ASSIGNMENT FOUR: WRITTEN REFLECTION-Section Two- Teaching Essentials Chapters 4-6
Read Writing Essentials, Chapters 4-6 and briefly reflect on the following thoughts written below and any additional comments that you have after reading these chapters. Post your reflection to the course blog.
Chapter 4: Raise Your Expectations
• Why we need to raise expectations – ESPECIALLY for our minority and lower socio-economic students
• How to raise expectations in your classrooms as well as in your grade level and throughout your entire building
• What about handwriting, spelling and editing expectations?
• How to use the Optimal Learning Model to support your students’ needs
“Raising expectations” for our students is a big push in all of our districts. Under “No Child Left Behind” many schools have been identified as “in need of improvement” and have been working furiously yet unsuccessfully for over ten years to “close the gap” for our minority children. But more important than improving performance on high stakes tests is remembering that if we raise our expectations and teach explicitly, then our students will rise to the occasion and astonish us with the high quality work that each of them is capable of.
Regie has some great insight into the need to raise expectations of our students and feeling comfortable and confident with the decision to set high standards for all learners. She raises the question, What are our clearly articulated, rigorous yet reasonable expectations? This is a question that we should reflect on as individual teachers, and one that should be the starting point for a conversation within our grade levels, buildings and across entire districts.
We’d like to know what you think of one of our favorite quotes from the book: “Worksheets aren’t good enough. The students who can do them don’t need them, and the ones who struggle with them feel defeated by the red marks, which only reinforce their feelings of inadequacy. WORKSHEETS FOSTER MEDIOCRITY!” (We personally wanted to shout out when we read that!) Please include your thoughts in your Section Two Reaction.
In this chapter, Regie also sheds some light on several topics that teachers often ask about. “What about handwriting expectations?” and “Conventions, Editing and Publishing?” It’s always helpful to get another professional’s point of view on these pressing issues! Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 5: Do More Shared Writing
• Where does Shared Writing fit within the Optimal Learning Model?
• For which learners is Shared Writing appropriate?
• How can we link Shared Writing with Shared Reading?
• How can Shared Writing be used to support word work?
• What are some “Tried and True” ideas for Shared Writing?
Regie's idea of Shared Writing is very different than that of many other professionals in the field. So often we use Shared Writing only with the primary grades. As Regie states, “What a great way to teach and engage all students in all aspects of oral and written language.” If we are to consider teaching through all phases of the Optimal Learning Model, we can begin to see how important Shared Writing is for our students. We think that the idea of using Shared Writing in both upper elementary and the middle schools is a new way of thinking for many of us.
One of the reasons Regie encourages teachers to use chart paper and an easel, instead of projecting to a screen with an overhead or document camera, is that the children are seated right with you on the floor, which usually holds the children’s attention a little better. Another idea that has worked great for me is to move the overhead machine to the group area and place it on the floor in the middle of the group in front of the easel. I then project the machine onto the white space of the easel. It’s great because you’re able to be right there in the middle of the group and have the benefit of writing more quickly onto a transparency rather that chart paper. You’ll need to consider which of your Shared Writing activities you’ll want students to be rereading (don’t forget that you can hole punch transparencies and put them in a binder for future reference) and which you may want posted to your walls on charts.
Regie’s list of “Tried and True Ideas for Shared Writing” (page 112) is very extensive. It would be helpful to take a look at Regie’s list as you create your curriculum map for the year. Where would some of her suggestions fit within your science, social studies, math, reading and writing units across the year?
Chapter 6: Capitalize on the Reading-Writing Connection
• How can we become more effective integrating our reading and writing instruction?
• Are we as efficient as possible with our responses to reading?
• The benefit and necessity to integrate our content area teaching with both reading and writing
• The importance of writing (and reading) more nonfiction
We know research shows that reading achievement affects writing achievement and vice-versa, and we also know that it continually gets harder to fit “it all” into our day. Effectively using reading and writing connections throughout the day in all areas of language arts, math, science, social studies, and even specials such as art, music and library, is our only option.
