ASSIGNMENT TWO: WRITTEN REFLECTION–Section One- The Essential Writing Life Chapters 1-3
Briefly 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 over-planning, 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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Mary posting for Jennifer:
ReplyDeleteReading Reflection #1 – Essentials of Writing Instruction
Chapter One
I think the Optimal Learning Model works well with my instruction. When I first came to Oregon, I only had one year of teaching experience under my belt and arrived too late in the summer to apply for positions, so I accepted a job with Sylvan Learning Center as a teacher and diagnostician. With SLC, I had a lot of practice with this model of instruction as they required the teacher to demonstrate a skill, work with a student (shared demonstration/guided practice) before the student tried his/her hand at independent practice. Students had to show success three times on a skill’s independent practice work before moving on. The same model was used for all subjects. I took the lessons from my experience there with me as I moved into my first Oregon teaching job; this gradual “handing over” of responsibility is important for the kids to build confidence as well as strengthen his/her skill knowledge and application. An example of when I use this with writing is with thesis statement creation. I define and show examples of thesis statements, compose some of my own in front of the kids, ask them for assistance in creating some more, then work with them writing their own, and, finally, give them the freedom and responsibility to create their own for practice or papers.
The “12 Writing Essentials “ (p. 13-14) is very similar to 6+1 Writing Traits which is what I was first trained in as a novice teacher but adds on two very important ideas – (a) read widely and deeply, and with a writer’s perspective and (b) take responsibility for producing effective writing. I think it is ever so important to link reading and writing for one’s students so that they see the value and interdependency of the two. It is also of the utmost importance that educators set high expectations for their students as academics and as responsible persons. That may be the most difficult of all the “Essentials” because it requires that students take that ultimate responsibility for their successes, failures, and growth.
Chapter Two
How do I celebrate my students’ writing? I use examples of great writing from previous years and the current one to help illustrate different lessons/skills and accomplishments. This is extremely helpful when showing revision as I always have students turn in their pre-writing activities and rough drafts with the final one. Last year, I had a persuasive writing challenge where the students wrote which of the 7 virtues was the most important and why. I displayed all of their writing in the hall and students in the middle school voted on who had the best argument. I could add more by asking students to share their papers aloud. I used to do that more often, but they are easily embarrassed.
How can I make writing more meaningful and purposeful for students? I am always torn on this topic, specifically as it relates to student topic choice and the connection to the home. My responsibility (for this topic) to the students in my class is twofold – on one hand, I need to inspire a love of (or at least an affinity or appreciation for) writing; on the other, I need to prepare them for high school and beyond. When I do offer “free choice”, it is usually within parameters, like the topic is “most memorable moment” and they write a personal narrative about a specific experience, or the topics are available in list form and they must choose one to research and write on. My only “get approval on any topic you like” paper is for persuasion. It helps for them to really be interested in a topic and understand its intricacies without having to research it. Usually, parents are a resource for revision/editing. I hope to celebrate their writing more and make it more meaningful by having portfolio reflection and “shows” this year. That way, students can really show off what they have done and how far they have come to those who are most invested.
Eileen Wali
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading this book so far and I am ready to learn about teaching writing! I have already used what I learned and the part of the section that has stayed with me is writing with the students. My students already know the basics of writing (brainstorm, rough draft, edit, etc.). I decided to ask them to write about their favorite place. The first day we brainstormed. I thought out loud and made a list of my favorite places and then I narrowed it down to one (my parent’s house, with them in it). The students started their brainstorming and made a list and then I asked them to choose one to write about. The following day we started our rough draft. I was planning on thinking out loud and writing down my story. My classroom is in the wing that used to be the bedroom of a house so can you imagine how small it is? I always write on the white board because I don’t have room for a rolling chart. I started to write my sentences down and got very excited because my ideas were flowing, they were laughing and trying to add in their opinions and then I ran out of room! I felt weird erasing what I already wrote so I stopped in the middle. I am hoping this doesn’t deter their writing this week. I have learned and next week I will write smaller and plan ahead to make sure I don’t run out of space.
