Juli
Kendall's
2004-05
READING/WRITING
WORKSHOP JOURNAL
Entry #23
Greatest
Hits
from the Reading/Writing Project Journals
It's almost the end of the year and since I'm in a retrospective mood, I'm looking back over the more than 100 journals I've written for the Reading/Writing Project.
This corresponds to what's going on in my "music life" right now. Just like the journals reflect my teaching life, the music that I've loved over the years provides a soundtrack for my life. I'm listening to my MP3 collection on my iPod where I've downloaded everything from Janis Joplin to the Eurythmics to the Allman Brothers Band. This way I can pick and choose what I want to hear. I think browsing through the iTunes Music Store must be where I got the idea to put together a Greatest Hits list for the Reading/Writing Project Journals.
After four years, although I have my own favorites, these are the journals that have drawn the most attention. Year #1 – Week 16"Envisionments: Helping Students Improve Literary Understanding"
(Reading Workshop) I wrote this journal after my editor John Norton sent me a copy of a pamphlet from CELA (National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement). The pamphlet is titled, "Improving Literary Understanding Through Classroom Conversation" and can still be downloaded for free at their website. CELA posted the journal along with a sidebar called, "Development: A Vital but Often Neglected Part of R & D," written by Janet Angelis and Elizabeth Close. Elizabeth and Janet submitted their sidebar with the journal for publication, and NCTE used it in one of their magazines. Year #1 – Week 24
"Integrating Test Prep into Reading Instruction"
(Reading Workshop)
Later that year, I wrote a journal using another CELA pamphlet, "Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well: Six Features of Effective Instruction." This was based on the work of Judith Langer and her associates. After it was online, I received an interview request from a reviewer from NCTE. She was writing a review of Judith Langer's new book, and she wanted to talk to me about how I was using research from the book in my teaching. She was gracious enough to incorporate some of my comments into what she wrote.
Year #1 – Week 26
She (Juli) says she appreciates the fact that Langer's research reveals both what works and what doesn't work. "Having a research based document like 'Guidelines' assists when I'm trying to implement the best instructional program possible for kids in the shortest amount of time."
"Dipping in to Donovan's Jar: New Ways to Learn Words"
(Reading Workshop)
I'm not actually clear on why this journal has been so popular, but it may be because it deals with how kids can learn vocabulary, an important part of comprehending text. It could also be that the examples from the kids drew people in to read it. Or maybe it's the reference to The Devil's Dictionary at the end - "There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don't know." Year #2 – Week 7
"How We Help Our Writers with Spelling"
(Writing Workshop)
This happens to be one of my favorite journals. It's probably because by writing it I researched and learned so much about what we do to help our kids with spelling. I think we have to be careful when we talk about spelling since I don't believe that difficulties with spelling represent a genetic deficit. But people do judge writing, and thus the writer, based on the spelling. In this journal I worked my way through what I knew about best practice for helping kids with spelling. Year #2 – Week 11
"Editing: Taming the Error Beast"
(Writing Workshop)
Constance Weaver has come to be a favorite author of mine. It's a little surprising since she writes about conventions and grammar — not my favorite subject. But she has a wonderful way of engaging the reader. Maybe that's why people come back to this journal for a second reading. At the end, there's an excerpt from a poem she wrote titled, "Taming the Error Beast." Year #2 – Week 20
"Persuasive Writing: Building Test Prep into Literacy Learning"
(Writing Workshop)
My take on why websites want to link to this journal is that persuasive writing is something that almost all teachers teach and most students need to learn. In this one I wrote about how I integrated test prep into a unit of study about persuasive writing. It's based on the work of Judith Langer and refers to the CELA pamphlet, "Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well: Six Features of Effective Instruction." Year #2 – Week 33
"Revision"
(Writing Workshop)
Revision is probably the thing I've learned the most about over the time I've been writing the journals. I imagine it's because I really had to learn how to revise to be able to write — and I'm no expert at revision. This journal starts off with my favorite student written poem of all time. It's by Clara.
It also includes some great references for learning about revision. There's the book by Georgia Heard, The Revision Toolbox, Teaching Techniques That Work, and another one by Barry Lane, After the End, Teaching and Learning Creative Revision. Year #3Advice to Writers
Look at the sky,
See around,
Dream it,
And write it down.
"Curriculum Map for Content Literacy"
(Content Literacy)
This can be downloaded from the Resources Page for the Reading/Writing Project. The California Middle Schools Association picked up on this curriculum map and linked to it from their newsletter. The idea was to show a real example of how a teacher organized and mapped out a year for content literacy. The content in the map focuses on science. It borrows extensively from the work of Stephanie Harvey and her book, Nonfiction Matters, an essential text for any middle school teacher. Year #3 – Week 24
"Nonfiction Investigations"
(Content Literacy)
The kids really enjoyed their nonfiction investigations and I think it shows up in the journals. They were enthusiastic and enjoyed every minute. Even their final presentations to the class were fun. This journal fills out a unit of study for the curriculum map above. Year #4 - Entry 7
"The Power of Words to Heal"
(Reading/Writing/Content Literacy)
This time I wrote something different. It wasn't so much about creating a unit of study or analyzing student work to make teaching decisions. This time it was about grabbing a teachable moment – albeit a horrific one – and helping kids use reading and writing to learn about life. So while you read back through some of the "old" journals, take a minute to turn on some of your favorite music and think about the soundtrack for your life. It's a great way to reflect!
Juli Kendall is co-author of two books from Stenhouse Publishers, Making Sense: Small-Group Comprehension Lessons for English Language Learners and Writing Sense: Integrated Reading and Writing Lessons for English Language Learners.
Resources page for our Reading/Writing Project
