ASSIGNMENT TWO: WRITTEN REFLECTION–Section One- The Essential Writing Life Chapters 1-3
Reflect on the following comments written below from Chapters 1-3 and any additional thoughts that you have after reading these chapters.
Chapter 1: Simplify the Teaching of Writing
• Simplify our teaching
• Becoming more knowledgeable about teaching writing
• Examine your beliefs
Regie gets to the heart of her book Writing Essentials with this quote on the final page of Chapter One: “By reducing the clutter in our teaching lives-the overplanning, the unnecessary activities, the paper load, all the ‘stuff’ that takes our time and energy and does little to improve teaching and learning-we bring joy back into our work and the world of our students.” Many of us work very hard and spend many hours complicating our teaching lives. In this book Regie will help you simplify your teaching life for your benefit and that of your students.
One of the frustrations that teachers encounter regularly is the ever changing “latest and best” writing programs that districts or states force on them and their students. With this revolving cycle of programs, teachers are spending too much time learning how to use the program rather than becoming better writing teachers. Regie explains that in the districts where students are the best writers, they are writing for real purposes and audiences and publishing their writing; teachers are not using prescribed writing programs.
Look at Appendix A (page A-2.) Examine your beliefs about writing by reading the statements about the writing process and marking true or false in your book. (Go ahead and write in your book, it’s OK! You can even use a pencil and mark very lightly if you want to.) We found this activity very enlightening. Let us know what you think after you complete the activity.
In your reflection for Section One, please include your thoughts about the following questions or statements:
• Regie demonstrates how to use the Optimal Learning Model (shown on the front cover and page 11) throughout the book. Consider how the Optimal Learning Model fits into your own instruction.
• As you think about how to teach writing so that all students can become successful, effective and joyful writers, reflect on how you presently teach the “12 Writing Essentials” (as described on pages 13-14 in the text) during your daily writing instruction. As we continue to read through Regie’s book, hopefully you will begin to see how you might make changes in your instruction to better incorporate these “12 Writing Essentials.”
Chapter 2: Start With Celebration
• Make sure writing is meaningful not just correct
• Use stories as springboards and ensure that ALL students hear stories
• Write in front of your students and connect home and school
The title of Chapter Two simply states, “Start with Celebration,” and that’s exactly what we need to do for our students. The celebration of all students’ writing needs to be put into the forefront and be made our first teaching goal. Celebrations should happen school-wide, within our classrooms and with students individually. As children begin to see themselves as successful writers, they will take more risks in their writing and in turn will become better writers who enjoy the writing process.
Another key point that Regie highlights in this chapter is to “make sure writing is meaningful, not just correct!” Students need to understand that writing is “enjoyable and for a real purpose and audience.” She also reminds us “that teaching skills in isolation does not make student writers; neither does teaching to the test. And breaking writing into bits and pieces robs children of the joy of writing.”
Regie suggests using stories as a springboard for teaching and learning. Hearing and telling stories builds our students’ oral language skills and these stories are “an entryway into reading and writing.” Only when students are reading and writing real stories can they connect the “skills” based learning to their reading and writing!
Please include your thoughts about the following questions or statements in your written reflection of Section One:
• Regie explains how important celebrating student writing is. How do you celebrate student writing in your classroom? How might you add more celebration of student writing to your day/year?
• Consider what changes you could make in your writing instruction to make writing more meaningful and purposeful for your students.
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Michelle Dawkins
ReplyDeleteJune 19, 2009
The first three chapters in this book certainly gave me a lot to think about. I found that there were many things that I am already currently doing in my classroom that were listed in the 12 Writing Essentials for All Grade Levels. Since I teach in a multi-age environment the term “All Grade Levels” really captured my attention.
In my own classroom we often talk about our audience before we begin writing. The struggle I find comes in making the writing meaningful. Last year I was much better at giving choice in writing. Getting kids to see why people write (the purpose) and then applying it to themselves as writers is certainly a goal I have for next school year.
I have also thought that using authors as models in writing is a great way to show how real people use language to tell a story or explain an event. Kids that read certainly are exposed to a larger number of authors and writing styles.
I was pretty firm on whether I agreed or disagreed with many of the statements made in Appendix A-2. I believe that spelling doesn’t matter on a first draft, students should choose most of their own writing topics, a lot of writing never gets revised, students need to view their teachers as writers, and a few more. I don’t believe that teachers need to read everything that kids write, that revising and editing are the same thing, the teacher usually corrects students’ spelling errors, and a few more. I did find myself not sure on what I thought about in that statement, “In a writing conference the student decides what kind of response he/she wants” or “The room needs to be quiet when students are writing.” Hopefully as I continue to read I will be able to answer these for myself.
Celebrating writing seems to be done on many different levels. My classroom celebrations are when we spend the final ten-fifteen minutes of our Writers’ Workshop to share what we have written. Whether they want to share is their choice. I sometimes will ask them to share with someone sitting next to them or a friend. This seems a bit safer to many. Acknowledging that it is our thoughts and ideas that we are celebrating and not punctuation and spelling is essential here. We also celebrate writing with Author’s Teas.
A type of celebration that I need to work on is when a struggling writer has finally written a sentence after looking at their blank page for 20 minutes. I have to admit I have never “celebrated this.” I am usually doing the opposite! I have a handful of kids that take forever to begin. While I may feel a sense of frustration with them, I need to realize that they are just as frustrated with themselves! I think this is where the Optimal Learning Model will really work well. For kids that struggle seeing the thought process that goes into beginning a piece would a giant help. Writing something together and then evidentially trying it on their own would guide them through the process.
To be continued...
I had to do this as two separate posts because mine is too lengthy!
ReplyDeleteContinuing on...
The whole idea of story in the classroom is so engaging to me. We use story a lot in our own school district as a way to connect kids to many things. This year our focus will be on the plants and animals of the Columbia River Gorge (last year our focus was the people of the Gorge). Many of us are looking at developing a storyline to support this. Oral language is so full of emotion. So combing both oral and written language seems like such an essential element to help move students forward as writers.
While reading these chapters I find myself thinking of all the ways that I can improve my own classroom writing. I am busy taking notes for ideas for the upcoming school year. Things like going to the dollar store for thank you cards and maybe some fun letter writing paper. I often find that most adults are not writing fictional stories they are instead writing emails, papers for classes, thank you notes, grocery lists, and many adults will journal or write in a diary. Lately when I think about journaling the word “Twitter” comes to mind. I am still not up-to-date on that, but according to Time magazine it is a writing tool that many people (over 14 million) use daily.
While I am not confident in my own writing, I certainly understand the importance of having the kids see me as a writer. Hopefully, “I am a little bit better than my students” as Nancy Atwell believes is needed.
Optimal Learning Model
ReplyDeleteI like to think that the daily Writing Workshop in my classroom includes all of the components of the Optimal Learning Model, but as I have been reflecting on the components, I realize that I am stronger in some areas, and need to grow in other areas. My daily Writing Workshop typically includes a 5-10 minute lesson, 5 minutes of students brainstorming with their writing partners, 20-30 minutes of independent writing while I confer with individual students or meet with small groups, and 10-15 minutes of sharing. I feel like I provide ample time for guided and independent practice, but I would like to do a lot more demonstration writing and shared demonstrations.
I do so many “think-alouds” when I am reading stories to the children during Reading Workshop, in which I model what I do as a reader to monitor and deepen my comprehension. I can do the same when writing on chart paper—share a lot more of my thinking and decision-making as I compose in front of the children. I like the idea of using the “decisions list” on page 48 to help make my thinking as transparent as possible.
12 Writing Essentials
What a great list! If only school districts across the nation would adopt this as their writing framework. As with the Optimal Learning Model, I feel as if I touch on these writing essentials, with varying degrees of depth and success.
Writing essentials that I feel like I’ve taught well include rereading, rethinking, and revising while composing, determining appropriate topics, presenting ideas with an organized flow, and reading widely and deeply with a writer’s perspective. A lot of teaching techniques I’ve learned from the Lucy Calkins curriculum support these essentials. For instance, when planning a story, we practice brainstorming by “telling a story across our fingers” to a partner. This allows children to construct a story with a logical sequence, a natural beginning, middle, and end. Also, I taught the “Authors as Mentors” unit for the first time this year, and I loved it! It involves using read-aloud books by our favorite authors, studying them for writing techniques such as dialogue or sound words (i.e BOOM! or Drip drip drip.), then trying on those techniques in our own writing. In conferring with individual students, I always try to link their efforts to a professional writer, i.e. “Wow, you used speech bubbles just like Mo Willems,” or “Wow, you used a sound word, just like Donald Crews.”
Writing essentials that I would like to become better at teaching include writing for a specific reader and a meaningful purpose, elaborating on ideas, embracing language (i.e. don’t fear teaching the poetry unit!!!), creating leads and endings, and crafting authentic voice.
