Kathy Page North Star Writing Project Demonstration Lesson June 21, 2005

1. ‘Super Sentences’ Using Imitation to Strengthen Writing Kathy Page North Star Writing Project Demonstration Lesson June 21, 2005 katheryn_page@birdville.k12.tx.us

2. What led to the use of the ‘Super Sentence?’ • A room full of beginning writers • Needing to apply the parts of speech • To creative sentence structure! • And don’t forget…TAKS is coming soon!

3. According to KP… STRUCTURE + THINKING+ CREATIVITY = • Use of the senses to facilitate figurative language • Building stamina while adding to length of text • A link to TAKS objective testing • A bridge to WRITING poetry • Students with high self-esteem KNOWING they are writers!

4. “We are sometimes faced in the classroom with unskilled writers who… lack a sense of form at all levels—word, sentence, paragraph, andentire work. If this is the case, I would argue that valuable imitative approaches should be used widely and unapologeticallyin thecomposition classroom.” Paul Butler, “Imitation as Freedom” (2002)

5. “The storage of solid language patterns in the brain is of utmost importance for the development of excellent speaking and writing skills. How is this done? Obviously, by imitation!” Andrew Pudewa, “Imitation: A Common Sense Approach” (2000)

6. 4th grade TEKS/TAKS taught… Purposes • Write to express, develop, reflect, and problem solve (15A/TAKS 1) • Write to entertain such as to compose poems or stories (15C/TAKS 1) • Exhibit an identifiable voice in personal narriative and in stories (15E/TAKS 1)

7. Grammar/Usage • Employ standard English Usage in writing, including subject-verb agreement, pronoun referents, and parts of speech (18C/TAKS 2,5) • Use adjectives and adverbs appropriately to make writing vivid or precise (18D/TAKS 2,5) • Use prepositional phrases to elaborate written ideas (18E/TAKS 2,4)

8. Writing Processes • Develop drafts by organizing paragraphs, and blending paragraphs within larger units of text (19B) • Revise drafts by adding, elaborating, combining, and rearranging text (19C/TAKS 1,3) • Edit drafts for specific purposes such as appropriate word choice (19E/TAKS 2,4,5)

9. Evaluation • Apply criteria to evaluate writing (20A) Connections • Collaborate with others to compose and revise various types of text (22A)

10. “Although it is true that students learn many things inductively through meaningful literacy experiences, instruction is important. Effective teachers do teach strategies and skills.” “Carefully planned instruction may be especially important for minority students. Many students who grew up outside the dominant culture are at a disadvantage when certain knowledge, strategies, and skills expected by teachers are not made explicit in their classrooms. Explicitness is crucial because people from different cultures have different sets of understandings.” Tompkins, 2004 (PP. 103, 104)

11. “You’ll find that students can become good fixers of their own material… if you work on one skill at a time.” “How do you work them into the business of buildiing writers? Here are a few ways I like… 1. Visit separate writing skills within regular language lessons… 2. Re-visit those language skills during writing sessions… 3. Sneak little lessons into individual writing conferences…and 4. Plan mini-lessons on specific writing skills…” Marjorie Frank, 1995 (PP. 129, 130)

12. Students write… The fish was slimy. The rainbow fish felt like slippery, slimy goo squirming through my small hands. Cianna and Kendyl The dolphins kept jumping as we got to the dock. The dolphins looked like small, gray sausages leaping effortlessly as we approached the dock. Seri I felt very happy. I felt like a golden wrapper swirling and floating in the clear sky on a summer day. Mary Ann

13. “Teaching students to add specific details begins with helping them to see image qualities in two of the simplest grammatical structures: nouns and verbs… Yet ironically, professionals with years of writing experience find these simple structures to be the overlooked engines that power good writing…When students discover this truth, their writing is transformed into vivid photography.” “Prepositions link additional noun images. These noun images, in turn, bring adjectives. The combination provides more details, color, sound, and so on.” “Metaphors and similes generate an image webbing pattern in the reader’s mind, where added power comes from one image linking to another to another.” HarryNoden, 1999 (PP. 26, 32, 34)

