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To think more deeply about a character. Similar to an internal/external t-chart

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Get to know a character - also can be an internal/external t-chart

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Use lines and colors to connect thinking and grow ideas.

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From Margaret Simon @MargaretGSimon

Infographic to Write about Reading

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Map character's emotions over the course of the story.

Look for turning points.

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This post by Tricia Ebarvia @triciaebarvia shows great ways to connect notice and note signposts to student learning.

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* This is Part 3 in a series on how to use the signposts from Kylene Beers and Robert Probst's Notice and Note to inspire student writing. Here are parts 1 and 2.

In Notice and Note, Beers and Probst make this important observation:

As you think about each of these signposts, you'll see that they appear not only in texts but also in our lives. When your significant other mentions again and again that the garbage needs to go out, there's a subtext to that message-and it has to do with rising anger! When the friend who always checks on you suddenly begins to ignore you, then the contrast with what expect, the contradiction of an established pattern, makes you wonder what is wrong. If you're now a parent, you can look back on those long talks with your own parents not as "another boring lecture" but as your parent's attempt to spare you some pain, to impart words of someone wiser. When a friend asks you what your teen thought of the party that weekend, you suddenly realize- aha -that your teen's sad face over the weekend tells you she hadn't been invited. (74)

As Beers and Probst point out, the reason that the signposts are so ubiquitous in the texts we read is because they are ubiquitous in our lives. After all, art imitates life.

So how do we get students to see this?

As I started thinking about a model for how to use the signposts as invitations for writing, I went back to what I know is an essential element in the workshop model-quickwrites. Regular, preferably daily, opportunities to explore ideas in their writer's notebooks, quickwrites build fluency and confidence. These "writing territories," as Nancie Atwell calls them, also serve as an important resource for students, as they later draw upon these initial notes and wondering to write longer pieces.So if I want my students to write personal pieces of writing that explore how the signposts apply to their own lives, I need to get students thinking and writing about those personal connections in their notebooks. Below are a few of the quickwrite prompts I've come up with for each signpost, any of which could be broken down and expanded upon into multiple quickwrites.

SIGNPOST

QUICKWRITE PROMPT

Words of the Wiser

Make a list of all the people in your life you consider wise or knowledgeable. Then choose one and explain how this person is wise.

Give students a list of "wise words" from literature or other sources (i.e. proverbs) - choose one and reflect on the extent to which it is true.

What "saying" or piece of advice do you most often get from your parents? Another family member?

When I need advice about ______, I turn to ______, because ______.

Have students read these "10 Comforting Words from Dumbledore," choose one or more to write about.

Memory Moment

What was your favorite memory from this past summer? From two summers ago? Four summers? Etc.

List the most important people in your life. Next to each person, write down a specific moment you shared together.

When I was ______, I remember feeling / thinking / seeing ______. (Repeat)

Read the picture book Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, then ask students to reflect on what moments in their own childhood it makes them think about. Another great read loud is the picture book The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant to get students thinking about family memories.

Aha Moment

Make a list of something you learned when you were ______ years old. Repeat for other ages.

Draw a large lightbulb in your notebook. Fill it with important things you've learned in your life so far.

I used to think _____, but now I realize ______. What helped me realize this was ______.

Read students

Contrast & Contradiction

Think of a time you were watching a movie or television, or reading a book, and describe a moment you were shocked by some twist in the plot or decision by a character. What was so surprising?

Same as above, but instead, think of a time when a friend or family member surprised you by their actions.

Draw a full-body self-portrait. Draw a line down the middle. Consider how someone or some group views you versus how you view yourself. On one side, list words that you think others would use to describe you. On the other side, list words you would use to describe yourself.

Tough Question

Brainstorm a list of "big questions" about life. For example, how do we deal with grief? How do we know when we fall in love? Etc.

Describe a time when you wondered about one of these "big questions."

Make a list of difficult decisions you've had to make in your life.

Again and Again

List some of the activities you've done since you were a child (i.e. sports, clubs, music, reading).

Choose an activity in your life and describe why it's important to you / why you've stuck with it (repeat).

List some traditions you have with family or friends. Describe why a particular tradition is so important to you / worth keeping (repeat).

It's easy to see how any one of these quickwrite prompts could be serve as the subject for a writing piece. On the other hand, each of these prompts can also serve simply as a beginning, an entryway, into some larger or more complex idea. At this point, I think I would like to leave the actual focus of the longer piece of writing up to each student. It will all depend, on some degree, on what they are able to unearth in the prewriting they do in their notebooks, and hopefully, these quickwrite prompts will serve as an important part of that process.

I typically start each class period either with a quickwrite or a booktalk (in a 43-minute period, it's tough to find time to do both each day, though sometimes I am ambitious 🙂 ). My thinking is that I will rotate through the quickwrites for each signpost so that students have "something down" in their notebooks for each. Then, when we begin our writing workshop session, they will have some notes on each of the signposts and can choose from a wider terrain of ideas.