(...part 2 of the assignment. Apparently both Michelle and I need to work on editing and brevity! Ha ha.)
ReplyDeleteCelebrations
On a daily, informal basis, I celebrate student writing by having children read their pieces to their writing partner and/or to the group. Often, at the beginning of this “share-out” time, I facilitate a quick acknowledgement of writers who tried something new in their stories, or tried the technique from the mini-lesson. I do this by asking those writers to stand up, and then sit down. It only takes a few minutes. For instance, I might say things like, “Stand up if you made your story from yesterday grow,” “Stand up if you used a tell-a-story word,” “Stand up if you reread your story to your partner.” It allows for acknowledging many different writers, and it allows for acknowledging things other than story length!
I would love some ideas on more creative group “share-outs,” because when I try to have each child read their entire piece every day, it is hard for the children to stay engaged for that long. But, I want to validate their efforts and I want them to hear each other’s stories.
I would like to get better at hanging up student writing out in the hallway, or even in the classroom, so that students have more opportunities to read each other’s writing. Every trimester, I type one story written by each student accompanied by their illustrations. These go in a book tub in the classroom library, and students can read them during Reading Workshop. We also visit other classrooms, so that my students can read these published stories to real audiences.
I would like to get better at having more formal celebrations in which I invite parents to come and hear student writing. In the Lucy Calkins curriculum, she suggests hosting a Writing Celebration at the end of each unit of study. I have been inconsistent with facilitating these events, but I am learning from reading this book how critical it is for children to write for a specific reader and a meaningful purpose. And, how meaningful for children to read their stories to their families!
More meaningful and purposeful writing
If I were only to take away one point from this book, it is that children become engaged in writing when it is meaningful to them, and when they are writing for a specific purpose and audience. I feel like I do provide ample choice in the Writing Workshop—I do not provide prompts, children choose their own topics and style of paper, children can “try on” a new writing technique that I demonstrate, but it is not required. But, I know I can help children expand their personal writing, and I know I can provide more opportunities to write for a purpose and an audience. I don’t do a lot of letter writing with my students, and I am realizing that this genre has a built in purpose and audience! I don’t do a lot of formal Writers Celebrations at the end of the Lucy Calkins units, and I am realizing that this builds in an audience—our families, our buddy class, the principal, etc. And, I would like to do more publishing. Having their stories typed so that their peers can read them is VERY motivating for my students.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMeghan,
ReplyDeleteI believe that blogspot needs to increase the amount of allowable character space...just for us!
You are very wise to include more formal celebrations. We did a couple celebrations this year where we invited parents and it is really such a wonderful experience. It really gives each child a meaningful purpose for writing - sharing. I imagine that professional authors must feel the same way when someone reads or buys their book.
Last year I taught in a 3/4 classroom and each child was responsible for choosing a topic to study in depth. As a way to present what they learned about their topic many would choose to write an informational story about their topic (pronghorns, penguins, WWI, etc.). Their audience would always be our 1/2 partners (many have a brother or sister in a younger class). They would take a bit of extra time to make sure they had carefully explained things and that they used vocabulary that would be understood by a younger student. Some would even explain a word such as predator or nocturnal. I think that having an audience really makes such a huge difference.
Creating class books is also a great idea. I have some that are over 14 years old. The kids come back to my classroom as high school tutors and love to look at them!
It sounds like you are already doing many thing amazing well your classroom...lucky kids!
Michelle
WOW to both of you! I enjoyed reading your comments. You both sound like amazing teachers of writing! Michelle, I loved your thoughts on celebrating our most struggling writers...and yes, thank goodness we only need to write, "a little better than our students" :) Meghan, I'm glad that you are thinking about how valuable these "publishing" parties are for our young writers...a great goal to set for yourself! One of the ways that I've been able to have students share effectively (and briefly) at the end of workshop is to have a student (or two) share something that I noticed during conferences or small group that either relates to the minilesson taught, or that I know will support the groups' writing in some other way.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the warm welcome and feedback from Jackie and Mary. And, thank you Michelle for the insight and support regarding blended-age classrooms. I really appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that as I read this, I was quick to realize that while I ask that my students write everyday, I do not model for them. I also do not have a “shared demonstration” worked into my teaching. I mistakenly skip to the “guided practice” part of her Optimal model. Maybe this is because I am working with older students? I don’t think that is a good enough excuse because the writing that my students do clearly demonstrates to me that for the most part, they do not enjoy writing and see it as drudgery. My students all do quite a great deal of independent practice and I spend WAY too much time on giving feedback. I also incorporate some peer reviews, having students read aloud to one another and sharing examples with the class but I need to bring this in more explicitly as part of the process of bringing independent practice into the development of a classroom writing culture.
ReplyDeleteThe 12 Writing Essentials struck a cord with me because we recently finished some rubrics for social studies and language arts that are meant to help us transition to a more proficiency-based grading system. I argued for two years that the writing traits were a necessary part of the social studies program and many colleagues fervently disagreed. Finally when we talked through it, they “allowed” me to incorporate writing as a core skill but then got frustrated with me again when I argued that the writing skills that 9th graders can demonstrate are on a continuum with those that a 12th grader should be able to demonstrate. Reading this list of essentials reminds me of why I argued for this. I think that these apply to not only student writing but any writing that adults do as well, which is what Regie is herself arguing. I think that it would be a great idea to put these into a “kid friendly” language and maybe post them in my rooms. If nothing else, at least I will be reminded that these aspects of writing are fundamental AND that I need to be focused more on what they actually mean in my instruction. It is one thing to say that a writer needs to “embrace language” but I need to teach what that means….not through a lecture but maybe by stopping for a moment, reading a passage of some text out loud and then talking about why I love the use of certain words for example. Then I can ask that a student do the same before I jump to trying to figure out the meaning or analyzing a theme.
After reading this chapter, I think that I do not so much teach these essentials as expect that they will emerge by some miracle. I know that this sounds like nonsense but that is because it is nonsense. I give students a great deal of choice in their writing, both in terms of topic and style, but I have not thought explicitly enough about how they will learn to write these things. I don’t think that my students think of writing in my class a burden (at least that is what they tell me) but I also don’t think that they leave my classes feeling that they have become better writers. They might like the latitude that I give them but it isn’t enough. When we work on research papers for example, we start by using a “chunked” template. As someone who in a former life was a researcher and writer, it is worth noting as Regie points out, that this is not what I did, even as a professional. I take lots and lots of notes, organize them in a way that works for me and then think through writing. I revise. I re-read. I edit. I read other writers. I do not, however, “chunk”. This is the model that most everyone at my school is asked to use and I am wondering if it is effective or not. Something to think about as I keep reading I suppose.
I think that I probably rambled on a bit in that last posting about Chapter one. Oh well! Chapter Two also reminded me that while I give students a great deal of feedback and they do in fact do some peer-editing and work, I do not actually celebrate their work very much. Part of it might be me giving in to the somewhat emergent cynicism of high school students but at the same time, I know that they want to share their success with others, embarrassing though it might be. I have done some work to share out student writing in a way that celebrates the ideas that they use but not as much to highlight the success of them writing. It is clearly possible to do this, especially if I make it a somewhat regular activity. Reading this chapter reminded me that sharing work is not the same thing as celebrating it. When I ask that a student read or take volunteers, it would be worth the extra time to talk about why what they wrote was so interesting in terms of the writing in addition to the ideas.
ReplyDeleteBeing a social studies teacher, it seems really easy for me to focus on meaningful work but I need to be reminded of the importance of this in terms of helping students learn to write. We regularly write letters to politicians, the UN sometimes, our "sister school" in Nigeria and now some students in Indonesia. I am always touched by how excited even my seniors are at the possibility of getting a letter back. I have also noticed that they do in fact take more time when writing these and ask one another to proof read even. Why it never occurred to me to make these a more serious part of my teaching is a mystery. We do these things throughout the year as "fun" activities, which they really are. I don't grade these things; the students just write and love to write. I don't think that they need to be graded but maybe I could make more of an emphasis on this type of "fun" writing in my plans for the fall. Honestly, the vast majority of these students will not go on in social studies. What matters to me is that they have these experiences and feel like when they are no longer students, they know how to share their thoughts and enjoy doing so. Yet again a good reminder of why I teach.
Its true also that these types of writing require less planning and are less work for me. Possibly a light bulb moment!
Joelle Beget
ReplyDeleteWeek 2
The optimal learning model is a great visual tool that spells out what we as teachers seek to do with our students in all subject areas. We want to “scaffold” their learning so they are supported, and eventually allow them to rely more and more on themselves and less and less on us. Before I learned the term “optimal learning model” I never thought about it. However, when I saw that that was what I did on a regular basis, it encouraged me that I was headed in the right direction.
