Living with Your Young Author: Encouraging Writing at Home Kathy Higgs-Coulthard

1. Living with Your Young Author: Encouraging Writing at Home Kathy Higgs-Coulthard Michiana Writers’ Center

3. Things to Remember • There are Developmental Stages • Related to Listening, Speaking, Reading • But… Different from Listening, Speaking, Reading

4. Writing is language Linked to developmental stages Persuade

5. Entertain Inform Author’s Purpose Why do writers write? Persuade

6. Author’s Purpose

7. Purpose should determine path *Dreaming of Story What if? *Pantsers versus Plotters *Writer’s Block *Brainstorming / Popcorn Story Mapping / Story Boarding Prewriting

8. Story Mapping Good resource for younger students Story Map on readwritethink.org

9. Story Mapping

10. Story Boarding Story mapping for older students Resource: http://en.linoit.com/

11. Revising • Purpose should determine path • Is this a school assignment? • For an authentic audience? • For self?

12. When helping children revise remember…. Creating a story is fun! Writers love to see the effects of their stories on readers. Respond as a reader.

13. Revise vs Edit Source: mrsyatesclass.com

14. Revision Source: http://recyclingweb-quest.weebly.com/revising.html

15. Revision as Rock Tumbling Early Tumbling: • What did I want this piece of writing to be about? • Are their big sections/scenes that don’t seem to fit? Cut them. • Where could I add more detail? • Does the voice seem real when read aloud? From Real Revision by Kate Messner

16. Keep Tumbling • Do the characters feel like real people? How can I make them more interesting? • Are there factual details that I should check? • Organization—Does this piece make sense? • Where might I add more detail? • Have I included language that appeals to all 5 senses? From Real Revision by Kate Messner

17. Polishing • Are there extra words that I can cut? • Are verbs active and precise? • Are nouns specific and concrete? • Can I get rid of adverbs and replace with stronger verbs? • When I read this out loud are there places I stumble? How can I make those parts flow smoothly? • Have I proofread? From Real Revision by Kate Messner

18. Two Polishing Strategies • Word Ladders Start from bottom with the word Full Understanding • -It’s important because… it’s the foundation of our government. • -It’s different than… a republic because… a republic has a Constitution. • -It’s the same as… a republic because… both have citizens who are allowed to vote. • -Specific examples of it would be… direct democracy like a club, representative democracy like our Student Council. • -It’s an example of the following… ways decisions are made in governments and organizations. • -The definition is… rule by the people. Basic Understanding • DEMOCRACY Semantic Spectrum Meteoric hot warm cold frozen Fiery tepid chilly icy Scorching cozy cool frosty Blistering snug nippy bitter Feverish polar Sizzling boiling From Teaching Precise Vocabulary Mark Pennington

19. Writing as Play Reading Writing Speaking Listening

20. Games that encourage writing skills

21. Encourage writing skills through Language Play Family Traditions *Scrapbooking *Photo album notations *Family recipe books Reading / Writing Together *Choose your own Adventure *Poems for 2 voices *Cliffhangers *Fold a Story *Christmas cards/letters Found Poetry Family Mailboxes Double-sided Journals

22. Local Resources Michiana Writers’ Center Summer Youth Writing Project *Two weeks for grades 3-5 *One week for grades 6-8/9-12 *Anthology *Publication Party at Barnes & Noble Get Inked Teen Writing Conference *Saint Mary’s College *Saturday in November *Grades 8-12

23. Places that publish children’s writing