Regie’s 12 Writing Essentials for all grade levels was very helpful to me. I felt I was doing the basics first and then I was planning on perfecting their writing skills. The essentials helped me see what I need to work on after showing the students the basic writing skills. I thought the Optimal Learning Model was interesting and I can see that I am on the right track to writing independence.
In the past I have felt frustrated with myself that I have a few students who are struggling with their writing. It’s not only their writing; they are struggling in many areas. After reading the celebrating chapter I am relaxing more and showing them praise for what they have written; even if it’s only two sentences. I understand that I need to celebrate their writing and not ask them to write more-yet. I need to have them start out on the right path and get them excited about writing. I have made a promise to myself to give them choices in their writing and make the writing fun. I follow a Language Arts curriculum where we read a story and the Language Art themes are based around it. They are okay. Here is an example. Last week we read a Laotian folk tale about a tiger. It was a great story and the book suggested I have the students write an animal report of their choice. Not really a way to get the students excited about writing. Before I read Writing Essentials I probably would have used their idea! I have put a bulletin wall in our class titled “Spectacular Writers” and posted their biographies for everyone to see. As soon as a guest walks into our classroom that is what they see first. My outside wall connects to a major hallway and I will also hang student’s work on that wall for all the other students to see.
As a teacher of 1st grade writers, I have been all over the place with my writing instruction. The first year I taught my very own class, I had a group of geniuses that made me think teaching writing was not difficult. They just seemed to improve in spite of me so my workshop was pretty loose and they mostly just did their own writing of books. The next year, I had 28 students in a 1-2 blend and things didn’t go quite as well. I was still conferencing with the students but found it hard to keep up with all of their writing. The last couple of years, things were still pretty loose in writing workshop but I didn’t feel like their writing was improving the way I wanted it to; either creatively or mechanically. As such, I have tried reading their writing after it’s done and making notes for them that I would conference with them about. I have tried using more explicit worksheets to focus them on punctuation or what a sentence is. I have tried using student work to show editing after the piece has been finished and turned in. I am never quite sure how much success I am having. The thing I haven’t done very much of is modeling, so looking at the Optimum Learning Model and thinking about how that would look in a first grade classroom is intriguing. I have done more modeling this year with my students using a document camera and thinking out loud on a few stories. My goal for those lessons though was to show them that it wasn’t hard to increase the length of their stories by adding some details. That perhaps was not the best goal to explicitly teach. While I do want them to increase the length of their stories, I think that goal for me would be more easily achieved if they enjoyed the writing process more. So, looking at the Optimum Learning Model leaves me with some questions about implementation. How do I keep them interested? How do I keep the lesson short enough but still get my point across? How do I involve them in the story when I am still holding the pen but not let their input go on and on (I have a very sweet but talkative class)? How can I have time to do guided practice with 24 first graders and still read their work and have time for Author’s Chair and time to do explicit teaching and read-alouds and still have time for them to write? I want all of those things…it’s just I am not sure how to go about it yet.
