# data[].attributes.body
sarah@erinkentconsulting.com
Twitter: @srvshannon

# data[].attributes.body
Connect with educators around the world!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

# data[].attributes.headline
Planning with Clarity, Brevity and the PYP in Mind

# data[].attributes.subject
Planning with Clarity, Brevity and the PYP in Mind

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
IS Hellerup Inquiry-based Minilesson Planning Sheet

# data[].attributes.body
- time to practice the skills
- thinking time (generating ideas, planning)
- opportunities for reflection
- partnerships
- celebrating approximations
- all students are writers and readers - creating a sense of identity
- not write on students' notebooks (instead use post-it notes)

# data[].attributes.body
1)Giving students the tools to succeed.
2) Committing to meet each student where they are
3) Give honest, timely and purposeful feedback
4) Enable students to make individualized progress.
5) Create a safe space to share

# data[].attributes.body
-Meet them where they are
-help them reach where they wanna be
- Create a safe environment and have a go
-They will be heard and will have a voice
Create a mistake-friendly classroom
- Provide time for them to share their stories
-Provide differentiated guidelines to help them be successful
-Allow room to make personal connections
- Provide them with inspiring and interesting assignments.

# data[].attributes.body
We are starting 2 new units in Reader's and Writer's Workshop based on the "If... Then... Curriculum" book. Do you have any tips that we can use when planning mini-lessons?

# data[].attributes.body
A fantastic sample of mini lesson was very helpful. It showed how to run a clear and brief mini workshop.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Every morning at about 6:30 a.m., the Daily Skimm arrives in my inbox. I sometimes wonder if there ever will be a morning when the headline is that there are no stories for the day. I don't think that will ever happen. This world just keeps churning out news- one of the reasons why Journalism is a great unit to teach: there are always news stories!

Since last summer, Meghan Hargrave and I have been teaching writing classes online. Of all the classes, Journalism was the most popular six-week class. It was also one of the most fun. Because we taught the unit weekly, it's hard to know how it would translate to a unit with daily instruction. My guess is about three weeks, and sometimes a short unit is a welcome friend at the end of the school year when attention spans are waning. Here's a peek into how we presented and proceeded with the students who were third, fourth, and fifth-graders.

Launch: Immersion and Topic Development

The first session involved exposing students to a variety of articles presented on a Padlet. Students had their choice of leaving their comments about the articles on the Padlet itself, or keeping notes about what they noticed. Because this group of kids had never met before, some definitely felt intimidated by posting their noticings publicly during the first session! However, in about a half hour, all of the students were able to participate in conversations about what they noticed in terms of craft- not what content they learned from the articles.

Students spent the rest of the session and some of the next one filling out a What's in Your News? chart. Inspired by Sara Ahmed in Being the Change, Meghan created columns for national, community, and personal news. I had my sample one that I taught from, and students filled out their own. What was really great about these was how much we learned about students and how quickly. In many ways, these were as revealing as an identity map because they showed what students cared about.
Moving Along With Writing
Many of the students were ready to write at that point, even with very little intentional instruction. The exposure to other pieces and having a topic they were excited about was enough. It was in this unit that I created a survey for students that I will use whenever and wherever I teach in the future because it asked them about their writing identities. While several expressed the importance of mentor texts, a couple of them leaned more on lessons and trying out new ideas. (Interesting that all of them reported video lessons did NOT help them!)

Throughout the sessions, I created these charts as I taught, giving you a window into some of the lessons:

W

Additionally, there were lessons about the differences between feature articles and news stories, as well as how to plan for an interview, how to establish and maintain a tone, and the punctuation that typically appears in news articles.

This chart was created after an inquiry of the differences between a feature article and a news article.

Students had questions about whether to use personal experiences which was fun to analyze. (We agreed from studying the mentors to stay away from them!) One especially fun lesson involved short broadcasts that Meghan had collected, and students loved thinking about how their story/news could be relayed through a broadcast. As they listened, I challenged them to think about constants in all the stories such as:

The headline

The history

The additional information

Other interesting and related stories.

Celebrations
We had a great time when it came to sharing the pieces. I created another Padlet for students to use, and some of them posted their written work, but others had a great time with the audio and video features of Padlet. Padlet makes it fairly intuitive to post across modalities. Since students were home, they had easy access to stuffed animals. A couple of them were both hilarious and effective at empowering a stuffie to interview and respond.
Volume and Reflections
As you can see in the survey, I offered students the choice of creating more than one piece, and a few took me up on it. I also had students go back and forth between a news story and a feature article. For example, one person wrote about her dance studio's flexibility over the last year, and she wrote a short news piece about it, and then a longer piece with interviews and more analysis and perspectives for her feature article.

