Assignment Nine: Final Course Reflection
It's been great reading what you all have to share! Take a look at the last section in Regie's text, Writing Essentials, it's chock full of great resources!!!
Teaching in Action: Lesson Essentials
5 Day Lesson Plans & Appendices
• Secrets of Second Graders
• Heart Poems
• Procedural writing
• Hero writing
• Persuasive writing
• Appendix survey
Be sure to look through this section. If you haven’t already done so, look at Appendix A (page A-2.) Re-examine your beliefs about writing by re-reading the statements about the writing process and marking true or false in your book. Did you change any of your previous answers? Would you consider bringing this page to your team or even to your entire school to jump-start discussions about writing?
Take some time to look through the appendices. There are several useful examples included. One we’d like to point out to you is Appendix L- The Genre Characteristics Excerpt on page A-13. Look to the Writing Essentials companion website at www.heinemann.com/writingessentials for the entire chart as well as directions to assist you playing the DVD.
ASSIGNMENT NINE: Final Course Reflection - Critically examine your current literacy program and develop realistic goals to improve your instruction. Also reflect on the balance between your home and school life. If our students are to become happy, literate people, they need happy, balanced teachers. BRIEFLY, share several of your goals with the class by posting them to the blog for this final assignment.
Thanks for taking our course!!!! Jackie & Mary!
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Assignment 9- Alana Ollerenshaw
ReplyDeleteWhere do I go from here? I have just read the most amazing book and I need to choose a few goals to keep me moving in the right direction.
Goal 1: When I teach, I want to start with the whole and not part to whole. I have realized how important teaching in context is for children.
Goal 2: Writing prompts will be kept to a minimum and I will provide my students with more choice, thus giving them ownership of their writing.
Goal 3: With the help of my colleague, we will start a professional book group.
Goal 4: I am going to make the author’s chair a daily occurrence for the last 5 minutes of our writing block. We are going to CELEBRATE!
Goal 5: I am going to continue modeling writing and talking about my life. The kids love it when I write about myself and so I will do more of that.
Goal 6: I am going to ask myself “So What?” regarding some traditional projects we do yearly and hopefully free up more time for writing.
Goal 7: I will teach writing every day, no exceptions.
Goal 8: I will be open to change.
Thank you Mary and Jackie for offering this class!
Alana – I’m so glad that you loved the book! It really is an amazing resource to continually refer back to, as well as to try and share with your colleagues like you mentioned. You have set some rigorous goals for yourself, I wish you success in attaining each of them! Here’s to hanging the “So what?” question about your classroom door :) I’ll submit your “A” grade to TINT, hopefully we’ll see you in another course in the future!
ReplyDeleteAssignment nine
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed this class so much. My teaching was impacted from day one, and the impact has been so positive for me, my students, and my family; crazy really, but true. My excitement for writing is rekindled every time I pick up this book. The students have done fine, actually better than fine with my trying and learning new things. I am looking forward to rereading and mapping out next year. It has been wonderful having Alana take this class with me. We have bounced ideas off each other and tried new things together. We are trying to put together a professional book club at our school. We will be re-reading Writing Essentials together this summer along with at least two other teachers in our building. Hopefully by the fall we will have recruited more teachers.
Some of my goals for next year:
*Teacher Reflection Notebook
* Begin modeled and shared writing the first day of school, starting with routines and expectations. Write EVERY day.
* Read more aloud and talk about what makes the books good.
* Teach grammar and spelling in context through writing; use the activity pages only minimally after teaching the objectives.
* Create a first grade writing rubric with my team mates.
* Write book reviews.
* Conference regularly with my students (thanks again for the format you provided), focusing on content initially and progressing to editing.
* Ask “So what?” before planning a lesson
* Relax more; bring less work home; enjoy more quality time with my family; in turn have more to share with my students.
Here are some of my goals for next year’s class. I kept it to eleven even though it could have been longer. Thanks for the wonderful class.
ReplyDeleteGoal 1- I will make my writing time meaningful and social
Goal 2- I will have an expectation of “reread as you go.”