14. Before teaching the ‘Super Sentence’ process… • Color code and use the Sentence Building patterns in How toTeach Students to be Fluent Writers (Ross). • Time and time again, identify strong verbs, adjectives, and figurative language in rich, read-aloud text. • Always have students log all strong verbs, adjectives and figurative language into their ‘Write-Stuff’ folders as a personal writing source. These can be identified by teachers, the students themselves, or at home with parents. • During writing conferences, challenge students to revise their work using stronger verbs, adjectives, and figurative language. • Reward students who bring magazines, books, newspapers, or any other kind of printed text containing strong verbs, adjectives, or figurative language found outside of class.

15. After the process… • Demonstrate the use of ‘super sentences’ in modeled, shared, and guided writing. • Require the use of super sentences in independent compositions. • Incorporate Noden’s Image Grammar strategies to enrich the ‘Super Sentence’ structure. • Allow the students to experiment with vatieties of their own, which might include, rearrangement or additions. • Apply these learned strategies to poetry.

16. “(Revision) changes that significantly influence meaning occur at three levels: word-phrase level, sentence-paragraph level, and whole composition level.” Ronald Cramer, 2001 (P. 108)

17. Students then write… I felt like a golden wrapper rolling down a long, sparkling hill.” Mary Ann A butterfly is an angel flying quietly through the whispering wind and waving her flattering wings through the colorful flowers. Ryan My face was as red as a rose, it felt like a flaming fire, and the coach zoomed over to help me. Chris

18. Venus Fly Trap prickly, fast sticking, protecting, attacking dry area plant EATER Kyler Cinquain based on science lesson

19. My loving mother sounds like a chorus of little, chirping birdies in a stick and grass nest at the top of the giant oak tree. Michael Free Verse inside a Mother’s Day card

20. “Even though revising is complex, I have no doubt children can handle it. Move them beyond a surface view of revision. Teach them that revision is the heart and soul of writing.” Ronald Cramer (2001), P. 108

21. What about extensions? • Use appropriate grade-level composition and grammarTEKS to build imitation structures, especially in elementary and middle levels. • For higher levels, use sentences from literature, have students identify the structure, and them imitate this in their own examples and compositions, for example… What separates Poe from the phrenologists, who were right in conceiving of a divided brain but wrong in labeling its parts, is his keen understanding region of the mind. [subject + relative clause + linking verb + complement]

22. What do students say after using ‘Super Sentences’ with ease? “Writing makes me feel like relaxing in a wiggly, jiggly waterbed!” “I really have to stretch my brain and think.” “Now, it’s way easy for me.” “I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot this year.” “When I write, I feel that I have already got a 100!” “I am inspired to become a writer!” “Writing makes me express myself and it shows how you feel about things.” “I feel excited and happy. It’s cool to just throw out those adjectives! Ms. Page is the Writing God!”

23. “Writing ISN’T taught by saying, “Write…,” and then scoring what kids already know how to do. It IS taught by offering challenging directions, presenting patterns, and providing endless examples that open doors to original expression.” Marjorie Frank (1995) P. 74

24. Bibliography Butler, P. (2002). “Imitation as Freedom: (Re)Forming StudentWriting.” The Quarterly. Cleary, B. (2004). I and You and Don’t Forget Who…Whatis aPronoun? Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, Inc. Cleary, B. (2002). Under, Over, By the Clover…What is aPreposition? Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, Inc. Cramer, R. (2001). Creative Power-The Nature and Nurture ofChildren’s Writing. New York: Addison Wesley Longman. Frank, M. (1979). If You’re Trying to Teach Kids How toWrite…you’ve gotta have this book! (2nd ed.). Nashville, TN: Incentive Publications, Inc. Noden, H. (1999). Image Grammar: Using GrammaticalStructures to Teach Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Pudewa, A. (2000) “Imitation: A Common Sense Approach.” Atascadero, CA: Institute for Excellence in Writing. Ross, B. (1996). How to Teach Students to be Fluent Writers. Westminster, CA: Teacher Crafted Materials, Inc. Tompkins, G. E.(2004). Teaching writing: Balancing process and product (4th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.