ReplyDeleteAs I look through the 12 Writing Essentials, I realize I don’t know how all of these things look for 1st graders. We have pen-pals in Warsaw thanks to my sister-in-law so we have spent a lot of time thinking about what it would be like to get a letter from someone in the US and what might be interesting for them to read. However, on their “small moment” or fiction stories we haven’t talked about audience all that much. We talk about adding details a lot to make our stories more interesting. I really don’t know how to explicitly teach voice. I know it when I see it and I always remark on it to the author but I am not sure how to present the idea. We recently started an author study on Kevin Henkes. I like to read them his books because he always does such a great job of introducing the character(s) and setting in the first couple of sentences. I feel like over the years I have talked about the beginning, middle and ending of stories ad nauseum but am not sure that it ever gets through to them. In relation, we talk about each story having a problem and a solution. They can pick it out of someone else’s story but I am not sure how much that penetrates when they do their own work. If only I could get them to reread, rethink and revise while composing I would be a rich woman. In my experience, this is only possible for very few 6 and 7 year olds. I would love to learn more about how to teach this. When they finish a project, they are pretty well done with it. They are supposed to read their own stories to themselves through a whisper tube before they turn it in, but I doubt very much anything ever gets changed. How many times have you heard “I like it the way it is”? I hear it a lot and it’s hard to argue with when you want them to be responsible for being the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found after going through and examining my beliefs about writing is that almost every answer I had came with a caveat. There are a lot of things I have tried in my workshop but I wouldn’t say I have deep beliefs in them as the results were so mixed. I have tried the room being silent and allowing discussion during writing workshop. No strong feeling either way other than it is almost impossible for 1st graders to be silent. I don’t know that I believe students need to see me as a writer. Frankly, I write well when I have a purpose but don’t really have the desire or writing creativity to write fiction. I am a little in awe of my students when it comes to just being able to sit down and make up a story. So, I am not sure that is something I want to share with them when that is exactly what I am asking them to do. I know pre-writing is part of the writing process but for some students, it seems to be more of a hindrance than a help. I think mostly I am looking for some clarification from this class about my beliefs or lack of.
In my classroom, we use the Author’s Chair to celebrate student writing. I haven’t done it as much this year as I have in the past because I am not sure how much the students are getting out of it. I don’t want to dominate the “questions and comments” after each author but I do not know how to teach the kids to respond to other kids work in a meaningful way. How much does the author get out of it when half of the comments are about their pictures? As I am reading through their work, I make notes to them that I talk to them about later for things that they have done well or a goal for them to work on. I always find something complimentary to say but I know it’s not enough encouragement. I think for me it comes down to how I can spend my workshop time most effectively – what do the kids need most to help improve their writing? Positive feedback? A chance to share with other students? I just don’t know. I don’t think I have spent enough time or reinforced as much as I should have the workshop atmosphere. I mean that this is a time for them as author’s to get to do their work.
ReplyDeleteI thought that for this year, I might try the guidelines of the district for my writing curriculum. The first unit is about writing “small moment/personal narrative” stories. We did a lot of writing around that. We learned about pre-writing as thinking of an idea and watching the movie of it in our head and then making a quick sketch so we wouldn’t forget when we started writing. As I mentioned before we have pen-pals so we have spent some time on letter writing as well. I give a writing assignment maybe every 2 weeks or so. When they finish that, they can go on to their own stories. I realize though that I haven’t explicitly taught them how to write their own fiction story. In fact, I don’t really know how to teach them that other than to talk about starting off with the characters and setting and then have them include a problem and a solution. I think that it is interesting that there is actually no unit in 1st grade about just writing their own fiction stories. How sad is that? Anyway, the thing is some of the kids finish their writing assignment from me in a day or two. Some of them don’t finish after 2 weeks. I am on my feet the whole time during our writing workshop so they aren’t goofing off. However, some of them are just turtle slow in their writing. There are at least 2 of them that aren’t goofing off but are sitting there gazing into the distance as if they are thinking. I am happy to not give writing assignments at all but I am afraid that some of them won’t ever turn anything in then. I do keep track of their production, at least for those reluctant writers that haven’t turned much in. Now that I have gotten off of my point…those writers that finish the assignment end up with over a week to do their own choice writing. Those that stretch it out never get a chance to do their own writing. So how do I make it more meaningful and personal? For those kids that always say “I don’t know what to write about”, how do I answer them without giving them a prompt? I need some lessons on teaching them what to write about when they don’t know what to write about. Or, to make it so they never say “I don’t know what to write about”. Again, looking for some answers from this book and class…
Hi Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteOne thing you may try (if you don’t already) is to ask the students who would like to share a great _____. (lead, descriptive sentence, etc…) This way students can share a piece that they are proud of, but it’s not the entire paper.
