I think my problem is that I have had the kids make the small moment too small and not it is too hard to add details. For ex: someone wrote about a ball pit at the party. They stretched just the ball pit over 3 pages. You can only add so many details to that! So now i am thinking that the party could be the small moment and they can discuss 3 things they did at the party. This would allow for more details. What d u think? Does that sound ok? Can anyone share some small moments your kids have written about so i have some other ideas?? Thank you sooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Need MAJOR small moments help
- Thread starter xoxo727
- Start date
cvt
Senior Member
adjust
You can definitely broaden the small moment by having them discuss 3 things rather than one "tiny" moment. You just have to adjust your requirements to the needs of your students, and only you know your students well enough to know what their needs are.
In my (first grade) class one of my students has been writing this week about going to the park with her grandmother and playing on the swings, monkey bars, slides, etc. This lent itself to sequencing (first, then, next, last) and she was still able to make small moments of each part of her narrative. She is at six or seven pages ;-) Another wrote about his experience of going to the dentist to get a cavity filled; one girl is writing about helping her sister babysit a neighbor; a boy helped his dad cook a meal because mom was working. I could go on and on. It is amazing how my students are now generating their own moments without any prompting, and how they can sustain their writing for 35 minutes.
You can definitely broaden the small moment by having them discuss 3 things rather than one "tiny" moment. You just have to adjust your requirements to the needs of your students, and only you know your students well enough to know what their needs are.
In my (first grade) class one of my students has been writing this week about going to the park with her grandmother and playing on the swings, monkey bars, slides, etc. This lent itself to sequencing (first, then, next, last) and she was still able to make small moments of each part of her narrative. She is at six or seven pages ;-) Another wrote about his experience of going to the dentist to get a cavity filled; one girl is writing about helping her sister babysit a neighbor; a boy helped his dad cook a meal because mom was working. I could go on and on. It is amazing how my students are now generating their own moments without any prompting, and how they can sustain their writing for 35 minutes.
Mrs. R
Senior Member
Writing about the ball pit is a great small moment. I think encouraging her to write about the birthday party as a whole would take away from what you've already taught a small moment is. The birthday party is definitely not a small moment. It's full of small moments. It sounds like the student you mentioned has a good sense of small moment already. What has she written so far? How many details are you expecting from her? It sounds like it could be a great story!
I always find that some of my students have a better grasp of a small moment than others. The important thing for me is that everyone has a better understanding of the concept by the end of the unit than at the beginning. Some small moments from my students: losing a tooth in the meeting area, a cookie flying out of one child's hands during snack and trying to find it, being awarded a belt at karate, holding a baby cousin for the first time, being picked up from school by dad in his brand new car. . .
One thing that has helped me is to point out small moments as they happen in the classroom. Now my students have started do it.
I always find that some of my students have a better grasp of a small moment than others. The important thing for me is that everyone has a better understanding of the concept by the end of the unit than at the beginning. Some small moments from my students: losing a tooth in the meeting area, a cookie flying out of one child's hands during snack and trying to find it, being awarded a belt at karate, holding a baby cousin for the first time, being picked up from school by dad in his brand new car. . .
One thing that has helped me is to point out small moments as they happen in the classroom. Now my students have started do it.
Mrs. R
Senior Member
One more thing
Something that helps my students add details to their small moment stories is encouraging them to clsoe their eyes, picture what happened, and then write it. It also helps them add details when you frequently tell class stories together. You can start with the bare bones story of a shared experience and have them help you add details. It's basically doing the first part of the "Writers plan details" lesson over and over again.
Something that helps my students add details to their small moment stories is encouraging them to clsoe their eyes, picture what happened, and then write it. It also helps them add details when you frequently tell class stories together. You can start with the bare bones story of a shared experience and have them help you add details. It's basically doing the first part of the "Writers plan details" lesson over and over again.
teach & learn
Senior Member
I agree with Mrs. R.
The ball pit is a small moment of the party, the whole party woulde be a watermelon story! the whole idea is to get them to zoom in a SM and stretch it out, to really elaborate. When they can do this, their writing gets richer, often has voice, and is more interesting. Here quality is more important than quantity in my mind. Later, they will be able to use these skills as they write lengthier pieces.