I think that I am really being challenged to integrate and tie everything all together. What I mean is, in the past, I have taught reading, vocabulary, and writing all separately. They were distinct subjects and they each had their little blocks of time. However, I see how they are all so interrelated and are taught more effectively and in context when they aren’t so isolated. When I read Regie’s 12 steps to effective writing, I see a lot of overlapping and much continuity. It shows me that I need to rethink this area of my teaching.
Last year, I celebrated student writing in class by allowing certain people to read from their journals in front of the class. I would pick students that I felt tried really hard and showed great effort for THEM. However, I wasn’t consistent enough with it, and it fizzled out after awhile. However, the kids loved it! They always wanted to be picked, and it gave them a great sense of satisfaction. Some of them didn’t want to read their piece out loud, so they would let me read it to the class for them. I would really like to add more celebration to my students’ writing work. Maybe I could celebrate a writing piece by sending copies of it home in the parent letter of the Friday folder. Parents could come to expect that one child that was going to be “highlighted” in each parent letter. Sometimes the local newspaper is a great place to have published poems or special seasonal writings from kids. One of my students had a poem published last fall. This is definitely an area I want to think about and consider.
I think by giving kids more choice in their writing topics, it will add meaning to them. I think when they feel like they can write about what is of interest to them, they will really give it more effort. This is where I feel tying in meaningful writing to great literature will be a key. When kids are into a book, they are going to be more apt to write about their thoughts, feelings and connections.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI didn't know what it meant in the appendix when it talked about the writing conference and student response. I was totally lost about what it was talking about. Any insights anyone else?
I was challenged about the writing in front of my class too. I actually can't think of a time that I ever did that with only my ideas on the table. I would always model a story for the kids on the board, but it was always with feedback from them. I know how important modeling is, so I need to practice being a reader and writer in front of my class.
I remember a professor in college saying that when kids had silent reading time, take some time, sometimes, to read silently as well. It makes sense to me, but I feel almost guilty doing that! I love reading so much, and there is so much to do during every precious moment of class.
Meghan,
I really like your ideas of having formal celebrations of writing. It is a great idea to have a special evening dedicated to students sharing their writing! Anytime we show students that what they work on is valued and really important, I think they take more ownership of it. I will try to work this into this next year. Thanks!
Good point Annarose, sharing student work is not necessarily the same thing as celebrating it.
Annarose, how refreshing to hear from a H.S. teaching that shares the same philosophy that seems to be more prolific at the elementary level (at least here on the east coast...). Good for you for putting up the fight for what you believed was right when you argued for the writing traits to be part of the proficiency grading in the district. I'm hoping that you found more support for this. We've been trying really hard to try and encourage our "content" curriculum teachers of science, social studies, math...how necessary it is for us all to be teachers of literacy in order for our students to be successful...it's really that "it takes a village" philosophy. Keep up the fight :)
ReplyDeleteJoelle, thanks for sharing your thoughts on celebrating student writing! I loved the idea of highlighting one of your authors in one of your newsletters. One of the ways we celebrate writing in our classrooms now are to host an authors' tea and either invite friends/family, or just other children/staff in the building. We also buddied up with other classrooms (older/younger grades or cross-grade level) to celebrate and share our writing. It doesn't need to be grande or a big production, the important thing is that the writing gets honored as important work.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about your question regarding the student response and conference in the appendix...could you give me a little bit more info as to what you were wondering about (ie. page in book or was it something in our syllabus?).
Hello Jackie and Mary,
ReplyDeleteAs I reviewed my T/F answers to appendix A, I saw a pattern developing. Most of my trues involved student choice and active involvement by students in all areas of the writing process and conversely, my falses were when student choice was limited. One statement which I feel strongly about was “for students to take writing seriously, they need to write every day for a sustained period. I call this developing the “writing muscle.” I first heard this when a visiting storyteller/writer came to my 3rd grade classroom. He and I discussed this at length and I began using this technique and found that my students could write more and would practice “stretching” their writing.
In studying the Optimal Learning Model (OLM), I found areas where I use this model more consistently in my instruction and other areas where my lessons don’t match with the model at all. For instruction which isn’t skill (conventions) based, I tend to start with a shared demonstration where students participate in some form from the get go. I also find as others have blogged, that I don’t model the “whole” part of writing, the composing process, enough and will certainly make this a goal of mine. If there is a pitfall for me, it is staying true to this “I do, we do, you do” model. When I find my students haven’t gotten it, I wonder did we do the “I do” and “you do” and missed the “we do?”
One way I promote writing in my classroom, is weekly Author’s Chair time. My students love to sit in the special chair and share unpolished and polished works of writing. Once these pieces have been read aloud, compliments and helpful hints are given by volunteers. Over time I will hear things like “you had great details, that made me laugh, your closing sentence wanted me to hear more and are you going to write a chapter 2?” Some editing and revision may take place and then they get to make a book jacket for their book and put it in our classroom library, under student made stories. Hearing from and sharing with their peers about their writing in this way creates an enthusiasm and writing enjoyment, whatever the genre. I also use storytelling to get my students to write. I start with my own made up story (very off the cuff), usually giving setting and main character. And I will talk for about 3 minutes and stop my story at a place where the students will need to continue what happens next. I usually introduce this by having them tell an elbow neighbor what they think will happen next. I ask them to write for 3 minutes without stopping their pencils, to guess and go on spelling and to write with words which will help us see the story. I call on volunteers who want to stand up and read what they have written. I continue telling my story and stopping for 3 more minutes of writing and then sharing. My students love to choose where these stories will go based on their own writing.
By for now, Katherine
Chapter 1:
ReplyDeleteThe Optimal Learning Model seems to be the way our district has been headed, especially with our Lucy Calkins writing adoption. Our writing lesson plans are written based on this optimal learning model, just like Meghan was saying. I think it’s a huge part of being able to help the kids learn the best way possible.
The 12 Writing Essentials are good to remember to use with any writing curriculum we have. Once we as teachers can figure out how to include all of these things we will be on our way to great writing teacher. The hard part seems to be how to best do this! I’m starting to form my writing philosophy the more I learn. I think I am starting to realize that students need to be excited about writing in order to want to keep writing. Once they keep writing they can go a lot farther in learning things. I also think I am going to try keeping a journal myself because if I’m writing more myself, I’ll become a better teacher. I recently took another writing class offered through our district. We made a small binder by writing our own stories to use as teaching points during conferences with students. Another thing we did was try and find some mentor texts to go with some teaching points to pull out. I thought it was a neat idea to quickly pull out a book that we have already read to use as an example in the conferencing time, too.
The True and False statements I found to be very helpful. As I have not been teaching very long I am still finding my writing philosophy. Some of these statements I was strong on while others I felt like I was unsure. I am excited to read more to take more of a stance of what I truly believe in for writing.
Chapter 2:
Once I start writing more, I will be more comfortable to write stories right in front of the students. I want to try and show my students that writing is important in all sorts of aspects and areas.
I definitely could have done a LOT more with celebrating my student’s writing throughout the year. It seems like everyone was so excited to share and I wanted to be fair so everyone had some chance. I tried to start putting a very small tally mark on the back of their writing folders for when they shared so that some kids didn’t get all of the sharing time. I would usually try and call kids to share who did something that tied into a mini-lesson or used something else that could turn into a teachable moment. Another teacher at my school made a point to have Author Celebration nights. Next year I will have to make more of an effort to add a piece like this to our writing program. I’m beginning to realize the importance of this aspect. We should celebrate all along the way. Another way to celebrate would even be making more class books and posting their stories up or sharing their stories with other classes.
All of this will help make my writing more purposeful and meaningful as well. As I use the Optimal Learning model and continue to learn more ways to teach the 12 Writing Essentials, as well as celebrate writing more; I will become more purposeful and meaningful.
Thanks to both Katherine and Kelley for adding your comments! Katherine, I think we all struggle with finding out how much of our instruction actually follows the OLM...with the crunch we all feel to "fit it all in". As professionals, we are constantly trying to manage our time! Kelley had a really useful way of managing writing share time for her students. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIn looking at the examining my beliefs on writing, I do think it is important that students need to see their teachers as writers. I show my students and let them know that writing is big part of my job. They all have IEP's written about them and that seems to help them realize writing isn't something that is going to go away when they are done with school. The population I work with definitely needs more adult support with modeling, editing, spelling and direct teaching of skills.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1 Reflection Optimal Learning Model
One of the factors that impacts teaching writing for me is the time constraint. In the resource room, I have 20-30 minutes of writing. Sometimes getting the demonstration part done and having time for them to write as well is difficult. I may only model one or two sentences. The working on independence is also a slower process for my students. My 2nd -3rd graders work independently for about 5 minutes while my 4th-6th graders work for 15 to sometimes 30 minutes. When I have observed my students in writing in their general education classes, they tend to be on task during independent writing activities 40% of the time. This is of course a frustration for their classroom teachers as well.
