Readers as Writers: Creating Authors in the Upper Elementary and Middle Classroom

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Readers as WritersCreating Authors in the Upper
Elementary and Middle Classroom

• Matthew Kirby
• Virginia Kirby

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• If you want to be a writer, you must do two
  things above all others read a lot and write a
  lot. There's...no shortcut.
• -Stephen King

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About Your Presenters

• Matthew Kirby
• -Pursuing master's degree in information sciences
• -Author of Spider Stories
• -TTU graduate in history

• Virginia Kirby
• -TTU graduate in elementary education
• -Teaches upper primary class at Sylvan Prep
  Academy
• -Member of the Upper Cumberland Writing Project

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Building a Collection

• A classroom library is a teacher's single
  greatest tool.
• Creating readers by providing students with
  varied genres in an attractive display will, in
  turn, create writers.

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Representing a Variety of Genres

• Picture books
• Regardless of student age, picture books are a
  valid type of writing and need to be represented
  in a classroom library. Choose different
  illustration styles and topics for your
  collection.

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• Historical Fiction
• These books can be used to supplement social
  studies lessons or as stand-alone works to enjoy.
• Many students who don't like to read can find
  historical fiction they will be interested to
  explore.

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• Poetry
• A classroom poetry collection should include
  styles ranging from the works of e. e. cummings
  to Percy Bysshe Shelley to Shel Silverstein and
  everyone in between.

• Classics
• Despite the popularity of Captain Underpants,
  children need to be given the opportunity to
  explore past great works.

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• Sci-fi/Fantasy
• Because they appeal to the vivid imaginations of
  children, these related genres are typically
  favored among young readers.

• Adventure
• A genre that typically caters to a male audience,
  teachers should take care to provide adventure
  stories that also appeal to female students.

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• Mystery/Spooky
• These books are not just for October. Many
  students, especially in early middle school,
  prefer these genres.

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• Coming of Age
• Books in this genre are arguably the most
  relatable. Students can identify with these
  average characters, finding humor and sadness in
  their daily lives. Many of these works are
  timeless however, certain pop culture references
  can date the stories.

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• Books on Writing
• It is important to include books that explain the
  craft and help students explore different
  activities to improve their writing. Some of
  these are student resources others are better
  suited for the teacher to use to pull short
  excerpts.

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Resources to Improve the Classroom Library

• Amazon.com
• Book Stores
• McKay's Used Books
• Public Library
• School Library
• Book Drives
• Scholastic

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Display

• Above all things, the classroom library must
  be attractive and inviting. Students should be
  able to access the library freely. Books should
  be presented at the students' level to reinforce
  the knowledge that this is their library.

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Immersion Area

• An immersion area is a section of the
  classroom that is used to supplement the unit
  currently being studied. Books, posters,
  manipulatives, and artifacts should be accessible
  to students.

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Organization

• Label by Level
• Indicate each book's reading level by placing
  a sticker or writing on the cover. This lets
  students know if they are reading below, within,
  or above their instruction level.

• Group by Genre
• Like a public library, place related books
  together. Your students are the best
  determination of which genres need their own
  baskets, but be sure to represent all of them.

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Helpful Hints to Encourage Writing

• 1. Writing must come from the writer. Do not
  change a student's content when editing.
• 2. Teach students to use an active voice.
• 3. Help create variety in sentence structure and
  vocabulary by exposing students to lists and
  texts.
• 4. Let them play with their ideas without
  penalty. Do not grade creative writing respond
  to it.
• 5. Provide a dictionary/thesaurus set- at least
  1 per every 3 students.

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Helpful Hints, Cont.

• 6. Provide a comfortable, peaceful writing
  space.
• 7. Students should actively use writers'
  notebooks to record ideas, explore character
  sketches, etc.
• 8. Stop plagiarism in elementary school.
  Discuss what it means to plagiarize, why it is
  wrong, and what it would feel like to the author.
• 9. Stress content over perfect mechanics. Allow
  invented spelling in creative writing.
• 10. Give your students BIC time.

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What is BIC?

• BIC is a term used by YA author Laurie Halse
  Anderson. It stands for Bottom In Chair and is
  a necessary part of the writing process. (Chairs
  are, of course, optional.)

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BIC in the Classroom

• Journaling
• a. Prompts
• b. Free-choice
• c. Imitating an author
• The teacher should also write during journal time.

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BIC in the Classroom

• J.O.W.T.
• Students at Sylvan Prep Academy enjoy quiet,
  free-writing that they call J.O.W.T., or Just
  Our Writing Time. This culminates in an end of
  the year authors' tea during which the students
  present their own books to parents and school
  faculty.

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BIC in the Classroom

• Drafting
• Students are never too young to begin drafting
  as part of the writing process. BIC is the best
  way to encourage thorough drafting, as it takes
  time to develop ideas. Writing is never truly
  done.

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QA

• Do you have any questions about how to create
  writers in the classroom?
• Contact us with future questions by e-mail at
  kirbysgottawrite_at_yahoo.com
• Take a moment to explore the example library.