Realistic Fiction study using the Freyer Model

Here are some shots from today's study of Realistic Fiction using the Freyer Model.

We actually started by looking back to the hierarchy that we created to help us understand the organization of fiction genres. We talked about different hierarchies that exist, and how hierarchies can be helpful to us in understanding the different levels within an organization. In our case, a hierarchy was used to help us understand the different levels of specificity within the genre of fiction.

Then we learned about the Freyer Model, which is another tool that we can use to differentiate from similar ideas. Because some of the more specific fiction genres can seem to overlap, or be really similar, we need a way to help us tell them apart. When we pull a book off of the shelf in our library, we need to be able to quickly understand what genre of book it is, based on some very important information.

The Freyer Model starts with a central idea or word that is the focus of the study. After having only used the Freyer Model a few times, I've determined my preferred order:

1. Find or determine a definition or description of the word or idea.
2. Identify some examples of the word or idea in use. This example should be the concrete representation of the word or idea.
3. Using the examples, facts and characteristics of the word or idea should be identified, in order to provide a more specific and detailed description of what makes up the word or idea.
4. Identify some non-examples of the word or idea. These non-examples don't have to be exactly as concrete as the examples, but they can an opposing fact or characteristic that clearly helps differentiate the central word or idea from other similar words or ideas.
*When I think of steps 2 through 4, I think of a recursive process. I'm a little partial to that phrase, "recursive process" when I think of the writing process, but I imagine, if the user of a Freyer Model knows a bit about the central word or idea, then they can work through things in a "disorderly" way that is recursive in nature: step 2 >>> step 4 >>> step 2 >>> step 3 >>> step 4 >>> step 3 >>>

Below is an image of the example I showed students to help understand what the finished product should look like. We studied nonfiction text last quarter, and all students needed to read some type of personal writing--biography, autobiography, memoir, journal/diary. I figured this familiarity would be reassuring to the students, but I'm not sure it was for all of them. I wish I would have shown me going through the process of filling in the Freyer Model on a biography, so they could have seen me in action--thinking and writing--instead of just showing them and talking them through the finished product.



Here are a few student examples, in the process.

sharing the book reviews

Finally, the day has come for us to just enjoy these book reviews that we have been working on for so long. They were scored. The scores were entered. The system was satisfied. Now, students were able to share their writing, from their reading, with their classmates.

This sharing was rather devoid of technology, but that brings us closer together, allows for face to face conversations about nonfiction books. In this way, it's not just about students sharing their writing, it's about the audience gaining new insight about a nonfiction book that they probably haven't read. And that opens doors for more nonfiction reading, beginning a cycle: nonfiction reading for book reviews begets nonfiction reading of book reviews begets nonfiction reading for pleasure. I told several of the classes that this was one of my favorite days of the year so far. They have done the learning. Now they get to do the teaching. And still they learn in the process. The post-it notes were for comments, questions, connections that would later drive the discussion at the tables. (I did say it was devoid of technology.) Sometimes it's just better using pencil and paper.

peer review the book reviews

It happened today. And for some, it went really well. Others needed some more time to write. Hopefully they'll get to share in the experience, but the deadlines are rolling in fast and hard. Here are some pictures to show our great students hard at work--helping each other and learning from each other.

book reviews take shape

Since September 10th the Book Reviews have been on my mind. We've had to consider quite a bit about writing, reading nonfiction, reviews, criticism, and evaluations. I'm not quite sure we've gotten through it all--in fact I'm quite sure we haven't--but we've had some very good conversations full of interesting and insightful questions, heated statements, and personal opinions. Hopefully the students are opening up to nonfiction texts more and more, and hopefully they appreciate the work that a nonfiction writer must put in to be successful.

This week we've been working on the actual construction of the Book Review. In my pacing, I'm trying to take it at a steady, even pace--with two paragraphs a day the max that we write. That may seem like very little, but it offers the students a challenge at which they can be successful. There are so many things to incorporate into a Book Review, well beyond a summary plot analysis of a fictional text, that the students are encountering some new situations that seem to confuse them, even when we addressed the situations in the smaller scale Articles of the Week.

Today the students were working through the 3rd and 4th paragraphs, within which they included there quotes and personal responses. Some students are choosing to type their reviews, while others are choosing to handwrite. Both offer opportunities for writing development, and it's great to see the progress made. It's amazing to see the notes and forms we've used to consider the format and structure, and the examples of other reviews, and the checklist and scoring guide for the finished product, and the book, and everything else we use to be successful (including our brains!) all spread out across the students desks. I love to see everything coming together into something wonderful. I really wish we had more time and opportunity to do student choice writing; we'll get to do this more once the second quarter begins, but for now we'll have to settle for this.

a short Saturday morning rant after some reading

On Saturday mornings I enjoy reading on the web, and I came across an interesting article that made me think and write. 

