Choice Words

I decided to use this blog to help me with my summer professional reading. Maybe this way I'll retain more of what I read so that I can use it in my classroom. I started Choice Words earlier this year, but had to abandon it because of all the requirements of my job and home life. So, I started over. It's important to remember that what I say really impacts kids' lives. I've read the first two chapters and the value of noticing and naming is critical. There are several examples of questions to use to keep kids thinking and noticing. It starts on page 13 and continues through the chapter.

Something else to remember is to always notice what is right, with myself as well as my kids. Just because I don't make it through all the curriculum in one day doesn't mean I should feel guilty. I need to remember to focus on what I did right and what was well done, instead of what didn't get done. I need to do this with kids too, especially in writing. I'm trying to build strong writers and they need for me to notice what they do right too.

I want to remember to set up specific lessons for noticing and naming and to not share my thoughts first. Kids need to be the ones to do the talking and I need to listen. I also need to remember the phrase "any other?" for noticing more than just the most obvious.

There are two books I am interested in looking at: Katie Wood Ray's: Wondrous Words and Ralph Fletcher's What a Writer Needs. These were listed at the back of chapter 2 as good reads to continue working on using words in class.