I think it’s a great idea for you to have your students “get approval” for their persuasion piece. As you said, this helps to set them up for success and avoid some difficulties or frustration that they may have encountered if left on their own to pick a topic.
Eileen,
Glad you are enjoying the text so far. I think your plan of celebrating and accepting your students where they currently are will go far to develop the trust needed for students to move forward with their writing.
Hi Ann,
ReplyDeleteAren’t document cameras wonderful!? I think they are useful in all subjects.
I think that many of your questions will be answered as you continue to read the book. You will find a section on shared writing later, so I will leave those questions alone until after you get to that section of the book.
I would say the first thing to do with first graders and most students is to have them write about what they know. Their lives. These are stories that they know about and they will be able to write about. I believe it is much easier for them to write about events that happened to them instead of making up fiction stories. You might even want to start with stories from school. The field trip you took, the day there was a sub, the time the class pet escaped, when the teacher tripped and fell down. These stories are the easiest; as you know what happened as well and you can prompt them students for details in the areas that need them.
With the OLM, there is no set time. Sometimes it will be covered in a lesson, sometimes a week, sometimes longer. It all depends on the needs of the students as you assess them. You can also pull groups for strategy groups and guided practice for the students who need extra support and allowing the rest of the class to work independently.
Remember, you do not have to read everything that your students write. You could have them show you a piece they are proud of, or want help with or feedback on.
To find the time, I would say first of all, if you are doing worksheets, stop them. (Or limit them as much as possible.) Skills taught in isolation rarely stick. You’ll see later that Regie comments on finding time and says this about worksheets, “ The students who can do them don’t need them and the students who need them can’t do them.” Students should be spending their time writing. The more they write (with a clear purpose and audience in mind) the better they will become.
Finding time and scheduling are often teachers’ biggest questions. Each situation is different. For the author’s chair, you might want to do this on special occasions and just have a share time at the end of the workshop. This time can be a time to highlight a skill, clarify a point, celebrate an accomplishment, or give an example of a student’s work that demonstrates the minilesson point. You might get other ideas after watching the DVD of Regie in action. If you feel your students aren’t really getting a lot out of it, don’t do it, or change it up a little. There are other ways to celebrate the students’ writing that might be more meaningful.
Also, you might need to revisit or model clearly your expectations for share, or author’s chair, or workshop time. These are young students and they may or may not have had workshop last year.
Oral rehearsal is so important for beginning writers. The actual process for students to write is sooo slow. Their minds don’t move as fast as ours and it is work for them to sound out the words and get their ideas down before they forget what they were writing. Some students have no problem with this, and others it is a struggle. You could during a conference ask them what they are going to write and have them say it back to you. You could even make the lines for the words. Then have them tell you more details. Once you feel they are on their way send them off to work.
ReplyDeleteFor those kids who don’t know what to write you can pull a group and brainstorm some ideas. Or this could be several whole group minilessons. What they did after school. What sport do they play? Did anything funny happen on the bus? Another great idea is to use books. Look at some familiar books and look at the bigger theme in the story. Like Donald Crews’ Shortcut or Julie Brinckloe’s Fireflies. Each of these stories are about making a decision. Share these with your kids and then note that this was a story about making a decision. Did they ever have to make a decision? What happened? Could they write about that? Some books are a happy-decision-sad book. Some are a happy-decision-happy/sad book, etc… There are different types of story structures you could chart with your kids. Once they see the pattern to these types of stories they can apply them to their own stories. If you model stories in class it is OK for you students to “copy” the type of story you wrote. They might even want to look at yours to get ideas. This is ok, especially for our struggling writers. Some other story structures might be: Happy-sad-happy; sad stories; happy-scared-relief; searching stories; misunderstanding (like Knufflebunny); perseverance; sibling rivalry. These structures allow students to move beyond the basic plot to more interesting storytelling.
