Cynthia Rylant Author Study and Writing Mini Lesson by Rachel Stern

Author Study – Cynthia Rylant

Background and History of the Author

Award winning author Cynthia Rylant grew up in the Appalachian region of the United States, in a rural area of West Virginia. She had little access to water, electricity, or automobiles throughout most of her childhood, due to her family’s economic struggles. Rylant’s father passed away when she was 13 years old, and she was raised by her mother and grandparents.

From a young age, Cynthia Rylant never visited libraries or bookstores, as they did not exist where she grew up. Instead, she spent her time outdoors, which fostered her love of animals and pets. When she got older, Rylant went to college and earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in English. However, she could not find work in the field, so she took a job working at a library. Through her work in the library, Rylant ended up reading many children’s books, and eventually went back to college to get a degree in library science. Rylant’s work as a librarian inspired her to write her first book, titled “When I was Young in the Mountains,” based on her own life experiences.

Cynthia Rylant has written over 100 books for children and young adults, and has illustrated some of the books as well. She has even written some series for young readers such as the “Henry and Mudge” series. She writes about topics that are familiar to her, such as animals, loneliness, family, loss, friendship, grief, and her memories of growing up in West Virginia. Rylant has won many awards including the Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, and has received recognition from the American Library Association for writing the “Best Book of the Year for Young Adults” multiple times. Rylant now lives in Oregon with her pets.

Books That I Read by the Author

1. The Whales
2. Brownie and Pearl See the Sights
3. In November
4. When I was Young in the Mountains
5. The Relatives Came
6. Christmas in the Country
7. Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story
8. An Angel for Solomon Singer
9. Henry and Mudge: The First Book

Literary Moves/Strategies Used by the Author

1. 1. “Crazy Commas”
      1. Examples of it being used in text
         • The Relatives Came (1985) by Cynthia Rylant: “They drove all day long and into the night, and while they traveled along they looked at the strange houses and different mountains and they thought about their almost purple grapes back home.”
         • The Relatives Came (1985) by Cynthia Rylant: “The relatives weren’t particular about beds, which was good since there weren’t any extras, so a few squeezed in with us and the rest slept on the floor, some with their arms thrown over the closest person, or some with an arm across one person and a leg across another.”
         • When I was Young in the Mountains (1982) by Cynthia Rylant: “When I was young in the mountains, we went to church in the schoolhouse on sundays, and sometimes walked with the congregation through the cow pasture to the dark swimming hole, for baptisms.”
      2. An example of how it might be used in writing
         • “Crazy Commas” can help to provide description in a fictional story. For example, if writing a narrative about a summer vacation, a student could practice this strategy by changing the sentence, “We went to the beach for the whole day” to “We went to the beach, my mom, my dad, my brother, and I, for a day filled of crashing waves, boogie boards covered in grainy sand, and watching my mom lounge on her chair for hours, from sunrise to sunset.”
   2. “Artful Use of ‘And’”
      1. Examples of it being used in text

•  Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story (1987) by Cynthia Rylant:“And when it is just past his nose, he shouts and waves and runs after the train, his icy feet aching.”
• An Angel for Solomon Singer (1992) by Cynthia Rylant: “And the voices of all who passed sounded like the conversations of friendly crickets, and he felt friendly toward them.”
• In November (2000) by Cynthia Rylant: “And the world has tucked her children in, with a kiss on their heads, till spring.”

1. 2. An example of how it might be used in writing
      • “Artful Use of ‘And’” can be used by a writer to add an extra tidbit of information in a story. This literary move/strategy could be used in the same summer vacation narrative as mentioned above by adding a sentence such as “And then we finally left the beach, only to come back the next day and do it all again.”
2. Purposeful Fragments
   1. Examples of it being used in text
      • Christmas in the Country (2002) by Cynthia Rylant: “A paint-by-number kit. A bear bank. A coloring book.”
      • In November (2000) by Cynthia Rylant: “The staying birds are serious, too, for cold times lie ahead. Hard times.”
      • The Relatives Came (1985) by Cynthia Rylant: “They thought about Virginia — but they thought about us, too. Waiting for them.”
   2. An example of how it might be used in writing
      • “Purposeful Fragments” could be used by a writer to help complete a thought that was started in a previous sentence. It helps the writer to add information in a purposeful way. For example, in the story mentioned before about the summer vacation, a student could add on information about the trip by using fragments in a meaningful way. They could add on by saying, “The day was long, but it was well spent. Full of swimming. Lots of playing. Mom reading.”