Regie’s suggestion of taking a closer look at how we use written response to reading is a very important one. Careful consideration is needed to decide if what we’re asking the students to do is “worth their time.” For example, if the response we’re looking for will “deepen comprehension, cause the writer to reflect on the content, and/or foster appreciation for the text” then it’s worth it. We whole-heartedly agree with her statement that many of the overly structured assignments such as book reports can alienate our readers! While response journals do have their benefits for us professionally Regie states, “they also take up a lot of our time!” It’s a very organized teacher who can effectively keep up with their responses without feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. Don’t forget the bottom line – “Be sure that students spend more time reading than writing about reading!” (Page 126)
We are so glad that Regie addressed how to effectively teach summary writing. We know that many teachers have a difficult time differentiating between a summary and retelling – I (Jackie) was one of them until several years ago. The snapshots and procedures that Regie shares on how to teach summarizing are invaluable and should be a reference that we all refer back to throughout our teaching year.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I had already spent over an hour writing my reflection for this section. When I pressed the preview button, EVERYTHING disappeared and seems to be gone forever. I apologize if this reflection is not quite up to par, nor as detailed as my first, but I will try to recreate my main points.
ReplyDeleteChapter 4
Having high expectations for students increases student performance for ALL learners from every type of background. I have found students often rise to the challenge as long as your expectations and guidelines are clear. Letting them know that I would not ask them to do something that I did not think they were prepared and capable of doing, increases their confidence as well. Thus, they take more risks in their writing and develop into better writers.
I have always had high expectations for my students, and I think my school does a great job as well. This year we were one of ten schools in the state that earned the Celebrating Student Success Award.
As for the quality of work, if I can’t read it, or even have to struggle a little to make it out, I make students re-do it. If I turned in sloppy work, I would not have a job for very long. Anything that I put in the hallway to display has to be free of spelling or grammatical errors. Just like the books we read, there should be no mistakes. If I taught primary, I do not think I would be quite as harsh, but I would still have high expectations and demand their best effort.
I use the optimal learning model in just about everything I teach. However, I have not used it much in the subject of writing. I use to have students get down all of their thoughts so that we could have something to work with. But now, since I started modeling my thinking and writing in front of my students, I wonder why I have done it before. Already I am seeing increased quality of students writing across the board.
In reference to the worksheet quote, this makes good sense. For years, I used skill books and was frustrated that students did not transfer the skills into their own writing. While I often questioned myself as to why I kept giving them, the answer was I did not quite know what else to do.
Chapter 5
Shared writing happens during shared demonstration directly before handing over responsibility to students. Shared writing benefits ALL students but especially lower level and ELL children. We can link shared writing with shared reading to teach the comprehension strategies and learn the author’s craft.
I am not sure how to link shared writing with word work in the fifth grade. I can see how easy it is to with primary grades, but I do not know how it fits into the intermediate.
The tried and true ideas are awesome! I especially like how there are so many ideas that focus on a different audience. I am definitely going to the activity where my students write what to expect in the fifth grade for next year’s students before the end of this year. I also would like to have them write pamphlets to younger kids on why it is important for them to learn how to read.
Chapter 6
Fitting it all in is always a major struggle, especially when there are so many interruptions to our day. It definitely takes a lot of creativity when planning for the day. I try to make my read aloud coincide with what we are studying and incorporate different types of writing within it. Our district uses Bridges for our math curriculum and there is a ton of writing for students to do. Students have to have very clear communication in all their work for others to understand it.
One area I need to improve is incorporating more nonfiction into my shared reading. I do not do this enough. I have heard the idea before of reading three different types of text each day to kids. I actually tried to that a few years ago. It worked really well, but I think I forgot about it. I am using the framework mapped out in this chapter for summary writing right now with our class read aloud. It is working quite well, for this is always a weak area with my students each year.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChapter 4 Summary:
ReplyDeleteThe key topic of raising expectations was prevalent for me during my first year of teaching. I had a lot of ideas and plans for how I would instruct my writing lessons, but I never really felt I met my own expectations. In other words, I felt as though I’d failed. Over the summer, I dedicated a lot of time to focus on how I would make adjustments and what my expectations would be like for myself and students. Needless to say, my second time around was MUCH better.
