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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
July 21, 2007 Spicing Up Writing Minilessons
Pepper in the Pie
Are you always on the lookout for writing lesson ideas, especially
those that help students find deeper, richer veins to explore as
they revise? Writer Kim Stafford calls this "pepper in the pie,"
using a metaphor from his days as a student in a cooking class.
This anecdote is from his book on writing, The Muses Among Us:
In college I signed up for the class called "Camp Cookery" just
because I was curious and I had Wednesday nights free. It turned
out to be a required course for all geology majors, and we twelve
men rolled up our sleeves, put on our aprons, and were instructed
by Miss Pelch in the mysteries of mock apple pie and the secrets of
the stove.
Imagine a row of eleven pies baked golden brown, and then my cinder.
One night Miss Pelch told us a private trick, which I have never
used in cooking, but which has often saved my writing from lapsing
to the simply sweet: pepper in the apple pie. "The tongue is
fooled," she said, "if you sneak a pinch of pepper along with the
cinnamon and sugar. Fooled to a deeper bliss."
Is that true in cooking? I know it's true in writing. Pepper in
the prose, pepper in the poem can make the sweetly sentimental
return to life and vigor. I guess we could call this edge, or
contrast, but I prefer to think of it as pepper. It is that secret
ingredient in the arts that intensifies the particularly beautiful
in the real. The photographer Joel Meyrowitz, in his portraits,
seeks what he calls "life's jewelry" on the body - freckles,
birthmarks, scars. These, with the light of spirit in the eyes and
the grace of tired slouch or dancer's balance, authenticate the
beautiful.
Kim Stafford, in The Muses Among Us (University of Georgia Press,
reprinted with permission).
Brenda Power Editor, Choice Literacy
***Free for All***
My favorite source for new writing minilesson ideas on the web
isn't a teacher site - it's the Poynter Institute website for
journalists. You can find strategies that easily translate into
lessons throughout the site, but one of the most concise listings
is from Roy Peter Clark. His "50 Writing Tools" are available as
short podcasts, and you can also have them delivered directly to
your email box as he creates them. Each of these tools is a little
gem, ready to be presented as a minilesson to students:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=78&aid=103943
The Muses Among Us by Kim Stafford is a terrific book off the
beaten path on writer's craft, with quotes and anecdotes to spice up
any writing lesson. Google Books provides more excerpts from the
book,links with purchasing information, and even directions to the
nearest library with a copy on hand here:
Every writer's workshop has "dips" - those times when students' and
our energy is low, or our schedule is disrupted by testing or
other constraints. Aimee Buckner finds it's best to plan for the
dips and teach right through them:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/390.cfm
Looking for ideas on mentoring colleagues through study groups,
in-class observations and collaboration? We still have room in our
Literacy Coaching Jumpstart workshop with Jennifer Allen on
September 30th in Portland, Maine. This event is limited to 50
participants. You can access more information about content and
format at this link:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/383.cfm ***For Members Only***
If you are looking for a "peppery" heroine, Mary from The Secret
Garden is one for the ages. In this video of a lesson in writer's
workshop, Franki Sibberson shows how shared text can be used to
help young writers understand character traits and development:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/391.cfm
I've talked with dozens of literacy leaders throughout the country
as I've traveled to Choice Literacy workshop events. The biggest
issue for most is balance - transitioning between home and work,
juggling the ever-increasing workload, finding calm in frantic
environments. Jan Miller Burkins has created a series of brief
photo essays for literacy leaders that are short reflections on
connecting the personal and professional. Summer is a great time
for reflecting upon how to rethink and revise our commitments to
colleagues and ourselves, so we'll be running new installations of
these essays weekly through the end of August. The introduction
to the series is here:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/393.cfm
The first essay in the series, "What Do You Want to Be When You
Grow Up?" is available at this link:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/394.cfm
From the Choice Literacy archives, spicy writing begins with a
passionate response to an issue. Shirley McPhillips shares a
moment in a junior high classroom from decades ago in "Let's Get
Some Attitude," when she realized the importance of controversy in
provoking strong writing:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/85.cfm
That's all for this week!
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