To prepare for the 8th grade writing test, my 8th graders are writing more and more. Through January, we are focused on word choice and conventions, the use of details and supporting arguments or making scenes interesting in narratives. They have notebooks split into sections meant for practice, reflection, modeling, and word banks. I modeled this unit after others from other curriculums, but have peppered it with some unconventional (for 8th grade) texts and varying creative assignments. Two weeks into the unit, I'm pleased, impressed, and moved with some of the topics and stories that have come up in the notebooks. I'm halfway through grading week 2, and already I've read stories about why the skateboarding park is so important to one of my students (because he can learn and become better at something he's good at), a fictional story about three of my students on a journey through the desert to the Oasis (and we haven't even read the Alchemist yet), a memory about riding the bus in 6th grade...
I have a brother and sister as a pair of students. When asked to "Zoom In" on a moment and describe it using as much detail as possible, they choice to write about the morning they discovered their father dead. "My Eyes" opened me to a world they hadn't yet shared, and reminds me just why love is so important. In using his "feedback" section, the brother wrote, "I like the journals and what we're doing with writing. I like writing in the journal about the book Bang! because it feels like I can really connect with the book. I've had a lot of people dying all around me all my life. The notebooks were a good idea on Ms. O'Malley's part." It's amazing what a notebook, a book, and a reflective mind can do for a person. To know that this student is loving something about learning is huge -- and I'm so humbled to be a part of it.
And, how would an opener to a story like this make you feel? "It was a Sunday and a windy day. Everyone thought it wasn't going to happen like the last one. I believe that day changed everyone's lives. During Hurricane Katrina, my family and I had to go to the cold hospital my dad worked at." This student came to Tulsa following Hurricane Katrina after being displaced in '05. She is one of my top students and clearly has a lot of stories to tell (like so many of my students).
Another student wrote about finding out her best friend moved away without warning. She described how she felt in that moment, and used the rest of the entry to reflect on how important he was to her: "Every time I'm with him he raises my spirits. People say that's love but I say they wrong. I say its brother and sister love. Love that nobody can touch, that's too precious to see and too quiet to hear." Her writing reminded me so much of some of the things that I've written. She also said that she wants to be a writer when she grows up, and I told her, like my freshman English teacher told me, "Never put your pen down."
We've discussed what we want to write, mostly to give me ideas for what kinds of assignments will generate the most from my students but also challenge them. When I first read this, my heart skipped a beat. It's from a girl who started writing in 5th grade and wants to continue building her skills: "And what I would like to write are inspiring stories. Things that have real meaning."
On their latest assessment, students had to write a short passage using imagery and interesting adjectives. This was aimed to test all of the practice we put into this week on creating engaging scenes for readers and using better word choices. This was a part of an entry that made my heart smile:
"It was cold and bitter. The penguins were happy and playful, though. They looked like miniature people suits diving in a pool on a hot summer's day. You would just want to jump in with them with all the splashing and little squeals that sound like they're laughing."
We've used excerpts from The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien as mentor texts for the use of imagery and strong, detailed vocabulary. To challenge their argumentative skills, we read a part from "On the Rainy River," a story where O'Brien recounts the feelings he had when he was drafted into a war he did not agree with. The story is a powerful piece and asks readers, "what would you do?" In a pivotal moment, O'Brien has to choose between staying in the U.S. or fleeing to Canada. We stopped there and asked, "what would you do?" I think it's interesting that all of the entries I've read so far (about 10 out of 24) state that they would flee to Canada. I don't feel this is their liberal streak -- they all discuss how they couldn't fight for something they didn't agree with, that their principles mean more than their pride, and that even if they had to sacrifice being with their family, they couldn't go into something they couldn't stand up for. Now, this is all very abstract for them, but I thought it was an interesting conversation for 8th graders to engage in, via writing.
I'm not even halfway through grading, but I am so blown away by this little classroom experiment. I wish that I had decided to do it closer to the beginning of the year, so that we could have more time to see their skills blossom.
But, all I did was give them a notebook, discussion about writing, some model texts, and a prompt. They've really made it all so much more, though. Goes to show, when you give a kid a notebook...
~MJ
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