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WORKSHOP GUIDE
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Copyright © 2008 Stenhouse Publishers, Portland, Maine
All rights reserved. This guide may be photocopied for staff
development use only.
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Workshop Guide
Editing
Invitations
Workshop Overview
1. Distribute copies of the reading “Editing
Invitations: Playing with ‘True’ Sentences”
(pages 4–5) including copies of the sample
“true” mentor sentences (pages 5–6).
2. View the video and discuss (see “Questions for
Discussion” on page 6).
3. Ask participants to try an invitation to notice
with a sentence from a mentor text in their
classrooms and schedule a follow-up session to
discuss how it went (see “Workshop
Suggestion” on page 7).
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Editing Invitations
Editing Invitations:
Playing with “True” Sentences
by Jeff Anderson (adapted excerpt from Everyday Editing)
My “invitation to notice” is an alternative to daily oral
language. We start many class sessions with my sixth graders
looking at one sentence I’ve pulled from literature or exemplary student writing.
Sentences, after all, are chunks of meaning. This small
chunk of context allows the students and me to focus. And if
we put a spotlight on such a small chunk of meaning, like a
sentence, it should be a well-written one, don’t you think?
Learners can glean more from well-written sentences that are
correct and effective than from crummy, incorrect sentences.
It seems obvious, but correcting sentences as editing instruction is still widely used.
Hemingway said, “All you have to do is write one true
sentence” (A Moveable Feast, 1964). Are the sentences used in
your daily practice true? Are they the truest sentence(s)you
know?
Then comes the next issue: How do we find true sentences? Sentences worthy of such focus? I read attentively,
looking for sentences that address patterns or concepts I want
my kids to know when they walk away from my classroom.
I choose literature that:
• connects to students’ worlds—their interests,
humor, or problems;
• shows a clear pattern that is easy to observe, imitate,
or break down;
• models writer’s craft and effective writing—powerful
verbs, sensory detail, or voice.
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Workshop Guide
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Some of my favorite sample “true” mentor sentences
that meet these guidelines are included below.
To find sentences worthy of zooming in on, simply look
at the books you love. They are packed with examples. You
don’t need particular books; you only need to develop your
eye for finding such sentences in any book—or any text, for
that matter.
In my search for model sentences, I have almost ruined
my reading. I am always thinking, “That’s a great compound
sentence” or “Kids could easily imitate this sentence.”
Instead of reading like a writer, I am reading like a writing
teacher.
I do find sentences in any place in any text—but I will let
you in on my secret. I dig up most of my mentor sentences in
the first few pages of books—sometimes in the first line. After
all, because authors try so hard to make their beginnings
enticing, this is where you’ll find some of their best writing.
Showing students a published or model sentence leads to a
discussion of what the writer has done to create his or her
sentence, helping students to develop a writer’s eye.
Sample “True” Mentor Sentences
I try to hold my hope down, but it keeps popping up.
—Cynthia Lord, Rules
Low tide smells mud-black and tangy, but high tide smells
clean and salty.
—Cynthia Lord, Rules
Dad didn’t bother to disguise the irritation creeping into his
voice.
—Mary Downing Hahn,
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Editing Invitations
Look for Me by Moonlight
They were not like any birds I had ever seen, for sharp, white
teeth filled their mouths.
—Jane Yolen, Encounter
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
—Stephen King,
The Dark Tower: Gunslinger
As he walked outside for recess, he was almost certain there’d
be a gold star next to his name when he returned.
—Louis Sachar,
There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom
Questions for Discussion
1. Do you follow a daily oral language program in
your classroom now? Why or why not?
2. What benefits do you see to instituting an invitation
to notice at the start of writer’s workshop? What are
the drawbacks?
3. Do you think classrooms should include both invitations to notice and daily oral language activities in
their literacy curriculum? Why or why not?
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Workshop Guide
Workshop Suggestion
Ask participants to try an invitation to notice with their
own students in the coming week. To prepare as a group, you
might browse through quality children’s or young adult literature to pull out sample sentences, highlighting why they
might be useful for teaching specific strategies or techniques
used by writers during an invitation to notice at the start of a
workshop. Schedule a follow-up session in a week or two to
share participants’ experiences with trying an invitation to
notice.
Professional Resources by Jeff Anderson
Books
Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer’s
Workshop. 2005. Stenhouse.
Everyday Editing: Inviting Students to Develop Skill and Craft in Writer’s
Workshop. 2007. Stenhouse.
Videos
The Craft of Grammar: Integrated Instruction in Writer’s Workshop. DVD
(60 minutes). 2007. Stenhouse.
Teaching Apostrophes. Stenhouse Close-Up. DVD (15 minutes). 2008
Stenhouse.
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Books and Videos
by Jeff Anderson
Stenhouse
PUBLISHERS
www.stenhouse.com
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