Action Research Project What happens when I introduce bookmaking during writing time? Wendy MacLaren Koren Chaisson Cathy O’Keefe April, 2013 Wendy MacLaren Koren Chaisson Cathy O’Keefe April, 2013

Souris Consolidated School Souris Consolidated is a rural school located in the town of Souris, PEI. The school has 360 students from kindergarten to grade seven. There are three kindergarten classes with 43 students enrolled. We three kindergarten teachers have been teaching writing using the Fountas and Pinnell program, ‘Writer’s Workshop’. Through consultation with the literacy specialist we decided to explore other avenues of teaching writing to kindergarten students. We explored the readings in textbooks written by; Katie Wood-Ray (About the Author’s: Writing Workshop With Our Youngest Writers, Already Ready: Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten) and Matt Glover (Engaging Young Writers). It was our desire to find other methods of teaching writing that would engage our young students and encourage their full and active participation in the writing process. Our ultimate goal was to have our students view themselves as Writers. With this lofty goal we set out a plan to implement Bookmaking as a means to teach writing skills.

 research the topic of bookmaking using; textbooks, internet, training videos, consultation with literacy specialist  gather materials required; paper, stapler, variety of markers, coloring pencils, crayons, writing pens, spacers, pastels, stickers, baskets/bins for storage, shelving unit for storing tools.  introduce your plan to students, parents, staff. We decided to inform our parent’s at parent/teacher interview time. This gave us the opportunity to meet and discuss what we were going to be working on with the parents.  use an enthusiastic launching as you introduce this ‘new, fun, idea’ to the students  invite other staff and administrators to visit during writing time so they become familiar with the process  prepare assessment tools you as the educator will use to guide your teaching  create an outline for mini-lessons (use observations of student’s writing as your guide for what lessons need to be taught)  plan a writers’ celebration

Storage unit and bins for writer's supplies

What did we learn from other Literacy Specialists ?

Kindergarten students as ‘writers’ Between her passion for elementary writing instruction and a love of children’s literature, Katie Wood Ray found herself asking, “What if children were introduced to key qualities of good writing in the context of illustrations?” The answer was simple yet powerful: “The thinking students do while reading picture books can help them see the connection between what words and illustrations do to make meaning.” “If teachers show children how an illustrator’s decisions about pictures are a lot like a writer’s decisions about words, they form a bridge of understanding that nurtures children as writers.” By the time they reach preschool or kindergarten, young children are already writers. They don’t have much experience, but they’re filled with stories to tell and ideas to express—they want to show the world what they know and see. All they need is a nurturing teacher like you to recognize the writer at work within them.

Writing is just one part of a busy kindergarten classroom, but even in little doses, a nurturing approach can work wonders and help children connect the natural writer inside them to a life of expressing themselves on paper. Taking an exciting, new approach to working with our youngest students, by respecting children as writers, engaged in bookmaking, you can gently nudge them toward a lifetime of joyful writing. Teachers who collect samples of children’s writing can use them to :  make sense of children’s writing and interpret how they represent sounds, ideas, and images  see important developmental signs in writers that you can use to help them grow further  recognize the thinking young children engage in and discover that it’s the same thinking more experienced writers use to craft purposeful, thoughtful pieces.

Kindergarten students can develop powerful understandings about:  texts and their characteristics  the writing process  what it means to be a writer As a teacher you’ll learn how to support your writers’ search to make meaning, as they grow their abilities and refine their thinking about writing through teaching strategies such as:  reading aloud  working side by side with writers (conferencing)  sharing children’s writing  direct teaching (mini-lessons)  word wall  ‘how to’ information posters

