Write to learn revision
- 1. REAL REVISION: Sharing Authors’ Strategies with Students http://www.katemessner.com
- 4. Revision should not be a surprise.
- 5. Assignment: Write for three minutes, describing a place that you love.
- 6. WHAT REVISION ISN’T… • Spell Checking • Hiring a professional editor • Solitary • A process with a single correct solution or end point
- 7. WHAT REVISION IS Brainstorming Free-Writing (and maybe starting over)
- 8. Princess Marty Frog- Slime and the Nutcracker Ballet
- 10. Confessions of a Sea Monster
- 11. “Well…This is funny. But it sounds more like a New Yorker cartoon than a book for kids.”
- 13. What if things turned out differently?
- 18. Draft 1 Draft 2 Draft 3 Draft 4
- 28. WHAT REVISION IS • Finding & Strengthening the Heart of a project
- 29. What are you writing? My book is about _______________________________________ _______________________________________ ______________________________________. But underneath that, it’s really about _______________________________________ _______________________________________ ______________________________________.
- 30. My book is about a 7th grader who finds a magic pencil that will answer any question. But underneath that, it’s really about learning to make peace with our questions.
- 31. My book is about a boy who gets sucked through the dryer into a land of enormous ogres. But underneath that, it’s really about taking charge of your life even when you feel small.
- 32. My book is about a boy who learns he has magical powers and is sent to a school for wizards. But underneath that, it’s really about the power of family, love, and friendship.
- 33. My book is about a future society where teenagers are forced to fight to the death in an arena once a year. But underneath that, it’s really about power, marketing, and revolution.
- 34. What are you writing? My project is about _______________________________________ _______________________________________ ______________________________________. But underneath that, it’s really about _______________________________________ _______________________________________ ______________________________________.
- 36. Plot and Pacing Studying a Mentor Text
- 38. Mentor Texts for Student Writing Newspaper Editorials Petitions Magazine Articles (StoryWorks, TIME for Kids, Sports Illustrated, etc.) Historical Documents Speeches Debate Transcripts Memoirs
- 39. What writing that you admire feels like the kind of project you hope your students’ work-in-progress will be? List a few pieces that might be “mentor texts” for your writers.
- 40. Balancing Dialogue/Narration, Opinion/Supporting Facts, etc. Highlight a Mentor Text
- 41. WHAT REVISION IS Charts, maps, timelines, & outlines
- 45. Plot and Pacing: Timelines and Setting Charts Personal Narrative and Short Stories Over what time period does my story take place, and how do those hours/ days/weeks/months play out from chapter to chapter?
- 52. Plot and Pacing: Timelines and Setting Charts Over what time period does my story take place, and how do those hours/ days/weeks/months play out from chapter to chapter or paragraph to paragraph? Ch. 1 ------------------------------------ End
- 55. Plot and Pacing: Characters & Changes
- 56. CH TREATMENT SYMPTOMS BELIEFS ACTION/PLOT POINTS 1 Medicine/light/e xercise Headaches dwindling I-CAN really is a miracle clinic. But there are weird things…confused. Discovers files on computer 2 Medicine/light/e xercise Headaches gone – clarity returns I_CAN is helping our headaches, but Phase III is dangerous/weird. Files on computer, sees changes in Trent – Docs are secretive 3 Medicine only Headaches gone – clarity remains I-CAN is not what it seems – we need to escape Plot to go w/ Molly – failed – desperation 4 Medicine wearing off Headaches/confusi on returning Should we have left? Confused – scared In swamp – find Molly…
- 59. Big-Picture Story Chart - What characters, settings, objects, jokes, themes, and threads are important in your project? Are they woven consistently throughout the text?
- 63. What elements might be included on your students’ Big-Picture Chart? • Characters • Objects • Themes • Threads • Supporting facts • Sensory language
- 65. WHAT REVISION IS Considering all five senses.
- 68. Time to Revise! Add tactile imagery!
- 69. WHAT REVISION IS Returning to Research
- 72. WHAT REVISION IS Details and Word Choice Be specific. Be surprising.
- 73. Look for delicious details
- 74. Look for delicious details
- 75. Role Play! Replace Tired Body Language
- 76. ** Role Play! Replace Tired Body Language ANGRY FRUSTRATED ANXIOUS SCARED JOYFUL-EXCITED DEPRESSED
- 77. WHAT REVISION IS Being a Word Ninja
- 80. JUST AND RATHER BEGAN TO AS THOUGH THEN BUT ALWAYS MOMENT SO A BIT I GUESS MAYBE THAT VERY REALLY
- 81. Time to Revise! *** Cut at least 20 words
- 82. Watch for “pet” stories, ideas, themes, phrases…
- 86. Brainstorm: What words, phrases, & pet stories are on your personal “MOST WANTED” list?
- 88. WHAT REVISION IS Being Social -Critique Groups/Partners
- 89. Post-It Note Critiques ORANGE = “I LOVE THIS!” GREEN = “I’M BORED.” YELLOW=“I’M CONFUSED”
- 90. WHAT REVISION IS Finding the Right Title
- 91. WHAT REVISION IS Finding the Right Title • TEN Titles • Highlight great phrases • Crowd-source • Cut-it-Up & Mix-it-Up
- 93. WHAT REVISION IS Making Lists… …and getting to work!