Raising expectations needed to start with me. I needed to be better educated about the writing process and how to effectively get that across to my students. By spending my time reading books and looking through notes, I had met those expectations.
Another part of the chapter that raised an eyebrow was what acceptable work looks like. I have my own ideas, but to plan time with staff makes a lot of sense. I don’t think we have done that at our school or with my immediate team members. I think that would be an outstanding way to raise expectations and establish clear goals for our students.
What really stuck out in my mind was what excellence looks like for writing. How can I determine what an excellent writing piece looks like as opposed to a good or poor one? Those are questions I hope to find answers too.
As a teacher I want and need to have high expectations for all of my students. My expectations for minority and lower socio-economic need to be consistent with the rest of my students. If I don't; I short change some students and don't provide the opportunity for them to work to their potentional. I agree with Regie when she states "once students become successful writers they are able to apply those skills, that fluency across the curriculum."
ReplyDeleteAs a first year first year teacher I felt that I had high expectations of my class. The first grade team as well as the rest of the school did as well. We expected their handwriting to be neat, that they be able to read their writing back to us, spelling and punctuation needed to be correct and anything that was published needed to be perfect.
I know that some would say that this would stifle the students creativity and getting them to write. I don't agree. That is what the editing process is for after they have written their first draft. As writers we are writing for an audience whether is be for ourselves or others. Convention expectations need to high in order for my students to be able to write so their writing is easy to read and understand.
My job as their teacher is to give the amount of scaffolding and support to each student that they need to meet their potential. That is where using the Optimal Learning Model works so well.
I agree "worksheets aren't good enough". Students need to write. However, as part of their morning warmup as students come in to class in the morning I have included sentences to edit along with some math problems.
Assignment Four (continued)
ReplyDeleteShared writing fits into the Optimal Learning Model as shared demonstration. This is where I would be writing with my students before guided and independent practice. Shared writing helps all learners from elementary school to high school. It is especially true for my English Language Learners. A big part of literacy development is an environment rich in oral language development. In my first grade class I had 9 students who English was their second language out of a class of 23. Two of my students could not speak, read or write English. During shared writing everyone can see, hear or participate in the writing experience.
Shared writing can be linked to shared reading by using the writing created together as reading sources for shared reading. My first graders loved using our class books we created together during shared reading.
When I have my own classroom again; I would like to do more shared writing as I now see the impact it can have on my students' writing. I appreciate "The Teaching Tips To Go Along With Shared Writing" that Regie provided on page 89.
I have used the activity of cutting and reassembling words in my reading instruction. I like the idea of using the shared writing pieces to do this same thing. It most certainly will have more meaning to my students because they helped create the material. This type of word work further connects the reading and writing process.
One thing that was a challenge for me was to help a student who was struggling to get started because "they didn't know what to write" about. The "Tried and True" ideas for shared writing would help with this. I really liked the variety. Using many of these together would also help give new ideas for independent writing. I especially liked the ideas of recipes, advice to teachers, school alphabet book, class newspaper, and how to make something.
Research supports the strong link between reading and writing. I agree that that the more a student reads the better writer they can become. Reading a variety of genres is important as well. Acknowledging this link for me is the beginning of integrating it more across the curriculum. I would like to try a couple of Regie's ideas to get started: use shared writing to create an informational text on polar animals and use little spiral notebooks to write responses to the reading selection during my guided reading groups.
I observed in my own classroom that more emphasis is on reading fiction than nonfiction. I appreciate that Regie pointed out that it is important not to neglect nonfiction. Perhaps expository writing would develop faster if students had more exposure to nonfiction and more demonstration of it. According to Regie children who read nonfiction have more information with which to write.
Ch4
ReplyDeleteWe need to raise our expectations in the classroom because the students can do so much more with higher expectations. My school is culturally diverse with over 22 spoken languages. We have a lot of students who come to the school shortly after entering the U.S. They are often put right into the classroom all day, but given little help or guidance. They go to a separate ELL class once a day for about 45 minutes. I realize that while I am subbing that I let my expectation from the ELL students fall far below what they can do.