Why Bookmaking Makes Sense For The Youngest Writers

Making Books….  is developmentally appropriate (children love to make things, so making books is more engaging for students than just writing)  helps students do bigger work and develop stamina for writing (multiple pages invite students to stay with writing longer thus building stamina)  helps children live like writers when they aren’t writing (children need to experience the creative urgency that comes from leaving something unfinished, knowing they will return to work on it later)  makes the ‘reading like writers ‘ connection so clear (children’s writing will naturally match the picture books they are surrounded by, and they will see themselves as writers who can write and illustrate books like Robert Munsch and Jan Brett)  is developmentally appropriate (children love to make things, so making books is more engaging for students than just writing)  helps students do bigger work and develop stamina for writing (multiple pages invite students to stay with writing longer thus building stamina)  helps children live like writers when they aren’t writing (children need to experience the creative urgency that comes from leaving something unfinished, knowing they will return to work on it later)  makes the ‘reading like writers ‘ connection so clear (children’s writing will naturally match the picture books they are surrounded by, and they will see themselves as writers who can write and illustrate books like Robert Munsch and Jan Brett)

 helps children begin to understand composition and decision making (making a book from start to finish is a process of constant decision making; what will I write about, what should come first, how should I draw it, does this look the way I want it to)  helps children begin to understand genre, purpose, and audience (children start out just writing books but they come to understand that there are different kinds of writing inside picture books that do different kinds of work)  helps children believe in the future of finished work (writers have the will to go from nothing to something and with experience making books, children come to have faith in a future of writing that doesn’t yet exist) {About The Authors; Writing Workshop With Our Youngest Writers. Katie Wood Ray and Lisa Cleaveland Heinemann.}  helps children begin to understand composition and decision making (making a book from start to finish is a process of constant decision making; what will I write about, what should come first, how should I draw it, does this look the way I want it to)  helps children begin to understand genre, purpose, and audience (children start out just writing books but they come to understand that there are different kinds of writing inside picture books that do different kinds of work)  helps children believe in the future of finished work (writers have the will to go from nothing to something and with experience making books, children come to have faith in a future of writing that doesn’t yet exist) {About The Authors; Writing Workshop With Our Youngest Writers. Katie Wood Ray and Lisa Cleaveland Heinemann.}

Composition Development Understandings About Texts:  Is the child’s book about something?  How has the child organized the book? Does it move through time (narrative) or through a list of ideas (non-narrative)?  When the child reads it does it sound like a book?  Does the child read the book basically the same way over time?  Is the child making the book in the manner of other picture books he or she has read?  What does the book show the child understands about different genre’s?  How is the child representing meaning in the book? Understandings About Texts:  Is the child’s book about something?  How has the child organized the book? Does it move through time (narrative) or through a list of ideas (non-narrative)?  When the child reads it does it sound like a book?  Does the child read the book basically the same way over time?  Is the child making the book in the manner of other picture books he or she has read?  What does the book show the child understands about different genre’s?  How is the child representing meaning in the book?

Understandings About Process:  Is the child intentional about what is being represented on the page?  Does the child engage in revision while composing a picture book?  Is there any evidence that the child is thinking ahead about what to write next?  Has the child made any intentional crafting decisions in the book?  How long has the child worked on the book? In one sitting? Over time?  Does the child show a willingness to solve problems while writing? Understandings About Process:  Is the child intentional about what is being represented on the page?  Does the child engage in revision while composing a picture book?  Is there any evidence that the child is thinking ahead about what to write next?  Has the child made any intentional crafting decisions in the book?  How long has the child worked on the book? In one sitting? Over time?  Does the child show a willingness to solve problems while writing?

Understandings About What It Means to Be a Writer:  How (and why) has the child decided what to write about in the book?  How interested is the child in an audience’s response to the book?  Has the child composed in a way that leads to new meaning while writing?  Can I see in the book that the child has been willing to take compositional risks?  As I interact with the child around the book, does it seem that he or she has sense of self as a writer? A sense of history?  Does the child show he or she understands his or her powerful position as author of the book? Understandings About What It Means to Be a Writer:  How (and why) has the child decided what to write about in the book?  How interested is the child in an audience’s response to the book?  Has the child composed in a way that leads to new meaning while writing?  Can I see in the book that the child has been willing to take compositional risks?  As I interact with the child around the book, does it seem that he or she has sense of self as a writer? A sense of history?  Does the child show he or she understands his or her powerful position as author of the book?

