-aloud—the talk about the impor-

tance of the words and phrases used to build a description?4. Rose models the work of revision using her own writing. Why is

this important? 5. Why is it valuable to reread a piece of writing in its entirety

before starting the revision work?

Sharing in Whole Group: Guided Conversations That Lead to Revision

Students are asked to think about the description and whether theycan visualize the setting. Rose helps them find a place where they canrevise through a guided conversation protocol. She honors thestudents and their ownership by asking them, “Could you add that?”

Her questions help students dig deeper and find ways to bespecific. Students are invited to share something they heard Shaniyahread from her description that helped to create a clear picture. Rosecontinues to ask them to stretch, even though Shaniyah’s descriptionis well written. She directs them to share with a partner to find placesfor possible revision. As they are talking, Rose has guided conversa-tions with some partner pairs. Notice how attention to the writingprocess is naturally embedded into the instruction.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. In what ways does Rose prepare the students to do revision

work independently?2. Why does Rose continue to nudge Shaniyah to rethink her piece

even though it is already a quality piece?3. Ask teachers to share how they prepare their students for revi-

sion work.4. How does Rose continue to use guided conversations to get the

students to be specific and revise their writing? How does sheframe her questioning in a friendly, encouraging way?

5. How does she refocus a student, using a mentor text as a model?



6. How does Dawn ask her students to evaluate and reflect on theirrevision process and the effect it had on their writing? How dothe peers help each other to revise?

Reflecting on the LessonDawn shares the value of reflection. Rose asks the students to reviewwhat they’ve learned about writing good descriptions. She refers,again, to the mentor text. Students think about the level of difficulty.She connects them once more to the mentor text and how it helpedthem write effective descriptions.

Discussion Questions and Workshop Activities1. Why does Rose ask the students to share their thinking about

writing descriptions instead of just telling them what it is shewanted them to learn, even though it takes more time?

2. Probing questions are important in conferences. Rose says, “Tellme more.” What other language could be used to help studentsflesh out their thinking?

3. Students are often gathered on a rug close to the mentor chartand the teacher. How does this help to build community andpromote sharing?

4. Ask teachers to describe when and how often their studentsreread their writing as they move through the process.

5. What are some ways these writers shared during final reflec-tions? How does this process help them understand themselvesbetter as writers?

6. Rose leaves the students with a final thought to help themunderstand how she could use this description in a longerpiece—a personal narrative or a work of fiction. Then she asksthe students to imagine where they could use their description.Why does she do this?

7. Have teachers make a list of some reflection questions for theirwriting workshop—perhaps for different genres—and sharethem.



REFERENCES

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2008. Independent Dames: What YouNever Knew About the Women and Girls of the AmericanRevolution. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Farris, Christine King. 2003. My Brother Martin. New York: Simonand Schuster.

High, Linda Oatman. 1998. Beekeepers. Honesdale, PA: BoydsMills Press.

———. 1999. Barn Savers. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.Murphy, Frank. 2002. George Washington and the General’s Dog.

New York: Random House.———. 2005. Babe Ruth Saves Baseball! New York: Random

House.Schertle, Alice. 2000. Down the Road. New York: Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt.Wilder, Laura Ingalls. 1953. Little House in the Big Woods. New

York: HarperCollins.



APPENDIX

Your Turn Lesson FormatHook: Use literature to invite participation.

Purpose: Tell what you will do.

Brainstorm: Invite writers to sketch, list, talk, create word storms, etc., to generateideas.

Model: Demonstrate what you will do with a mentor text, your own writing,or sometimes a student sample.

Shared/Guided Writing: Writers actively participate in the modeled technique or strategy,either individually, in partnerships, or as a whole-class shared writingexperience. Use partner or group sharing and roving conferences toguide writers.

Independent Writing: Writers compose a new piece or return to a published piece or note-book entry to try out the strategy.

Reflection: Writers consciously reflect on how the writing worked. Reflection isan important step that helps students view themselves as writers andbecome aware of the strategies that work for them and that movethem forward. Self-reflection can be guided through the use of keyquestions. All writers should first reflect on the strategy that wasdemonstrated and tried out.

• How did today’s strategy work? (Additional questions can bevaried according to the level of the writer and the purpose of thelesson.)

• What do I do well as a writer? What are the unique characteris-tics that set my writing apart from others (my fingerprints)?

• If I were to revise, what is one thing I would absolutely change,omit, or add?

• Would this piece of writing work better in a different format? Adifferent tense?

Optional Steps

Write and Reflect Again: Writers rewrite their entry or piece using the revision strategy fromthe reflection. Writers ask themselves if this is a piece they wish tocontinue to work on for publication.

Goal Setting: Writers use input from the selection to set personal goals.