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ReplyDeleteTeaching writing has been a challenge for me as a teacher, and I have always wanted to see my students as writers and not get caught up in how they need to pass the state tests. However, reading chapter one helped me realize how good instruction comes from empowering students to write their own stories through guidance. Just as the reading in CAFÉ system is so successful because of the individualized instruction and giving students choices to pick their own books with our direction, I strongly believe writing should be taught in a similar manner.
ReplyDeleteI like the optimal learning model on page 11 and was very fortunate to have my mentor teachers help me understand how to use this instructional method for teaching writing. So far, modeling writing, writing stories together, sharing children’s work, and gradually releasing them to write independently has been successful in my classroom.
The 12 Writing Essentials for All Grade Levels is a great checklist to guide my students to become great writers. I realize I've done about half of those strategies so far. We've worked on creating good hooks for our stories and powerful conclusions. Students are organizing their details with a beginning, middle, and an end to produce a smooth flow in their writing. We've also worked on elaborating ideas by imagining we are painting a picture in our story through the use of colorful and creative adjectives and action verbs. This year I would like to include other writing strategies, such as embracing language by playing with the words and revision. I have started emphasizing these strategies while we worked on our heart poems, one of Regie’s writing ideas.
Chapter two really spoke to me, because I understand how important it is to celebrate our own writing. I know for myself, I still need to work on building confidence as a writer, since I get very defensive and discouraged when others critique my writing. I know how important it is for my students to receive positive feedback and be honored as a writer. At our school, we celebrate students' writing by posting their writing on the bulletin board, sharing their writing at an author’s chair, and providing many opportunities for them to share their writing in the classroom. I'd like to create more celebrations in my classroom and would appreciate some examples of how other teachers honor their students.
I enjoy sharing my writing with my students, because they are very supportive of what I've presented. My students also love hearing my stories, because I'm telling them more about my life as a child and outside of school. Sharing writing in front of others is not my favorite thing to do, but I think it is very important for my students to see me as a confident writer along with watching me struggle through an assignment. Just as I ran with my students to raise money for our school at the Jogathon, I want to share stories and creativity through writing as a member of a writing community.
Hello Niji,
ReplyDeleteHere's a couple of ideas for celebrating students' writing:
* Create student or class books and put in the class or school library. Or make copies and send them home with the students.
* Have a bulletin board where students pick what they are the most proud of. Have them write a little card explaining what they are most proud of about the piece.
*Have students or adults record student writing for the listening center or to listen on the computer. You could also use different programs to publish student's pieces on the computer... a powerpoint or photo story where they find, create or take pictures to add to the story.
*Morning announcements... students could share a brief piece or a poem. The principal could also remind the school to check out your bulletin boards or published pieces that are in the hall and where the location is.
*Post pieces (posters) around the school. Places where students are lined up or waiting.
*Publishing Party with food and invite guests. Family or school members.
*Re-write the pieces on large chart paper and hang in the front lobby or hall for everyone to see when they come into the school.
*Silent Gallery Walk- class walks around the room silently (or quietly) reading and responding to each others writing using sticky notes. (Note: you will def. have to give lessons and model how to make comments about others writing and how to use sticky notes.)
Anyone else have ideas?
In my position, I have the opportunity to travel about the building and see what’s going on in various classrooms, with various teaching styles, and various age groups. Without a doubt, the most effective teaching/learning I see is being done according to the Optimal Learning Model. I think that education is entering a really interesting phase where this kind of teaching and learning will become the only accepted method (at least I hope so). To me, this model really addresses the individuality in our students. It’s important for teachers to realize that some students may need to hang out on the left-hand side of the model despite the fact that others come to us ready to reside on the right-hand side with only brief visits back to the left. The ultimate goal has to be the development of independent learners. As I work with individuals, or small groups of struggling readers, my number one goal is independence. One way that I work toward this independence is by arming my students with knowledge of sight words. I once read, “sight words are the life raft in a sea of reading”. With that in mind, I developed a simple system for directly teaching sight words, providing opportunity for practice and reinforcement, then, supporting students as they work to apply their new knowledge in the context of their daily reading. This very simple process has had a profound impact on the accessibility of text for some of my most struggling readers. They feel a sense of pride and satisfaction when they realize that there are many words that they DO know, and, often, that helps them unlock those that they don’t know. Unfortunately, in my position, independence means that the students don’t need me anymore.