12 Writing Essentials
My students perform better in writing, when there is clear purpose such as writing a letter to the principal for a school wide reward or if I can select a topic that they all want to write about at the same time. They struggle with selecting their own topics. I will do mini lessons on writing an introduction, adding transition words, elaborating on ideas and composing endings. In the area of conventions I usually conference with them individually. I also tend to stress getting a draft written out first. If I list to many things to think about when writing, they struggle more with beginning their writing. The issue that comes up is with revising. They usually do not want to do that part. There is so much to correct on their conventions that revising in addition is difficult. Something I can work on is focusing more on the revising before the editing. I also would like to focus more showing them good pieces of literature to students so they can see how authors write.
Chapter 2 Start with Celebration
The past two years in the resource room we have had the Great Wall of Writing. My students came up with the name actually by voting. When they have worked hard on a piece, they ask to have it put up the wall. Since I have multiple grades, they seem to feel good about where their writing is at for them in the resource room. Where two paragraphs in fifth grade is not necessarily considered an accomplishment in their classroom, it is in the resource room. We also a few years ago shared the writing we accomplished daily however this took a ten minute chunk out of 20 to 30 minutes. I then switched it to once a week. My students having shared in our small group would often go back to class and share. I do need to start doing the once a week sharing again. I was not as consistent with it this past school year.
When I model writing for my students, I often write about my dog Max. My students in general enjoy these stories and from my students who have pets I have gotten some good stories from them. Last year I modeled for my students a trip to the Oregon Coast story. This produced some good writing for them because they had all been to the coast and had experiences to share. They had a good discussion first about their experiences and then wrote on subject in a very motivated way. I really need to model more writing that my students might have had similar experience happen to them. It is easier for them to come up with ideas then.
Thanks for sharing Tamara! I especially loved your ideas on sharing and celebrating your students' writing! And as far as encouraging students to revise, I think all students can be resistant, unless we make the job meaningful and realistic. Expecting them to revise an entire piece....not enjoyable. Expecting them to revise a sentence/paragraph using something you've taught...much more enjoyable (and fullfilling)!
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the 12 Writing Essentials, I spent a lot of time reflecting on my writing instruction. Writing essentials that I feel I’ve taught well include determining a topic, elaborating on ideas, applying correct conventions and form, presenting ideas clearly, with a logical, well organized flow.
The writing essential that I need to focus on more while teaching is writing with a particular audience in mind and with a meaningful purpose. I think if I focused more on this, then students would find more meaning in their own writing. I spend so much time trying to help students realize that we read for a purpose, but I wasn’t doing the same for writing. I’m ashamed to say that I treated writing like something that I needed to get through with my class. I was guilty of teaching skills and applying to a particular writing assignment. When I return in the fall, I will spend more time discussing the audience and purpose while reading aloud and writing. I would also like to work on teaching students how to elaborate on ideas, embrace language, create engaging leads, and composing satisfying endings. I realized that these are all things that I need to work on in my own writing!
Because I took the Essentials of Reading Instruction in the spring, I have begun to use the Optimal Learning Model more in my classroom. I started applying this model to writing instruction, particularly the shared writing and demonstration. I realized that I spent most of my time on guided practice and independent practice. Even though it was only for a few weeks at the end of the year, I found that it really helped my students, particularly the students who usually struggled with writing. I am excited to begin the year using all parts of this model. I also want to use read aloud to point out good examples of writing, and think-aloud while I model writing.
I was happy to read in chapter one that we do not need to focus on a prescribed scope and sequence program. I thought I was lacking because I did not have one in place. At the same time, I think that I lack direction in my writing instruction. Without a program, I’m not sure where to start and I worry that I am missing something.
Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was such an eye opener for me, because I do not celebrate writing enough! Sometimes students will read part of or all of their writing to a friend or to the class. Other times I may read aloud some good examples of student writing. I definitely don’t do it enough though! I find that I run out of time, which is a horrible excuse! I want to help my students have more pleasure and satisfaction in their writing, instead of just writing what is required. I know a big part of that will be celebrating writing everyday. Reggie wrote, “What we choose to celebrate sends a message about what we value”. This really stuck with me because it made me realize that I need to celebrate the risks students take while writing. I really liked Meghan’s idea about celebrating writers in her classroom with having her students stand up if they used a particular strategy or new skill. I would also like to have a writing celebration a few times a year with parents and/or with our buddy class. Overall I know I need to dedicate more time to sharing student writing so they have more opportunities to take pride in their writing.
Reggie also wrote about a first grade class that emphasized correctness and mechanics. In first grade I think it’s important to teach them to begin a sentence with a capital and end with correct punctuation, but at the same time I don’t want to drain the creativity out of them. I really need to work on this! Any recommendations on how to find a good balance?
There were many ideas I got out of this chapter that I would like to implement in the fall. I liked how Reggie began some writing lessons with “you won’t believe what happened” or “let me tell you about the time…” I want to begin the year with shared writing and demonstrative writing using these openings to get students excited about writing. First graders are pretty easy to excite, especially if they think you are excited. I also thought it was a good idea to orally tell the story first to capture students’ attention. Kids always have a lot to talk about, but when it’s writing time they have nothing to write about. I think I will have more partner shares and circle times when we tell stories first and then use that as an introduction for writing time. I also loved the idea of dramatizing student writing. I can imagine capturing the class’ attention by choosing a student’s story to act out for a special treat once a week. I bet that would really motivate them to write creatively with an audience in mind and with purpose. In addition, I realize I need to do more journaling at other times of the day besides morning work! Do you think it’s best to give first graders a few ideas to choose from to write about in their journals, or should I let them write about whatever they want? Next year I will also use Reggie’s method of shared writing- picking a topic ahead of time, and writing ideas about that topic on sticky notes and then having the class help narrow the topic. I think first graders would really enjoy being part of my writing process.
Chapter 1:
ReplyDeleteBeing a fan of Regie Routman's Reading Essentials book - I like the similar approach she takes to Writing. Can't we teach everything (and shouldn't we) following the Optimal Model?
I love the "Top Five Things I Do To Ensure Students Become Excellent Writers" and how this repeats (to drill it into our heads) throughout the book. The best approaches from Chapter 1 I liked were "...start with a blank page...It kaes enormous energy, courage, confidence and skill, not to mention a positive attitude." and "Be Explicit -- Show Students How."
Chapter 2: Start With Celebration
I really appreciate the Ms. Routman lists the exact positive and enouraging phrases whe uses to encourage writers. While as the school teacher-librarian I have not done much to celebrate student writing (beside the video booktalks and book reviews students compose) I plan to do more. I especially highlighted doing more and having students compose Reader's Theatre scripts.
Changes? To model my writing and talk out loud about the mental process and I write = metacognition (articulated.)
Chapter 3: Share Your Writing Life
"Writing enhances thinking and helps develop it." Students like honest answers and information. They need to be told why writing is so important. I find they respect understanding from an adult point of view why getting "hooked" on a series is so important for their reading fluency.
-Elin Kordahl
July 19, 2009
ReplyDeleteKim
Chapter 1
I try to use the Optimal Learning Model in my classroom. I think I need to work on being more purposeful about it especially in the “Shared Demonstration” section. That one I sometimes skip over and jump right into “Guided Practice.” I think I am concerned about running out of time.
I currently teach writing “whole to part.” For me, it just makes for sense and it is more interesting as a writer. As a student, I remember learning all of those little skills but it didn’t impact my writing because it was so far removed from it. I need to improve the interest level of the topics I have my students write on. I also want to increase my students’ interest by having them write for different audiences.
Chapter 2
Each student writes from any genre they choose and then once they have 5 pieces they choose their favorite that they take through the publishing process. Once it has been published, they read it to the class and share the illustrations. The students then give specific feedback on what they liked about the writing. I really appreciated Regie’s celebrating student’s who tried something new. I would like to incorporate that in my writing time toward the end of a writing session so that each day, students can feel celebrated.
I want to use modeled writing a lot more in my classroom. In the past when I have used it, I think my pieces I was writing were too long. By shortening them up, I can be more purposeful on the areas that I want to focus on with my students.
Kim Fast
Clutter...so true...I find that I have a hard time staying focused or even figuring out what to focus on when my life, space, etc. is cluttered!!
ReplyDeleteI have also found that I sometimes 'clutter' the curriculum with too much stuff...trying to fit in social studies, life skills, reading, writing etc.. I need to remember to stay focused on what really matters and then if I have time get to the other stuff. One thing that I can agree with Reggie on when I look at how I have been teaching writing over the last few years is that it probably has not been as fun as I would like it to be.