This is a unit that inspires students to write personally without as much vulnerability as personal narratives sometimes require. However, I still learned SO much about what these students cared about and who they are as people! Additionally, the feature articles challenged them to consider various perspectives, an important skill to develop for community and global citizenship. And, a final and VERY appreciated aspect of this unit was the fun it provided. Even serious topics had elements of fun when it came to video production with stuffed animals. I can't wait to teach this unit again!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Every morning at about 6:30 a.m., the Daily Skimm arrives in my inbox. I sometimes wonder if there ever will be a morning when the headline is that there are no stories for the day. I don't think that will ever happen.

# data[].attributes.headline
Fourth Grade Support for Multilingual Students

# data[].attributes.subject
Fourth Grade Support for Multilingual Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fourth Grade Supports for English Language Learners in Writing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE MENTOR TEXT DROPBOX
Finding mentor texts can often be one of the most challenging - and time consuming! - parts of effective writing instruction.

Why spend hours flipping through books and surfing the web when we can share? The link above will take you to our Mentor Text Dropbox where we've curated hundreds of mentor texts by genre, technique, topic, and activity.
Please note: We do not grant access to the documents in the dropbox directly to students. If you would like your students to have copies of these documents, you need to make a copy for your drive and distribute that to your students.
Join the sharing love by submitting your own mentor texts!

Share it with movingwriters@gmail.com as a Google doc, or share several mentor texts in a Google folder.

Email it as an attachment to movingwriters.org.

Tweet us a link (@allisonmarchett, @rebekahodell1). Use #movingwriters.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE MENTOR TEXT DROPBOX Finding mentor texts can often be one of the most challenging - and time consuming! - parts of effective writing instruction. Why spend hours flipping through books and surfing the web when we can share? The link above will take you to our Mentor Text Dropbox where we've curated...

# data[].attributes.body
Matt Glover's Process (2020)

# data[].attributes.body
Got: great resources about differentiation per year level and including translanguaging. Also, we have got a chance to dig into our weakest point: moderation. Thanks for that.
Wants: I hope we can have more discussion about differentiated objectives for each year level. Also, I hope we can discuss how much compromise can be made if a student missed the academic content and joined our school recently.
(Ramazan)

# data[].attributes.body
Thank you for the resources you added to the Padlet. These will be quite useful as a develop our new units.

# data[].attributes.body
GOT: the importance of having time to work collaboratively on analyzing our students' writing samples. This allows us to understand our students' needs, find trends, and plan for instruction.

# data[].attributes.body
I am really happy we got resources that will help in our EAL classrooms :) Working on our students writing was really engaging. This definitely showcased how much more time we need for collaborations :)

# data[].attributes.body
Creating a progression for LSS students will be our next step.

# data[].attributes.body
The resources (and explanation of them) was really useful. Also, norming the progression of writing as a larger group and smaller group helped show what the work we could be doing together.

# data[].attributes.body
The importance of collaborating with grade level teachers to better assess writing standards

# data[].attributes.headline
I thought it was useful to go through the writing samples and discuss them with our peers. 

# data[].attributes.subject
I thought it was useful to go through the writing samples and discuss them with our peers. 

# data[].attributes.body
Thank you for all the resources, especially those related to journalism :) I think it was very valuable to work through work from our own students. What I'm experiencing as LSS teacher is that many of our students (also due to being EAL students perhaps) do not write in complete sentences, often verbs do not match etc. I think that is my biggest concern as it seems to be the foundation for this program - I would love to hear more about how you address this, or have experienced this being addressed.

# data[].attributes.body
Discussions on our school's student's writing samples progression and the importance on collaborative assessment of student work.

# data[].attributes.body
Great examples of conferring and tips.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences of The Classroom Essentials Series
Invite students to have a real give-and-take with you.

Even though in conferences you're a teacher talking to students, you're also a (more experienced) writer talking to (less experienced) fellow writers about what writers do-come up with topics, make a plan for a piece of writing, write a lead, develop a section
with detail, use commas in a series, and so on. In this give and take, you learn about what students are trying to do as writers and how well they're doing it, and the students learn how they can do their work better.

