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)
Chapter 4
ReplyDeleteIt’s critical to have high expectations for all students, regardless of race and socio-economic status. I have found that students who are a minority or low income have a poor self-concept about themselves. They may think that they don’t have to do as well as everyone else. It is almost as if they have learned helplessness when it comes expectations. One way I try to raise students’ expectations is by having them complete a self-assessment in targeted areas. I conference with each student and review his or her self-assessment to establish reachable goals and help them see how his or her goal is relevant. Finding interesting material is also important to help them practice working on their goal. I really like the bulleted list of “What Makes Our Writing Interested” on pg. 58. The second thing on that list is a reminder to make it easy to read by having readable handwriting and appropriate spacing. I try not to spend too much time on conventions when I am trying to boost writing morale. Consistent modeling of expectations, with time to practice will help students become independent writers. Sharing with other teachers about what’s working well and what’s also enjoyable is one way to raise expectations throughout the building. The quote regarding worksheets is totally true. I don’t think I have every completed an inspiring worksheet that lets my personality and style shine through. If we holding our students with such high expectations, then we should hold up our end of the deal and give them inspiring work.
Chapter 5
Shared writing fits within the shared demonstration part of the Optimal Learning Model. Shared writing is appropriate for all learners! Shared writing is a great way to incorporate shared reading. Students can practice reading their own writing as well as fellow classmate’s stories by exposing them to language. Students are also able to barrow others’ ideas for their own writing. There are many activities that students can do with their own writing that support word work, like studying the classroom’s morning message board, reassembling sentences, mystery messages, making words with letter tiles/squares. Some “Tried and True” ideas for shared writing I’d like are Advice, Letter to the principal requesting something, Visitors guide, favorite foods, Welcome letter, Procedures for classroom norms, and Rubrics.
Chapter 6
Integrating reading and writing is an authentic best practice. It is something that needs to happen from the begging of students’ school life. Children will learn to combine them naturally. Writing is usually the later skill to develop, so it’s important to expose students to a variety and quality materials. Using read alouds to create original writing ideas is a great way because students become connected to the story. However, it’s important for me to help students discover the connection to the text and cultivate genuine thoughts when reflecting. The benefit to connecting reading and writing to a content area is an important way to combine both skills, as well as learning in the non-fiction genre. Non-fiction is not as easy to write as narrative writing. It’s important to teach students how to connect their ideas to the text and model how to go back and confirm this connection with facts from the text.
Hi Andrea! Two more participants have now started to blog, and they actually teach at the same grade level. They are going to move quickly and try to “catch-up”, but I just wanted to let you know that you’ll be having company soon. Having dialogue with others is the whole point of taking a blog course :) !
ReplyDeleteThere’s actually a lot of research out there on the theory of learned helplessness and its effect on student learning….very interesting (and sad) reading. Having students self-assess, set goals, and then monitor progress towards those goals is the best way to give kids ownership of their learning…and show them how they really have the most important role in their own learning. I love how you agree that shared writing can really play such an important role in teaching writing in the upper grades, unfortunately, due to scheduling constraints and the ever “marching” of the curriculum, this is often one of the 1st pieces of the Optimal Learning Model to go.
Before I had even thoroughly read the assignment for this section, I just started to read because the titles of the chapters really caught my eye. Raising expectations is so important for all students. I sometimes feel like maybe I’m being “too tough” on the kids who are struggling, but at the same time I want to push them to do their very best.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first things I underlined in this chapter was the “worksheets foster mediocrity” quote. I was pleasantly surprised to see that quote as one of the areas to respond to for this assignment. I have several shelves full of reproducible teacher books in my classroom full of tons of worksheets on every isolated skill imaginable. Each book promises, in bold lettering on the front cover, to make students better writers and raise test scores. I’ve been using selected pages from them, and no surprise here, it’s not working! My students are still struggling with writing. Guess I had an “ah ha” moment. If it’s not working, and I know that, why do I keep using them?? Hmmm. Time for a change!
I appreciated the long list of “Tried and True Ideas” for shared writing that Regie included in Chapter 5. As I was reading, I was putting stars next to quite a few of them that I want to try with my students in the next few weeks. I especially like the idea of creating a guide for the school and a school alphabet book. I think my students would have a lot of success with these two activities, and even my writers that struggle mightily would be able to find success with a project like this.
I also found myself underlining quite a bit of the section on summarizing in Chapter 6. I just struggled through this skill with my class a couple of weeks ago and at the end of the several lessons I did, I felt like I was beating my head against the wall. I’m eager to try it again….this time using some of the guidelines that Regie presented.
