[LIT] Management Details

Tue Feb 20 18:33:13 EST 2007

I like the idea of splitting the notebooks into halves and turning them
upside down for that.  I already do collect one period per day.  I guess I
am just picky about wanting to respond to as much as I can in the notebook.
I still msy go with three, and the writer's notebook will be non-graded.  i
can peruse it during conferences, but not actually grade it.

Thank you all so much.  You'd think after 16 years in elementary I would
have had this all figured out, but I am constantly looking for ways to make
my work less and teach them more.  I may never find all the answers.  Shoot,
I can't even find all the questions...lol
Kim

On 2/20/07, khonyx at aol.com <khonyx at aol.com> wrote:
>
> I use 2 marble books- one is a Writer's Notebook and the other a Lit. Log
> and both follow the Interactive Notebook model.
>
> In the front of the Writer's Notebook are different lists and things to
> help them come up with their own ideas for writing such as a timeline of
> their life, a heart map, lists of possible writing topics, an "Itches to
> Scratch" list, favorite poems, scrumptious word list....The model goes on
> the left side and their practice/tryout goes on the right.  I then have the
> kids turn their books upside down and backwards and have them free write in
> the back. Pieces are dated, but may continue on over days.
>
> In the Lit. Log, we start with Table of Contents.  Again, anything I give
> them is glued on the left, a practice of whatever it is goes on the
> right.  This way they have a model and their own version of anything we
> do.  This really cuts down on the "I didn't remember what to do" stuff. In
> the back, upside down and from the back, is homework which is usually
> literary response to Independent Reading.
>
> These two books are our textbooks and have most of their work for the
> year. I check the Writer's notebooks every 2-3 weeks and do one class per
> night.  I do not read everything, but have them select several, then count
> up the rest.  In the Lit. Log, I check the homework daily for completeness
> and spotcheck other stuff once or twice a term.
>
> We keep both books in a large ziplock bag along with their Independent
> reading books.  The bags go home nightly and are expected in class each
> day.  If either book is lost, it must be replaced immediatly and the student
> has to stay after school and reglue in all the missing sheets. This is a
> real pain, but once it gets around the kids how long it takes, I don't seem
> to have any more problems.
>
> I hope this helps!
>
> Karen Onyx
> Carusi Middle School
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mrshannan6th at gmail.com
> To: lit at literacyworkshop.org
> Sent: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 11:32 AM
> Subject: [LIT] Management Details
>
>
> Hi all,
> I teach seventh grade and have about 120 kids.  I also use journals with
> my
> kids, something like an interactive notebook.  Everything is in one
> notebook.  But I am not so sure I will put everything in one notebook
> again
> next year.  We use the three subject notebooks with the plastic covers
> right
> now.  They keep a table of contents and have the pages numbered.  I have
> them tape in handouts and poems.  I do most organizers in the notebooks,
> too.  I still find that it is very confusing to them to find things when
> they need them.  I have 49 minutes a day with each of them, so I can only
> do
> Writer's Workshop three days a week and Reader's Workshop two days a week,
> so they have to do their responses at home as well as a lot of their
> reading.  They have to haul the notebooks back and forth.  They are also
> really big for me to haul and grade.
>
> I think next year I am going to have them get three or four hardback
> composition books.  One for Reader's Workshop Notes and Responses,
> Writer's
> Conventions and Word Work, and Writing Notebook.  They can leave them in
> crates in my room and take home only what they need for that evening.  It
> still sound cumbersome, but I haven't worked out the details yet.   How do
> you organize your kids' work?
>
> Do any of you teach in a middle school setting and use workshops to teach?
> If you, I would like to talk time management with you.  I hate the way my
> weeks are laid out now.  I have the week split into three days WW and two
> days RW.  I would like to try something else next year, but unsure what.
>
> --
> Kimberlee Hannan
> Department Chair
> Sequoia Middle School
> Fresno, CA
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-- 
Kimberlee Hannan
Department Chair
Sequoia Middle School
Fresno, CA