ReplyDeleteIn my current position, I don’t teach writing, but I am involved in the conversations regarding school-wide writing goals and developing plans for improvement. As I read the “12 Essentials”, it occurred to me that, generally, our teachers are still teaching writing as a linear process, organized by genres, with isolated focus on the six traits; this doesn’t seem to be working, at least not according to our test results. With that said, I do think that we have some foundation for improvement. The “12 Essential” incorporate all of the necessary components of the 6 traits, the only difference being that we need to move away from teaching them in isolation. We have also worked to develop a set of standards for our students’ writing specific to applying correct conventions. I think we have all the tools we need to get students’ work published, but we need to take the next step and make that happen more often. More than anything, I believe our building needs to get away from the Four-Square “program”…it’s stifling! I think these “12 Essentials” should be an important part of our building’s conversations about writing as we move forth on the path toward improvement and I love that they apply to all grades!
Again, because I don’t teach writing, the celebration of writing is not something that I often have the chance to do. Occasionally, a teacher will send a student down to share his/her work with me, but I feel that those opportunities are only afforded to the more capable students while the ones that could really benefit from some celebration are left feeling less and less hopeful that their writing will ever warrant such celebration. On a building level, I think we have a lot of room for improvement in this area. I think many of the ideas suggested in the text are suggestions that I’d like to pass along to the teachers that I work with, but I plan to take a more focused interest in students’ writing as I spend time in various classrooms. I think students would feel celebrated if I simply asked for them to share with me. On a larger scale, I would like to see us organize literacy nights focused specifically on writing as one possible venue for celebrating students’ writing. This would also be a great way to keep parents informed about what is expected. Perhaps guest writers could be invited in to share their craft.
Part: A.
ReplyDeleteAfter examining the Optimal Learning Model on the inside cover and page 11 of chapter 1 of Regie Routman’s Writing Essentials, I realized that I use this model successfully and with fidelity in certain areas of my instruction. On the other hand, I also realized that I have attempted to use this model in other areas of instruction with limited success.
I feel I use this model successfully in the way I instruct and have organized my math curriculum in my classroom. For nearly every standard I teach in math I follow the Optimal Learning model from dependence to independence. I feel confident and successful with it. I think this has everything to do with the fact I have taught math more than any other subject I encounter. It makes sense to me in my mathematical instruction. I know what I want the students to be able to do, I know how to assess it, I know how to intervene with it, and I feel really good that I can eventually get most of my students to a mastery level operating with in this model.
But, when it comes to my writing instruction, I have attempted to use this model (though I didn’t know it had a sweet name and such a structure to it) without the same results. I think this has to do with my lack of experience teaching writing and lack of confidence with it. For example, after studying the model on the cover I realized that I have done some of these things trying to lead my students to be more independent writers, but I lack the knowledge and experience to be able to judge when to let go and send them to the next stage, how to get all my students to the next stage, and how to quickly assess and redesign my instruction for this aim.
I hope I can learn how to successfully implement this type of model in my classroom to improve my writing instruction.
Part: B.
I think I have taught the 12 essentials of writing more in isolation than as a holistic approach throughout my career, but I feel that I have shifted my mindset towards a more holistic approach this year. At our school we have been told that we will teach writing using the 4-square writing formula program, which teaches many of these writing traits at different stages. I absolutely despise the way this is taught, I have felt that it really handicaps our students as writers and they have a difficult time becoming independent, well-rounded, successful writers. This year I have really begun to question how I teach writing, and how I can design my instruction so I can develop my students to become more meaningful writers than just simply formula followers.