Last year when I did this with ELL 2nd graders who were just beginning English writing, we worked on the following elaboration strategies:
stretching out/adding details
the internal story
show/don't tell
My plan was then to work on beginnings and ending, but we ran out of time!
The ball pit is a small moment of the party, the whole party woulde be a watermelon story! the whole idea is to get them to zoom in a SM and stretch it out, to really elaborate. When they can do this, their writing gets richer, often has voice, and is more interesting. Here quality is more important than quantity in my mind. Later, they will be able to use these skills as they write lengthier pieces.
Last year when I did this with ELL 2nd graders who were just beginning English writing, we worked on the following elaboration strategies:
stretching out/adding details
the internal story
show/don't tell
My plan was then to work on beginnings and ending, but we ran out of time!
So if i stick with something as small as the ball pit-how many sentences would be on each page. We used 3 pages and each had maybe 2 senteces. To me that is not long enough to even be a story. Another thought.....have them use the 3 pages to string together 3 small moments from the larger party. That way each page could have several sentences about the one small moment. Do you think that would work?
liketeaching1
Senior Member
Small moments
xoxo727--I think that the small moment that is stretched over three pages with only two sentences is actually a super small moment. (To me when you described having three different events that happened at the party--that is what I describe a "chapter" story to my kids),
I would continue to show and model small moment stories that happen within the classroom and model how you can add details, show not tell the event within the small moment.
I also know that it is difficult for some kids to zoom in on a small moment. I continue to use real literature--and read just a part of the book to demonstrate a true small moment.
Have you used any of the books suggested for small moments?
xoxo727--I think that the small moment that is stretched over three pages with only two sentences is actually a super small moment. (To me when you described having three different events that happened at the party--that is what I describe a "chapter" story to my kids),
I would continue to show and model small moment stories that happen within the classroom and model how you can add details, show not tell the event within the small moment.
I also know that it is difficult for some kids to zoom in on a small moment. I continue to use real literature--and read just a part of the book to demonstrate a true small moment.
Have you used any of the books suggested for small moments?
BookMuncher
Senior Member
I don't usually think about what my kids write in terms of sentences, but in terms of details they've included and the value of those details. Here's what I would like to see from a first grader at this point in the year:
On Saturday, I was at Tim's birthday party. There was a ball pit filled with red, blue, and yellow balls.
"Whoppeeee!" I yelled. I took a big running start, tucked my knees in, and made a cannon ball into the balls. They exploded everywhere. Some other kids screamed and laughed.
I pretended that the balls were water and I was a swimmer. I could lay on my back and not sink! I pretended that the balls were snow and I was plowing it with my hands. When my mom came to the party, she had to drag me out of that ball pit!
Of course you aren't going to get that much from every kid, but if I were modeling it, that's what I would write. What I found the first time I did the units, was that I really had to hone my own writing. I had to get out of the "list" mindset that I used to model. I had to literally stop myself, sit in the mornings, and think hard about how to write my own small moments. A lot of people tell me that they struggle with getting their kids to write small moments, but I think that the key is in daily modeling (mostly oral).
My opinion is not to let them move to listing three things. They are able to produce better than that. When you get to later lessons, ESPECIALLY in my favorite unit (Revision) you'll wish you didn't do that. Later units are going to offer strategy after strategy for stretching these moments. Stick with it! You'll be AMAZED!
On Saturday, I was at Tim's birthday party. There was a ball pit filled with red, blue, and yellow balls.
"Whoppeeee!" I yelled. I took a big running start, tucked my knees in, and made a cannon ball into the balls. They exploded everywhere. Some other kids screamed and laughed.
I pretended that the balls were water and I was a swimmer. I could lay on my back and not sink! I pretended that the balls were snow and I was plowing it with my hands. When my mom came to the party, she had to drag me out of that ball pit!
Of course you aren't going to get that much from every kid, but if I were modeling it, that's what I would write. What I found the first time I did the units, was that I really had to hone my own writing. I had to get out of the "list" mindset that I used to model. I had to literally stop myself, sit in the mornings, and think hard about how to write my own small moments. A lot of people tell me that they struggle with getting their kids to write small moments, but I think that the key is in daily modeling (mostly oral).