Writing Mini Lesson

Cynthia Rylant – “Crazy Commas”
Grades 2-4

Introduction

1. “We have been reading lots of different books by Cynthia Rylant. Today, we’re going to look at something really specific that Cynthia Rylant does as a writer to add more description to her writing.”
2. “Let’s listen to an example from The Relatives Came.”
3. “The relatives weren’t particular about beds, which was good since there weren’t any extras, so a few squeezed in with us and the rest slept on the floor, some with their arms thrown over the closest person, or some with an arm across one person and a leg across another.”
4. Allow students time to turn and talk about why they think the sentence was crafted this way. Then, provide a specific explanation by saying, “The author may have chosen to craft her sentences in this way so that we could have a deeper understanding and paint a more detailed picture in our minds of what was happening at that specific point in the story.”

Teaching Point

1. “We’re going to call this strategy ‘Crazy Commas.’”
2. “Writers might use the ‘Crazy Commas’ strategy when they want to add more description into a sentence. It also helps the author to avoid the sentence becoming a run-on by adding natural pauses through the use of commas.”

Demonstration

1. Another Cynthia Rylant example from When I was Young in the Mountains: “When I was young in the mountains, we went to church in the schoolhouse on Sundays, and sometimes walked with the congregation through the cow pasture to the dark swimming hole, for baptisms.”
2. A Patricia Polacco example from Thundercake: “The clouds glow for an instant with a sharp, crackling light, and then a roaring, low, tumbling sound of thunder makes the windows shudder in their panes.”
3. I DO – “I could even try using Crazy Commas in my own writing. I’ve been working on my personal narrative about my family trip to the beach. (Show modeled writing on board.) At the beginning of my story, I wrote this sentence: ‘We went to the beach for the whole day.’ I feel like this is a good place that I could add in some commas to make this a lot more descriptive. Let me think, I could change this to, ‘We went to the beach, my mom, my dad, my sister, and I, for a day filled of crashing waves, boogie boards covered in grainy sand, and watching my mom lounge on her chair for hours, from sunrise to sunset.’ Notice that I’ve added commas in where I want the reader to pause and think for a moment. What do you guys think? Did it help add more description?”

 

Guided Practice

1. (Student’s name), I remember when I was working with you yesterday, you were writing about (topic of story). Could we use part of your story as an example for the class?”
2. WE DO – Pick a sentence out of this student’s story that is lacking description. Have class brainstorm ways to add to this sentence using crazy commas. Talk about specifically where to add the commas, instead of just putting them randomly.
3. “We chose a sentence from (student’s name)’s story that needed some more description. Go ahead and open up your writer’s notebook to your personal narrative draft. Can you look through your story and put your finger on a sentence that you feel could benefit from using crazy commas? Once you choose your sentence, think to yourself about how you could add in some commas to make it more descriptive.”
4. “Talk with a partner about what you plan to do. You can even help your partner if they’re struggling to come up with something for their own… remember, writers help other writers become better writers, too!”
5. Walk around and check in with pairs to hear ideas and ensure that they are talking about ways to use the strategy. If needed, provide guidance by pushing students to pick shorter, less descriptive sentences and brainstorm ways to incorporate sensory details using commas.

 

Link

1. YOU DO- “Today, as you’re independently working on your draft, try to revise one of your sentences by using the crazy commas strategy we learned from Cynthia Rylant. If you add on to your story, see if you can find a place to use crazy commas to add more description. At the end of writing today, I’m going to pick some students to share out how they used the strategy!”
2. As students begin working quietly, check in with students and have them point out ways they have used the strategy.
3. After some time has passed, have students share with a partner the sentence(s) where they used crazy commas.
4. Choose students to share their crazy commas sentences at the end of the writing block (allow them the choice of if they want to share or not). Allow other students to give feedback as to how it helped them as a reader.  

References

Cynthia Rylant. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.orrt.org/rylant/

Cynthia Rylant Books, Author Biography, and Reading Level. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/authors/cynthia-rylant/