An awesome day working with the enthusiastic teachers of Southwest Charter School in Portland. They’re excellent models for authentic learning and engagement. I’m honored to have had the opportunity of spending time with them.
Archive for Robert Young
Southwest Charter School
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A great day, today. I’ll be working with a class and focusing on my very favorite topic: curiosity! What are you curious about? What do you wonder? What do you want to know? How will you find out?
Kids will have a chance to frame their own questions. Hopefully, they will be questions that are burning in their minds. Hopefully, the kids will not be so “schoolwise” that they’ll choose questions with answers they already know, or questions that will be simple to answer. We want questions that are meaningful and that may take some real effort to answer. We want questions that reflect wonder rather than good grades.
Finding answers to questions that matter is a journey – a quest – that involves thinking and rethinking, sorting through mounds of information, analyzing, and making conclusions. The process can be both exhilarating and frustrating. I love it!
Looking Ahead
With spring comes sunshine and…snow! At least here, in Eugene, it does. One day after the Vernal Equinox, as we ready to start mowing the grass again and look forward to another warm, wonderful summer, we get a reminder. Looking ahead is fine, but don’t take your eyes off the present, or you may be surprised. And what a wet, white surprise it was!
Fortunately my son Tyler was visiting from his home in San Diego and we could relive his younger years when a snowy day really meant something. Well guess what – it still does! 
The Writers of Camas Ridge
Spent some time with 4/5 grade writers of Susan Gusinow’s class this morning. What an interesting and inquisitive group! I enjoyed every question, especially the hard ones like “What do you do when you can’t think of anything to write?” As I mentioned, my answer to this, as well as to other “blockage” types of challenges is the “lower your standards and move on.”
I wish you all the best of luck as you proceed in writing your stories. Remember to think in terms of audience (who is the story for) and try to include elements to engage your readers such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, repetition, 3s, etc.
Have fun!
Enter Lewis and Clark
Taking a break from developing a new class today to meet with Ms. Kemp’s 4/5 class and speak about one of my favorite topics: the journey of Lewis & Clark. The class will be doing my L & C simulation, in which each student becomes a member of the Corps of Discovery and learns about the greatest adventure in American history. Along the way they will use questions they have to conduct research and share their findings.
Lewis, Clark, and Seaman
More A.C.
Gearing up to visit Mr. Wade’s fourth grade classroom today. The focus will be on A.C. Gilbert, whose birthday is this month. We’ll do a riveting activity to get going, the read-aloud by the author (me), followed by a kinesthetic comprehension check. All systems are go.
For those of you who don’t have a copy of the The Magic of A.C. Gilbert you’re welcome to download the Readers’ Theater script I wrote, based on the book. It is located under the Workshops tab on the home page of this website. I’ll be taking it down soon, so don’t wait if you’d like it. Of course, books are still available, too. Print copies can be purchased on this site (see Books tab) and e-copes can be purchased online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble sites.
So Much Nonfiction*, So Little Time
Had a great time at the ORA Winter Institute in Portland this weekend. I was expecting around 50 people for my session, but wound up with 127! SRO!! It was great, and even though we could have used more space for our activities. I might have cut the movement activities because of the numbers, but I believe movement is so important to learning that I wanted to show, rather than just tell about it. I appreciate the participants’ cooperation, patience, and eager participation. The Frozen Moments were awesome. I got several questions after the session, and I thought I’d post the answers for all:
What approach do you like for primary grades? I love the Kid Writing concept for kindergarten (see Kid Writing by Felgus and Cardonick) and Interactive Writing for first grade (see Interactive Writing by McCarrier, Pinnell, and Fountas; and Interactive Writing Strategies by Calabrese). I also like the Great Source materials (traits related), and Vicki Spandel’s book: Creating Young Writers.
Where can I get copies of The Magic of A.C. Gilbert? Print copies are available on this website under the Books tab. An electronic version is available at Amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.
Will you come to our school to work with our staff? Absolutely! I do professional development presentations for staff and author visits (free class set of A.C. included) for students. See the Real Writing flyer in the handouts for more information.
If you have comments and/or questions, please use the comment tab here, or e-mail me directly at realwriting@comcast.net.
More Poems
Okay, back to work. Well, actually fun, to be more accurate. I’m headed back into the classroom today and will be adding more poems from 4th graders at Willagillespie School here in Eugene. Watch them as they grow right here.
Sunshine
Just returned from a week in Arizona, a perfect place to renew energy and hope. The clear sunny skies are a welcome contrast to Oregon’s slate-grey skies and endless rain. Oh, it’s really not bad here. The green is outrageous, and then there’s the mountains, and the rivers. No complaints, really, except that it’s fun to travel and see what it’s like elsewhere.
Any writing ideas while traveling? Of course! Spending time in the southwest always inspires my interest in Native American history and the plight of the tribes that lived there. It’s a history that disturbs me, and I find myself angry over the wrongs that were committed in the name of expansion and nation-building. I know every story has more than one side to it, but the way the tribes were treated by the U.S. government may be the exception to the rule.
Winter visits the Grand Canyon
Poetry
Ahh, poetry, the economic use of words that have meaning and rhythm. I have always enjoyed writing poems as well as sharing my interest in poetry with kids. I’ve had the pleasure of exploring this genre with fourth graders at Willagillespie school, and I’d like to share some of their hard work. Feel free to comment, encourage and support these young writers.
First, I’d like to offer one of mine that I shared with the students as we created together. This poem was inspired by a recent trip on an airplane.
Perfume
Silently, it sneaks
into my nose,
hides there
then tiptoes
down to my mouth,
where it ties my tongue tightly
and robs my breath.