Writers Workshop-Bookmaking { ___Genre Specific __x_Non-Genres Specific __5_# of weeks} Primary Goals: Have students view themselves as writers Have students engaged in the writing process longer Have students carry their ideas throughout the story Anticipated Issues: Using such a variety of tools could cause distractions, chaos... Students could have difficulty carrying their idea throughout the book Secondary Goals: Writing quality, writing habits, revision, community of writers, editing/conventions: Students use their knowledge of sight words and word wall to write these words quickly Students use spacing, directionality and punctuation Illustration contains more detail/color Conversations/dialogues is focussed on writing tasks Students use various genres in their books Students learn to edit their own work

Projections of Possible Mini Lesson Topics: Writers write books Author ’ s page (writers tell something about themselves that they want their audience to know) Introduce tools writers use (class management) Writers can take time to ‘ think ’ and ‘ plan ’ for their story (composition development) Writers add detail to their drawings (like Jan Brett does) Writers develop a checklist to show the steps of writing from beginning to end Writers have a beginning, middle and end to their stories Resources/Materials/Books: Mentor Texts. Professional resources; Textbooks by Katie Wood Ray, Matt Glover, literacy specialist, Margaret Anne MacIntryre, mentor texts...Robert Munch, Mo Williams, Mercer Mayer, Jan Brett and Eric Carle

Student Survey What do you do during Writer’s Workshop? {39/42} (write, draw, think, color, put words on paper) 2. Where do you find idea? {38/42} (in my head, my brain, when I do stuff, imagination) 3. What is your favourite topic to write about? {41/42} (family, animals, princesses, Sonic, robots, dirt bikes and snowmobiles, skylanders) 4. Are you a Writer? {42/42} (yes)

Writers’ Genre Collection

Writers’ Genre  There were 186 books written by 42 students over a period of 5 weeks.  More students wrote personal/narrative books in one class, while the other two classes had more students write descriptive/procedural books.  Of the three classes; one class wrote 99 books, one class wrote 45 books, and one wrote 42 books.  Most of the personal/narrative books were about family and pets.  Most of the imaginary books were about princesses, skylanders, and sonic (action figures).  Most of the descriptive/procedural books were non-fiction stories about animals or how to books.  The students loved to see some of their books put out on the bookshelf amongst the other writers’ published books.  Many students were influenced in their genre choice by both personal experiences and the variety of mentor texts we chose to read during class.

What did we learn ….

 When young children are in control of what they write, how they write, and the tools they use, they are more engaged and can write longer. They find the ‘fit’ that works for them.  Groups of up to six children can sit together and write and also have conversations that stay on task and are effective in that they give each other valuable assistance. All this happens and still the students focus on their own work and are capable of carrying their ideas/story throughout their book. They have become independent as well as co-dependent writers.  Students were able to keep the organizational piece of their writing even with all the choices they were given for writing tools.  Mini –lessons were a good way to address areas of growth your students needed.  Mentor texts were used as part of mini-lessons as well as read alouds. They were a valuable tool to help students learn that what they were doing as writers was the same as the writers of the books presented. It became the bridge for students to start to see themselves as writers too!.

 Jan Brett -Writers add details like special borders to make their book appealing.  Robert Munsch - Writers can get ideas for stories from other people/friends.  Mercer Mayer – Writers can show their Voice in the text they use.  Eric Carle- Writers can use tools like tissue paper in their illustrations.

New Questions ?  What would happen if I introduced bookmaking earlier in the school year?  Do kindergarten students need to know all/most of their letters and sounds before you start bookmaking?  Is it important to have the writing process start with the structure of ‘Writers Workshop’ before you move on to bookmaking?  What would happen if I introduced bookmaking earlier in the school year?  Do kindergarten students need to know all/most of their letters and sounds before you start bookmaking?  Is it important to have the writing process start with the structure of ‘Writers Workshop’ before you move on to bookmaking?