Week Three

I really enjoyed class today.... and not only because we got out early! Haha!! I thought it was interesting to learn about the concept on "noticing" how some authors write and how we can take those tricks and apply them in our own writing. It's all about reading like a writer, paying attention to the way writers arrange words, the words they choose, and what can happen when you take time to word your thoughts/feelings/emotions in a specific way.
It was very interesting to hear how many things we noticed just from the short passages we read. I really liked the whole "show don't tell" idea. I think this is something we could teach our students to add to their writing and it would make a big difference in their level of writing! Using mini lessons will be a great way to quickly pick into students' brains and teach big ideas in a short period of time. I enjoy mini lessons because I think students tend to learn more because they don't have to be paying attention for long periods of time. Mini lessons can be completed anywhere around the room, on the carpet, at desks, or even outside; using short lessons is a great way to get students up and out of the typical classroom environment but still be teaching them important information.
In my field placement today, I noticed that the students had a reader's notebook. I thought this was interesting because we've been talking so much about writer's notebooks, but I think having a reader's notebook is a great idea too. They use this notebook to write down techniques that can help them while reading, or while taking notes. They seemed to refer to them quite often, so obviously they are a tool that not just the teacher, but the students find useful too!