Word Play

I just finished reading David Lubar's book Sleeping Freshman Never Lie. I had previously read other texts by Lubar and have always loved his use of word play throughout. I was excited to see that the main character, Scott, in this book also loved manipulating language.

In July I will be moderating a Stenhouse book discussion of Ralph Fletcher's new book, Pyrotechnics on the Page. If you also enjoy word play and would like to see more ideas for classroom integrations, I encourage you to join the discussion page. The discussion will officially start on July 12th.

Breathing In, Breathing Out

Fresh off the heals of reading Pyrotechnics on the Page, I picked up Breathing In, Breathing Out: Keeping a Writer's Notebooks, hungry for more of Fletcher's insights. As I mentioned in my post about Pyrotechnics, I realized that this summer I want to make sure and write more consistently in my writer's notebook. I already started this weekend with many snippets of memories and moments that I had yet to record. This book inspired me even more, giving me ideas of new ways that I can use my writer's notebook.

Also, much like my sentiments while reading Pyrotechnics, I loved that I was able to highlight many of Fletcher's comments to later share with my students and to inspire him the same way he has inspired me. With Pyrotechnics I mentioned that even though he was writing it for writing teachers, I was viewing it from the lenses of being a teacher and a writer. This book was the opposite; it was written with writers in mind, and again I looked at it through both lenses.

Reading the two books so close together was a nice pairing up. While Pyrotechnics focused on language play, this book provided a wider view of writer's notebooks. I highlighted and wrote notes in the margins of many sections of the brief chapters, each giving different suggestions of how to utilize writer's notebooks to capture moments and thoughts that will fuel later writing. Again, the book was a hotbed for comments that I can share with my students about writing.

This text was a great, quick read packed with ideas that I have already used in my notebook, as well as areas where I can experiment and continue to grow. I look forward to learning more from Fletcher in the future.

Pyrotechnics on the Page

Ever since I saw Stenhouse advertising that Ralph Fletcher's Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing would be released this spring, I could not wait to have it in my hands. I was especially anticipating discovering new ideas for writing workshop and writer's notebooks.

I have been enjoying reading more about writing and rekindling my early interest in writing over the last couple of years. I knew that this would be a text that could help me improve as a writer, which will in turn help me to be a better teacher of writing. Thus, even though the book is written from the angle of how to integrate the ideas into the classroom, I was reading the book from two lenses - myself as a writer and as a teacher.

Throughout the book I found myself underlining many sections that I could share with my students about writing and that could be included in the regular feature on our classroom blog, Author Tip Tuesday. One recurring concept that came up over and over that I know I will share with my students was, "We write with the ear as much as with the eye or the mind" (p. 4).  There were many other quotes that eloquently explain the importance of language play and writer's notebooks.

I loved that Fletcher included many examples from his own writer's notebook illustrating the concepts, including examples of moments that he recorded of his own children's language play. It was also fun to see other published authors commenting on the impact of language play in their writing lives. I was especially pleased to see insights from Chris Crutcher because he was even talking for a while about Whale Talk, which I had just finished, and I am also still very excited to learn from him at Heinemann's Boothbay Harbor Literacy Retreat this June.

Another concept that came up over and over again was about how enjoyable language play can be with a defense of why there is room for this "play" even in this age of heightened awareness of testing results because enjoyment in writing has a huge correlation with motivation.

The book is broken up into five sections: Playing Around, Getting Serious, Playful Classrooms, Craft Lessons, and Resources. Starting with a background of pyrotechnics and why it is important, in the second section Fletcher then transitions into explaining different types of pyrotechnics in detail, including a section at the end of each chapter explaining how to bring it into the writer's workshop. Next, he outlines a rationale and some suggestions for implementing pyrotechnics into the classroom. At the end of this section is a Q&A which is always helpful to think about more considerations around the topic. Those who love the fiction and non-fiction craft lessons books that he co-authored with JoAnn Portalupi, will love that he has a craft lessons section in this book divided up into three grade levels bands: k-2, 3-4, and 5+. Each craft lesson includes an example dialogue of what he would say to students, as well as suggested texts to go along with the lesson. Finally, the resources section has many gems, including a pyrotechnics glossary and excerpts that go along with the craft lessons.

Since completing it yesterday, I realized that this summer one of my priorities will be to recommit myself to being more diligent to using my own writer's notebooks on a more consistent basis throughout the summer in order to better implement the use in my classroom next year. I already started recording more snippets of funny things my daughter's say, much like Fletcher did with his children throughout the years. Before I finished Pyrotechnics, I pulled my copy of Breathing In, Breathing Out off my TBR shelf, knowing that I would want to roll right into reading that book to see even more of Fletcher's thoughts on notebooks.

*Review copy provided by publisher.

Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices

Ralph Fletcher's Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices had caught my eye for some time now. Recently I ordered a copy and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Aside from all of the writing advice/thoughts, I was thrilled that it talked about boys in general. Growing up in a family of all girls and being a mom of two girls, I can't say that I have a strong grasp on boys. Of course, I have observations from my years of teaching, but I don't think that makes up for the lack of having a brother or a son. Thus, the book got me thinking about myself as a teacher and if my classroom is an environment where boys can reach their full potential or if it more easily accomodates girls and their learning styles and preferences. It was pretty fascinating to me, and it sparked my interest to delve deeper. Eventually I would love to read other books that he mentions, such as Thomas Newkirk's Misreading Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture. (I just saw the front cover for the first time when I was getting the link for the post - I absolutely love it!)

One of Fletcher's comments early on in the book was, "Let's create the kind of classroom where every boy who enters can say to himself: This is a place where I can write, a place where I can bring all of myself to my writing" (25). The book outlines just how teachers can be more mindful of creating this environment. I especially loved the What Can I Do In My Classroom feature at the end of each chapter to list out the main classroom implications from each individual chapter in a succinct manner.

Since technology and literacy is a current area of high interest for me, I also enjoyed reading Fletcher's remarks about texting. While some people do not see it as a valid means for developing literacy skills, he said, "But it's making these boys into better writers [...] I mean, you can't spend hours working on a skill without getting better at it." What a great reminder!

Aside from the book piquing my interest in the field of gender studies, I am also excited to read more of his books about writer's notebooks. I already have a copy of his Breathing In, Breathing Out on my to-read shelf. I can't wait to get a copy of his Pyrotechnics on the Page (expected to come out later this month) as well. I might just have a Ralph Fletcher mini-marathon reading this spring. He also helped me to recenter and reflect as I am creating and re-working my 3 year curriculum map. After reading a recent post from Two Writing teachers, I had already been noticing my flaw of not leaving enough room for student choice in genres, and reading this book hit that message home. This was an excellent book on so many different levels.

Books To Read...New/Forthcoming Books From Stenhouse

I always love to see which new books are coming out from my favorite publishers Stenhouse and Heinemann. Right now I noticed that they are both advertising new books.

I was so excited to see that Ralph Fletcher has a new book coming out, Pyrotechnics on the Page. I still need to get caught up with one of his other books, Boy Writers.

The other book that I absolutely cannot wait to read is one that is not quite on their site yet but was mentioned on their blog this week - the one from Two Writing Teachers. Their posts are always thoughtful and insightful. I can only imagine how great their book is going to be.

Later this week I will post about books I am looking forward to from Heinemann.