Music Inspires a Young Writer

Hello,

Working as a private tutor I have the luxury of spending unlimited time to create individual lessons for each of my students. That being said, I also appreciate the constraints put on classroom teachers to do the same. I would like to share my latest success story for all teachers to try-out with their budding writers of all ages.

My student, Miles, has just finished the 3rd grade and enjoys the usual outdoor sports and activities. He is also an accomplished pianist for his age. Miles especially likes to create his own music, adding his own creative vocal syncopations for emphasis. One Saturday morning at the end of our session together he started to play the piano while we waited for his dad to pick him up. I asked him about the song he was playing and what it meant. That’s when my own light bulb went off!

It seemed so obvious after the fact, but of course music tells a story. Every movie has a soundtrack to accompany the film’s story. Every song has a title to represent the story in the music. So, I asked Miles to read some of his favorite poems from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends and then write music to accompany the poems. This seemed do-able to him especially since he is particularly fond of reading poetry. The poem he chose was, “Sick”. His music was very creative with highs and lows, just like the plot in the poem.

Next, I asked Miles to choose a favorite piano piece or create a new piece of music and then write the story the music was telling. Of course there was some initial resistance – it was writing, after all. Miles first chose a song called, “Jazzy Toccatina”. Here is his short story:

As you can see, Miles outlined the plot into beginning, middle, and end as well as noting the location and characters. Great work, Miles!

Not every student is a musician but all students enjoy listening to music. And every song has a story to tell. The key note to tell students is that there is no right or wrong way to write the story they hear in the music. When I taught in the classroom, I would often play music during our writing time. I chose from a wide range of genres and they all inspired the young writers within. The freedom to choose their story to write was liberating and fun!

I’m very proud of Miles and his writing accomplishments. All it took was a little time on my part to discovery the back door to his creative writing process.

Happy Writing,

Kathleen

Student Book Recommendation

Hello,

I’m happy to share with you another one of my student’s book recommendations.

Cece is a fifth grader and she chose to read The Secret Language of Girls, by Frances O’Roark Dowell.

 

 

 

 

Cece’s recommendation has all the right ingredients to make any middle grade girl want to pick up this book and enjoy it as much as she did.

Cece is progressing wonderfully in her reading and writing and I’m looking forward to sharing with you another book recommendation she wrote. Stay tuned for more!

Happy Reading,

Kathleen

A Field Trip Idea for Teachers and Librarians

Dear Readers,

I had the opportunity to write a piece for the International Reading Association’s Teacher to Teacher Blog. Here is the link that takes you directly to my teaching tip: http://engage.reading.org/READING/Blogsnbspnbsp/BlogViewer/?BlogKey=8d900d02-ad6e-4a05-984a-9f6aa6bd7ffd

Please pass on this wonderful field trip idea to the parents, teachers, and librarians in your community. I look forward to reading your comments.

Happy Reading,

Kathleen

Student Storyboard Book- Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea

Hello,

I have the pleasure of sharing another one of my student’s storyboard books.

Bodhi is a third grader and he, chose to read, Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea, by Cynthia Rylant.

I think Bodhi could have done the cover on the book, too!

Bodhi used only four main colors in his storyboard book but the colors he chose make the pictures really stand out!

Notice that even though Bodhi is using stick figures in each of his drawings, he chose major parts of the story in each frame.

This tells me that he remembered the main ideas of the story.

This looks like a fun story! After a day of swimming, they all stop for ice cream cones, even Mudge.

I also want to note how Bodhi numbered each of the frames in his storyboard book, just like a real book. Nice touch.

The day at the sea, and the story, is coming to an end.

But what a great time was had by all!

I feel like I read the actual book!

 

 

I’m very proud of Bodhi’s storyboard book. I was able to assess his reading comprehension skills and he was able to work on an engaging, fun, artistic project. He has made wonderful progress in his reading skills and it shows! Great work, Bodhi.

Happy Reading,

Kathleen

Young Author and Illustrator Shares His Book

Hello,

One of my first grade students, Ben, is a very motivated reader but he was struggling with the elements necessary to be a fluent reader. One of my strategies is to use a student’s own writing to facilitate the reading process.

Ben had the great idea to take characters from one book he enjoyed and write a new story, with illustrations!

Ben’s book is titled, The Cow Good and the Cat.

I should probably mention that Ben is a zealous action figure fan. Luckily for me I am also versed in some of the action figures and their corresponding comics.

 

 

Here, Ben begins by introducing his characters.

 

 

 

 

 

The action begins!

 

 

 

I love Ben’s word choice on this page: meanwhile. Obviously he has heard this word used by adults. Another testament for why it is important to talk with your child and students. The more authentic language they hear, the greater their own use of language will be verbally and in their writing.

 

 

Ben uses great action words and visuals!

 

 

 

 

 

The story is winding down.

 

 

 

 

 

The end.

 

 

 

 

As a teacher, I am also taking note of Ben’s use of words with the long and short vowel sounds that we have been working on. And of course, I asked Ben to read his book to me. Reading his own work boosted his confidence in his reading skills because he was able to read more fluently.

Great work, Ben! I’m hoping there is a sequel to The Cow Good and the Cat!

Happy Reading,

Kathleen

Student Writing to Help Reading Fluency and Confidence

 

Hello,

Sometimes we forget that reading what we write also makes us readers. This was especially true this summer for my student, Annika.

Annika had a new kitty named Harry who she was very excited about. This was a great teaching moment that I couldn’t pass up. I suggested Annika write a story about Harry. She loved the idea.

First, she created a web with all her ideas she wanted to include in her story.

Then, she began to put those ideas into sentences. This is her finished story!

 

Annika did a fabulous job of organizing her thoughts and including details. I was especially proud of her choice of words, like greenish. Great description!

 

 

After writing her story, Annika read her story over and over each time with increased fluency and expression! It was a great confidence boost for her that will carry-over to the books she chooses to read. Great work, Annika!

Oh, I had the pleasure of meeting Harry and yes, his eyes are greenish colored!

Happy Reading,

Kathleen

Another Great Student Book Recommendation

Hello,

I would like to share another student book recommendation. I am especially excited about this one because my student, Olivia, decided to write this one all on her own!

The book Olivia chose was, Dodsworth in London by Tim Egan. Olivia had already read Dodsworth in Paris and Dodsworth in New York. Now she has read all the Dodsworth books!

 

 

Olivia wrote a very nice summary of the story without giving away any of the mystery about what happens at the end. Great job, Olivia!

 

The Dodsworth books are also a personal favorite of mine. They are a wonderfully fun way to visit other cities without having to leave the comfort of your favorite reading chair. And, as Sleepy Bear would say, you can have your hot cocoa with goo-gobs of whippy cream, too!

Happy Reading,

Kathleen