I really need to go back to my teaching motto: Keep it fun! Keep it relevant! I really believe that if I can do that every student will benefit. So many times we get bogged down by teaching to the test (I am very guilty of this) and what really matters to the students gets lost in the test scores.
I love the idea of starting the year by asking students to write me a letter describing their 'writing career'. I think that this would give some great insight into their skill level and aptitude toward writing. It would also set the tone and give the student some ownership in their writing.
As I was reading over the "12 writing essentials" i was thinking that I would like to make posters of these to hang around my room...not just for my students to see but to keep me focused as well!!!! I know that I do some of them well...but I really need to be focusing on doing all of them well even if it means taking time out of social studies to do so. I think that one way that I might incorporate some of the 12 essentials into social studies is by reading aloud more books that are relevant to the civilization that we are studying and talk about some of the 12 essentials and then have students write and respond in their social studies journals.
My job share partner and I have talked about having students write in a journal everynight...we have talked about prompts and giving them out nightly...I want to make sure that we keep them relevant and that the students can tell stories that are relevant to them. I also want to make sure to focus more on content not just correctness...it is so important for students to enjoy writing and then work on mechanics from there.
If a student loves what they have written then they are going to enjoy working on the mechanics of the story which would/will make conferencing and editing so much more enjoyable for me and the student.
I totally believe in celebrating the writing...that is something else that I need to make sure that I take the time to do. So often I feel like the mid-term or end of the quarter is approaching and I am supposed to be moving on to the next thing on our curriculum calendar and that we just move on!!! This next year I am going to make a point to celelbrate...it is one thing that we started doing last year during our community time but sort of lost it when things got busy. But the kids loved sharing their writing and it was a great way to celebrate!!!
BINGO! If the person doing all the work is the one learning…why am I working so much?!?!
ReplyDeleteSimplify
With regards to the optimal learning model, I strive for this philosophy in my classroom. Now going back to having 4th graders in my room, I am nervous about testing and balancing writing to a prompt versus choice writing. Any thought on this? I also agree with Sarah Paul working without a scope and sequence: At the same time, I think that I lack direction in my writing instruction. Without a program, I’m not sure where to start and I worry that I am missing something.
I was also reminded that while I model writing bits in front of students, I rarely write start to finish a whole story in front of students. Just last year I tried writing story beginnings with my students. I sat at the carpet with my notebook and wrote; then we all shared. It was very insightful to see how challenging it was for me to get started without pre-planning. It really helped me understand kids that don’t always get ideas right away.
I have to agree with Joelle in that reading, vocabulary, writing, etc… all tie together. Fitting in grammar lessons and word work and cursive all seem to be such isolated lesson, but really it is all the craft of writing.
Celebrations
I think I once had a kid tell me that no one would read his writing so why did it matter. It helped me realize that so often the only “audience” is the teacher and this section reminded me how driven by meaning writing should be. Last year my students had pen pals from the same grade-level but another state. This was the most motivating time in their writing and they really were engaged because they had an audience. They were also learning how to write letters and it gave them an authentic reason to care about their spelling, grammar, handwriting, etc…
I have also tried hard to incorporate sharing time and author parties after big units. I’m not as consistent as I would like to be, but I’m on my way. The celebration section just reminded me of how critical this is for student writers. When we have a daily share circle in my room, I like to have my clipboard handy so I can take any notes on teachable points I see. Sometimes I write nothing, but I may hear a student who need stronger verbs and another student who is really using active verbs well. I might jot this down and bring the two kiddos together the next day, for some peer-teaching.
Sarah P, Megan, Kim, Elin, and Christina – I really enjoyed reading your thoughtful comments on the first section of the book! Sarah, I’m glad that you’ve been able to incorporate so much learning (especially the use of the Optimal Learning Model) from both Reading and Writing Essentials into your classroom! I definitely understand your concerns about not having a program, I do think that there needs to be a focus to the writing, such as working within a unit of study. We’re working this summer on revising our writing curriculum and developing units of studies for grades 3-5. The teachers that are working on the committee are feeling such a sense of relief because they will have a focus (purpose) and they won’t be pulling lessons from a million different places. Elin & Kim – You’re right – we SHOULD teach everything using the OLM…it’s what good teaching instruction is based on (Margaret Mooney’s TO, WITH, & BY)!!! The reality as Kim mentioned though, there is always the issue of TIME…and there’s never enough!!! It’s all about finding that impossible balance. As Megan wrote, we’re cluttering our curriculum with too much “stuff”, and everything you teach becomes a watered down version. It is about determining what’s most important for your students and staying focused on that. I’m sure it’s the same on the west coast, but it would be absolutely impossible for any teacher in CT to teach each Grade Level Expectation in the curriculum in addition to what’s in individual district curriculums!!!! Christina, I think that if students can become more successful writers (fluency, organization, and elaboration), in any given genre (personal narrative, fiction, nonfiction….) then students will be able to perform well on an state writing assessment! Our new curriculum lays out about 5-7 units of study over the year (depending on grade) and before our state test we have a 2/3 week unit of study on test prep. For the writing unit, this will be focused on how to transfer that “good writing” to writing to a prompt.
ReplyDeleteI definitely use the Optimal Learning Model where all writing skills are first demonstrated/modeled, then practiced either together or individually with guidance and finally done independently.
ReplyDeleteBecause I am an ELD teacher and I have my students for 30-45 minutes per day I have very "specific targets and very specific mini-lessons that typically center on grammar and conventions. Depending on the grade level and the cooperating teacher I will either select the topic of writing , or extend a piece of writing students already started in the class. I find that what I do mostly is help organize thoughts and assist in phrasing and word usage. I find that most of my students already have voice and but they do not always have the language to express that voice. There is also a pattern to essay writing that pretty formulaic and once students are familiar with it, it is easier for them to organize their writing around it. Beginning ELD students feel successful if they can correctly produce a piece of writing that fits the "formula". Once they feel successful they can expand their writing style as their English develops.
I try to publish something every week. Students either make small books that are a shorter version of what we read in class (1st/2nd grade) and that way they have an English text they can take home and read to their parents/siblings. I also hang student work on the board outside the ELD room - we illustrate their work with pictures related to the topic and they bring work they're proud of to the general classroom to share. I have also laminated some students best work as an example of something to keep and refer to for future reference of their abilities. For some reason laminating things makes them permanent - "preserved for ever."
With my older students I try to get them to explore issues/ideas they are interested in. Last year I used "This I Believe" from NPR - I had them listen to a few essays, we talked about strategies used in the essays, then we talked about things that were important to them. I got some amazing essays that surprised even me! I couldn't write as good, honest, and as passionate an essay as my kids produced. They wanted to express themselves and they sure did! Finding meaningful activities is half the battle.
Section One:
ReplyDeleteOptimal Learning Model:
I really like the way the Regie has outlined the optimal learning model in the cover of the book. It is easy to refer to when I need it. Also, it is very clear. However, I think writing is a subject where I have the most difficulty following the optimal learning model for every lesson. Often I let the students go to independent practice too early and then the lesson isn’t as good. I need to continue to visit the model as I plan my writing lessons.
12 Writing Essentials:
This year our staff has been doing the Regie Routman in Residence Series. Many of the ideas in this text are in the materials for the staff development series. Working together as a K-6 staff (with specialists) to discuss writing has been powerful. On page 13 she mentions that “the skills and strategies that writers use are the same across grade levels; their depth and sophistication are what increase”. Working in “vertical teams” with a teacher from each grade level on the team we discuss writing samples and different ideas that are presented. It has been eye opening to many of the primary teachers especially to realize just how much of writing is the same across the grade levels (hence the 12 essentials). Especially since I teach the big writing test grade (4th) it would really help if my students came into my classroom already familiar with the writing essentials.
Celebrating Writing:
Every year students beg to share their work at the end of our writing time and every year I’m still surprised with how much they enjoy sharing their work. I try to celebrate their writing at the end of the session each day. However, there are always days where there seems to be no time to celebrate. As I type that it just seems silly. Celebrations are what help students feel successful and what lets them see what other students are working on. I typically have students sit in a circle with their writer’s notebook in front of them. Some days I’ll have time for a few students to read a piece they are working on. Other days I will have each student pick a great sentence from their story to share or if we are working on leads they will each share a great lead. Most days I made it optional but towards the end of the year when we are really comfortable together I do ask that every student share something. Usually by that time they are all just dying to read their own words aloud.
I have students write, illustrate and publish children’s stories each year. We share them with our first grade buddy class and at the end of the year celebration conferences with parents. Not only are we celebrating our work by sharing them with others, students have a clear purpose of writing a story for their first grade buddy to enjoy.