Speak in a conversational tone.

Tone is the foundation of the good relationships you want to develop with students over the course of the school year. Speaking in a warm, friendly manner puts students at ease and makes it more likely they will talk with you about what they're trying to do as writers. What you learn from this talk helps you assess students and decide what you should teach to help them grow.

Sit alongside students, at their eye level.

How you sit with students helps you establish a positive tone in conferences. You might grab a nearby empty seat or sit on one that you carry with you around the classroom. As you sit, it's important to make frequent eye contact with students and make sure that your
facial expressions show an interest in what students are telling you.

Use "active listening" strategies.

For example, give some wait time after asking a question so that students have the time and space they need to come up with a response. Ask students to "say more" about what they tell you. And repeat what children say to check that you're hearing them correctly.
Using these strategies shows that you have a real interest in what students are saying and that you're really trying to understand them. Students will usually respond by talking to you more.

The goal of a writing conference is to teach students something about writing that they can use in the future. If you add to students' writing repertoires in every conference, they become better writers over time.

Learn more at Heinemann.com

Carl Anderson is one of the nation's leading experts on teaching writing to students in grades K-12. He dedicates his energies exclusively as an education consultant and writer.

Carl recently worked for Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University as a Lead Staff Developer, providing staff development in the teaching of writing grades K-8. He spent school days in New York City elementary and middle schools demonstrating effective teaching in the writing workshop and coaching teachers. He gave day-long workshops for teachers at Teachers College on launching the writing workshop, conferring with student writers, mini-lessons, and developing curriculum for the writing workshop.

Carl is the author of numerous books including the bestselling How's It Going? A Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers, as well as Assessing Writers and the series Strategic Writing Conferences: Smart Conversations that Move Young Writers Forward Grades 3-6.

His latest book, A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences, is part of the Classroom Essentials series. Full of classroom video, the book helps teachers understand the underlying principles and reasons for conferring with students, and how to make writing conferences a part of teachers' daily routines.

Follow Carl on Twitter @ConferringCarl

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The goal of a writing conference is to teach students something about writing that they can use in the future. If you add to students' writing repertoires in every conference, they become better writers over time.

# data[].attributes.body
Goal-setting conference - G1 Writing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Goal Setting Conference -- Writing -- First Grade

# data[].attributes.headline
Common Patterns for 3-8 Writers - Carl Anderson

# data[].attributes.subject
Common Patterns for 3-8 Writers - Carl Anderson

# data[].attributes.body
1) Find your name in attached folder.
2) Use rubric to self-assess.
3) Share in small group.

# data[].attributes.body
3 Things I Learned
2 Things I want to Try
1 Wondering I Have

# data[].attributes.body
Research, Decide, Teach
Compliment
Coaching
Goal-setting
Partnership

# data[].attributes.body
Jeff Anderson & Whitney La Rocca

# data[].attributes.body
Debbie Miller

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more.

Introduction: We Can Do This

Asking Beautiful Questions

Paying Attention to What Doesn't Feel Right

Asking, "What If?": Creating Space for Possibility

Chapter One: What If Each Day's Teaching Focused on Children's Agency?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Disengaged Child

What's the Best That Could Happen? Agency Fosters Engagement

Imagining New Possibilities for a Child

Conferring to Support Access and Choice

Paying Attention During Independent Work Time

Conferring to Inquire and to Offer Community

Postscript

Chapter Two: What If We Made What Children Make and Do Our Priority?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: Workshop Planning

What's the Best That Could Happen? Meaningful Work

Planning for What Children Will Do First

Planning for What Teachers Will Do During Work Time

Figuring Out What to Teach

Playing with the Sequence

Taking Ownership

Chapter Three: What If Our Classroom Environment and Routines Offered Choice?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: Frustration over Supplies

What's the Best That Could Happen? Managing Their Own Work

Being Intentional in Our Language

Cocreating Routines

Designing Agentive Environments

Chapter Four: What If We Owned the Units We Are Asked to Teach?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Units We're Given

Are These the Right Goals?

Which Texts Work Best?

How Will We Know When We're Done?

How Can This Happen Within Daily Workshop?

