Guided Writing and the Dialogue of Revision

A half-day presentation or full day workshop session

Writers who have been guided through several drafts of a composition from the generation of material for writing to a polished piece, are subsequently able to exercise greater control of the revision process with peers or independently. The dialogue of revision presented in this session is one aspect of Guided Writing which involves moving a class set of writers through the process. This method was developed by Sullivan and has been used in several AISI projects on school-wide writing improvement. Two Parkland schools won the Julius Buski Leadership Award for their professional learning communities' project in this undertaking. The method employs a repeated cycle of instruction, writing and feedback on a common task that allows writers to share the struggles, the strategies and the success. The project culminates in a published booklet representing the writing of every member of the class.

Guided Writing and the Dialogue of Revision:

Embedded Professional Development

This is a four to five day in-school project in which classes take part in actually undertaking the project described in the above sessions. Students move through four drafts of a piece of descriptive writing for publication. Teachers participate in the classes instructed by Sullivan as well as spend part of each day learning a unique way of responding to each draft of the student writing. This requires that teachers have half day substitutes so they can follow the class through the process and participate in the response to the pieces. The project culminates in a booklet in which every student has a successful, finished piece of writing. Students learn the revision process at the same time as teachers are inserviced in the technique.

Creating Story: The Components of Narrative Writing

Half-day presentation or Full Day Workshop: Grades 4-9

Teachers who are weary of wading through pages of empty dialogue and disjointed adventures, but really want to respond to student writing in meaningful ways will find practical support in this workshop. Working through the narrative components teachers and students will be able to experiment with aspects of the craft and share strategies for improving their story writing. This approach employs guided writing, models from literature, and the dynamic of the community of writers to support students' development as writers. Components of narrative writing addressed in the workshop include: where stories come from, creating character, building a story plan, writing effective dialogue, show don't tell, story beginnings and story endings. Students learn to write from their experience, and the "lived stories" that they create are a remarkable improvement over plot re-runs of movies and video games!

Creating Story: The Components of Narrative Writing as Embedded PD

All the components demonstrated in the above sessions by the same title can be delivered through the embedded professional development model in which Sullivan instructs students with teachers present to observe and participate. Any component of the set can be delivered independent of the rest. There are sessions 10 to 20 lessons in all which can be done in sessions over a period of time or consecutively.

Lived Stories (An example of one component of Creating Story)

This is an example of one of the components (sequentially the first, in fact) referred to in the session description above. It can be delivered to teachers in a one-hour session or taught to a class of students in one lesson.

Students have authority when they write from experience. Escape from those plot re-runs of commercial fiction as students excavate personal narratives and write from their lives.

We have all experienced the student writing that presents plot re-runs of movies and video games. Prohibiting a list of topics for writing proves less effective, from my experience, than showing kids where stories come from and helping them to excavate material for writing from their own lives. Once writers see that they can spin interesting narratives from their own experience they gain authority and authenticity in their writing. I have had students explore memory and experience to generate content for a variety of genres including fiction and non-fiction, letters, poems and stories that are full of vitality and originality. Apart from the greater level of interest and sophistication the material presents to readers, students also discover that writing informs us and helps us to shape and articulate meaning for ourselves as we write. Students gain insights as they revisit past events in their lives from a place of advanced maturity.

Real Toads: Poetry Workshop

Half-Day Workshop: Grades 5-9

Poet Marianne Moore talks about poetry that exhibits "real toads in imaginary gardens." This workshop evolved from my work with junior high students writing poetry from their experience. It focuses on ways to help students excavate material for writing from their lives. This session deals with the characteristics of various poetic forms, the use of rhythm and rhyme in patterns and free verse, and the revision process. It provides teachers an opportunity to experiment with some of the techniques for creating poetry and demonstrates practical lessons and strategies to use with student writers.

Primarily Poetry

Half-Day Workshop: Grades K-3

Poetry is a source of delight and inspiration to children! This session focuses on the use of poetry to encourage and support novice writers. Teachers will be provided with a copy of Mary Sullivan's book, 101 Thematic Poems for Emergent Readers, to use as a source of materials for a variety of activities around student writing. They will experiment with writing various forms and discuss practical strategies for supporting students across the range of abilities presented by their students.