The article: "The Parental Involvement Puzzle"

The author: Deborah Blagg

It wasn't so much the article that got me thinking and writing, but the sidebar: "What U Should Know"

The sidebar summarizes the article, below what I imagine is a picture of either the author of the article or the book referenced in the article. That doesn't matter. What matters is the use of "U" instead of "You." This is the type of contextual usage that probably derives from the fact that the article appears on a university website and the substructure of articles appears in what is named Usable Knowledge. 

Grammatically, it's incorrect usage. Contextually, there certainly had to have been intent behind it. (The article is dated October 30, 2009). And the article isn't even written for middle school or high school students, but for educators reading "current education research." Considering the audience, some might look down their nose at this incorrect usage. But this is the type of contextual usage, with intent and for effect, that we should be showing to, talking about, and teaching how-to with our students. 

But as long as our assessments of students is rooted in a completely black-and-white, right-and-wrong system requiring the correct selection from multiple choice lists, our students will always come across something like this and think that it is "wrong." Our students will never have an understanding of writing within a context or with intent or for effect (purpose, audience, occasion--all that good stuff). This lack of experience will place our students at a disadvantage, especially those who go into a field utilizing writing for design.

This idea of black-and-white or right-and-wrong also makes me think of the idea of a "canon" regarding reading lists. The canon presupposes a list of "the right books," and everything else is on the wrong list. If we don't expand the students' experiences beyond dead white writers, or historical fiction and informational pieces (per the CCSS), then they'll never know how to respond when they are given the opportunity to read what they want. Truthfully, my biggest worry is that students who are stuck to the canon won't know how to chose their own books; they won't have the experiences to know what type of texts they actually enjoy reading and experiencing. That, in the long run, in my humble opinion, is more terrifying than the fact that our students may not have read Jane Austen or Charles Dickens. But I digress. 

I guess, if I were to make a "What U Should Know" sidebar for my own thoughts this morning, then it would include expanding opportunities for students, in both writing and reading. The more students see that they can write within a certain context (well beyond the formal school essay), with intent and for effect (to achieve a specific purpose in the reader/audience), the more they will realize that, although grammatical usage rules do exist, and for very good reasons, there are certainly opportunities and occasions that allow for the breaking of those grammatical usage rules. This "seeing" must be a complete experience--to see, to analyze, to discuss, all in order to understand and then to attempt. The more students read choice, diverse texts, the more they will be able to gather their own data on themselves regarding the type of reader they are. As students gain an understanding of themselves as readers, and they progress in skill as readers, the more opportunities they will have to work their way toward some of the classics that make up the lists of "canons." 

Just some thoughts. Let me know what you think. 

building blocks of writing

For the past two weeks we have spent some time taking notes, finding examples, analyzing, and discussing the building blocks of language (or what I call the building blocks of language). These building blocks help us all the share a common vocabulary, mostly academic within the world of formal writing, that can allow us to have deeper, richer, more consistent conversations about all of our writing for the rest of the year. Yes, it has taken us some time to get to this point, but the work is totally worth it because it lays the foundation (another building metaphor) for all the rest of our writing work.

The building blocks we've studies are: parts of speech, types of sentences by purpose and end punctuation, internal punctuation elements, phrases and clauses, and types of sentences by structure. Each building block helps us to move away from the idea of right-or-wrong writing and toward a more sophisticated approach. Rather than simply making sure that we are constructing "correct" sentences when we write, we are working to intentionally consider how we use language--the types of words, punctuation, and sentences--to create an effect upon readers.

Below are a few posters/reminders to help students implement these new steps in writing. The pictures didn't come out too great, but hopefully the idea is clear. If you've got any other ideas on how to create reminders, then shoot me a message.

Coordinating Conjunctions - FANBOYS

Types of Sentences by Purpose and End Punctuation

Phrases and Clauses

Types of Sentences by Structure

Parts of a Book reflection

This post is a result of the Parts of a Book assignment, which students completed on Wednesday, and I scored over the weekend.

This is a situation problem. I want to make sure I clarify the problems, which in my mind is two-fold.

The first problem I see is that students are not using their notes as a valuable resource to answer questions, but I’m not sure why. To clarify: the notes are not provided for the purpose of memorization—for students to memorize and then regurgitate the information. The notes are provided for the purpose of application—for students to use as a resource as they discover new things about the books that they are reading or using on a regular basis.

The second problem I see is that students are not using their notes as a valuable resource to answer questions, because they don’t know WHEN to use the notes. To this, I advise my students: if you have a question, seek an answer. It’s the only way you’ll find answers. They won’t just come to you. If you can’t recognize that you have a question, you will never find an answer, because you will never go on the journey. And the journey is really, really important.

When adults complete tax forms every year, we USE OUR NOTES. We don’t memorize the rules. We can’t memorize the answers. We don’t just fill in blanks because we think the IRS will be happy with answers that look kinda/sorta right. We USE OUR NOTES—tax forms like W2s, 1098s, and 1099s, among a bunch of others.