Of course, once students have an idea of what they want to write, they'll need some additional mentor texts to study. That's where I'll head in my next post... until then, let me know if you have any ideas in the comments below.

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Notice & Note, then Write: Quickwrites

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This is Part 3 in a series on how to use the signposts from Kylene Beers and Robert Probst's Notice and Note to inspire student writing. Here are parts 1 and 2. In Notice and Note, Beers and Probst make this important observation: As you think about each of these signposts, you'll see that they...

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To get kids thinking deeper about books

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Objects, characters and setting can be important. Notice this in the beginning to help you track ideas in the story

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I've been doing more thinking about how to use Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading to invite students to write. Since my last post on the subject, I've thought about how this would actually work―practically speaking―in my classroom. (If you are new to Notice and Note, read more about it here.)
My thinking so far:
PRE-WRITING: Beginning in our notebooks. Before officially talking signposts, we'll take some time to do some notebook work. Doing so early will set the stage for the regular writing students will do in their writer's notebooks all year. I'll weave in quickwrites that address the signposts, though the students won't know it yet. Some ideas:

List of the best/worst advice you've ever gotten (Words of the Wiser)

Favorite memory of the summer (Memory Moment)

List of things you've learned in the last year (A-Ha Moment)

I'll likely just focus on the first three signposts at this stage, as these seem the most immediately accessible to students. Eventually, I'd like to generate a long list of N&N related quickwrite prompts (future post?).

. I plan to introduce the signposts with the first piece of literature we study. In my 9th grade world literature course, that's the Epic of Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative, translation by Herbert Mason. To get started thinking about the signposts, I could do a little flipped learning and ask students to watch this wonderful set of videos made by teacher Brent Peterson.

LITERATURE. The next day, students can work together to apply the signposts to Gilgamesh. It turns out that all six signposts are illustrated in the story:

WORDS OF THE WISER

Probably the epic's most significant moment, on his journey to seek everlasting life, Gilgamesh meets the wise man Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that "there is no permanence," that as much as he fights against it, Gilgamesh cannot avoid his fate as a mortal to die.

MEMORY MOMENT

During his grief over losing his friend, Enkidu, Gilgamesh recounts memories that the two of them spent together. These memories are important to Gilgamesh because they reveal not only the depth of his grief, but the depth of their friendship.

A-HA MOMENT

By the end of the epic, Gilgamesh realizes that the way to achieve immortality is through his actions, that he can be remembered for his good deeds as a wise king.

CONTRAST & CONTRADICTION

Gilgamesh's immense grief over losing his friend contradicts the insensitive tyrant king we met at the beginning of the epic.

TOUGH QUESTION

The epic asks perhaps one of the biggest "tough questions" of all literature―and life―when Gilgamesh experiences the anguish over his friend's death: how can we deal with grief?

AGAIN & AGAIN

Gilgamesh's hunger for power and his hubris are repeatedly emphasized in the first part of the epic - which makes his transformation by the end that much more meaningful.

As we review the signposts in Gilgamesh, I can also use this time to discuss how the signposts might apply to other stories―books (summer reading?), television, movies―so that students can see the universal quality of the signposts. Additional video clips from key WoW scenes from familiar movies would also be useful here (like this one from The Hunger Games featuring Haymitch).

NOTEBOOK WORK. This is the point at which I'll ask students to think more deeply about how the signposts may apply to their own lives. As Beers and Probst point out in Notice and Note,

We think that these signposts show up in novels because they show up in the real world. Fiction does imitate life, and as a result we shouldn't be surprised to find that the patterns that help us understand the world around us also help us understand the world of the book in front of us. (74)

For the first signpost-inspired writing assignment, we'll zoom in on Words of the Wiser. I'll start with WoW because it may be the most relatable to students' lives (plus the WoW in Gilgamesh is one of the most significant signposts in the epic). I don't know of a single adolescent who hasn't heard advice from the adults in their lives―parents, older siblings, grandparents, teachers, coaches. I'll also refer back to their previous readings. For example, I know that my 9th graders read To Kill a Mockingbird and The Giver in middle school. Reminding students of wise figures like Atticus and the Giver would be instructive here.

At this point, we'll do some writing in our notebooks. Because students have already generated a list of the best/worst advice they've ever received, they can revisit their notebooks and begin the initial phase of exploring and drafting, what Kelly Gallagher calls the "down draft." In addition, students could get ideas from the advice that others have received, as in this Business Insider piece. Instead of a piece of advice from a specific person, students can also identify WoW from something they've read and write about how those words ring true in their own lives.

MENTOR TEXTS. Now that students have some idea of what they may want to write about―in this case with WoW, which piece of advice they'd like to explain and explore―they can consult real-world, authentic mentor texts that also illustrate the signpost. For example, for WoW, below are few mentor texts that students could read:

"The Real Me" from This I Believe. In this essay, a high school student recounts the advice given to her by her mother many years ago, and now understands that "hiding your true self can do more harm than good."