I expect to raise my expectations in the classroom by providing more guidance and always expecting their best work. I plan on using the Optimal Learning Model to reach all of the children. I feel that by using this model I will be able to reach the ELL population more effectively. I will start with the demonstration phase and then move on to the shared demonstration. For me I feel that this is where I will spend a lot of time with my students. I also feel that I will find connections made with students during this stage, and they will then be able to apply those connections in the guided practice. After the guided practice I feel the students will be ready for independent practice. I feel that in my school this is a far more broken down way of writing than is practiced.
One last note is that I was surprised to see that the changing the students’ words and putting in the correct one is okay. I would never have thought to change their words without talking to the student and coming up with a better word together.
Ch5
I feel that shared writing comes into play during shared demonstration and guided practice. Shared writing is exciting to me because they have so many options, and above that they are options that the students can find personal interest in. The students will want to provide their best work with there is commitment in what they are doing.
Shared reading writing also opens up a lot of doors, and I feel that having students write a book review allows for creativity and expression. They are able to use their reading comprehension to express themselves in the review. Some great tried and true ideas for shared writing that I plan on using in my classroom are the following: welcome letter, procedures in the classroom, visitor’s guide, letter to the principal, and poems. There are many more that I plan on using, but these were just a few that I haven’t tried and want to.
Ch 6
Being a substitute in my school and teaching all different grades I see how writing is taught different ways. I love subbing for kindergarten and I realized after reading this chapter that writing and reading are being taught from the beginning of the class. We read a morning message together and then the students will go back to their seats and complete a simple analogy on the message and circle a letter of the alphabet. This daily routine is getting them familiar with words and daily reading that they may not have had otherwise. While subbing I also notice many teachers in the upper grades have students read non-fiction and then do write-ups about what they read. The problem I find is that they don’t find any pleasure in it. It is usually just a summary on what they read, and the students aren’t invested in it. I want students to be reading more non-fiction, but having the writing for the reading more captivating so that it would suck the students in. They would find themselves invested in the writing if it were a persuasive writing rather than a summary.
Ch. 4:
ReplyDeleteI really agree with what the author states at the beginning of chapter 4 about how expectations can never be too high. I was just having a conversation with another teacher about how education has evolved over the past two decades and children are expected to do more and learn more. And they do rise to the occasion whether they are minority students or special education. Unfortunately, because of all the standards that are expected of students to learn, I believe that quality of work (specifically handwriting) is no longer focused upon. A lot of people will argue that technology is a skill that needs to replace handwriting since a lot of communication occurs through emails, etc. I believe that handwriting is an important skill that still needs to be taught because there will always be times that technology is not available and handwriting will be the main form of communication.
I personally don’t like the idea of worksheets for many reasons one of which it is such a waste of paper. Which is beside the point. I feel that the reason to give worksheets to students is to practice a certain skill and assess whether or not they understand what is being taught. In terms of writing I don’t need a whole sheet of paper to do this. We use a lot of white boards and exit tickets where they will show evidence of what was being taught was learned or whether what was being taught needs to be re-taught in a different way. We also use previously written work a lot. For example, if we are working on adding detail using the 5 senses I will have students go back to their writing and look for examples of where they used this and examples of where they could have used it to enhance their writing.
Ch. 5:
Some ways that I would use her ideas for shared writing are:
Welcome Letter: Write a letter to the incoming 6th graders talking to them about what will make them successful in 6th grade and also promoting outdoor school.
Letter to the Principal: Write a letter to the principal trying to change the rule of chewing gum in class (My kids love this one!)
Recipes: Class recipe book
Class Newspaper: We did this year and the kids loved it! We published it and handed it out to 3-6th grade.
Observations: Bottle Biology journal to note changes in our bottles.
Ch. 6:
I’m so glad that the author included a section on teaching note taking. I think that this is so important, especially for my 6th graders that will be moving on to 7th grade and engaging more in content text. I have talked to my class about the importance of note taking but I have never explicitly taught it. I’m definitely going to be using the Try It/Apply It ideas that she suggested.
Assignment #4:
ReplyDeleteChapter 4:
We must raise expectations because we otherwise condemn our students to failure in life. I know this is a strong statement, but it is true. When I run an ad to hire a new office staff member, I automatically throw out any resume that has spelling and grammatical errors. This is simply because of the overwhelming number of applications I receive for the position. It is a hard fact that we are judged in the business world by the quality of our writing.