The skill of identifying the various parts of a book is unimportant, in the grand scheme of things. And I think of the grand scheme of things a lot when I consider the tasks I have the students complete, in order to gain skills that will lead to a better life. Being able to identify the parts of a book will help students correctly cite sources following MLA, APA, and/or Turabian style guides. That’s the important, long-range, “school” need for this skill. And if you’re not convinced that the skill is important, ask anyone in college, or anyone working on publishing anything, how often they use the various parts of a book or publication to follow style guides in order to accurately reference sources.

But honestly, and I know these kids are 13 and 14 years old, this is about a bigger picture. The trigger that indicates to a student that they should access resources in order to solve their current problems needs to be sensitive. If a kid doesn’t have lunch money, they shouldn’t sit at a table and mope. There are ways we, as teachers and administrators, can help. A trigger must go off, and resources must be accessed, for problems to be solved. If a kid has a problem with another student, they shouldn’t just lower their head and hope the whole thing blows over. A trigger must go off, and resources must be accessed, for resolution to be achieved. And if a kid has a problem in Math that they don’t know how to solve, they shouldn’t be OK with a wrong answer or “their best” when “their best” only includes themselves. A trigger must go off, and resources must be accessed, for the problem to be solved.

All of these goofy examples also help individuals learn something—how to ask for help, that we can’t always solve our problems on our own, that people really are helpful, and some specific Math skill. In the grand scheme of things, aren’t those lessons really important?

Problems are, more often than we like, bigger than us. We can’t solve everything on our own. We need help. We need resources. If kids don’t realize that is normal, if kids don’t realize that’s necessary for success, then they’re often going to experience varying levels of disappointment and failure. And that’s not what I want.

So, we’re going to talk about triggers—like alarms—that help us recognize when we need help solving a problem. And we’re going to talk about resources—like notes, and textbooks, and books, and the internet, and, most importantly, other people—that help us solve problems that are too big for us. And we’re going to talk about levels of success—like how successful we can be on our own, compared to how successful we can be when we use the resources at our disposal. In the grand scheme of things, I think this stuff is pretty important.

Let me know what you think.

article of the week #2

Our second article of the week is titled "Debunking the Genius Myth" by Holly Korbey. It's originally posted on the MindShift blog from KQED. There's a lot going on in this article, because it attempts to address many of the issues covered in the book The Straight-A Conspiracy, by Hunter Maats and Katie O'Brien.

Below are the vocabulary and discussion questions shared by the classes, to be used on the quiz on Thursday, September 19. (No school Friday--so the quiz comes one day earlier).

2nd Period

3rd Period

4th Period

5th Period

6th Period

Let me know if you have questions or concerns.

testing and progress

We have just completed two consecutive four day weeks, mostly filled with district testing. Earlier this week we did review the parts of a book and have a very short practice activity to go along with the review. Next week we'll practice some more and eventually have a short assessment that the students will complete, with partners on the computer while using their notes.

This week I also shared with the students the emphasis on quality work--practice, process, and product--so that the time we are able to spend, either together or independently, is worthwhile. I hate deadlines, but unfortunately they are a part of life. As a teacher, I must institute deadlines for when assignments are due for the students, but I can be flexible. I would rather a student continue to work on an assignment, than turn in an incomplete assignment. I would rather a student ask for assistance when working through an assignment, than turn in a poorly completed one based on lack of understanding. All of this stems from my preference that students would be more motivated by the learning opportunities and growth that can take place over the course of a year, rather than the grades a student will earn in class.

I know that's an idealist's romantic dreams, but I try to live out those dreams in the classroom.

Similarly connected to that idea, at least in my mind, is the opportunity for revisions, especially with writing. When students complete a writing assignment, especially one during which we worked through a process, I am always open to students revising their work after I have scored the writing. Conferencing is an important part of the writing process, and even though that should occur several times before a piece of writing is turned in for a score, still some students end up surprised and disappointed by scores received. In those situations, I can allow for revisions to be made to the piece of writing, and I encourage those revisions. I must admit though that I suffer from looming deadlines as well, including dates when mid-quarter and quarter grades are due. So if a student wants their grades to reflect the revision, then they must meet the deadlines set for me as well.

I'm looking forward to the coming weeks of exploring different topics with the articles of the week, along with reviewing word, sentence, and paragraph level elements of writing. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.

writing assessment

Throughout the week students have been working away on their beginning of year writing assessment. Today is really the day when the essay takes shape. There's quite a bit of thinking and planning that goes in to the formation of the essay, and that process is an important piece to the writing assessment.

No essay simply appears on a page (or on a screen) out of the blue; behind the scenes there is so much thinking and decision-making necessary, and that is not easy. It's important to me, to recognize the good work that students do to get to the point of writing an excellent essay. I do my best to encourage them through this process, and I hope they understand the emphasis I place on the process, rather than purely the product. Without the good work through the process, the product can not and will not be as effective.



Everyone have a great four-day weekend. Be safe, and read a good book.
See you back on Tuesday--in September!