Hi Stylish Readers and Patterns of Power fans!

These Reading Applications focus on complex sentences For Middle and High. Throughout these lessons, students study the use of subordinating conjunctions and their functions. Complex sentences can be found in all kinds of texts, but can be particularly well suited for nonfiction.  As many of our clauses are conditional and one cannot exist without the other, discussion calls for consideration of logical structures and lends itself to nonfiction design, especially persuasion.  

For anyone unfamiliar with the POP process, go to the Blog post called POP Reading: Fragments (or POP Reading: Compound Sentences) to get a better idea of the process and how to use these with students.  

Here is a brief teaching guide to support a complex sentence reading connection.  When using these consider the level and needs of your classroom.  Complex sentences dovetails with the concept of placement as well - using commas to off set an opener, interrupter, or closer.  Students may find it overwhelming to discuss the function of numerous subordinate conjunctions AND placement.  The lesson can be broken down to focus only on openers, or only on subordinate conjunctions that deal with time.  The assumption of the teaching guide is that openers, interrupters, and closers have been taught prior to complex sentences.  

Hello my stylish friends!

On my campus, we're finding that kids are really struggling with organization - for both analysis of nonfiction and in their own writing.  When writing, they can fill in a graphic organizer, but have little patience or know-how when considering the authentic progression of ideas.  As for reading, they can see the larger structures when it is teacher led, but struggle to answer questions about why certain ideas are in a certain order or why an author uses structure for impact.  

I wanted to share a lesson idea (full lesson cycle doc is linked below) that uses documentary trailers as a scaffold for analyzing how and why author's organize their writing for a certain effect.  The scaffolds here are similar to the scaffolds in the Visual Media Post, but looks at the movement of ideas across the entire work and how that creates purpose or message.  

It starts with the trailer for Trashed. Students examine the organization of the information in the visual, then use the same process and apply it to text.  

I chose this documentary trailer because there are numerous ways to discuss its structure and it gets students talking.  It also has text on the screen to help students chunk the information in the visual.  For example, students may have a variety of answers after they watch the trailer few times, list what they see in sequential order, and then look for patterns across.  I have always been able to get kids to see the problem-solution organizing structure. They also always note that things look pretty at first, then get uglier as the camera comes closer to Earth, but many times - as they do with their reading - struggle to take into account the end - where the concept of change and a bright future come back around. Possible student answers are:

​IDEA 1

• Beginning - pretty pictures of space/animals/etc. - perception
• Middle - trash and pollution - reality
• End - people saying we can fix it - pretty pictures again - Hope for the future

IDEA 2

• Far away from the problem - Space
• Down right next to the problem - lots of trash
• Focus on the solution to the problem - people saying it’ll be ok and more nice pictures of nature

IDEA 3

• PAST - the world looks unpolluted
• PRESENT - the world is ultra polluted
• FUTURE - we can fix it if we try

The lesson cycle has students first analyze visual media, then shifts to text. This particular lesson cycle has students go from a trailer directly to text. If you wanted to add a layer that integrates visual and text, The website American Rhetoric, has numerous movie speeches that have the text and the film clip.  If students need further scaffolding, adding in this layer is easy for a more gradual transition to texts.  

I have used a clip and text from The Girl in the Cafe with students to add in this layer, when needed.  Students use the same questioning strategies as the documentary trailer, but have the addition of being able to annotate and refer back to the video and text during the process.  

Happy Teaching! 

Hi Friends!  If you follow me on Twitter, you have probably seen our videos showcasing new model sentences that we have found in our reading.  I created this post to add the videos as the come out so they are easy to access.  Each one provides a book suggestion, new models sentences, and suggestions for teaching.

Hi Stylish Readers and Patterns of Power fans!

This post has reading Applications that align to POP Middle and High School Lessons focusing on compound sentences and the use of conjunctions. Throughout these lessons, students study the use of conjunctions and must reread and discuss the connections between sentences in a short reading passage.  Each reading application allows students to study the pattern in a more in-depth way and allows for an easy bridge between writing and reading instruction. 

For anyone unfamiliar with the POP process, go to my Blog post called POP Reading Applications: Fragments to get a better idea of what that is.  

In the classroom, students first need to explore conjunctions and their purpose and function.  By using the Patterns of Power process, they will be exposed to model sentences and have access to an anchor chart to support their learning.  Placement of the conjunction is another layer to the lessons.  Teaching the placement initially focusing on the first sample below sentence - ,conjunction - sentence, is appropriate with students that need more scaffolding or have not been overtly taught the design of a compound sentence.  This solely depends on the age and skill level of the students, as well as your comfort level.  Also consider the third pattern below and how often students see author's start a sentence with a conjunction - they use a period, instead of a comma.  Having students explore this and consider why an author would choose to use a period instead can prove to be a robust conversation.  

Hello my stylish friends!