I raise expectations in my classroom by having students re-write their papers until they are correct. I review their work up to the 5th error. At that point I return the paper to the student for re-writing. It is only when they reach the point of fewer than 5 errors in their text that they receive a grade. I found this process is very difficult for students at first but they quickly adapt and I spend much less time correcting their work by the end of the year.
Teaching high school students, my expectation is that they have the ability to learn independently. However, I do use modeling and class review of work from the optimal learning model. I could spend more time observing individual students as they write and edit their work.
In our school district we have a clear definition of writing expectations for our students. We post guidelines for good writing, and we have ongoing teacher training in writing. This has been especially helpful for those of us who have transitioned into teaching from industry.
I agree and disagree with the comments about worksheets. I agree that they are a poor tool for most students, but on the other hand, they do form a basis on which for students' writing to grow. I certainly agree that students should develop their writing skill without the constraints of a worksheet. However, used in a limited role, these sheets allow students to learn and reference the basic skills of writing.
Chapter 5:
It think shared writing fits the optimal model very well. I use this technique by grouping my English learners with non-English learners. The level of cooperation and positive encouragement that occurs is a joy to witness. I know for a fact that this technique has helped my English learners tremendously. Most of my shared writing assignments are linked to a reading assignment, so the two are paired.
I could definitely integrate a class journal, a visitor's guide, and a classroom procedure writing into my health sciences classroom. The classroom procedure writing would be especially useful as the year proceeds and the students need a reminder of the class rules!
Chapter 6:
In my case, I believe I can better integrate reading and writing instruction by reading the written works of the students to the class. These should be attached to a piece of reading, and should challenge the students to understand the reading and present it in a way that includes a summary and their opinion. This will make the students prepare their writing for scrutiny by a group of their peers.
I really believe in the need to read and write more non-fiction. I find it is more difficult to write non-fiction. It requires greater research and an accurate use of words. Whereas with fiction there is a certain freedom in the writing, non-fiction requires more precision. An example that comes to mind for me is any service manual. This type of writing requires great precision so that the user can understand and complete the task successfully. This holds true for reading comprehension as well. I find there is greater discipline required in reading non-fiction than fiction.
Lesson 4 – Writing Essentials
ReplyDeleteChapter 4: Regarding worksheets – I have used worksheets, because I thought it was a good way to drill certain things such as nouns, grammar, etc. But my biggest complaint was that I rarely saw the skills transfer to their writing. I didn’t correct them with the big red marks (but I know that’s how it used to be done, and maybe still is in some cases), I would work with them to help them get the right answer. I think they could be useful if used just a little bit to reinforce something, so that they get more instances of what you’re trying to teach. But then saying that, I rarely use them. I’ve found other ways to reinforce skills, such as having them write on individual whiteboards, explaining to a partner, and now with this book – in shared writing. If a teacher only relies on worksheets, then yes, I do agree that worksheets foster mediocrity – not only in the students, but also in the teacher who uses them.
Chapter 5: Do more Shared Writing
I am thrilled to learn about shared writing! It answers the question that I’ve been asking for as long as I’ve been teaching ELD – “How do you teach writing?” It makes so much sense, and I’m excited to start it. But I’m nervous, too. Since I haven’t done it yet, and I haven’t even practiced it, I keep putting it off, favoring my usual way of teaching. I just need to really plan it out and just do it! I know I need to show them my own writing first, and I’m more nervous about that. I see 2nd graders first, and then first, so I could try it out on the younger students first. They’re probably not going to know if I make a mistake. Unlike the sixth graders who are so ready to be out of school and so ready to catch a mistake. My fear is that I’ll get stuck in the middle of the writing and not be able to finish it. I want to show them how to be successful, and if I’m not successful, I’m not going to be a very good role model. Although Regie recommends not writing it out ahead of time, I might do a brief outline (that I won’t let them see) the first couple of times until I get more comfortable with it. Then when it comes time to doing it with them, I’m going to have a little cheat sheet with me with Regie’s “Teacher Talk.” Doing something simple like an alphabet book, which has a certain format, would be easier than trying to come up with a brand new story.