"Never Give Up" from This I Believe. In this essay, the writer remembers her father's advice on the "importance of perseverance. What surprised her as an adult was how much he lived his "never give up" message toward her when she needed him the most."

"Charmed" from the NY Times Magazine Lives column. In this essay, a mother recalls her experience "taking [her] Moroccan grandmother's advice for warding off the evil eye."

"Life Advice from my 99-year-old Grandfather―Still the Coolest Guy I Know" from the Huffington Post, an essay in which the writer describes the most important pieces of advice she's received from, you guessed it, her grandfather.

As a class, we would read at least two of these essays and analyze each for its craft―How are the essays organized? What types of details given? Where is the advice located? How is personal experience included? Where and how are elements of narrative writing included? What is the writer's tone? Which sentences stand out, and how can we use these sentences as mentor sentences? Because each of these essays varies in style and structure, students can see that there are multiple possibilities for response.

After reviewing two mentor texts as a class together, students can explore additional models individually or in groups.

WRITE AND REVISE. Finally, it's time to write and workshop essays through multiple drafts and authentic feedback in peer response groups.
Some additional thoughts―
I'm hopeful about this structure, mostly because while it is structured, the process allows student choice throughout and the opportunity for students to develop their voice as they write about something that is personally relevant to them. The entire process begins with a close reading of the text, and from that, students are able to draw meaningful connections to their own lives, examine real-world mentor texts, and finally put everything together in an essay (or other text) that reveals their learning. I can also imagine directing students back to the beginning and to use The Epic of Gilgamesh as an allusion in their final essays.
Extension into independent reading―
It's immediately after Gilgamesh that students will begin their independent reading endeavors. By this point in the year (a few weeks in), I would have booktalked several titles and taken students to the library for a tour. This Epic Reads video that features 7 "Words of Wisdom" quotes from YA titles would be perfect after this process to transition.
Considerations―

In order to be successful, students will need a lot of time in class to write, write, and write some more, beginning with the initial quickwrites in their writer's notebooks, extending and reflecting on their ideas in continued notebook work, and the drafting, writing, and revising stages.

Again, more time will be needed to make sure that students can have ample opportunities to brainstorm, discuss, and respond to each other in groups.

Lots of modeling by me, as their teacher, at every step. Probably more modeling than I would usually do since this will be our first time through the signposts. This means I'll need to write beside them and compose my own essay to share. I imagine by the time we reach the third signpost for writing that students will be more independent.

I'm not sure if I want to require a specific signpost essay after this initial WoW one. Our next whole-class text is Much Ado About Nothing. Several signposts apply. Last year, I had students write a short literary analysis on how one of the signposts applied to the play. They could choose which signpost, which worked out well. I think I will continue to do that essay, but add these personal essays in as well (I already have other mentor texts in mind for the other signposts!).

As we move through our "regularly scheduled literature" units, I'l build in writing workshop time for students to complete these personal essays. I see this as an ongoing process―one that culminates in a portfolio of Notice & Note -inspired writing.

As I did last year, I will give students the option of using the signposts as their area of focus for their independent reading reflections (last year, students could choose one signpost per week and wrote about how it applied to their IR books).

Whew - that was a lot. If you have any ideas, comments, questions, suggestions, please let me know in the comments below!
UPDATE: Part 3 of what has now become a series of N&N posts is here, where I discuss quickwrite ideas. 🙂

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Notice & Note, then Write: A Blueprint

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I've been doing more thinking about how to use Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading to invite students to write. Since my last post on the subject, I've thought about how this would actually work―practically speaking―in my classroom. (If you are new to Notice and Note, read more about it here.)

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To visualize a place, draw it!

Thanks to Sally Donnelly!

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This game using Uno cards can be used to

get kids to randomly find lines in the text to write

more about.

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Looking at a story through the lens of a metaphor helps readers to track personal plot lines, notice patterns/parallels, and discover deeper interpretations. I included three shots of my notebook where I used the "road" as a metaphor.

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Jumpstart creative writing by selecting a favorite quote.

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Things that keep repeating are worth looking at.

Take time in your notebook with these words.

Wonder, collect ideas

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Sketch-to-Stretch is an instructional strategy developed by Harste, Short, & Burke, (1988). Students draw quick sketches to stretch their thinking and understanding of concepts. This technique can be used in a variety of ways.

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Examples: After reading a description of the nesting habits of hummingbirds, students draw a sketch that shows how they visualized the details: the place a nest would be found, the size of a hummingbird's nest, materials used to build the nest, the number of eggs in a nest, the color of eggs, and how parent(s) of baby hummingbirds take care of their young.

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As you read consider things a character says that effects others in the story

Capture them and post it on a picture that connects to how you visualize the story

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It takes all kind of people to make a (1) 2