Happy New Year!

On Monday I told my 3rd graders, “You have shown us that you are really great writers by all your work on personal narratives this fall. We think you are ready for fiction writing.”

Their answer??? “YAY!!!” (That is one really cool thing about 3rd graders, they love new challenges. Older kids do not get nearly as excited about things like multiplication, cursive, homework, and spelling tests.)

Now I will be implementing the new writing curriculum that I created during my summer curriculum grant. One of the reasons I started this blog was to connect with other teachers globally to discover how others tackle creative writing with their students (for more read my post “Growing and Trying New Things”). Although I have not been able to share ideas in the way I had visioned, I am excited to use this blog as a way to reflect on how this experiment turns out.

The first part of this unit is called “Observing Like a Writer,” which is a chapter title of the book I read this summer called Writing the Whole Story by Karen Jorgensen. (For a more complete look at the curriculum as it evolves check out the wikispace I have created with all my notes.  I would love feedback!) We have just begun to study dialogue. The kids need to be taught that characters talk to show action, intention, and emotion. Here is their first homework assignment:

Listen to two people talking (either live or on T.V.) for a few minutes. Watch what they do with their hands, face, and body. Notice whether they listen to each other, talk over each other, or hesitate before they speak. What do they say? What do they do as they speak? What do you think they are feeling during this conversation?

I am looking forward to what they come up with.