I could use many of her ideas, if not all of them, because I work with the students in reading and writing, and we could write something after every book we read. I can see how it would work with read alouds, also. I’ve been wanting to get into some good books with them, and we could do all kinds of responses, or summaries, or reports.
Chapter 6: Reading-Writing Connection
I agree that the writing should be worth their time. I try to ask questions from the higher end of Bloom’s Taxonomy. I don’t do reading response journals, because I have 75 students, and I’d be there all night. I’m a little confused, because in one paragraph she says “be sure that students spend more time reading than writing about reading.” But a few paragraphs later she says “writing connected to reading is the single best indicator of student achievement.” I always thought that when you have students write, it needs to be several paragraphs long. But maybe a well-written paragraph about something they read is perfectly acceptable, if not preferred.
Hi Everyone! Your responses are great. Remember, the point of the blog is to foster conversations between you- the students. So, if you see a comment or idea that speaks to you, let that person know!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, in reply to your question about Shared Writing in the upper grades and linking it to Word Work what I would say to this is that it is the same as with the primary grades. You would focus on what ever your Word Work program is and point this out and highlight it as you did your Shared Writing. In fifth grade, you could we doing shared writing on anything- response to text, a narrative, a memoir, etc… If this doesn’t clarify your question, just let me know and we can touch base.
Derek, I agree with a couple of your points. Teachers need to be trained in writing if they are to be competent teachers of writing. Often teachers are given lists of skills or types of writing that students need to cover, but they haven’t learned how to teach writing as a process. Your question about what excellent writing looks like is answered by what you said before that. You need to be having conversations in your grade level and building and using student work. Also, share the student’s work with the students and have them discuss what meets the expectations or exceeds the expectations. Looking at a lot of student examples will help you and your colleagues decide what is excellent writing.
Colleen, absolutely! You are correct that the more nonfiction and informational text that the students are exposed to, the better their expository writing will be. Our second grade teachers always do a BIG informational text unit with their students and thoroughly go over the text features they find in informational text like, captions, graphs, charts, diagrams, cut-aways, glossaries, indexes, etc…
Lisa, yes! Having the students write a persuasive piece would be much more interesting, powerful and fun than just a summary. We should try to put the “fun” back into writing when we can.
ReplyDeleteTracey, I agree with you. I think there should definitely be time for handwriting and an expectation that finished work needs to be neat and legible. Just as Patrick said, when he sees a resume with errors, he throws it out. We make judgments about people (whether right or wrong) based on their presentation…this can be their physical presentation- including grooming, clothing, speech, posture, manners or their written representation- including handwriting. How I dress, speak and write at work is much different than how I do at home or when I’m with my friends. I tell this to my students; school is their work and there are expectations that they need to meet when at school. I also agree with you about the note-taking section. This year, I have really been given a lot of thought to what students need to be information literate and all the skills that are necessary in order for them to find, evaluate and use information efficiently and effectively. It’s almost overwhelming when I realized all the different components our students need instruction in (like skimming, scanning, note-taking, summarizing… just to name a few) prior to doing research reports. This is a whole other topic, so I’ll just leave it here. :-)
Patrick- I LOVE the idea of only correcting up to 5 errors. What a great idea! I know you are at the high school level, but I could see myself using this at the elementary level.
Diane, I would not worry so much about having a perfect lesson for Shared Writing. I think it’s really important for the students to see us make mistakes and get stuck AND then what we do to help move us past the difficult part. I would disagree with your comment that you need to be successful to be a good role model for your students. I think students need to see us have a hard time and make mistakes. I think they should know that it doesn’t always come easy. I think this would be a more accurate picture for them to have and take with them, as they get older. The quotes that you questioned about writing and reading are reminders for teachers that students need a LOT of time to read. During Independent Reading time the students should mostly be reading. Not a lot of worksheets and drill and kill skill work. The other quote is saying the reading and writing are connected and yes, you are right…the students do not have write pages and pages about their reading. Their time should be spent reading. Would you want to have to write a reply or a paragraph every time you were reading something? :-)
Ughhh! Sorry everyone for the typo in the first half of my comments in the second paragraph. The "we" should be a "be." So much for spell checking and re-reading. :) Mary
ReplyDeleteChapter 4:
ReplyDeleteHaving expectations for students is necessary, it gives us (as teachers) an invisible guide for which to hold them accountable to. It is increasingly important to have expectations for all populations of students. One of my favorite quotes from this chapter comes from the vignette in the beginning... it went something like "I didn't Johnny could do that!" and Regie responded "I didn't know he couldn't". As a teacher in a low-income, alternative school, with mainly disadvantaged students it is so important that I see my students through a lens of can instead of can not. With scaffolding, and shared instruction they CAN write.
