Writing About Reading

[Day 5 Notes from Mary Ehrenworth's Session]

Reading Notebooks
Writing about reading:

1. Just like with writing notebooks, if there isn't an audience for the reading notebook, kids won't continue it.
2. Have kids start playing with challenging writing WAY ahead of time. Ex: WAY before teaching an argument unit in Writing Workshop, kids are doing many argument protocol experiences (like the Giving Tree example from Day 2) in their reading notebook. 
3. Creating an environment of innovation

The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner

7 Survival Skills:
1. Critical thinking and problem solving
2. Collaboration and leading through influence
3. Agility and adaptability
4. Initiative and entrepreneurship
5. Effective written communication
6. Accessing and analyzing information
7. Curiosity and imagination

Quality of Play:
Let kids figure out what works better for kids to write. Will they write more if they write in pink sparkly gel pen? Will they write more if they write on a whiteboard and take a picture of it? What really matters: The writing or the material?

Sometimes you might ask kids to "publish" a reading notebook page.
Sometimes you might do some small writing on post-its, then move it into the notebook.

Are you building an atmosphere of compliance, or are you building an atmosphere of innovation?

Notebook: Do lots of play with thinking. Put the pieces together to come to new thinking.

Awesome book: What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything? by Avi


Launching and Sustaining Innovative Writing About Reading
Don't focus on the tool! Reading notebooks might be on the iPad, in a notebook, or tattoos on your body!

• Gather some samples (Just having kids look at what other readers are doing can help)
• If you need samples, just collect some during a shared reading
• GREAT book: The Most Beautiful Place in the World by Ann Cameron
• Develop rituals for sharing 

• Maybe have "gallery walks" on Fridays (Protocol: 2 different post-its- A compliment post-it, and a goal post-it "What did someone else do that I want to try?")
• Publishing "By next Friday, can you gather some notebook pages that show some innovative work. Post on a wall.

• Demo ("co-author") during lesson/ small group/ conference
• Keep your own notebook (Model your own notebook. It doesn't always need to be real)
• Don't ask your kids to do something you wouldn't do

Resources Mary created that will help with argument work:

http://readingandwritingproject.com/resources/classroom-libraries/text-sets.html

What about letting kids research online? Think about this: Even in college, students are given resources by the professor. Rarely does a professor say, "Ok, go research. I hope you learn about psychology. Off you go!"

How to Get Argument Going:

Start with Reading Workshop (picture book) repeatedly

Then get book clubs started- Students create their own questions that are debatable and juicy

Then get it going in Social Studies and Science