Somehow by their lunch hour my eight grade 5 intervention students finished typing letters of introduction.  I had no idea how long typing letters would take!

My neighbor, who teaches in an adult high school, and I have launched a Buddy Letter Writing project — modeled off one I did with a full 5th grade class partnering with a college freshman English professor, and similar buddy projects I’ve seen teachers do with SJAWP.

Tonight we spread the first letters out on her dining room table, reading and admiring phrases, style and tone.  Then we matched the students for interests, background, and role models.  Mostly the letters were terrific.  It’s exciting.

Tomorrow my 5th grade focus group will get the first in a series of letters from their high school buddy, only known by first name, and no contact information.  In May the high school students will come to our campus so everyone can meet.

I’ve experienced how motivating and marvelous this kind of writing can be.  So, I’m excited to be taking my folder of letters to share tomorrow.

These days of celebrating, out on school nights and looking forward to the family and friends coming over Saturday, have lifted my mind off dogged concern for the details of my work. Not that I am less productive, or teaching sloppily.  I am not carrying it around all the time in my head.

Laughing already at the crosswalk coming from the parking garage last night, K and I attempted to cross the broad lanes of Market on the 8 second warning light.  I sped forward in heels, not my usual footwear, and pitched a bit too far forward.  I was falling in slow motion trying to compensate.  I landed ruffled by embarrassment, but unhurt.  We arrived breathless at our “club.”

At our favorite Italian place, my girlfriend and I, light weight drinkers, polished off a bottle of pinot noir with our conversation.  The staff and manager came by our table and laughed with us.

Today, opening the door to one group of students, eight first graders, I entertained myself by announcing it was my birthday and asking, “So, how old do you think I am?”  Several answers were, ninety-two, twenty-two and one hundred twenty.   Ha ha ha ha.

This evening, when I met a friend and her 94 year old dad at a local seafood cafe we started with fresh margaritas.  Mine was lime.  When our plates came, I reached for a catsup bottle which gassed as I took the lid off, splatting my arm and chest with several teaspoons of gooey red tomato paste.  My gal friend began diving for napkins, but I enacted a cowboy shootout dying scene.  The amount of blood spatter was impressive.  I mopped it off my black shirt amused.

The central idea seems obvious.  I have been loving myself and others by attending to having fun, using the occasion of a very big birthday year number as an excuse.

Finding a central idea in a discovery draft can be as awakening as falling in slow motion on the street, or spattering oneself with catsup.   Blogging daily is a great exercise in watching for central threads in recent experiences.

Since “real” writers compose discovery drafts and search for their themes among their words, might we do ourselves (and our students) a favor by making time to discover these central ideas?

Hi Xxxxx,

If you give that opinion writing lesson we saw you do at the district office last Friday in grade 4, Ms. J.’s class this Wednesday, I’m sure the students will do a fantastic job.  The teacher, Lxxxxxn, however, did not follow your flow of logic about writers workshop for the unit (no experience with workshop ~ i.e. concept of keeping topics in a notebook) and didn’t understand you using personal topics and essays to scaffold to opinion writing. Sigh.

I’ll just say that was her complaint today, plus the lingo.

My opinion was that you modeled well what any 4-5th teacher might do to launch opinion writing with a class.  Below is what I wrote to Lxxxxxn to answer her concern about the academic language.  You’re busy and you might scan for the red highlighting or not.

I have been in meetings past 6:45 tonight and am turning off teacher writing mode.   🙂 L.

**********
Dear Lxxxxn,

Thank you for airing your opinions today about the academic vocabulary and the meaning of the anchor standard 1, opinion writing.  I will pass on to Exxxx your concern about not understanding what she was doing from a writers workshop point of view, and the disconnect you expressed.

This Mar 13th event has been on school calendar since December 2012, and I updated it when we came back to school in January in the body of your email.  You have every opportunity to let your wishes, needs and opinion be known about what is demonstrated in your classroom.  But think:  As a teacher, would you want it last minute? 

In 6th grade, according to the CCSS, opinion writing will be called argument.  (Aka rhetoric.) What we are doing in primary and elementary with opinion writing will lay the foundation.  And yes, a thesis (or position or stance or whatever you want to call the big idea) PLUS the reasons, support or evidence (whatever you want to call them) — those two things combined equal the argument.  You know that.  But that is a big concept to begin teaching our students.  They don’t know that.

