https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl en-us 2016-09-13 21:52:09 UTC 2016-09-13 22:39:48 UTC hello@padlet.com aspangler https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123627741 "The hero of this story is narrative itself--how it comes to our aid as we sort out the welter of information that is available, as it undergirds our belief that our world is comprehensible, and meaningful, and one in which our actions have consequences. Narrative is there to help us 'compose' ourselves when we meet difficulty or loss. It is there to ground abstract ideas, to help us see the pattern in a set of numerical data, to illuminate the human consequences of political action. It is home base." 
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Narrative writing is quality information text because it can be used to tell anything about yourself and the world you are experiencing. It helps us make sense of the world around us and can be told in a variety of ways--spoken word, video, pen and paper, books, etc. ]]> 2016-09-13 22:14:57 UTC https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123627741 jordan_davis3 https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123627973 "To write, at least to write seriously, is to imagine a reading act, to convince the reader "I am with you and know how it is".
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After reading this quote, I was struck by how much informational text has the disconnect of being able to relate to us personally. We crave to learn more about something if we know how someone else has experienced it. Being able to embed narrative elements into information helps make the reader engaged to learn more. 

I think it is important for my students to be able to understand  strategically using information and narration to speak through their writing. I think that our students have experienced these writing opportunities to be separate in the classroom. My co-teacher Language Arts and I allowed our students to create a Science Poem about any topic they had been studying in class. Our students would benefit from being able to tie in a personal connection especially for learning science concepts deeply.

]]> 2016-09-13 22:18:12 UTC https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123627973 anjnair19 https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123627988 "Nonfiction, I will argue, is all about moves, motion through time. Not static structures." 
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In middle and high school, I remember learning about the 5 paragraph essay. I used this format all the time for papers in high school and college. However, I think this format limits students on their creativity. By teaching our students with these strict formats we are constricting their writing freedom when writing things they know about.


]]> 2016-09-13 22:18:24 UTC https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123627988 aspangler https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123628327 "We don't read extended texts through sheer grit, but we are carried along by some pattern the writer creates. Even if our goal is to learn information, we don't do that well if that information is not connected in some way--and as humans the connection we crave is narrative." 
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Research has shown that we learn best when we are engaged. Even when reading informational texts, when the text flows and resonates with us--when it's told like a story--we retain the information better. This makes me think about the nonfiction texts I give my students. When I make information that I teach relate to me or my students, I have found that they retain it better than when I just teach facts and content. This creative approach to teaching is powerful. ]]> 2016-09-13 22:22:21 UTC https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123628327 anjnair19 https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123628401 "The bottom line: if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family's positive moments and your ability to bounce back from difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come." 
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This article talks about the benefits of a strong family narrative. It mentions that when children know more about their family's history, the stronger their sense of control on their lives are and more successful their family. I thought this could relate to quality information writing because I think the more you know about your own family and their experiences, the more personable the writing will be. People can also relate to it more. ]]> 2016-09-13 22:23:22 UTC https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123628401 jordan_davis3 https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123629426 "Narrative is probably the most common and natural way to set up a structure of anticipation and resolution in discourse."

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This quote really emphasizes what we experience each day in our lives like narratives. Our students learn by questioning, discussing, analyzing, and reflecting on information they experience and learn. Narratives make information more personal and as a story that helps our student follow learning new information. ]]> 2016-09-13 22:36:02 UTC https://padlet.com/aspangler/jryjtfb7etsl/wish/123629426