I wanted to share a few photographers that I've used with students. Sometimes the teaching of visual media is a brief teaser to get kids interested or a special unit to analyze persuasive techniques in ads or commercials, but visual media is wonderful to weave into class at any time to help students with critical reading and writing analytically.  Students can interact with visual media to practice analytical writing throughout the school year and interspersed with written texts.  

The main purpose of this post is to share a few photographers that I have used with students, but if you would like to explore how to teach visual media, have a look at a sample Lesson Cycle.

These artists are great ways to get kids thinking . . . and writing.

NOTE: Few artists produce 100% of work that is appropriate for students. I would not suggest having students search online for an artist's body of work, as they may find the websites blocked or run across some unexpected nakedness or gruesomeness.  In my classroom, I usually make a set of colored prints for tables or link specific images for kids to review online, not direct links to websites.  

I ran across Daniel Beltrá watching a program about conservation.  His photos capture man's impact on the planet.  I have used his photos of the BP Oil Spill with students with great results; there is a lot here to use with kids. 

Unlike some of the other artists - all of his work is school appropriate.  See his Collections HERE.

Weems infuses storytelling and narrative into her work.  I have used the "Kitchen Table Series" with students.  I taught it as a complete series as it chronicles years in a woman's life around the same kitchen table.  Her later work is far more conceptual that some of her earlier series and she expands into film and audio.  Find her Collections HERE.

Goldstein is really intriguing and unique. Her photographs all have social commentary that is designed to get people talking. I have used her "Fallen Princess" photos with students from 7th-12th grade and gotten fascinating analytical writing from students. This series explores Disney Princesses dealing with modern day life.  The other collections are certainly intriguing - especially the "Doll House" series, but are not as kid friendly. See her collections ​HERE.

Much of Kubota's work lends itself to teaching historical and/or cultural context. He has interesting series that explore things distinctly American, as well as explorations in China, North Korea, and his home, Japan. 

To see his collections, click HERE.  

Hi Stylish Readers and Patterns of Power fans!

Travis and I have been creating reading applications for a variety of POP Middle and High School Lessons.  I wanted to share some of those here so you all have access to them. The resources in this post focus on the study of sentence boundaries and how authors create purposeful fragments to lift up and expand ideas for the reader.  Throughout these lessons, students study the why behind author's use of fragments as well as study what constitutes a complete sentence.  Each reading application allows students to study the pattern in a more in-depth way and allows for an easy bridge between writing and reading instruction. 

The applications here are to accompany many of the lessons we are seeing districts starting the year with - what constitutes a complete sentence.  We approach this by having students explore complete sentences alongside fragments to better understand what each are and the reasons that authors choose to apply both in great writing.  When students discuss sentence vs fragment, they have to dive deep into the why.  

For anyone unfamiliar with the POP process, it is a process where students learn grammar by studying patterns that author's use for impact.  For example, instead of focusing on compound sentences, students focus on the why and how author's connect complete sentences.  In the POP classroom, students do not learn a rule, they explore different ways author's use patterns.  In lieu of learning FANBOYS and memorizing conjunctions, they explore why author's use different conjunctions for different purposes, then apply the pattern (not rule) to their own reading and writing.  If this approach sounds of interest, feel free to visit the About page or CLICK here to access free resources for Middle School on the Stenhouse website. High School resources are not officially linked on the Stenhouse page yet, so here they are in draft form - Standards Alignment and Lesson Sequences/Implementation Guide.   

Reading Applications Options for Complete Sentences and Purposeful Fragments: 

• Middle School POP - Lesson 4.3
• High School POP - Lesson 9.3
  • Holes, by Louis Sachar
  • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz 
  • Finding Me: A Memoir, by Viola Davis
  • The Running Dream, by Wendelin Van Draanen
  • "Sometimes the Earth is Cruel," by Leonard Pitts

Happy teaching!  Keep an eye out for more blog posts with reading applications that align to different lessons.

Hello my Stylish Friends!

Welcome to my blog.  I will post lessons and ideas here to share.  These are all my creations, so feel free to take what you need.  Also feel free to reach out to me with questions/suggestions or post in the comments.

I encounter teachers that either want to incorporate more creative writing into secondary English classes or have a required creative writing piece within curriculum.  In either scenario, it can become a disjointed, lengthy process with mixed reactions from students.  I also hear things like, my Advanced kids can do it, but my On Level kids are too far behind.  This concept of time and having to make up for a lot of lost ground is very real.  For teachers who have students with skill gaps, the pressure to get test scores up and to just "fix it" can be a lot and make this type of requirement or desire one of angst, not joy.  

So, how do we maneuver this landscape?  We want students to be allowed creativity and to foster that in class.  We have a test bearing down on us.  We have so little time to fit it in.  How do you walk the line between tested skills and fostering a joy of writing?