Also, I recently learned that our school RenLearn STAR reading tests include such concepts and words.  The STAR reading test is tallied by domains.  One is “Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.”  After pondering what the heck that meant, I called their support person.  When I went to Core Progress on our RenLearn site, they also called it “Analyzing Argument and Evaluating Text.”  Argghh!
It means what the CCSS means: Recognizing the claim in an argument and evaluating or weighing the support given. The language our students are already encountering on STAR tests includes:

“Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support a claim.”  (GR 4)

	Grade 4 –	Identify and explain the main idea and explain how details support it
	Grade 3 –	Determine author’s message
	Grade 3 –	Identify and explain the main idea and distinguish it from supporting details in informational text

You may be shocked to learn that apparently no primary teachers or elementary teachers were in on the national common core standards writing process.  So we are naturally going to balk at the new content and the level of academic language.  (Are you surprised they didn’t ask us??)  However, I have taught writers workshop, as has Exxxx, in which my students learned the terminology for the parts of the essays they wrote.  We called it what traditional academics have for years:  thesis & evidence = argument.  (That’s what a 5th grader will hear in 6th grade.)  Adjust the language for your fourth graders if you like…great time to use synonyms.

I hope this helps you know that I did my best, in our limited lunch time frame, to hear your concerns.   I will say, in her defense, that Exxxx is totally maxed, teaching full time, taking GLAD training, and being willing to present for writing project at our school.  I will tactfully remind her to consider her audience‘s background with workshop.  But neither you, me, nor Exxxx are authors of the CCSS.

If you look for the checklist page in in the Common Core Writing Book I loaned you, (pg 6?) it shows at a glance what Anchor standard 1 (Opinion) looks like at each grade level K-5 all on one page.  Cut to the bone, no froo froo.  Check it out.

Writing growth, just like teaching growth, takes place slowly over time.  I trust you will glean something of value this Wednesday.

Every teacher, I believe, has to watch methods and practice, and in their own time ~~ invent their own teaching.  You are, in my opinion, a highly engaging, thoughtful teacher.  I trust you’ll figure out what and when you want to re-invent.

My very best,
L.

Tonight, while I ate my Trader Joe’s Guilt Free Chicken Breast in Pablano Sauce, I watched a YouTube from a FB friend’s share: Senator Elizabeth Warren speaking at the Senate Banking Committee Hearing on Bank Money Laundering.

Senator Warren asked clearly, “I’d like your opinion….” and the banking committee  dodged and skirted her question and she’d return them to the question: “I’d like your opinion.  What does it take to even consider closing down a bank that is laundering money?  How many billions of dollars of drug cartel money laundering would you say it takes to consider shutting down a financial institution?” (approximate quote).

I saw that what we want, what I want, as an educator, is to send people into the world who are as clear and concise in their argument as Senator Warren.  Writing for real world purposes has got to be the reason we do the Common Core.

It’s the eve of my long-awaited presentation on opinion writing for primary teachers and students.  I can see the purpose in taking the time to teach kindergarteners to state their opinion, for first graders to rate something as the best in the group and for second graders to review the books they read with opinions.  Our primary students can give an opinion when asked. Senator Warren said, “I’d like your opinion….” and the Senate banking committee could not state theirs.

I’m going to put the finishing touches on my presentation, enjoy a glass of port and my big black and white cat come in out of the rain.

Salut!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cKTBy7_S_I&feature=player_embedded

Creating presentations for teachers takes a creative aesthetic like composing a great salad.

The one I’m writing now needs something twisty like the orange muscat champagne vinegar that makes this simple green salad sing.  Hmmm, what will that be?

I never fear my audience when i cook for them.  However, these are K-2 educators, professional arm-crossers and well acquainted with the details of their trade.  I am a newcomer to primary as an intervention teacher even though I am a veteran teacher.  Why do I not feel I’m their equal?

What mix of student samples, visuals, information and activities will engage them?  How will I scoot off center stage and set them by grades to a meaningful task at a meeting they did not invite themselves to?

The salad course is CCSS Anchor Standard 1:  Writing opinions.  Perhaps I should plow on with my prepping and not trying to field all the imaginary opinions?  Maybe they’re not going to throw cabbages at me, after all?

Even so, a presentation should be crisp and multi-flavored, like a great salad.