Monday 15 July 2013

My Very First Ever Monday Madness!

How exciting! All year I've been drawing such inspiration from the fabulous posts and today I'm joining in!

I'm actually writing this on a Thursday (teehee - so sneaky!) because I'm super eager to get there but I promise and I'll be good and wait to post until Monday. See you at midnight GMT! :D



Anyhow, my Monday Made It this week is my Writing Process Chart. I am super excited to get to use this and the kiddies are already moving their pegs and thinking about their Next Steps based on the chart. What a positive impact from one small craft.

I was inspired for this project because I realised that although they've done lots of fabulous writing this year, they've never had a chance to see the whole process of writing through to a finished text or book. I then stumbled upon this brilliant YouTube from Harper Collins called 'How A Book Is Made', which details the entire process in seven, short (about 4 mins each), kid-friendly videos. We only intended to watch one but actually spent the whole lesson going through the series, making notes and collecting Top Tips as we went.

Here's Episode 4: Creating the Art as a sample of the idea.


As we discussed the process, it became really clear that the children wanted some guidance on the steps to take, so I decided to make a peg chart that could help them keep track of their next steps. A little bit of photoshop, printing, cutting, laminating and ribbon-ing later... Tada!


Apologies for the terrible light, I was a teeny tiny bit too eager :S, hopefully you get the gist. The kiddies came in at lunch to move their pegs around, debating whether they needed to spend more time on 'Copywriting/Proofing' their work or whether they were ready to publish. What stars! They were also super-inspired by Episode 4 and are currently sketching out designs and redesigns of their main characters...








So there you are. The printables are available in my brand new, shiny TPT store if you fancy a look or a print. 



Thank you so much for letting me join the Monday gang! Special thanks to Tara, both for her brilliant blog that has kept me so inspired and for running this lovely linky.

See you all next week!




34 comments:

  1. Love this idea! It's a great way to have kids think about the writing process too. (Glad to see more than one "draft" on there! :)

    Jennifer
    Mrs. Laffin's Laughings

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    1. Thanks! It has definitely been a huuuge learning curve getting them to stop saying "Finished!" as soon as their first paragraph is done but I think we're getting there. Hopefully the chart will help! :D

      Claire

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  2. Hi~I just found you via the linky. Welcome to BlogWorld. Your design is precious. Nice work on opening your store. :)
    ~Brandee
    Creating Lifelong Learners
    Follow me on Bloglovin'

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    1. Aww thank you! It's a lot of pressure 'putting yourself out there' so I'm glad it's going ok :D Just went and had a gander at your fabulous blog! Say hello to your newest follower :D

      Claire

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  3. Just found your blog via the linky, too! Love your ideas. I can tell I'm going to love following :) Best of luck!

    Lauren
    The Sweetest Thing
    Follow me on Bloglovin'!

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    1. Thanks! :D This blogging community is so fab and welcoming, it's such a pleasure to be part of!

      Claire

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  4. Welcoming to the blogging community! Your new blog is so cute! Love your writing clip chart...it's such a great idea!

    Following you. :)
    Wendy
    Read With Me ABC

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    1. Thank you! Those videos were really helpful in developing the system - and the kiddies helped too :D

      Claire

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  5. I LOVE this writing clip chart! Such a great idea and very kid friendly.

    Krista
    Stellar-Students

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    1. Thanks Krista! They do seem to be enjoying it. Aren't Scrappin' Doodles clipart fabulous?! I love her stuff - they make any project look so much better :)

      Claire

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  6. Love your blog. I am your newest follower! Also, love the writing clip chart. It is such a great visual for students to be able to see what step they are working on and what is next.

    Erica
    Shepherd's Shining Stars

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    1. Thanks Erica! It does seem to be working well for them. Thanks so much for stopping by, it's lovely to be 'welcomed' so warmly into this lovely gang :D

      Claire

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  7. Those wrting charts look great. I like that kids can see where they are with the clips. Very nice idea and I be the kids love it. congrats on opening you store and entering the blogging world. Life as you know it will change drastically. :)

    matt
    Digital: Divide & Conquer

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    1. Already it's quite something! What a fab way to reflect on share on practice though - I'm loving it!

      Claire

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  8. I love those posters! What a great idea! I would love to implement something like this during my Writer's Workshop time. I may have to pop over and add them to my wishlist!

    Aloha,
    Corinna (✿◠‿◠)
    Surfin' Through Second

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    1. Oo how exciting! I've been ogling your lovely blog for ages, now I'm your newest follower!

      Claire

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  9. Your blog is too cute! I'm your newest follower. :-)

    Renee J
    Growing a Teacher

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    1. Thanks! :D Dreamlike Magic did such a fab job - I love her designs!

      Claire

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  10. This is such a great idea! I love the idea of having a visual representation of where each student is in the writing process. Plus it's super pretty!

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    1. I do love polka dots :) Thanks! It really has helped the kiddies and we're using it in all sorts of different genres of writing too, which is great!

      Claire

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  11. Your blog is too cute! I love your signs!

    Katie

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    1. Thanks Katie! We're really enjoying using them in class. :)

      Claire

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  12. I really like your approach to writing! I'm a new follower and heading over to check out your store!

    -Maria
    Everyone deServes to Learn

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    1. Oo how exciting! Thanks for stopping by. :)

      Claire

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  13. Love this! Thanks for sharing. I nominated you for the Liebster Award. Make sure you check out my post to see what to do next! http://random-craftiness.blogspot.com/2013/07/what-honor-liebster-award-nomination.html

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    1. Oh my goodness! That is so incredible and flattering. Thank you so much! I've seen the award around but never dreamed I'd be nominated, never mind so soon! It's a really kind gesture :D Now off I go to answer all those questions and pass-it-on to some brilliant bloggers!

      Claire

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  14. You have a great blog - super cute! I nominated you for the Liebster Award. Please stop by my blog to learn more.
    fittobefourth.blogspot.com

    Mary

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    1. Wow! What an amazing day! Thank you so much Mary :) Can I echo all my thoughts from my answer to the comment above. It's so kind of you to think of me :D What an exciting evening!

      Claire

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  15. Hi Claire! I just found your blog. It is great! :) Love your writing chart! I'd love you to stop over to my blog if you get a chance! :)
    Carolyn
    Kindergarten: Holding Hands and Sticking Together

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    1. Hi Carolyn, Thanks, so is yours! Your daughter's day looks fab and she looks so beautiful :) Congratulations on such a special day!

      Claire, your newest follower :)

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  16. Hi Claire! I love the colors of your blog...I have those colors in my room with lots of polka dots. =)

    Your writing chart is great...and very cute too! I have used a chart like that with my kiddos and it is so helpful to help them see how to move through the writing process.

    I am so happy to be your newest follower. I would love for you to hop over for a visit when you get the chance.

    Heather
    Heather's Heart

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    1. Hi Heather,

      I really enjoyed reading your post about Excuses and commitment. This is definitely something I'm going to focus on discussing with my 5th graders in the new year when thinking about their role leading our school. I'm excited to read your next offering!

      Claire

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  17. Your blog is so cute! I love your writing process posters.

    Your Newest Follower,

    Jordan

    Sweet Little Things

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    1. Thanks Jordan! We're finding them really useful in class. Although I must admit, with only 3 days left until Summer, we're not doing the most structured writing! :D

      Claire

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