I completely agree with the quote about worksheets. Worksheets offer zero differentiation and I have yet to see one that demands originality and skillful writing.
Chapter 5:
After reviewing Regie's list of "tried and True Ideas for Shared Reading" I've come up with many curriculum ideas for both my social studies and health classes.
1. Visitor's guide - to our body's systems. Or a guide to a historically significant event like the American Revolution.
2. Advice - Writing a letter of advice to our President about a hot topic issue (health care, immigration, unemployment, etc). Or writing a letter of advice to a teen in distress.
3. Recipes - Students could create a teens guide to balanced recipes book that could eventually be published and handed out among students.
- Profile/Biography - Create a 1 page biography based off what theme we're studying in history.
- Letter of encouragement - Students could write letters of encouragement to troops in Afghanistan OR to unemployed persons in the community.
- Rules - Students could create a handbook/cheat sheet for the rules of government.
Chapter 6:
Creating efficiency in writing in social studies can be enhanced using Regie's "Reading a Non-fiction Article". Considering nearly everything in social studies is non-fiction this handout of expectations/guidelines would work wonders in my classroom. I would like to adapt it to fit my high school class.
Writing Essentials
ReplyDeleteAssignment 4
Chap.4
It is interesting the number of obstacles that can get in the way of a classroom teacher with “high expectations.” These obstacles can be anything from students themselves, to meaningless workshops that consume planning time, to parents that insist you expect too much from their child. But putting all that aside, there can be no excuse for demanding nothing but the best from my students.
I have found over the years that every time I raise the bar my students meet those demands. You will get out of students exactly what you demand. If you demand mediocrity that is what you will get; if you demand excellence your students will give you excellence. I agree with Routman that this also applies to ELL and SPED students. It is easy to say they are not capable, but really they are so much more capable than what the system says they are. One thing I find very frustrating is the pull outs for these students. I have tried time and time again with resistance to have it be the “Push In” model and that works with SPED at times, but I have found ELL very resistant to the idea. In my mind this just keeps them continually behind and the odd ones out. I also believe that it is these two groups that often get worksheets. Huge mistake! I have never found worksheets in this area to accomplish anything but extreme boredom. This especially holds true for SPED and ELL; what a way to kill language development and a desire to communicate through written language. So, I agree whole heartedly with the quote that worksheets foster mediocrity.
Other things I have found along the way that sometimes make me want to give up and throw in the towel is the number of students I teach on a daily basis. This can in no way be an excuse, but I think back at a year when I only had 22 students and remember all the extra time I could give kids individually with their writing in comparison to years where I have near 30. Again, this can not be used as an excuse, but as we all know this can be an exhausting process when it comes to writing. I have to admit there are times when I start certain units, and I think that this may be the unit that finally does me in. The work that goes into the editing process with several students can test my patience to no end. I always do see improvements, and I guess that is what keeps us going as teachers. I will admit though there are times when I think and have said, “Good Enough!”
I loved what she said about high expectations in areas of handwriting and conventions. I continually remind my kids that first impressions carry a lot of weight in how a person responds to their writing and to them as people. I am also one that demands cursive at the 5th grade level. Once this is mastered, because of the flow, students can write much faster and their work is considerably neater. It also fine tunes their fine motor skills. I have them go back this time of year and try printing and they can’t believe how slow it is.
