Jeff Anderson Condensed
Transcript of Jeff Anderson Condensed
Jeff Anderson Conference
My Four-Minute Version
“When bankers train to identify
counterfeit money,
“they study authentic bills.
“for it is in knowing
intimately the genuine,
“that one is able to identify the
false.” --Deanna
Eaton
We wouldn’t give bankers a
counterfeit twenty
And say, “That’s not it.”
And give them another
counterfeit
And say, “That’s not it, either.”
How often am I guilty of feeding
students counterfeits?
Is my feedback on papers showing
students what to do or what not
to do?
In 2007, the Carnegie
Corporation sponsored a study
on writing instruction called
Writing Next.
In the U.S., 7,000 kids drop out of school
every school day.
A large number of them are
basically illiterate.
Seventy-Percent of 4th-12th
graders are low-achieving writers.
This is a
National
Literacy
Crisis
One of the 11 methods the study found effective
was imitation of models
Here’s an example:
“His room smelled of
cooked grease, Lysol, and age.”
--Maya Angelou
“His room smelled.”
Students, what’s the difference?
Yes, the first one is more detailed.
What else do you notice?
“His room smelled of
cooked grease, Lysol, and age.”
--Maya Angelou
Here’s my version of Angelou’s sentence:
Frank’s backpack
smelled of warm cinnamon gum,
Axe, and desperation.
Discuss with a classmate: What are differences
between my version and Angelou’s?
Similarities?
Now, write your own version.
This academic discussion could
lead to talk/practice of
serial commas
concrete and abstract nouns
voice and tone
story ideas
proper nouns
And the whole time, students are staring at
and re-shaping the work of a master writer.
It changes their writing. It will
sink in.
The same way students
remember when a class clown
yells, “Jackson is on the five-dollar bill!”
Isn’t he?
Right, wrong, or ridiculous,
We can’t always erase the
mistakes once kids absorb
them.
So, why do I spend precious
class time looking at mistakes?
Telling someone they’re wrong is
not teaching.
Showing them what’s amazing could give them
a place to launch.
Of course, the best methods
are usually mixtures of a
few.
You can find the Carnegie Study,
Writing Next, online.
Jeff Anderson has a blog
where you can find and post juicy mentor
texts. It’s free.
We also have a few of his books.