Behind the Books: Stepping Up to Research, Step 1
According to new findings from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University, the best nonfiction writing occurs when early-elementary research experiences are scaffolded as follows: 1. Organize and categorize information (a) based on personal experiences (b) on a topic students care deeply about 2. Organize, categorize, and compare observations. […]
Behind the Books: Stepping Up to Research
About a year ago, Ellen Brandt, the school librarian at Westford Middle School in Westford, MA, shared this Wordle with me: And I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I was stunned. Why did students think research was boring? It’s one of the things I love most about my job. In my quest for an […]
Behind the Books: Starting with a Question
Here’s the question I left off with last week: How do we give students the tools and opportunities they need to become passionate nonfiction writers? I think the key is to make the process as authentic as possible. And that means looking at the process behind passionately written professional writing. While every professional writer has […]
Behind the Books: Getting Ready to Research, 6
Because it’s difficult to create authentic, self-driven research experiences for early elementary students, I’m sharing the last of my ideas for activities that will allow K-2 students to develop research skills, such as visual literacy and information literacy, without actually doing research. As a result, they’ll be ready to start doing authentic research in third […]
Behind the Books: Getting Ready to Research, Part 5
Because it’s difficult to create authentic, self-driven research experiences for early elementary students, I’m in the midst of sharing a series of activities that will allow K-2 students to develop research skills, such as visual literacy and information literacy, without actually doing research. As a result, they’ll be ready to start doing authentic research in […]
Behind the Books: Getting Ready to Research, Part 4
Because it’s difficult to create authentic, self-driven research experiences for early elementary students, I’m in the midst of sharing a series of activities that will allow K-2 students to develop research skills, such as visual literacy and information literacy, without actually doing research. As a result, they’ll be ready to start doing authentic research in […]
Behind the Books: Getting Ready to Research, Part 3
Because it’s difficult to create authentic, self-driven research experiences for early elementary students, I’m in the midst of sharing a series of activities that will allow K-2 students to develop research skills, such as visual literacy and information literacy, without actually doing research. As a result, they’ll be ready to start doing authentic research in […]
Behind the Books: Getting Ready to Research, Part 2
If you read my last Wednesday post (before vacation week), you know that I’m concerned by the negative attitude many middle school students seem to have about the research process. Why do they think it’s boring? Probably because their initial experiences with research haven’t been authentic. After all, it’s difficult to create active, self-driven research […]
Team Note-taking
During a recent #TCWRP Twitterchat about informational writing, Julie Harmatz (@jarhartz), a fifth grade teacher in San Pedro, CA, made a suggestion that I just love—simultaneous notetaking in a google doc. Now that’s what I call fun and informative! Do any of you remember Ghostwriter, a popular PBS TV show that aired in the […]
My Second Favorite Book of 2015
Last week, I blogged about my favorite book of the year, The Great Monkey Rescue by Sandra Markle. The book I’m highlighting today comes in a close second. The Bear Report by Thyra Heder is a fictional story about a girl who is supposed to research three facts about polar bears, and is clearly bored […]