Chapter 4
ReplyDeleteI stand united with you, Mary and Jackie, that one of my favorite quotes from this book, so far, is “WORKSHEETS FOSTER MEDIOCRITY!” They also waste my time, my students’ time, and they waste paper, all three of which are precious and limited resources. Worksheets are a total disconnect from the authentic writing process and I avoid using them at all costs. After all, when was the last time any of us completed a worksheet in order to create a poem, a thank you note, a personal story, or even an email? Sounds almost preposterous when you look at it that way.
I also believe that NOT using worksheets helps to raise the expectation level of ALL of our students. It is much too easy to let excuses get in the way of GREAT teaching. Low expectation levels rob our students of way too many important skill sets that they have, let alone deserve! I couldn’t agree more with Regie and the colleagues in this course that high expectations CAN and WILL produce positive and amazing results!
When it comes to handwriting, I truly struggle in this area. My first two reactions are: “I don’t have time to teach handwriting in 5th grade”, and, “Handwriting should be taught in the lower grades so that by 5th grade, they should have those skills pretty well in tact.” However, my reality is that many of my students DON’T come to me with solid penmanship skills. The way I’ve been dealing with it is to not accept sloppy work and I return the work to be done over with an acceptable level of neatness (and they manage to do just that!). I also make sure that MY models of writing in front of the class are at the level of neatness I expect from my students.
No hypocrisy allowed! ☺
Chapter 5
I really appreciate the content of Chapter 5 because Regie offers many GREAT lesson ideas that I can utilize in my classroom. In addition, she offers two different models of how she taught the shared writing lessons with students. That is so helpful to me! Without a doubt, the Optimal Learning Model is so appropriate and useful in the shared writing experience. My writing instruction is mostly whole group, so the shared writing experience is one that both I and my students benefit greatly from.
One big “AH-HA!” I have learned from this chapter is to be sure to keep these lessons short and focused. It’s amazing how off track we can get when it comes to “thinking aloud” about certain topics. My students constantly want to share their personal stories or connections to the topic. I am committing right now to be much more aware of the clock and be efficient with our time so that I DON’T lose my students’’ attention.
I put stars by several of the “Tried and True” lesson ideas that I know can, and will use in my classroom. The welcome letter, classroom (etc.) procedures, school alphabet book (or alphabet book on ANY topic!), advice writing, book reviews, class newsletter or daily news, what to expect, and “what we have learned about….” Are just a handful of writing ideas that I can easily integrate into my writing lesson plans AND have fun with!
Chapter 6
If only I had been able to start this coursework a little earlier as I had wanted to! I say this because I just finished a read aloud with my students and we practiced summary writing. I would have done several things differently if I had been able to read chapter 6 prior to starting my read aloud. I DID do some of the writing processes that Regie recommends for shared writing (we wrote several summaries together after each day’s chunk of read aloud; about halfway through the book, I set them off on their own summary writing with some guidance). When it came to writing the entire summary of the book, we wrote it as a shared writing activity, but it took quite a bit of time. What I will do differently next time is keep the lessons shorter.
Regie has also now inspired me to be more thoughtful in my lesson planning across ALL content areas to incorporate meaningful, beneficial, and fun writing activities.
I HAVE to! My students need more authentic writing practice and it is up to me to provide it!
CH 4
ReplyDeleteWe need to raise expectations because society has those high expectations from us as teachers. Society looks at what students produce, and if student writing isn’t interesting, isn’t grammatically correct, then we, as teachers, are judged harshly. I fully believe that all children can learn. I think having this attitude is vitally important to truly raising expectations for ourselves as well as our students. Only when we believe this, will our buildings expectations rise.
Worksheets on writing, I feel, is absurd. Students need to write for real in order to become better writers. For the same reason doing worksheets on how to read would be silly. Kids need to practice reading. Students need to be shown models of writing, but it really is a skill that takes practice and real cultivation.
I think there is something interesting at work when it comes to student success and high expectations. As the learning center teacher at a school where high expectations are the norm, the students I serve often come to me feeling defeated. They have been continually told they are doing it wrong in every area. I feel I have to come to their aide and remind gen ed teachers that these kiddos are working hard, and we need to focus on one or two goals at a time. I thought of this specifically with the example on page 55 (if this piece of writing good enough to be displayed). My position requires me to set high expectations in areas that can truly be focused on. I had a student where they were so excited about their piece of writing (same kids that I responded about in a previous post), but his excitement quickly turned into sadness at the sight of his writing being torn apart. Once we were able to focus in on what HE wanted to work on, his excitement returned, he edited his piece, and completed it with a feeling of real success. Even though his spelling was still wrong, his capitalization and ending punctuation were correct, and for him this was a HUGE improvement. Ultimately, this piece did go on the wall with the other students. I get very nervous about ALL the expectations put on some of my kids that they can never be successful and will never have their work on the wall (this happened at a previous setting).