I enjoy writing for myself as well as with my students. I have my own writer’s notebook at school that I use with them. Typically I will write in mine while they are writing in theirs during our daily free writes (I typically start my writing block with a free write to get them writing and to get whatever they are thinking of out of their heads so they can focus on whatever piece they are working on that day). However, when working to prepare them for the state writing test I didn’t model the process for them. I should have gone through the entire process from selecting a prompt to publishing my essay so they could see how it could be done. This year I will model the process for them from start to finish.
to be continued...
Continued from above:
ReplyDeleteRegie mentions writing about your own life with students and I always do that. That’s what I like to write about. It is what I know the most about! One of my favorite activities that I do with kids at the start of the year to help them get topics in their notebooks is to draw a map of a favorite childhood location. They draw it out and then add details of objects and things. Then they draw stars on the places that tell a story. I draw the sheep farm that I grew up on and the kids love hearing stories about me as a kid. It is a lesson that I use from the “Teaching the Qualities Of Writing” by Fletcher and Portalupi. It is a great resource for finding mini lessons to help students out with any aspect of writing.
First, I want you to close your eyes and see me dance around in excitement that I didn't find reading this section torture! The reason I haven't read this book before is because I thought it would be like visiting the dentist each time I opened it up, but I am looking forward to the next chapter. Okay, I had to get that out of my system.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
The war against clutter has been on since I got my job. Each year I reflect on what was clutter and what was essential and then choose how I want to proceed next year. I hate to think where I'd be if I didn't do this! Simplifying all aspects of teaching is the way to go!
Optimal Learning Model:
I was very lucky to be mentored during my first two years by some amazing teachers that encouraged me to rethink what I thought I knew about teaching writing, which really was NOTHING, and focus on this learning model. Actually, they did it for all aspects of my teaching and I continue to seek them out to challenge my thinking and teaching.
Our building did not have a writing program at the time, so I used our building Literacy Coach and the state standards to focus my teaching. It made the most sense for me and I continually thank my good fortune to have met these four women when I did - before I developed what I deem as "bad habits" in teaching.
12 Writing Essentials for All Grade Levels:
"The skills and strategies that writers use are the same across the grade levels; their depth and sophistication are what increase." I want to copy this quote from page 13 and post it all around our school! As I read through this list of essentials I found myself nodding at many of them. Honestly, I do not rethink and revise while I compose in front of my kids as much as I could. What I truly do NOT do very often is read widely and deeply with a writer's perspective. I happen to have the poetry book written by Regie Routman, so I do practice this during our poetry unit. When I read aloud to my students I'm really focusing on our reading strategies and not on the writing. We discuss it, but not with the focused enthusiasm I do with the reading strategies. All of this is great; however, Regie most definitely knew a learner like me would be reading this book since she included the "Things I, Sarah Luvaas, Can Do to Be Better" list.
Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteCelebrating Student Writing:
I am lucky enough to have a document camera in my classroom, so I am able to have students put their writing under the doc cam and share their writing. Unfortunately, I do not get to this as often as I should. This was already on my "To Improve Next Year" list. Yes, I know. I have a lot of lists going on right now, but I'm digressing. The ways we celebrate: 1. We share and publish our poetry into a class book. 2. Buddy Journals - We exchange written letters with sixth graders to build relationships through writing. 3. We research Native Americans, write an expository, and create a visual presentation that we then present to our school community (parents, grandparents, lunch buddies, staff members, etc.). 4. Author's Day - We write and illustrate our own fairy tales and then we present to our school community.
My list does not include as much daily celebration, which I already mentioned, but I know I need to follow through on that. Regie did include some great hints to focus the celebrations (e.g., "Who tried something new?").
Changes in Instruction:
I need to go from whole-to-part-to-whole instruction to get the skills included in the instruction. I need to ensure that there are more authentic assignments with a clear audience. Supportive conversations need to be done BEFORE we start our writing, which will be time saving per Regie. Starting with stories makes so much sense and will help build community too! I need to avoid asking "Why did I...?" or "What did I miss?" and focus on the content. It seems so obvious that I should be exaggerating the sounds in the words we are working on for our Word Work as well as asking for input on them from the students. Duh!
Chapter 3
Sharing Your Writing Life
This chapter made me feel more secure in taking risks, collaborating with my peers, keeping a journal of my writing for kids to use as a reference, and permission to struggle in front of kids! I do write in front of my kids, but I feel uncomfortable when I struggle for words or sentence structure. And now I know that it was what I needed to be doing.
All,
ReplyDeleteEach post has at least one really great idea that is making me think and write them down in my journal. Thanks for that!
Kelly Rolwes
ReplyDeleteAugust 1st, 2009
Hello, where did the summer go here, we are already in August!!!!
Mine was also too long Have to go on two...
I have found this year in my classroom that actually doing less in producing more. I redirected my focus on the process of writing and getting the best writing down and finished. This took so much teaching and class time. I was very nervous about this. I thought I would not get everything done, would not keep the students attention this long on one writing piece. The result was so interesting. The students were so proud of what they produced. They also got to reflect and see where they started and how far into their writing they were able to get. I was also very proud. So I agree and take the advice of getting rid of unnecessary activities and all the stuff that just does not get the job done.
For the Appendix A checklist I disagreed with many of the beliefs. I hope that is not bad. Some of the examples that I disagreed with are. Teachers should read everything a kid writes. We just can not have time to do that, plus students really do not want you to read everything. Students should only write if they can publish their writing. Again, time management and in my opinion, students need to learn to be proud of their own writing regardless of what happens to the writing. Ok, I agree about trying to involve something about writing every day but making a student physically write every day is not going to make them automatically improve or enjoy writing more.
I found the Optimal Learning Model to be helpful, but a little vague. Vague in the fact that is does not explain much to me about how and why to do the steps in the model. What I found helpful was the modeling and how important that is. Yes, modeling should not only be in the beginning, but also throughout the process and school year. Students really relate when they get to see their teacher actually do what the students are expected to do. Students love to see the “real” in their teacher also. One thing on the model I did find hard was moving students into independence of writing. It just seems to be difficult for the students to fully explore and create on their own.
When I read through the 12 Writing Essentials, I kept thinking about the 6 Traits of Writing in my head. 6 Traits of Writing has been unofficially adopted in my school as the way teachers should be assessing writing. I have read the books on this writing assessment and love it myself. This year I have taught to my fifth graders what the traits are and what different writing pieces look like with each trait. The students loved getting involved in the assessing and trait focuses. I found it let them understand their own writing more. We took a great deal of time focusing on each writing trait. What does it mean to have voice or word choice? How can I better organize my paper and what does good sentence fluency look like? When we started creating our own writing, we also took each trait one at a time and revised and edited in students papers with that one trait. When I showed students examples of their own writing, my writing, and other students writing, we also went over each trait individually. Students had a score sheet that we created together and were able to put their vote for assessment down and defend why they chose that score. The result of all this was so much better then I could have imagined. The students were engaged, I was excited tot each, and students writing improved by miles.
In the celebrating writing section, I agree with the low self esteem students carry now. I believe reluctant readers are really insecure about their ability and therefore project it outward as I hate to write. I believe in praise, praise, praise. Many of my boys this past year all said they hated to write if it was not about dragons, guns, and war. I started them on new topics and genres and praised them continuously even through their tough I don’t care attitude. I found after awhile, they started getting proud on their own with their writing. I would like to better improve on recognition for improvement in students writing. I sometimes focus on the best voice or the best conventions when really the struggling writers that make a huge improvement need that recognition also. I also would like to try to push good writers to do even better and not acknowledge their talent and then expect that quality the whole year. They can improve also. A big improvement I want to make is making more time to present all students writing examples and not just a few on each assignment. If the writing assignment is something they have been working on for say a month, then I need to take time to display and talk about each students writing pieces and not just to use examples.
ReplyDeleteAgain…great comments! Lily, I loved the idea of having the students listen to the “This I Believe” essays from NPR - what a great model for the students. Krista – I love the idea of working in vertical teams. I think you’ll find greater success next year if you do spend some time modeling how to your students need to take the state writing test!...good luck! I love Fletchers TQW also! Yeah Sarah! I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the book I need help in the simplification area myself, changing jobs & districts last year was a great help! Kelly – yes, sometimes “less is more”!...and it is definitely OK to disagree with someone’s thinking. Regie’s is one philosophy, one that I agree with most of her points, yet there are certain points, in which I have differencing opinions. You will learn more about the OLM as you continue to read and take part in the class discussions!!!
ReplyDeletePart I of Reflection I
ReplyDelete“It takes enormous energy, courage, confidence and kill, not to mention a positive attitude.” When I read this quote, I couldn’t help but think about my own writing experience as a student. By the time I was a junior in High School, I found no joy in writing. I no longer saw writing as a form of communication and expression, but instead as a structured procedure with various components that intimidated me to such a degree that I wasn’t able to write a coherent thought. Thus this first chapter titled “Simplify the Teaching of Writing” really clicked with me.
