Get this book: Interactions by Leaf Fearn and Nancy Farnan
I just took Dr. Fearn's writing class and it was FABULOUS. And his methods WORK. He has done extensive research, and it works. He also has an article coming out this spring about spelling. I'll look and see in which publication. I have a copy of it and can share the main ideas later too. On 5/17/07, Maggie Dillier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Good morning all! > My question is for those of you who teach writing, regarding writer's > workshop. I found it very hard this year, my first, to maintain a > writing curriculum, i.e. lessons that build upon each other in a > logical fashion. I felt like most of my lessons were random and > unconnected. > > As I'm planning for next year, I am faced with two choices, it seems: > teach a series of genres, or teach skills (such as the 6 traits of > writing). If I teach fiction, poetry, nonfiction, memoir, etc., do I > require that the kids write in that genre while we're studying it? I > don't want to limit their creativity, but I don't want to teach > something they're not currently doing. On the other hand, if I teach > the traits, I don't want to study voice, for example, once and then > not again all year. If I do genres, I could teach all of the skills > over and over again, showing how they change based on the genre in > which you are writing. > > I am just generally confused about how to best teach writing and could > use whatever input and advice you have! > > Maggie > Irving, Texas > > P.S. I do have Atwell's Lessons that Change Writers and used some of > her lessons this year, but started second-guessing the teaching of > genres halfway through. Sigh. > > -- > Maggie Dillier > > "If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect > wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to > long for the endless immensity of the sea." (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > -- - Heather "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead." --Clarence Day "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little good evidence exists that there's any educational substance behind the accountability and testing movement." —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase funding. " —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