Having students choose from a list of goals helps them take ownership of their writing. I see this as being part of the OLM process. Then, modeling with them to make improvements gives them the support they need to feel successful.
CH 5
ReplyDeleteShared writing fits in the OLM method by moving students towards independence. Students get to play the role of teacher to another student. It is just another way to have another opportunity to model. We become more skilled when we can “show” someone how to do something. Students helping each other is allows them to be full members of the writing process.
Shared writing is appropriate for all learners, and especially important for special education students and English language learners. The more exposure to language ELL students have, the better. ELL students will have real life practice to work on conversational skills in a real life setting, not just another worksheet. And for those students that have IEP goals in the area of writing, more practice is vital to their success.
Shared writing/reading is vital for the development of both subject areas. Continued practice of reading increases fluency and confidence (pg 87), and is especially important for those students who struggle with language.
Shared writing supports word work, because it allows students to work together to reform their writing, while at the same time thinking and working hard on the structure of writing, reading, and overall language.
Tried and true ideas for writing are those ideas for lessons that have proven over time to be effective and accessible to learners. Some that I use: journal, alphabet/dictionary, recipes, book reviews, fictional stories, poems, how to be a ____, along with many more. Not only is a language rich classroom important for reading, but clearly, it supports good writing.
CH 6
ReplyDeleteWe must close the gap between reading and writing from the start. If we can demonstrate early on how reading and writing are friends, I believe that students will be more successful writers later. When students read each others writing, they learn to really get to know that that are writing for an audience, that someone cares, and what they write, matters.
Increasing efficiency is always something we as teachers could benefit from. I think we do spend so much time trying to get student writing to be perfect, that we often miss what they are really trying to communicate with us, and students learn to not go very deep into their thought process, their creativity becomes stifled.
The content areas of reading and writing can often be worked together, and should be. These to areas go hand in hand. One cannot write if they cannot read, and the inverse is one cannot become a strong reader if they don’t understand the writing process, the sequencing, the art of story telling, an audience, how to tell when the author is trying to tell something (note taking for older grades). One way to do this a book reviews. This way students are reading, but they are looking at their reading like writers since they will have to describe, give details, sequence, and generally respond to what they read in writing form.
Thanks Sharon, Mardy, and Amy for your sharing your comments!
ReplyDeleteSharon – it is a constant balancing act to let kids know that we expect them to succeed and try their best, while at the same time understand that children have different learning needs and academic abilities that need to be taken into consideration. “Yeah!” to the “time for a change” in regards to using worksheets. I think as teachers we need to think PURPOSE, PURPOSE, PURPOSE…and where would our time be most valuably spent…correcting those piles of worksheets? Or planning for more purposeful whole, small, and individual instruction??? (and if we’re not going to spend the hours correcting the worksheets…is it even fair to ask the children to put time into them? Classroom time is too valuable to use it having students correct their own worksheets….). I’m not saying never use worksheets, but to think twice about its purpose :)
Best of luck trying out some of Regie’s projects such as the School Guide and work on summarizing.
Mardy – love it…worksheets - ”They also waste my time, my students’ time, and they waste paper, all three of which are precious and limited resources.” It’s so great to have the opportunity to “chat” with other teachers…it can at times feel very frustrating when your beliefs are the minority in the building. It would be very helpful in making positive change…to have at least another handful of people trying to make “the upstream swim” with me :). You mention “watching the clock”…and keeping things “short and focused”... I’m coaching a teacher right now, who loves to hear herself talk, and can literally go on in circles for over an hour…we had a great conversation about how important it is for the students to be dialoguing for the majority of the time…She’s a great reflective teacher willing to make changes, and has been effectively using a timer to help her significantly abbreviate her talk time. I’m so glad that Regie has inspired you to do such great reflection on your own teaching!!!
Amy – You make a great point on how important it is to not only have high expectations for our students, but also for ourselves (because we sure know others have those high expectations for us ). You also discuss the importance of having specific goals for your special needs students. I just had the same conversation today during our SRBI meeting (intervention). The reading and special education teachers I work with want to “double-dose” the curriculum, but this is TOO BROAD!!! What these kids need is for us to hone in on a particular skill that they are struggling in for a period of time…monitor their progress..reassess…and move on where needed!!! It’s so simple, yet no one is ready to apply this train of thought – very frustrating. When I first read Regie’s book, chapter 5 on shared writing was one of my biggest “aha” moments. I was a 4th grade classroom teacher at the time, and realizing that shared writing wasn’t just for the most primary of students, made such a tremendous impact on the quality of my students’ writing.
Thanks Sharon, Mardy, and Amy for your sharing your comments!
