Peer Conferencing

In third grade we spend a lot of time practicing peer conferencing. Peer conferencing is when a writer asks another writer (called their peer) to conference with them by reading their story and giving feedback and ideas.

Writers, tell about a time that you got some useful or helpful feedback during a peer conference.

• Who were you conferencing with?
• What piece were you working on?
• Tell us exactly what the advice or feedback was.
• What changes did you make after the conference?
  

Short Unit: Native American Legends

This week our class will begin a short unit on writing Native American legends. We have read a few stories from the Pacific Northwest, including Storm Boy, Frog Girl, and How Raven Stole the Sun. We will examine Storm Boy, by Paul Owen Lewis, in depth and use it as a template to create our own legends.

Parents, if you have any Native American (particularly Pacific Northwest Native American) legends at home, or find any online, it would be wonderful if you could read them with your child. Look especially for themes of separation of the hero from his or her village, initiation into a new village, and return to the home village with new knowledge.

The more authentic legends your child is exposed to, the easier it will be for him or her to adopt the voice and word choice used in this genre!

Book Release Party

Portable 2's first-ever book release party was a hit! The morning began before our guests arrived, when Mrs. Lee revealed the new book, Our Sparkling Words, hot off the presses! The book weighs in at just under 100 pages - truly a testament to the dedication and perseverence of the authors.

At 9:30 our guests, the third graders from Mrs. Perry's class, began to arrive. They gathered with our writers in four corners of the room, and the authors began to read excerpts from their stories. There was time for questions and answers, and then the authors led their guests to a table where each member of Mrs. Perry's class got their own copy of Our Sparkling Words. There was plenty of time for discussion, and I heard some wonderful advice being shared. Best of all, our writers were asked to autograph books - something that prompted one student to declare "I feel like a rock star!"

Other overheard comments:

Writer 1: "This looks like a real book!"

Writer 2: "This IS a real book!"

"I'm going to read every story in this book cover to cover this weekend!"

"Mrs. Lee, is it okay if I read Our Sparkling Words instead of doing Fun Friday?"

"These stories are so good! I feel like I'm reading a book from the library."

Well done, authors. You should feel so proud!

Just For Fun Class Story!

The rules:

• Read the story starter carefully.
• Read any comments that continue the story carefully.
• Add a piece of the story in the comments. Your part of the story must make sense with everything that has come before.
• Don't end the story until everyone has had a chance to add!

"Ah-choo!" I couldn't stop sneezing! The basement was dark and dusty, but I was determined to get it all cleaned out over my midwinter break. I was pulling some moldy old boxes out of a corner when my hand brushed something smooth and cool. I gripped the hard object and tugged. It was a bottle, but it looked old and I didn't remember ever seeing it before. It was blue with swirls of purple, and had a cork stopper in the top. It was just as dusty as the boxes I found it behind, so I tried to polish it off a little with the edge of my shirt. Suddenly, the cork popped out and a genie appeared in front of me! Then...

Looking Back

Today every writer in our class turned in a final draft of their story to Mrs. Lee for copy editing over the weekend. Aside from publishing our stories next week, we are done with our realistic fiction pieces! Writers, you should feel very proud. You worked long and hard on your stories, and it will feel good to share them with other writers next week at our Book Release Party.

Mrs. Perry's third grade class (next door) will be starting their realistic fiction stories in a few weeks. What advice would you give them? What should they watch out for? What should they keep in mind when beginning their stories?

Post your advice in the comments, and remember to double-check spelling and grammar before you publish!

Naming Our Stories

Writers, have you ever named someone? A brother or sister? A pet? It is an amazing responsibility.

It is time for you to consider names for your story. It is time to think of a title!

Your title, like Charlotte's Web, might have a double meaning. Charlotte's Web is a book about a spider who weaves a web, but we know that webs are also seen as things that are very cleverly made - like the way that Charlotte cleverly saves Wilbur's life. And Because of Winn-Dixie has one of the main character's names in it, but it also tells us something about the book Things happen to Opal because Winn-Dixie is in her life.

Tonight, spend some time thinking about your favorite titles for books, then try to figure out why you think the authors chose them. After you've done that, don't just take the first title that comes to mind, try to come up with a list of ideas, then choose the one that you think really connects to some big ideas you have in your story, and that will really catch a reader's interest.

Please post some of your ideas in the comments. Be sure to read the other comments as well... you never know where inspiration will come from!

Making Space for Writing

Today in Writer's Workshop we talked about the importance of making spaces for writing in our lives. Figuratively, this means that we find the time in our day to sit down and write, even if it's only for a few minutes. Literally, it means creating a space at home or at school where we feel inspired, where we keep reminders of the things we are working on as a writer, and where we can work without distraction. Sometimes we might keep books or quotes that inspire us in this place, or we might keep objects or sticky notes to remind us of lessons we have learned in the past.

If you could design your perfect writing nook, what would it look like? Where would it be? What books, notes, or objects would you put there?

If you already have a perfect writing nook, tell us about that too!

Revising With A Lens

Today in class we discussed how to reread and revise our stories, focusing on one thing at a time. We compared this focused revision to wearing glasses with different lenses - we read through many times, each time looking for something different. Writers, what is one lens you used today to reread and revise your story? Post your responses in the comments section!