Just a few weeks ago I was meeting with other 7th grade language arts teachers. It is amazing how in just a few hours we began to start placing our writing ideas and curriculum into some kind of formulaic process. All the sudden reflecting on a piece of literature or an event in history centered around using a specific graphic organizer and procedural process. I found myself listening to my colleagues and wondering how will I sell this assignment to my students next fall. My anxiety level began to increase as I questioned my own skills and writing philosophy.
Analyzing the Optimal Learning Model reminded me once again what teaching is all about. It is sharing. Showing something new to a students using your own examples and experience, seeing how these ideas fit into the thoughts and reflections of the students, and then guiding and supporting them as they internalize such ideas, concepts or skills for their own use. It is amazing how quickly this natural and joyful process of learning and get manipulated and mangled; all with the best of intentions.
One thing I stress to my students is that writing is a form of communication. An important part of our prewriting process involves talking to others about our ideas and opinions. I tell my students, “If you can talk about it, then you can write about it.” This comes from my own experience as a writer. I found my voice and joy again in writing once I realized that if I could express my ideas and thoughts orally, I could do so in writing. When I read the 12 Writing Essentials for All Grade Levels, I again could see naturally the stages a writer goes through when writing. The list didn’t focus on skills but how to communicate information in a meaningful way for the individual receiving or reading it. Once again it is amazing how quickly we as teachers forget that we write something so it can be read by someone else. And when we forget, so do our students. I know that many of my students are not writing an expository essay with the idea that it will be read by someone else. They are writing to complete an assignments made up of exercises, specific parts and skills. I greatly appreciated when Regie stated, “ Teaching writing by focusing on the parts-spending weeks teaching sentence fluency of transitions or voice, for example-is not how writers work.”
I am planning to share the 12 Writing Essentials for All Grade Levels with my colleagues at LOJ to guide our thoughts and efforts when planning writing units and assignments. If what we a doing does not naturally fit into one of these 12 essentials, then we know we are complicating the writing process and not simplifying it.
To be continued …
“My primary goals have been for the students to see writing as enjoyable and themselves as successful writers.” Wow! I’ve been looking at state writing assessments results and scoring guides too much lately. In my recent discussions with other language arts teachers and administrators we forgot to focus on helping our students enjoy writing and to see themselves as successful writers. Instead we focused on how a certain writing prompt can be used to address specific genres and writing skills. How the students feel about writing and if they see themselves as writers has not been a prime topic of conversation.
ReplyDeleteGems I highlighted and want to implement in the classroom
• Celebrating students’ risk taking: I like the questions, “Who tried something new? Who rewrote a part of didn’t work? Who has a great lead?” I could see how students would respond to these types of questions.
• Secrets of Seventh Graders: I think this would make a great activity at the beginning of the school year. I like how Regie modeled this activity and agree that students would find this stimulating and interesting. It would be an opportunity to me to share something with them too.
• Writing in front of my students: A teacher who retired several years ago shared her own experiences using this technique. Now after reading how Regie would implement it has given me more courage to do it.
• Celebrating students’ writing: This is one I am always striving to find a better vehicle, especially in regards to “publishing.” With my Advance Writing students, we create a literary journal and the end of the trimester. This has been very meaningful to them. However, I would like to find more ways of “publishing” my students writing in both language arts and social studies. The best way is when students know the writing is going to have an audience that extends past me and preferably past the classroom. I would like to have my students share their writing with other students in other classes. What I want to avoid is having students evaluate other students’ skills instead of content. Unfortunately they usually model how their teachers have responded to their own writing. Instead of commenting as a reader, many want to use a grade or a number from the scoring guide.
Things I read that reinforced current practices
ReplyDelete• Choosing topics carefully: I find myself reading writing topics through the eyes of my students. Would I be able to respond to this? Where does it register on the “so what” scale? I even ask myself, “Do I want to read seventy papers on this topic?” If I can’t buy into a topic, I know I will have a tough time encouraging my students to do so too.
• Modeling writing: Yes, I need to do a lot more of it. It is amazing the connection I have with my students when I do. When I give an essay test on a social studies topic, I have to sit down and make myself respond to it first before I can begin reading what my students have written. It is a very insightful experience. I think about how I would organize my content and what facts and details would I use to support it. Then when I read my students’ writing I can appreciate how they are responding. Often I find myself complimenting ways students’ addressed an issue or incorporated into their essay. It allows me also to share my own frustrations I felt and strategies I used. Students also respected me for doing the same assignment that I asked them to do.
• Connecting Your Reading Life with Writing: I agree completely that good writers are good readers. Most of my students enjoy reading and have definite opinions about what they are reading. They enjoy having the opportunity to share why they like an author in a conversational setting. So often the only time teachers address the topic of what authors do is when they are about to assign an essay having students analyze a piece of literature. Students don’t get a chance to think and practice reflecting on how they are responding to someone’s words as a reader. Thus they assume the teacher wants them to critique or more accurately “criticize” a writer’s skills and ability. They certainly have seen more modeling of this in their own educational experience. It’s painful to see students respond to other students’ writing in this jaded manner.
Thanks Krista, isn’t it crazy how hung up on “formulaic” processes many of us as teachers are hung up on???!!! I completely blame the mediocrity on our state writing tests. As teachers we feel the high stakes of these assessments, are too afraid of the repercussions of poor testing results if we veer away from the “formula”. I just spent the last three weeks curriculum writing for LA in grades 3-5 and it was a constant battle to get teachers on board of teaching writing through an actual writing process. Great comments!
ReplyDeleteI really can't stand writing about anything for which I have no passion or interest. Why should I expect my students to feel any differently? If we spoon feed our students a canned program that lacks enthusiasm and passion for the process, how can we get our kids to WANT to do their best and become good communicatiors? Just like Routman says, "Teaching writing is a serious problem in many schools. We are overfocused on procedures, processes, genres, and testing and underfocused on thinking, communication, inquiring and exploring language." We have made the teaching of writing so complicated and focused on an outcome that will help AYP, that we have neglected to instill the love of creating and using our imaginations in the written language.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of Routman's Optimal Learning Model. I've used it in my classes and have seen such growth in my students, and myself as a teacher and a writer. It's so simple. Write for them! Share your stories and put them on paper. Guide the students through a common practice. Let them try it out. Praise, praise, praise...even if they did misspell every other word.
One way I use this model is when I am encouraging the kids to think of all the personal stories they have to tell. Stories they are intimately familiar with, love and feel good about telling. I do this by creating a map of my neighborhood growing up. As I draw it out...roughly...I share short stories about things that happened to me there. I make a small title next to that spot on the map. I know that I can go back to the titles if I ever need inspireation for a narrative story that I know and love. Eventually I get to the story of how a porcupine was terrorizing the dogs and shooting their snouts full of quills. My grandpa chased the creature up a tree and shot him down in one shot. (This was out in the country...not the suburbs mind you.) Next, I write a short version of the story for and with the kids. We edit and create just the right wording for impact until we come up with the final product. After that, it's their turn to create neighborhood or special place maps and share some stories with a partner or small group. They then move on to selecting a story to write and share. The kids and I love it. I may be wrong, but I find this to be so much more effective than giving them a narrative prompt and asking them to write a story.
One thing I tend to forget and Routman reminds me of is the notion that the kids writing needs to have a meaningful purpose. They can't just write a narrative because the State Standards say they need to practice that and I can check it off my list once they turn it in. Meaningful...such an important word. The 12 Writing Essentials are so specific and simple. I can work with that framework. I like Megan's idea of having a poster up that reminds all of us what we should be doing.
The eleventh essential, read widely and deeply-and with a writer's perspective is one for me to work on. I want to work diligently on using the works of other authors in picture books, short stories, novels and expository text more effectively in my classes. I want kids to be able to identify quality writing and its components in a vareity of genre. What do good writers do? How can we incorporate what they do into our own work? This is a lesson I do at the start of the year. We create lists and I show some examples and ask for student examples from stories they like. But, I seem to forget to continue to do that throughout the year. I think I become overwhelmed by the clutter.
to be continued...
I LOVED the idea Routman gave in chapter three about having the teaching staff write about as snapshot of thei life and share. There is no more powerful a way to remind teachers what it is to be a student asked to write and then share. It's stressful. To reflect on the process of their work is meaningful as well. How did they feel? What strategies work best for them? How/why what this writing experience painful or enjoyable? How can we apply this to our classrooms. What a powerful reminder of the pressures we place on our students.
ReplyDeleteI remember being mortified that I had to write poetry and share it in my Masters classes. It was especially difficult when I heard the amazing work of the people who read before me. What a relief when my work was praised and celebrated along with everyone else's. Remembering to celebrate our kid's work, no matter how much we want to suggest editing or revision is vital. I would never have written poetry again if my teacher had just pointed out the flaws. I'm so glad Routman stressed the use of poetry. It's an amazing tool to get kids, even the most reluctant boy who rolls his eyes at the thought of writing a poem, to see that their writing can be meaningful, powerful, praiswworthy and just plain cool soundin'. It's fun.