Guided Writing for Primary Students

Full Day Workshop: Grades K-3

Novice writers need real scaffolding as they break into print and begin to create a variety of texts. This workshop provides strategies for support in many of the areas of challenge for beginning writers. Teaching techniques, materials and activities demonstrated will include frameworks for non-fiction writing, descriptive writing and narrative forms. Suggestions include ideas for teaching writing in the subject areas of social studies and science as well as language arts projects.

I Give You My Word

Delivered as a keynote address to teacher assistants this is 50-minute speech discusses mediation, modeling and midwifery as aspects of supporting literacy development. This presentation explores the ways in which language nourishes children in their social and intellectual development, and empowers all of us in shaping the world.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

Teaching the Newspaper Article

A half-day presentation for teachers or a 2 to 3 lesson project with students

This session introduces some new angles on teaching the writing of a news article. It was developed as part of a school-wide AISI project which increased the scores of students on provincial achievement tests. The session shows the distinct differences between news articles and traditional forms of narration. It deals with techniques for supporting students in the confident and competent writing of a news article. The session focuses on the lead and the inverted pyramid structure. It suggests ways to coach students in writing formal and objective, 3rd person prose, and in creating the slant of an article. Ideas for a creating a variety of opportunities for students to write news for authentic audiences will also be shared.

Guided Writing and Non-Fiction Texts

Half-day or full day workshops on teaching the stages research and the components of non-fiction texts

It's the combination of writing a report ... from a report that creates for many students the irresistible inducement of plagiarism. This session is about how to teach research skills working with found text sources and have kids create anything but an essay/report so they can't copy. And it's about having kids do primary research through sources other than non-fiction text (surveys, interviews, films, fiction, first-hand observation, field trips, experiments, etc.) and having them write an essay/report. And finally, for those places and cases where writing a report from a report can't be avoided, this session is about teaching kids to deconstruct the source text and shape an original text from the found material.

Public Speaking Coaches' Clinic

A half -day information session or a full day coaching clinic

For over twenty years students have participated in a public speaking competition in Parkland School Division. Sullivan designed and facilitated the event in the beginning and has been a coach and adjudicator for fifteen years. This session provides the rationale, the rules and procedures, as well as the coaching for teachers interested in building this challenge into their classroom curriculum or creating a district competition and celebration to encourage and showcase young speakers.

Celebrating the Difference

Mary Sullivan is a fully qualified MBTI trainer, consultant, and workshop leader who has years of experience in educational leadership. Her seminar work as a Myers-Briggs consultant extends into the private sector and with Health Canada. The TYPE workshops are fun and provocative and are guaranteed to open the eyes of participants to new insights about what it means to cooperate and collaborate!

Carl Jung observed and classified diverse mental styles expressed in human behavior. His work led, through several decades of research by Briggs and Myers, to the development and application of TYPE theory. This concept identifies the unique filters through which we see the world according to our personal mental make up. These perspectives influence how we take in information, how we process that data, and the ways in which we act upon it. As we live and work together with others who view and interact with the world in modes different from our own, we can be significantly enlightened by what TYPE theory can show us about those differing modes.

These workshops raise awareness of important aspects of mental styles, enabling participants to heighten their own effectiveness, as well as cope with, accommodate and celebrate the differences they encounter in others. Issues that seemed personal and emotional in nature can suddenly be seen through the TYPE lens as neutral differences around which we can problem solve effortlessly and successfully. TYPE workshops show participants how taking differences into account can maximize harmony and effectiveness throughout an organization.

Leaders who understand TYPE theory can make life more productive and rewarding for people in their organizations. Employees who understand TYPE can show leadership in areas of strength and preference, and experience a more rewarding career.

Workshops can be delivered to groups of teachers, board members, administrators, or school staffs. Typically a full day workshop is required to deal adequately with the introduction to TYPE theory.

What people are saying about Mary Sullivan's sessions:

• Easily the most helpful PD day that I have attended in 10 years of teaching.

• Great! I could implement starting tomorrow.
• Thanks Mary, I enjoyed your session and got a lot out of it. Love your sense of humor too.