ReplyDeleteSharon – it is a constant balancing act to let kids know that we expect them to succeed and try their best, while at the same time understand that children have different learning needs and academic abilities that need to be taken into consideration. “Yeah!” to the “time for a change” in regards to using worksheets. I think as teachers we need to think PURPOSE, PURPOSE, PURPOSE…and where would our time be most valuably spent…correcting those piles of worksheets? Or planning for more purposeful whole, small, and individual instruction??? (and if we’re not going to spend the hours correcting the worksheets…is it even fair to ask the children to put time into them? Classroom time is too valuable to use it having students correct their own worksheets….). I’m not saying never use worksheets, but to think twice about its purpose :)
Best of luck trying out some of Regie’s projects such as the School Guide and work on summarizing.
Mardy – love it…worksheets - ”They also waste my time, my students’ time, and they waste paper, all three of which are precious and limited resources.” It’s so great to have the opportunity to “chat” with other teachers…it can at times feel very frustrating when your beliefs are the minority in the building. It would be very helpful in making positive change…to have at least another handful of people trying to make “the upstream swim” with me :). You mention “watching the clock”…and keeping things “short and focused”... I’m coaching a teacher right now, who loves to hear herself talk, and can literally go on in circles for over an hour…we had a great conversation about how important it is for the students to be dialoguing for the majority of the time…She’s a great reflective teacher willing to make changes, and has been effectively using a timer to help her significantly abbreviate her talk time. I’m so glad that Regie has inspired you to do such great reflection on your own teaching!!!
Amy – You make a great point on how important it is to not only have high expectations for our students, but also for ourselves (because we sure know others have those high expectations for us ). You also discuss the importance of having specific goals for your special needs students. I just had the same conversation today during our SRBI meeting (intervention). The reading and special education teachers I work with want to “double-dose” the curriculum, but this is TOO BROAD!!! What these kids need is for us to hone in on a particular skill that they are struggling in for a period of time…monitor their progress..reassess…and move on where needed!!! It’s so simple, yet no one is ready to apply this train of thought – very frustrating. When I first read Regie’s book, chapter 5 on shared writing was one of my biggest “aha” moments. I was a 4th grade classroom teacher at the time, and realizing that shared writing wasn’t just for the most primary of students, made such a tremendous impact on the quality of my students’ writing.
Thanks Sharon, Mardy, and Amy for your sharing your comments!
ReplyDeleteSharon – it is a constant balancing act to let kids know that we expect them to succeed and try their best, while at the same time understand that children have different learning needs and academic abilities that need to be taken into consideration. “Yeah!” to the “time for a change” in regards to using worksheets. I think as teachers we need to think PURPOSE, PURPOSE, PURPOSE…and where would our time be most valuably spent…correcting those piles of worksheets? Or planning for more purposeful whole, small, and individual instruction??? (and if we’re not going to spend the hours correcting the worksheets…is it even fair to ask the children to put time into them? Classroom time is too valuable to use it having students correct their own worksheets….). I’m not saying never use worksheets, but to think twice about its purpose :)
Best of luck trying out some of Regie’s projects such as the School Guide and work on summarizing.
Mardy – love it…worksheets - ”They also waste my time, my students’ time, and they waste paper, all three of which are precious and limited resources.” It’s so great to have the opportunity to “chat” with other teachers…it can at times feel very frustrating when your beliefs are the minority in the building. It would be very helpful in making positive change…to have at least another handful of people trying to make “the upstream swim” with me :). You mention “watching the clock”…and keeping things “short and focused”... I’m coaching a teacher right now, who loves to hear herself talk, and can literally go on in circles for over an hour…we had a great conversation about how important it is for the students to be dialoguing for the majority of the time…She’s a great reflective teacher willing to make changes, and has been effectively using a timer to help her significantly abbreviate her talk time. I’m so glad that Regie has inspired you to do such great reflection on your own teaching!!!
Amy – You make a great point on how important it is to not only have high expectations for our students, but also for ourselves (because we sure know others have those high expectations for us ). You also discuss the importance of having specific goals for your special needs students. I just had the same conversation today during our SRBI meeting (intervention). The reading and special education teachers I work with want to “double-dose” the curriculum, but this is TOO BROAD!!! What these kids need is for us to hone in on a particular skill that they are struggling in for a period of time…monitor their progress..reassess…and move on where needed!!! It’s so simple, yet no one is ready to apply this train of thought – very frustrating. When I first read Regie’s book, chapter 5 on shared writing was one of my biggest “aha” moments. I was a 4th grade classroom teacher at the time, and realizing that shared writing wasn’t just for the most primary of students, made such a tremendous impact on the quality of my students’ writing.
ReplyDelete