Chap.5
ReplyDeleteFor the last 2 weeks we have been working on persuasive writing pieces tied to social studies. The students have taken on the role of either rebel or loyalist, and are writing persuasive pieces to promote their viewpoint. We do a lot of shared writing in my class (mostly as a whole group), and what I have often noticed is that it really helps my struggling writers because when they get stuck, listening to others share ideas helps them move along in their writing instead of just giving up and hiding it somewhere in the back of their desk hoping it will all just go away. This particular assignment allows me to work with two different groups with each member contributing ideas to their own group.
I believe it was also beneficial in a way that my struggling writers saw that those that write naturally also struggled because of the challenge that persuasive writing brings in itself. They did not feel like they were once again hanging out there all alone while everybody else “got it.”
We did a lot of discussing of ideas from both viewpoints and I encouraged my stronger writers to think through, articulate, and write from a viewpoint they don’t necessarily agree with. I believe this helps them with their thinking skills and with the concept of respect for a variety of viewpoints. They actually find this quite challenging but very fun.
I tied this assignment to our classroom novel My Brother Sam Is Dead because the main character is continually torn between what side of the war he is on. Students went back and forth with Tim the main character trying to back up his beliefs. We also tied it in to some expository reading out of our textbook.
I liked the idea of shared reading and writing for book reviews and will definitely use that one.
Chap. 6
ReplyDeleteLoved Steven King’s quote “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around those two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” I have always tied my writing into my classroom novels or into our social studies and science curriculum, but what I have failed to do is use our own student writing as text. I think this is a great idea.
Our district adopted a new reading curriculum 2 years ago and as far as a curriculum goes it is pretty good. But I use it minimally because I find my students are far more engaged as readers with great novels (which we have an abundance of). I also find it much easier to connect my writing assignments to novels than a basal reader. For example when teaching character analysis we tie it to Touching Spirit Bear a perfect book for teaching character traits. I’ve felt guilty for not using this very expensive curriculum very much but I now feel more assured after reading this chapter that I have made the right choice.
We do a lot of expository writing tied to social studies and science and I agree I think this is so valuable with their comprehension skills. I do a lot with note taking and outlining which really helps them summarize information
After reading her thoughts on reading response journals I am rethinking that one because she is right; it takes way more time than it is worth. Why am I doing that to myself??????
Emily,
ReplyDeleteGreat curriculum ideas to try with your students! Thanks for sharing.
Vickie,
Your unit sounds great. I love the book- My Brother Sam is Dead. I also really like Steven King's quote! Glad you might be able to let the response journals go. Just think what having that time will let you (and the students) do... :-)
Assignment four
ReplyDeleteThe school I teach in is a title one school. We have a large population of low income and ELL students. I have found they are more than capable of reaching the high standards I set for my more ‘main stream’ students. They may need more guidance as to where to begin and how to proceed but they can do it. Once they realize this they are off and running. They want to succeed because the options of not having an education are very clear to them they see it everyday. As I teach at the high school level handwriting and spelling are not something I deal with everyday. I do still deal with the difference between there, their and they’re and because vs. cause. I also deal more with trying to keep ‘texting’ language out of papers. As far as the Optimal Learning Model is concerned I use this everyday. I never called it Optimal Learning Model but it is what I use and most of the teachers I work with use something similar everyday. I have already mentioned the fact that I use handouts/worksheets. I think they can be over used but I also think that for a quick check in for students they work well. It depends on the amount of emphasis you put on the work sheet and exactly what would like to have the student glean from it. I appreciate that they can be overwhelming if it is the only means of grading however I do believe they have their place in the classroom. Shared writing is appropriate for all ages. Shared reading is also something that can be done at all ages. In my Adv. Eng. Class as well as regular English we do Lit. circles. The students read out loud and work on writing as a group. This works really well in the respect that students really work together and are able to see what others are doing. I also write quite a bit on the SMART board. This is not ‘on the floor’ as is suggested but that technique would not work for my classroom nor would it work with this particular student body. We read quite a bit of fiction in my classroom. While I understand the benefits of reading non fiction I also know that the books we read are sometimes the only exposure to literature these students have ever had and will ever have. We do read nonfiction article and have been reading some excerpts from larger biographies. It does help personalize whatever we are reading at the moment, such as Night or To Kill a Mockingbird. I do love the line about spending more time reading that writing about reading, as a teacher who is trying to build lifetime readers that is so important.