Part: C
Currently I celebrate students’ writings as I conference with them in the back of the room once they have finished a writing project. I make sure that I have at least one “great thing” I discover in their writing. I try to make sure that most of the class can overhear me praising and celebrating the piece with that student. I also, at times when I find things in students’ writings that all students can learn from, I display that student’s writing and share with the class the things I really liked about the piece. The pride the student feels at being an “example” for the others is really cool.
As I look to further my writing instruction and focus on celebration there are a few things that I think I could do that would be meaningful. One of these would be an “author share.” This would allow students to share their writing with the class, and others to learn from the variety of writing that is happening throughout the class. I have some writers that are strong in organization, I have others that dominate voice, and then I have others that write with the most brilliant vivid language – I think all the students could learn from each other if we took the time the share.
I would also like to find some ways for students to display, “publish”, their works so other people outside of the class can see what they are doing and further increase the pride the students have or receive when someone reads and acknowledges their writing.
I really enjoyed the first chapter and it really made me think of my own teaching. Being a new teacher I’m always looking for new ways to reach kids when it comes to writing. I think writing is one of the hardest subjects to teach but is one of the most important to do effectively. One area that I know my own students need improvement in is conventions. I recently noticed this and am now scrambling to find effective ways to teach it. I would love any suggestions that are available . After looking at the essentials of writing it is easy for me to see what my own students are already doing and what areas I need to help them to improve in. I think it important to see and I would like to share the list with them and teach mini-lessons on each point.
ReplyDeleteSection one made me realize that I don’t do enough celebrations with my class when it comes to writing. I do so many celebrations in the other subjects but writing seems to be the one that I teach then have them do an assignment and turn it in. I would like to focus on celebrations with my class. Some ideas that I would like to try would be an authors chair and even a journal back and forth. Keeping a journal would be fun for the kids and it was also allow me to see and hear how they are feeling inside and outside of school.
Just recently my team and I had our classes write and publish books. This was such a neat experience but at the same time was such an overwhelming project. I would love to have a celebration but I feel that the kids are completely over the project. Writing is often such a struggle for kids that I think they just want it done and don’t even want to celebrate. Is there a way to make it more fun and not so challenging in their eyes?
Some changes that I could make in my writing instruction would be keeping the focus of the class on a specific topic. I think sometimes I allow my students to write about anything that they like and I believe I may get better results if it was more focused. With a more focused assignment you are able to share different parts of other students writing and the kids can easily see ways that they can improve. I also think it would meaningful for me to give kids the opportunity to share their writing more. One way that I could do this would be through the authors chair that I mentioned earlier. My kids love to share and they can grow so much from their peers.
Assignment #2: Written Reflection—Section 1, Chapters 1-3
ReplyDeleteI was heartened reading these chapters because I am engaged in much of the writing and teaching practices Regie describes. I try to teach “real writing” as much as possible, that is, I encourage my students to “write for real purposes and audiences—and publish their writing” (7). We don’t use any particular program for teaching writing at my school. I do, however, feel overwhelmed at times because teaching writing feels like such an immense and extremely important goal. I find that I do turn to “exercises” when I get tired and when it seems my students are continuing to struggle with conventions. Sometimes this just feels easier: I can give them some grammar work, for example, and receive objective results. I do think there is room for a balance—a mini-lesson about “its” and “it’s” is not a bad thing. I don’t think Regie is saying it is a bad thing, but it shouldn’t be the beating heart of writing curriculum. I wholeheartedly agree that “Teaching the skills is crucial…but those skills need to be taught because the writer needs them to convey a message, not because they are on a checklist or in a prescribed…program” (12). I strive to balance teaching the cold, hard skills and infusing joy into the writing process.