- 94. Five Reasons Kids Don’t Want to Revise (and what teachers can do about it)
- 95. REASON #1 “But I just FINISHED. And I like my paper the way it is.”
- 96. SOLUTION: Start the revision conversation early.
- 97. After We Write… • REVISION – PART I • REVISION – PART 2 • REVISION – PART 3
- 99. REASON #2 “I already ran a spell check. I’m good.”
- 100. SOLUTION: Teach students the difference between revising and editing.
- 104. REASON #3 “I don’t know where to start.”
- 105. SOLUTION: Have a revision checklist ready…
- 107. Student Critique Partners • Trade papers with a partner •Use highlighters to indicate the following: •Pink = Consider cutting this part. •Green = I’m confused now. •Orange = Use more vivid details/precise language. •Yellow = This part works really well! •In the margin next to each color (or on a Post-It note), write a note explaining your highlighting and making suggestions.
- 108. REASON #4 “Everybody says I’m a great writer. Great writers don’t need to revise.”
- 109. SOLUTION: Use published authors as role models, through text examples and Skype visits.
- 110. GUESS HOW MANY DRAFTS? 14!
- 114. If your poem/essay/personal narrative/ research paper could talk back to you right now, what would it say?
Editor's Notes
- #2: Why I love revision – feeling like a competent writer. Drafting: vision in my head comes up against the reality of the writer I am today. “The book in my mind” poem Revision is what allows us to bring the book on the page closer to that dream-book
- #7: REVISION IS ABOUT SEEING IDEAS IN A DIFFERENT WAY
- #8: Start with the starting over part – so that by the end of this two hour workshop you’ll like me again.
- #9: 2008 I sent agent a manuscript - Her thoughts: love character, funny, but….seasonal? Eesh. “Does it really have to be about the Nutcracker? Could it be about a school play or something?”
- #11: So this sea monster walks into his therapist’s office….
- #14: Jo - In the early versions of Lessons From A Dead Girl, Leah doesn't die! The book leads up to Laine gettnig the courage to face her in the hospital. Obviously, it had a different title then. :-)
- #15: Jody Feldman wrote a book called “The Eleventh Level” personal mystery + story about secret society – agent asked her to strengthen the secret society part, but then the book was 80K – too long for this particular MG. Split it off – secret society book is this one – other book might be for another day.
- #16: Sarah Aronson changed a major character from a guy to a girl and rewrote – found that the story worked much better and allowed her to develop a main theme of the book.
- #17: Both this and courage has no color –started as picture books and grew into MG. And I think this is a great idea – that our books can grow into any number of things…
- #20: When you see this symbol…. Fire up your laptop or get your notebook ready.
- #28: When you see this symbol…. Fire up your laptop or get your notebook ready.
- #29: Linda calls this “the spine” - What is at the center of your work? Why does it even exist? Why does this story need to be told? Universal human truth – even in funny books.
- #30: Why I love revision – feeling like a competent writer. Drafting: vision in my head comes up against the reality of the writer I am today. “The book in my mind” poem Revision is what allows us to bring the book on the page closer to that dream-book
- #35: Why I love revision – feeling like a competent writer. Drafting: vision in my head comes up against the reality of the writer I am today. “The book in my mind” poem Revision is what allows us to bring the book on the page closer to that dream-book
- #38: Idea from teaching – BLOG – teach mentor texts - but one authors can use, too.
- #41: Why I love revision – feeling like a competent writer. Drafting: vision in my head comes up against the reality of the writer I am today. “The book in my mind” poem Revision is what allows us to bring the book on the page closer to that dream-book
- #44: Three false starts – back to brainstorming/outlining every time.
- #45: Mystery organizer – crime in the middle – then elements – suspects, motives, clues, false clues, etc. You can make your own – just list important elements of your particular genre.
- #55: Class schedules – when would Claire & Natalie be together? How would they grow apart? Develop friendship troubles issue.
- #67: When you see this symbol…. Fire up your laptop or get your notebook ready.
- #68: When you see this symbol…. Fire up your laptop or get your notebook ready.
- #69: When you see this symbol…. Fire up your laptop or get your notebook ready.
- #73: General words & phrases are your enemy. Green shirt – there are a million kinds of green – new grass green, alligator pond green, pine woods green – and you’ll notice that my metaphors all come from nature because that’s the world I love best – a kid might describe his shirt as “cafeteria peas green” or “my mother’s emerald earrings green” Be surprising – the best descriptions describe us because we’ve never thought of it that way before – even though that’s the perfect word or phrase.
- #74: Ponytail – What would that stick look like to the girl on the right? Coming at her face like that? And then you can do sounds, smells…etc.
- #75: Smirk on her face – character inspiration for Sarah in WAKE UP MISSING.
- #76: Also went on twitter – other than blushing, what do you do when you’re embarrassed?
- #82: When you see this symbol…. Fire up your laptop or get your notebook ready.
- #91: Titles change – a lot. Be ready for this and be at peace with it. Marketing dept. etc. Let them do their job. BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. – SWINGER OF BIRCHES – MAPLE GIRL, “THAT STUPID LEAF COLLECTION BOOK”
- #94: Known issues while working – starting place List after 1st read-through after completion
- #116: Why I love revision – feeling like a competent writer. Drafting: vision in my head comes up against the reality of the writer I am today. “The book in my mind” poem Revision is what allows us to bring the book on the page closer to that dream-book