Adding Content (Pass It On!)

Guiding students to add relevant content to their writing is a critical task. Often students state that they have noting more to add to the text they are writing when answering content-based questions. The writing technique, "Adding Content (Pass it On)" can help students to have more to say that is relevant. This technique makes use of three important scaffolds:

1. Using questions (5Ws & H) to generate relevant writing,  
2. Prompting the recall of knowledge based on peers' responses, and
3. Rereading.  

Below is a chart that outlines what the teacher does and what students do during this brief writing engagement.

from Think Literacy Cross-Curricular Approaches, Grades 7-12

Teacher Resource from Think Literacy Cross-Curricular Approaches, Grades 7-12

Student Resource from Think Literacy Cross-Curricular Approaches, Grades 7-12

A Few Resources for Teaching Writing in K-5

Bibliography of Writing Texts for Teachers, K-5

Anderson, Jeff.  (2011). 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Angelillo, Janet. (2003). Writing About Reading: From Book Talk to Literary Essays, Grades 3-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Ayres, Ruth. (2010). Day by Day: Refining Writing Workshop Through 180 Days of Reflective Practice. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Blauman, Leslie. (2012). Kid-Tested Writing Lessons for Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Corgill, Ann Marie. (2008). Of Primary Importance: What’s Essential in Teaching Young Writers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Dyson, Anne Haas. (1993). Social Worlds of Children Learning to Write in Urban Primary Schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Dyson, Anne Haas. (1997). Writing Superheroes: Contemporary Childhood, Popular Culture, and Classroom Literacy. New York: Teachers College Press.

Dyson, Anne Haas. (2013). ReWRITING the Basics: literacy Learning in Children's Cultures. New York: Teachers College Press.

Ehrenworth, Mary & Vicki Vinton. (2005). The Power of Grammar: Unconventional Approaches to the Conventions of Language. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Ehrenworth, Mary. (2003). Looking to Write: Students Writing through the Visual Arts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Feigelson, Dan. (2008). Practical Punctuation: Lessons on Rule Making and RuleBreaking in Elementary Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Fletcher, Ralph. (2006). Boy Writers: Reclaiming their Voices. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Glower, Matt. (2009). Engaging Young Writers, Preschool-Grade 1. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Graham, Steve, Charles A. MacArthur & Jill Fitzgerald. (Ed.). (2013). Best Practices in Writing Instruction, 2^nd Edition. New York: Guilford Press.

Graves, Donald. (2003). Writing: Teachers and Children at Work –Twentieth Anniversary Edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Hale, Elizabeth. (2014). Readers Writing: Strategy Lessons for Responding to Narrative and Informational Text. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Hale, Elizabeth. (2008). Crafting Writers, K-6. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Heard, Georgia and McDonough. (2009). A Place of Wonder. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Hindley, Joanne. (1996). In the Company of Children. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Horn, Martha & Mary Ellen Giacobbe. (2007). Talking, Drawing, Writing: Lessons for Our Youngest Writers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Killgallon Don & Jenny Killgallon. (2014). Paragraphs for Elementary School: A Sentence-Composing Approach - A Student Work Text. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

McCarrier, Andrea, Fountas, Irene & Gay Su Pinnell. (1999). Interactive Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Messner, Kate. (2011). Real Revision: Authors' Strategies to Share with Student Writers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Newkirk, Thomas. (2014). Minds Made for Stories: How We Really Read and Write Informational and Persuasive Texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Pahl, Kate & Jenifer Roswell. (2010). Artifactual Literacies: Every Object Tells a Story. New York: TC Press.

Ray, Katie Wood. (2010). In Pictures and In Words: Teaching the Qualities of Good Writing Through Illustration Study. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Ray, Katie Wood & Lisa Cleveland. (2004). About the Authors: Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Weaver, Constance. (2008). Grammar to Enrich and Enhance Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Wohlwend, Karen E. (2011). Playing Their Way into Literacies: Reading, Writing, and Belonging in the Early Childhood Classroom. New York: TC Press.

A Few Books To Strengthen Your Own Art as Writer

Clark, Roy Pete. (2008). Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Dillard, Annie. (2009). The Writing Life. New York: HarperCollins.

Gaiman, Neil. (2013). Make Good Art. New York: William Morrow. (Link to Commencement Address)

Goldberg, Natalie. (2005). Writing Down the Bones. Boston, MA: Shambhala.

King, Stephen. (2010). On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York: Scribner.

Lamott, Anne. (2007). Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books. New York: Plume.

Levy, Deborah. (2013). Things I Don't Want to Know: On Writing. New York: Bloomsbury

Maran, Meredith. (ed.). (2013). Why We Write: 20 Acclaimed Authors on How and Why They Do What They Do.

Pinsky, Robert. (2013). Singing School: Learning to Write (and Read) Poetry by Studying with the Masters. New York: W.W. Norton.

Pressfield, Steven. (2011). The War of Art:  Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. New York: Black Irish Entertainment LLC.

Shapiro, Dani. (2013). Still Writing: The Pleasures and Perils of a Creative Life. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.

Maps, Stories and a Time in the Desert

A Map, a Flag, a Way Saying Good-bye.

