Chapter+1+Why+Illustration+Study+Matters

=Why Illustration Study Matters to the Development of Young Writers=


 * What were some of your own school experiences with illustrating and writing?
 * What writing work do you do with your students that already incorporates illustration? How might you change that work based on Katie's description of "teaching into illustration"?
 * How might you bridge these two different ways of teaching illustrating:"teaching into illustrations" and "teaching out of illustrations"?
 * How might you explain to your students that illustrating is composing?

I'll start by addressing one of the study guide questions- teaching out of/teaching into illustration. The good part about teaching at the kindergarten level is there really isn't an expectation to move out of illustration. This year I realized that students really needed support to illustrate. Many did not see drawing/illustrating as a means of communicating. They drew pictures, very static pictures of things. The whole idea of studying illustration really made sense to me if I wanted my students to move into illustrating to convey meaning. While most rubrics for assessing kindergarten writing mention using pictures to convey meaning, the emphasis was not on how the meaning is created in the pictures. So, including illustrating is not that same as fully valuing or recognizing it as composing as Katie would have it. My second topic- I just love how consisten Katie is in her books and workshops. Big ideas such as developing stamina, intentional work, and process and decision making. These writing habits can be developed whether students are engaged in illustrating or writing when teachers and students see them both as composing. Another thought for this chapter...p.16 & 17 NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies-helps make the case for continuing our commitment to developing technology skills ( our and theirs)! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. ~Kathy D.

I was pleased to see that after working so long on "making books" that every student finally told a story with their illustrations. There was true growth and development in their illustrations, and they conveyed meaning from them. I wish I had used more mentor texts and focused more on illustrations to convey meaning, but that is a goal for next year! I did see our students build stamina, draw with intention, and make decisions that helped their stories be told. -Sue M.

I am really loving this book! Going from teaching thirds to second, I did observe a lot of energy directed towards illustrating. I wrestled with the question of whether or not this was part of "writing", but saw how much time, "stamina" and enthusiasm the students put into their writing/illustrating. A good number of students used that "comic book" format for their writing and we had the opportunity to talk about keeping your readers in mind....will they be able to know what you're writing about. As time went on, I relaxed about the illustrating because it did connect to their writing in such a big way. Still wasn't sure I was taking the right approach - this book is reassuring!- Pat

The opening of this book is very thought provoking. In considering 5th graders, I was way too quick in moving kids to writing who were interested in illustrating; I wasn't valuing the process as described by Katie. Two particular sections caught my attention - the constant decision making process illustrating requires (p. 14 in italics) and also the 21st Century Literacies Kathy noted above. I'm so glad to be reading this as I get ready to teach 2nd grade! ~Paula

For certain, I did not value illustrating as much as I should/could. I think this book should have been geared to all grades. I had many students who certainly would have benefitted from this book and Katie's ideas. I like how she describes the process and decision making. I need to talk more about it with my students. My conferences are very goal oriented and need to be more centered on completing the assignment, but also describing their decisions along the way. Kim

When introducing drawing as writing my students and I talk about all the different ways children can write including drawing, scribbling, random letter strings, writing sounds and conventional spellings. I ask them for a sentence and then model writing it in each way. I then model reading it back to them.This is my first mini lesson beginning the first day of school. The key is to ask children to **"read"** their stories rather than asking them to **tell** you about their drawings.~Dianne