Video Guide Response Chart


Observations (What I Sawand Heard)

My Thoughts/Reactions Questions


Nonfiction Leads: Imagine the PossibilitiesSharing a SecretGeorge Washington is one of America’s greatest heroes. Most people know that George washonest and brave. But there is something about George that people don’t always know. GeorgeWashington loved animals!

—George Washington and the General’s Dog by Frank Murphy

Creating a Sense of EraNo one expected such a tiny girl to have a first birthday. In Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1940, lifefor a baby who weighed just over four pounds at birth was sure to be limited.

But most babies didn’t have nineteen older brothers and sisters to watch over them. Mostbabies didn’t have a mother who knew home remedies and a father who worked several jobs.Most babies weren’t Wilma Rudolph.

—Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull

Compare/ContrastThe year was 1847. The winter was cold and snowy. The place was a little town in Ohio. Insidethe snow-covered, redbrick house, a baby boy was born. His name was Thomas Alva Edison.

Most babies cry a lot, but Thomas hardly ever cried. Instead, he cooed and laughed a lot. BabyThomas was different in another way, too. He looked like he had questions to ask. But BabyThomas couldn’t talk yet.

—Always Inventing: The True Story of Thomas Alva Edison by Frank Murphy

What If? Or Imagine . . .What would you do if someone told you you can’t be what you want to be because you are a girl?What would you do if someone told you your vote doesn’t count, your voice doesn’t matterbecause you are a girl?

Would you ask why? Would you talk back? Would you fight . . . for your rights? Elizabeth did.

—Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote by Tanya Lee Stone

Setting with Action EmbeddedIt is a summer morning on the rain forest floor in the Yucatan Peninsula. A yellow butterfly witha notch in its wing, sliced by a bird’s beak, flutters across the sunbeams. The butterfly spiralsupward and weaves around moss and orchid-covered branches.

—Wings of Light: The Migration of the Yellow Butterfly by Stephen R. Swinburne



T-Chart for Sharing a Secret Lead


What Everybody Knows Secrets


T-Chart for Sharing a Secret Lead: Lynne’s Example


What Everybody Knows

Grandpa worked for Allentown Plumbing& Heating Supply

Grandpa loved to work outdoors

Grandpa adored my grandma

Grandpa loved to eat my grandma’scooking

We always took vacations where we couldswim when we were with Grandpa

Grandpa adored his grandchildren

Secrets

Grandpa sold supplies to the coal minerswhen he was a boy

Grandpa was a wonderful teacher

Grandpa designed the house at the lake

Grandpa loved to eat cold baked beans


Some Ways to Use Share TimeHere are a variety of ways to make good use of share time in writing workshop:

1. Talk about what you as a teacher have noticed during conference time.

2. Have your students share some things they’ve noticed during peer conferences.

3. Take a quick survey (popcorn) by choosing and then sharing aloud the one line you reallyloved from the piece you are currently working on (all students participate, as well as theteacher).

4. Perform collaborative pieces in reader’s theater format or another interesting way (forexample, use background music or create backdrops or props).

5. During share time, conduct a group conference using “praise-ponder-polish.”

6. Share snippets from your writer’s notebook and ask the students to share from their note-books.

7. Lengthen the writing time and ask the students to write down a line that was a stretch forthem—where they tried something new—or that they were surprised came from their“pen.” Collect as a quick survey.

8. Turn and talk with a partner about something you struggled with today, something thatwas difficult for you to do.

9. Share something that a peer (or peers) tried that you would like to try too.

10. Find one word from your draft that you consider to be a “gem” and share it aloud (workswell when everyone does this and you can collect responses on a poster that you passaround to be displayed).

11. Share one thing you have learned from an author whose work you are reading.

12. Complete this thought: “As a writer I have learned . . .”

13. Share what your plans are for the next workshop. Where are you headed?

14. Share one thing you are going to work on as you revise your piece.

15. Share a connection you’ve made between the text you are working on and a book you’veread.

16. Share some of your fingerprints. What do you do naturally as a writer?

17. Share a tip for a successful peer conference.

18. Share something about your writing that surprised you.

19. Share the most important sentence in your piece. Why did you choose it?

20. Share the emotion that drives this piece. What were you feeling when you decided to write?



Tips for Writing a Rich Description1. Use color words.

2. Use vivid adjectives (size, shape, color).

3. Appeal to the senses (smell, taste, touch, sight, sound).

4. Try to vary the sentence length and how you start each sentence.

5. Sometimes use the idea of circular text (wrap around so your last sentence sounds verysimilar to your first).

6. Always use strong (muscular) verbs.

7. Write a lead to hook your reader.

8. Balance your writing with “show” as well as “tell.”

9. Remember to be specific. Give examples, explanations, and lots of detail.


Documents

VIDEO VIEWING GUIDE - Stenhouse · This guide is designed to help maximize learning from the video in professional learning settings. Included are brief descriptions of each video