• One of my teams has been working to incorporate curriculum required literary writing into the first quarter.  It was first living on it's own after short story element study, but seemed kind of tacked on and lengthy. We worked backward and really dug into what we hoped the kids could do.  It was a matter of really diving into what was taught and what the goals were.  The team initially wanted to see that students could apply and create something with all of the story elements, which seems rational and fine, but when we really considered that it didn't actually seem that easy or necessary.  The team really landed on they wanted to the students to show an understanding of a theme and how it goes beyond a topic.  They also wanted students to show critical thinking about elements and structure to get their point across.  Once we landed on this, we revamped our thinking and our creative assignment.

Here is what we came up with.  

First, students read various short fiction (including a graphic short story and a poem with narrative elements) to review story elements and dive into theme, including theme statements. They also played with looking at how changing some story elements impact the theme, such as shifting the conflict, setting, gender of the character, etc.  Instead of approaching it as using story elements to entertain and show you understand elements, we approached it from the angle that there are a variety of ways that author's make abstract ideas concrete to share them with others.  After studying how some author's do this, they pick an abstract concept and make it concrete.  

Prior Understandings Needed for Assignment:
​Definition of Abstract and Concrete

• Abstract lacks concrete physical details; it's something you cannot touch but know exists. (love, hope, anger, etc.)
• Concrete has a physical form; it is an actual thing or instance. (desk, soccer game, iphone, etc.)

A theme statement is NOT:

• A topic or one word, such as "compassion" and "justice"
• A summary, such as "Romeo an Juliet both die because their families are fighting, so there was no justice."
• A moral, such as "Treat others as you'd like to be treated" or "True Love never dies."

A theme statement IS: "Love and justice cannot survive in a world filled with hatred and violence"  OR "Power coupled with hatred does not allow love to thrive."

• ​ Universal and broad, but specific enough to connect directly to the play.
• A topic or moral is too broad of a statement to be a theme for a specific work.   These are great places to start when thinking about theme, but not the final destination.  

Review and Preparation for the assignment:
Have students brainstorm and consider (in small groups or pairs, then as a whole group) the following -

• The difference between abstract and concrete concepts
• Themes discussed this year during the short fiction readings as well as prior years
• How author's create theme
• How does characterization, plot/conflict, symbols, etc. give readers something concrete to understand an abstract idea​

Create a class anchor chart or reference for students to use based on this conversation.

Students then complete a chart exploring how one of the short pieces read as a class illustrates this.  Have students refer back to a story covered in class, to complete - in our case, we read "The Most Dangerous Game."
LINK to EXAMPLE/EXEMPLAR in GoogleDocs

​Main Assignment with an Example:
​The task is for students to take an abstract idea and make it concrete through their writing. They may do this in a variety of ways as the class has studied traditional and nontraditional short stories, graphic short stories, poetry with narrative elements, and creative nonfiction.  Students also analyze and review an exemplar of the assignment and may use it as inspiration as well. 

• If you aren't familiar with graphics and want to know where to find graphic shorts, here are a few books to consider.
• Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, David Peterson
• Explorer Series, edited by Kazu Kibuishi

It begins with a series of quick writes and narrowing down of abstract concepts.  Students choose 2 words from this list - the class can brainstorm additions to this last as well so students have more options - and do a 3 minute quick write with each of them.  They share their writing with a partner or small group to get feedback and make decisions around which word they will work with. 

Directions for the quick write 

• Write your word at the top of the page
• Under it, write everything that comes to your mind about the word in the 3 minutes
• Do it again for the second word.
• Choose one or both of your writings to share with a small group.  
• Read your writing twice to the group
• After the second reading, listeners give feedback to the writer.  

Feedback can look many different ways and speaking stems should be provided.  Here are a few that work well. "One thing I found interesting in your writing was ..."  "I can relate to your writing, because ..."  "One thing I liked was ..."  "I would like to know more about ..."

After they find a word to focus on, the class goes into a series of mini-lessons, writing time, and conferring to complete their writing.   There are a series of minilessons to support the writing and are used to transition the students into workshop.  These can be easily taught by having students notice the impact of these patterns in professional writing and then apply.  The process will nicely pair with many of the Patterns of Power lessons and/or the model sentences provided in the books.  However, you do not need the books for the process to work.  

Mini-lesson suggestions

• Impact of Intentional Fragments
  • Patterns of Power Lessons - Middle School 4.2/4.3, High School 9.3
• Parallel Structure
  • Patterns of Power Lessons - High School 7.1-7.3
• Active Verbs
  • Patterns of Power Lessons - Middle School 8.1-8.5
• Diction and Choosing words for impact

For the final produce, students are also asked to write a reflection - What is the central theme of your work?  What choices did you make as a writer to ensure this abstract concept became concrete for the reader? 

Rubric and Grading:
This would be your call.  Below are a few suggestions for a rubric or learning progression to support.

1. Shows an understanding of abstract vs concrete
2. Provides concrete details or visuals that clearly align to the abstract concept
3. Can clarify a viable theme in the reflection
4. Implements 2 minilessons in fin al product
5. Applies grammatical elements covered in class