My opinion is not to let them move to listing three things. They are able to produce better than that. When you get to later lessons, ESPECIALLY in my favorite unit (Revision) you'll wish you didn't do that. Later units are going to offer strategy after strategy for stretching these moments. Stick with it! You'll be AMAZED!
Thank you all so much. BookMuncher-i think u really hit it when u said i need to hone my writing more. Your example of the ball pit was so helpful- i will use that example tomorrow. When u model do u say it orally, have it prewritten on paper and read i or write it in front of the kids? Thank so much for the example u modeled for me!
liketeaching1
Senior Member
Storytelling
We had previously discussed (on PT--many months ago) about letting the kids listen to storytelling and also tell stories (orally) to others. I think this is what BookMuncher was referring to. She is always so adept at answering and helping.
We had previously discussed (on PT--many months ago) about letting the kids listen to storytelling and also tell stories (orally) to others. I think this is what BookMuncher was referring to. She is always so adept at answering and helping.
BookMuncher
Senior Member
xoxo
It depends on the day and the objective as to whether it's written or not. If you want them to see examples of amount of writing, then you might have it written ahead of time because it's not important to write ahead of time. If you want them to see just one strategy, then you would just write a little bit in front of them. But for the most part, I always do it orally, touching the pages or telling it across my fingers. Because most lessons are about ideas, there's usually no reason to write in front of them-- takes up too much time for the most part.
Like liketeaching said, in first grade, I had my kids orally tell their partner a small moment every morning (not during writing time b/c the idea is to kind of separate the storytelling time from the time of day when they'll need to find an idea). I tried to tell my own small moments every morning too, as a model- after which they would turn to their partner.
It depends on the day and the objective as to whether it's written or not. If you want them to see examples of amount of writing, then you might have it written ahead of time because it's not important to write ahead of time. If you want them to see just one strategy, then you would just write a little bit in front of them. But for the most part, I always do it orally, touching the pages or telling it across my fingers. Because most lessons are about ideas, there's usually no reason to write in front of them-- takes up too much time for the most part.
Like liketeaching said, in first grade, I had my kids orally tell their partner a small moment every morning (not during writing time b/c the idea is to kind of separate the storytelling time from the time of day when they'll need to find an idea). I tried to tell my own small moments every morning too, as a model- after which they would turn to their partner.
1stgradenew
Senior Member
Thanks!
I'm so glad this post was started! After reading it last night I decided I wasn't happy with what my kiddos were producing so I pushed them to write better small moments that weren't so listy today! I was really impressed. One of my little who normally write about 1 or 2 sentences per page and is the lowest in my class wrote the following:
Yesterday I went to my friends house. We jumped on the trampoline. We were screaming. He jumped first and then I jumped. He made me go super high!
We both fell. We were screaming AHHHHHHH. Then we went bam on the trampoline.
Then we got right back up and we kept on jumping. We kept on jumping until it got dark. We jumped all day long.
So am I just happy he wrote more? or do you think this is good? Compared to your class tell me what you think?!?
I'm so glad this post was started! After reading it last night I decided I wasn't happy with what my kiddos were producing so I pushed them to write better small moments that weren't so listy today! I was really impressed. One of my little who normally write about 1 or 2 sentences per page and is the lowest in my class wrote the following:
Yesterday I went to my friends house. We jumped on the trampoline. We were screaming. He jumped first and then I jumped. He made me go super high!
We both fell. We were screaming AHHHHHHH. Then we went bam on the trampoline.
Then we got right back up and we kept on jumping. We kept on jumping until it got dark. We jumped all day long.
So am I just happy he wrote more? or do you think this is good? Compared to your class tell me what you think?!?
BookMuncher
Senior Member
wow!
I think for a lower writer who doesn't write a lot, that's fabulous! I think it's even good for an on level writer. That is a terrific base for what will come later... think how well he/she could build on that with some other strategies they'll learn then.
Wow!
I think for a lower writer who doesn't write a lot, that's fabulous! I think it's even good for an on level writer. That is a terrific base for what will come later... think how well he/she could build on that with some other strategies they'll learn then.
Wow!