From these chapters I took away the facts that I need to strive to help the kids see the fun and pleasure in writing. I cannot be the teacher with the red pen ready to find the mistakes and not see the brilliance or achievements in the kid's work. I want to celebrate their work more. Maybe I could work on author chats where kids share their best work either orally or on a special bulletin board. How can involve parents more in praising their kids work? Copy work and mail home with a letter of praise?
Teachers need to write more for their students...model, model, model. Do we resist because we are afraid of our own skills or lack thereof? Routman says that by sharing our writing and the process, we develop a closer bond and understanding of each other. I'm in total agreement. The best teaching comes when we've established close relationships with our students. We build trust and confidence.
This is not clutter...this is fun.
Kelly Brown
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Reducing the clutter in teaching makes so much sense. It seems like the best lessons are often the ones with less ‘stuff’ or less clutter. The lessons that I have to prepare many things for and that have many parts often don’t go as well as I would like, whereas the simple lessons turn out to be the most engaging and powerful lessons. I have thought this for awhile, but didn’t feel like I was doing enough to prepare for these lessons and had the feeling like I should be doing more. Reading this confirmed for me that it is okay to plan simple lessons and gave me a framework to follow with the Optimal Learning Model. One question- where was this model in grad school?! This is the first time that I have seen it. I think that I naturally use this model for teaching math- I demonstrate how to do problems, we do it together in steps, do practice problems together using white boards and then students practice independently. However, I haven’t used it much for other subjects across the curriculum. Last year, I would often model how to write a certain genre and modeled for way too long in one sitting. I didn’t do any shared demonstrating or guided practice. I’m really excited to try that out this year. Routman gave many great examples and important language to use. I appreciated the ideas of how to get students involved and taking risks in their learning using such positive language. I will also cut my modeling time down to approximately 15 minutes a session in order to keep the students engaged and interested.
The 12 Writing Essentials was interesting for me to read- I think that I do a great job of teaching some of the items on the list and barely teach some of the other essentials. I’ve focused on creating leads, conventions, and organization. This chapter gave me ideas for how to teach the reread, rethink and revise while composing. I’ve always told the students to revise their papers and what to look for, but now I realize that I need to spend way more time modeling it for students and demonstrating that writers reread constantly throughout the writing process.
The key take-away from Chapter Two for me is the importance of students writing to a meaningful audience. I have always given students topics to write on depending on the genre of writing we were studying. I’m looking forward to doing more of a writer’s workshop where students have more choice. I loved the ideas for some of the writing students could do with a meaningful audience- a guidebook to the school, class newsletter and thank-you letters, for example.
Celebrating throughout the writing process is something that I hadn’t thought much about. My class would celebrate by reading our finished stories, but not as we went through the writing process. Using phrases like “Who tried something new?” is something I plan to try this year.
As is, I am sure, somewhat evident in my very late blog entries, I really dislike writing. I am constantly second-guessing words as I type them, and finding that what I want to say is much easier to vocalize than to write, but the moment I begin writing down what I am saying, it stops making sense. Unfortunately, I realize that this definitely affects how I teach writing. The idea of modeling my own writing is terrifying, as I don’t really understand my own thought processes. I have always been very good at seeing what improvements are needed on others’ writing, but never willing to even attempt my own. While I know that this is a problem I will need to deal with, I am frustrated with the premise that in order to teach my students writing, I need to be a writer. I was able to make it through school, writing for a large variety of purposes, by simply using the formulas taught to me in school. Isn’t it possible for me to be an effective writing teacher without personally enjoying writing?
ReplyDeleteBecause of this lack of confidence in my writing, I, too often, skip over the modeling stage that is so important to the Optimal Learning Model. On the occasion that I do model writing, it usually takes up all of the allotted time, leaving no time for guided and individual practice, and making it difficult to connect these stages.
When looking over the 12 writing essentials, I found that I have only been focusing on half of them, leaving out the essentials relating to purpose and voice, specifically. Unfortunately, I think these things are what make students actually enjoy writing, and definitely need to be incorporated into my writing program this coming year.
Celebration of Student Work
Before reading this section, I felt that I was very good at celebrating student work in class: posting student writing in the hall, student sharing 3-4 (students a week) recognizing students for their writing. In college I studied voice, and I know that I practiced more and worked harder when I knew that I had a performance coming up. In my class, I see the same thing with my students—If they know they may be sharing their writing, they work just a bit harder and write just a bit more. The only problem that I see with this is, again, a lack of time. I am not quite sure how I am to give students a purpose for their writing (read aloud, etc), model my own, do shared writing, guided practice, individual practice, and celebrate student work in a 1 hour chunk of time, or even in a week, for that matter. To me, this seems to be the opposite of simplifying. I am hopeful that there will be an outline of how to organize, not only each step of the OLM, or each day, but each unit of writing.
I do think that I need to put more emphasis on having students write for a purpose, and not just a grade. I think a wonderful way to do this is to write across the curriculum, incorporating science, social studies, etc. which will require me to reorganize my thinking and class time.
Regie makes some very good points and strong arguments for her approach on writing instruction. I already employ many of her strategies in my instruction, but I am also seeing many areas where I can modify and refine what I do. I agree with her philosophy of whole-to-part-to-whole writing instruction and recognize that my instruction does certainly have many areas where I have focused on a part-to-whole writing approach. I think part-to-whole approach can work for the higher ability students, but agree with Regie that it doesn’t work for the writing ability of many students.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago I took a writing instruction course called The Community of Writers. Much of what I learned in that class has made it into my classroom. I use many writing exercises that allow students to choose what they want to write about and to focus on the content of what they are writing. Those exercises follow the spirit of the Optimal Learning Model, for instance, I always begin with an example and model how I go through the writing process. At the end of the writing exercise, we share what we have written and discuss the positives about their writing.
Regie is right is saying that student writing should be meaningful. Through my observations in the classroom, I have noticed a big difference in the amount and quality of the work produced if the students are interested and invested in what they are writing. I believe in giving the students a choice in what they want to write, and my answer is almost always yes when students ask to change the writing prompt, if I think it will help them stay focused on the writing task. However, after looking at the twelve writing essentials, I realize that there are some areas of writing instruction I could emphasize more.
One of those areas is helping all of my students to enjoy the writing process. I know from my own experience that I find writing to be tedious and difficult. Because the words don’t flow out of me effortlessly, I don’t enjoy writing as much as I could. This gives me extra motivation to try and focus on always finding something to celebrate in every student’s writing. By celebrating the risk they are taking and encouraging the students to take greater risks in their writing, I can help them enjoy what they are writing and encourage them to write something they are proud of and help them build the confidence to know that they are becoming better writers. Hopefully, students can see that even if you struggle with writing, you can produce a quality piece if you are willing to put in the necessary time and effort.
Thanks for your comments Angela, Kelly, Leslie, and Brad. Angela, it’s very encouraging to hear from a middle school teacher with your writing philosophy…we need more M.S. teachers like you and others in this course…here in CT!!! I love your map idea to generate writing, are you familiar with the book, My Map Book, by Sara Fanelli? It would work perfectly with this idea , it shows how someone drew a map of their neighborhood, their heart, their room……You also mentioned how important poetry writing is…Regie wrote several other books on poetry, a series called Kid’s Poems (she has a book for a variety of different grade levels on how to write free verse poetry). They are great! Kelly, I agree that so much of what we’re reading in this book should be taught in Graduate school. I think across the country, schools are really doing a disservice in preparing teachers to teach in the classrooms in which we are expected to teach these days. So much of what I learned was self-motivated and through amazing PD in my prior district! Good luck trying out some of these ideas you mentioned from these chapters with your students next year!!! Leslie and Brad, I’ve felt exactly the same way as you!!! I don’t feel as though I was ever really taught to be a writer, and therefore…definitely have never loved writing. I find thought, somehow, that I do have a passion to teach writing to kids, as a struggle to become a better writer myself. This summer I’ve actually found myself battling as we write curriculum to make sure that teachers are able to allot time for writing. Leslie, as far as organizing units of study out for you, this text will not do much of that, but I can recommend other texts that might support you with that. Lucy Calkins has a series of units written for grades 3-5 published by Heinemann Firsthand, called Units of Study, Grades 3-5. Two other great resources are Ralph Fletcher’s Teaching the Qualities of Writing and The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing by Judy Davis and Sharon Hill. Brad, I’m glad that this course has emphasized and supports many of the teaching strategies that you already use in the classroom, as well as give you some new suggestions to boost your instruction.
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