I promised to show you a map you say but this is a mural
then yes let it be these are small distinctions
where do we see it from is the question    

                                            - Adrienne Rich



I.

The last time I was in the desert, I was 12. I waited by an uneven-legged table set up along a dry and dusty road just off of Interstate 40 while one of my brothers walked the dog.  It was hot. It was July and with the few coins in my pocket, I bought a small totem pole from a Navajo girl who stood behind that table.  She looked to be just about my age.

The totem was stone and was painted with primary colors that had been dulled, sun-baked. We exchanged some coins and I left with the painted totem in hand, sun-warmed, climbing back into the Ford Country Squire with the fake wood paneling on its sides.

Even then, I knew all about consumption.

II.

Today I have been painting and I have broken two nails and I couldn't be more pleased. Under one nail is red paint and along the curve of my thumb are splotches of yellow acrylic.

My hands make things.

And I think it may be this--the making of things that has me recalling the girl from the desert. Or perhaps not.  Perhaps it is nothing more than our shared girlhood that has me pulling this recollection from forty years past.

Our finger nails were dirty, chewed. We had not the elegant hands we might have hoped to grow into.

I wonder if she's still living on that road just a mile from the Interstate. I wonder if she's still living. In the 1970s the life expectancy of Navajo were two-thirds the national average (from here).

Does she remember the pale girl with the long braid who bought the totem pole?


III.

Memories are like maps, oddly collaged, shift the paper and the perspective alters, the story changes. I wonder what it is that has me recalling this moment over and over again.

Spilled Paint Story

Night Falling in the Woods

In a few days I will be introducing fourth graders and their teachers to a storytelling technique that uses spilled paint, conversation, and story making. The slide share below chronicles the process I used to create a Spilled Paint Story. It is always fascinating to see what happens when children spill paint, fold paper and unfold stories.

Spilled Paint Story from Mary Ann Reilly / Blueprints for Learning, Inc.

Children & Teen Book Award Winners: 2015

from Firebird

Coretta Scott King Awards

Brown Girl Dreaming written by Jacqueline Woodson, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.  Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

Firebird illustrated by Christopher Myers, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Misty Copeland and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC. Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award. Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

When I Was the Greatest written and illustrated by Jason Reynolds, is the Steptoe winner. The book is published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.  Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award for new artist.

Pura Belpré (Author) Award

I Lived on Butterfly Hill is the 2015 Pura Belpré (Author) Award winner. The book is written by Marjorie Agosín, illustrated by Lee White and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. Pura Belpré (Author) Award honoring Latino authors whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award
Viva Frida illustrated by Yuyi Morales, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner.  The book was written by Yuyi Morales and published by Roaring Brook Press, a Neal Porter Book. Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience.


Caldecott Award

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend  illustrated by Dan Santat, is the 2015 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Dan Santat and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children.

The John Newbery Medal

The Crossover written by Kwame Alexander, is the 2015 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

Michael L. Printz Award 

I’ll Give You the Sun written by Jandy Nelson, is the 2015 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group USA, a Penguin Random House Company. Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award

from The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant, is the Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children.

Stonewall Book Award

This Day in June written by Gayle E. Pitman, Ph.D., illustrated by Kristyna Litten and published by Magination Press, an imprint of the American Psychological Association, is the winner of the 2015 Stonewall Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award.  Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.

Schneider Family Book Award 

A BOY AND A JAGUAR written by Alan Rabinowitz, illustrated by Catia Chien and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, wins the award for children ages 0 to 10. Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.

William C. Morris Award 

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces written by Isabel Quintero, is the 2015 Morris Award winner. The book is published by Cinco Puntos Press. William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek written by Maya Van Wagenen, is the 2015 Excellence winner. The book is published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award 

Mikis and the Donkey is the 2015 Batchelder Award winner. The book was written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson, and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.  Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States.

from You Are (Not) Small 

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award 

You Are (Not) Small written by Anna Kang and illustrated by Christopher Weyant, is the Seuss Award winner. The book is published by Two Lions, New York. Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:

Seeing Again: 14 Black and White Images (re)Seen

Looking at Stonehenge (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

In What Light Can Do: Essays on Art, Imagination, and the Natural World, Robert Hass quoting Simone Weil writes that "[a]ttention is prayer, and form in art is the way attention comes to life." What we pay attention to and fail to attend to interested me this evening as I found myself cycling through images I had discarded. Taking a second look after the passage of time yields new insights, new ways of seeing what had been missed prior.

Here are 14 of those discarded images, reclaimed.

Field, Sky (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Birds and a Field (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Sweep of Land (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Sunday Crossword Puzzle at Green Park (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Land Curving Beneath a Sky (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Watching Stonehenge (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Two (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Kite (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Balance (M.A. Reilly, England, 2013)

Along the Coast (M.A. Reilly, Wales, 2014)

Winter  (M.A. Reilly, NY, 2014)

Stone Wall (M.A. Reilly, NJ, 2014)

Deep Fog on Icy Lake (M.A. Reilly, NY, 2014)

Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper

In celebration of Langston Hughes's birthday. In so many ways, his words have become our collective dream keeper.

The Dream Keeper (M.A. Reilly, 2015)