What's the Best That Could Happen? Perfection in Imperfection

Chapter Five: What If Read-Aloud Sustained Children's Independent Thinking?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Wisdom in Children's Thinking

Expecting Brilliance

Finding Time for Read-Aloud

Reading Aloud for Joy

Teachers and Children Thinking Aloud

What's the Best That Could Happen? Being Inspired to Act

Conclusion: In Pursuit of Beautiful Questions

We all have difficult moments in our teaching, and without a question to drive us forward, we can get stuck. But that difficult moment might be the question we need to ask ourselves. Questions can bring a positive attention, creating a presence in the moment. When I ask children, "Are you the kind of kid who...?", I'm inviting them to imagine a new possibility for themselves, one in which they have more power than they did before. I want those new possibilities for teachers, too. Are you the kind of teacher who is ready to try something new, something that will make your students stronger, more joyful readers and bring you greater joy in your work? I think you are.

Asking questions leads to opportunities-it's about growth, openness, and a willingness to change, which top-down models don't allow. It's a way for us to focus our thinking and be present in the lives we've chosen to live. Asking the question is the essential behavior of teaching. It's not a perfect call-and response but a messy business of wondering, stumbling, and figuring things out. It requires bravery and commitment, but that's what teaching is. It's a joyful, creative, purposeful profession. If you feel you've lost even some of your passion for teaching, I would love to help give it back to you. So, in this book, we'll talk about creating beautiful questions about the teaching of reading. To help you take on the process of asking beautiful questions, I'll share how I got to some beautiful questions about teaching reading and what I did with them as I worked with teachers in classrooms across the country.

This book is about owning our teaching and making decisions based on who we are and what's best for the children in our classroom today. That all sounds ambitious and brave... and the work is-teaching is-but it happens in so many small and simple ways. My wish is for you to think about what you do and ask your own beautiful questions, so that you and your children can thrive and view yourselves and each other as valuable, idea-filled, creative, and contributing humans who own your teaching and learning. Be open and receptive to possibilities! Think: "What if we did it this way?"

"A one-of-a-kind book, full of wisdom and heart. Debbie Miller inspires educators to step back and question everything-challenging us to rethink and reinvent the ways we teach. What's the best that could happen? Read this book and it will help you find your own answer to that beautiful question."

-Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question and The Book of Beautiful Questions
"Debbie Miller is a magician with children, and in What's the Best That Could Happen? she hands us her magic wand. With honesty, humility, and optimism, she shares her thoughts and actions about teaching and learning. Run-don't walk-to conjure up this essential book!"
-Stephanie Harvey, coauthor of The Comprehension Toolkit series, From Striving to Thriving, and Strategies That Work
"Debbie Miller is suggesting something revolutionary. She is suggesting the way to ensure all students learn is to intentionally and persistently expect not just capability but brilliance from them."
-Gretchen Morgan, author of Innovative Educators: An Action Plan for Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Special Offer: Save 30% off our list price automatically when you buy 15 or more. Introduction: We Can Do This Asking Beautiful Questions Paying Attention to What Doesn't Feel Right Asking, "What If?": Creating Space for Possibility Chapter One: What If Each Day's Teaching Focused on Children's Agency?

# data[].attributes.body
Lucy Calkins

# data[].attributes.body
3: Goal-setting conferring,  The learning progression, Setting the routines
2: Partnership conference, Differentiating
1: Finding a way to better document

# data[].attributes.body
great resources to get for summer reading

different types of conferences

ways of using the writing progression to identify what students are able to do and what they are almost ready to do

2 things I want to try

goal-setting conferences

developing a system to document conferences and plan for small groups

1 wondering I have

how best to support students with learning needs within the workshop model (we currently have a couple of pull-out sessions a week during both reading and writing workshop)

Thanks for a great workshop! Carolina

# data[].attributes.body
3 things I learned:
-The importance of keeping mini lessons MINI
-The strategy of giving "you're the type of writer, who..." feedback
-To approach each lesson starting at the end (in Lucy Culkins textbook)
2 things I want to try:
-goal setting conference
-keeping conference log
1 thing I'm wondering about:
How do incorporate the grammar/lexis teaching AND teach a mini lesson at the same time? (not to confuse students) I will definitely need to read Patterns of Power :)

# data[].attributes.body
- How to give positive feedback that focuses the student on what they did well
- How to move them on so that they improve on what they are doing well
- The importance of keeping the mini lesson brief and snappy

2 things I want to try
- how to decide on the next thing to move the student on
-  setting up a system for keeping data from conferencing

1 thing I'm wondering about
-  Like Carolina how do we best support our students with learning differences - following mini lesson I feel that we almost need to go back to the planning stage - but they're often fired up after the mini lesson