Goal 3- I will have an expectation of legible handwriting
Goal 4- I will have certain words that need to be spelled correctly
Goal 5- I will try my best to ban the worksheets
Goal 6- I will limit my homework with respect to writing
Goal 7- I will try to initiate weekly professional conversations
Goal 8- I will try to pick writing topics that engage my writers
Goal 9- I will do much more whole group sharing with the class
Goal 10- I will not be a follower and will have an independent spirit
Goal 11- I will pick up these book many times next year and actively use it to guide my writing instruction
Assignment #9,
ReplyDeleteMy changed beliefs about writing: I no longer think teachers should read everything students write. I now know that revision and editing are different. I also learned: writers need a quiet environment, students should make decisions about what gets published, nonfiction needs to be a greater emphasis in writing and reading.
For my future classroom: (nearly all apply to tutoring and some to working with my own children)
Classroom management will be better do to optimal learning modeling, urgency, relevance, and interest.
I will ask So What? Is this the best use of my time? Is this going to benefit the students more than anything else?
I will have the goal to build trust, bond with each child, open my own heart, and want each child to excel. Instill YOU CANNOT FAIL!
I plan to use the Optimal Learning Model (To/With/By) for many areas of teaching. In writing, I will use Demonstration/shared writing, sustained writing, and whole class share (with the author’s chair).
Children will write every day across the curriculum, freewrites, responses to reading, letters, in different genres…
I would like to keep a writing folder for each child through the year.
I will teach writing whole-part-whole, referring back to 12 Writing Essentials
The main writing focuses will be on audience, purpose, content, and voice.
I will incorporate more conferencing (prioritizing celebration, content, strengths, and the intent of the writer), minilessons, word sorts, cut up sentences, word tiles, mystery messages, add a word wall that the children and I create together, and write our own writing rubrics.
We will read more alphabet books, different genres, and read with an author’s eye.
Homework will consist of free choice reading.
I will try hard to stand up for what I believe in.
Thank you Jackie and Mary. I have found this course very beneficial. I valued this assignment so much that I wrote a more extensive version for myself.
Thanks Deanna, Gary, and Joyce for your final course reflections. I will submit your grades of “A” to TINT. Thanks so much for participating in the class, and hopefully we’ll see you in a future course!
ReplyDeleteDeanna – I love when I hear how much this book has impacted someone…Regie is truly a teacher’s teacher, and makes it possible to both excel in the classroom while having a life outside the classroom as well. You and Alana are fortunate to be able to move on this crusade together and be there to support each other as leaders in your building. You’ve set great goals…best of luck in achieving each of them!
Gary – Even 11 goals is a lot! I’m psyched that was so much powerful information in this class for you. Best of luck on your journey as a teacher leader in your building and continued transformation into an independent teacher who instructs based on student needs. Work on slowly integrating your goals next year so that they do not get too overwhelming.
Joyce – Again, it’s great to read how much this book and course transforming your beliefs and instruction in writing. With the wonderful goals and thoughts on instruction, it would be extremely beneficial for students for you to get back into a classroom as soon as you are ready :) At this point, your children are very lucky to have you as both a teacher and parent! Best of luck!
Thank you Jackie and Mary for your boost of encouragement and confidence.
ReplyDeleteReflection: This class and book were a double edge sword. In the beginning the text inspired me to do more and expect my students to do a little more even though they may not be independent. I also loved that I started thinking past the instruction of motor skills and more on ideas and content. On the other hand because my teaching, curriculum and students are so far removed from level of interaction that its hard to apply this material. However, I can say that for next year I already have a few ideas.
ReplyDeleteGoal 1: Create more scaffolded activities that will allow students to practice writing skills like sentence structure, expanded language/word usage and word order.
Goal 2: Create daily opportunities for students to write and share in the whole group.
Goal 3: Expect more and push students until they can meet these standards
Goal 4: Facilitate the joy of writing about a variety of topics
Goal 5: Share my own stories with students and model for them the process I go through while I write
I also enjoyed seeing everyone's goals they were inspiring.
Lindsay – I’m so glad that even though your students are removed from mainstream curriculum, that you were able to pull some thoughtful goals for your future writing instruction. Everyone of your goals could have been seen in a regular ed classroom as well…you are just making modifications for your students’ needs. Best of luck working towards each of your goals! Thanks for taking our course - I will submit an “A” grade to TINT for you!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, I really enjoy reading this article, thank you so much for sharing it.
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