“The Optimal Learning Model” is a great model for real learning, in my opinion. I teach using this model about half the time. In my high school classes there is more “independent practice” going on, but I also have conferences with students while they work on the writing process. I also try to share my own writing as much as possible. This takes the form of me writing with them during class; me showing them previously composed writing from high school, college, and life; and me sharing my thought process and revision process as I write in front of them, although this last component occurs much less than the others. When I work with middle schoolers (sixth through eighth graders) I tend to conference more and write in front of them more. Their writing process is generally more guided and one-on-one. It helps that my classes are small, from 8 to 15 students. I wonder how a “writers workshop” style happens in a large group? I probably sound like a spoiled teacher here, and I don’t want it to seem like I’ve already got the whole “Optimal” model down; I definitely struggle and work at it daily.
It really helps me to see the “12 Writing Essentials for All Grade Levels” broken down in a bulleted list. Sometimes the amorphous nature of teaching writing is overwhelming and it helps to have a concise and accessible reference.
And now moving on to thinking about how I celebrate student writing. Here’s what I currently do.
• I encourage students to read their work aloud to the class, to me, and to small groups.
• We put together anthologies and celebrate their release by having an in-class party and reading.
• We make our work available to the greater school community by displaying it in the hall and/or giving copies out at school events.
I could include more celebration by having a poetry/writing night where we read our work to the community. I could try less obvious celebrations more often, like having more one-on-one conferences and offering more praise for outstanding work. I think giving students the lead to choose their own topics/subjects is important, too, because they will feel their work is worth celebrating if it comes from them and is not mandated.
As I have mentioned already, I sometimes fall under the spell of teaching conventions when the going gets tough in the teaching of writing. When offering feedback on a draft, I sometimes find myself focusing too much on every missing apostrophe and misspelled word. This happens because my brain finds it easier to focus on these details rather than try to parse out the overall effectiveness of the piece.
I could also write in front of my students much more. I’m glad this is coming in assignment #3!
Hi Sarah, Brad, Brittany and Jordia!
ReplyDeleteSarah, you do have a great perspective of the instruction happening at your school. I enjoy watching other teachers in action. It’s always great to try a new method that you’ve seen be successful in a different class.
This is where differentiating comes into play. Basically all teachers should be differentiating for their students. By gradually releasing the responsibility so that the students are able to work independently the instructor is able to see where they need to focus their attention and when to move on to the next topic. This is not the easiest way to teach but it is the best.
I agree, just asking the students to share some of their writing with you can be considered a celebration of their effort and work. :D
Brad,
Would your administration allow you to “pilot” a different approach to writing instruction for a couple of years and then compare the results from the state test? If time allowed, you and your team could also compare pieces of students work if you were allowed freedom from the 4-square method. Even if this doesn’t happen it is valuable to have time to talk with our colleagues and have a common understanding of what meets expectations and what exceeds expectations. Then these agreed upon examples could be shared with students so they can strive to improve their writing.
Brittany,
Have you put examples (from other classes without names) up and worked though a piece trying to read it and then asking for places where conventions would help clarify what the author was trying to say? Document cameras are wonderful for this. I would also meet with a student and use a piece they had finished some time earlier and go through it with them looking specifically at the conventions. Also, whole group or small group lessons are a good place to instruct students about conventions, but be prepared to see what ever you talk about being used everywhere. For example when you discuss commas or quotation marks, students will start to use them in their writing even in places that are incorrect. This is part of the process of them learning when and where to use them and totally normal.
What about having every one contribute a page or two to a class book and then having a celebration? This way it is not so overwhelming for you or the students, nor is it so time consuming. Nothing says that students have to write long assignments to learn. Writing should also be seen as fun and something they are successful at doing.
You could use picture books as a vehicle to focusing your students. If the story is about the character being lost, you could then ask your students have they ever had a time when they were lost or knew someone who got lost. Could they write about that? This way students still have choice but are given a context to work in and the picture book gives a structure that they can use if they need the support.
Another idea for sharing your writing is to see if your principal would read one piece a week from a student in your class. I’m sure the students would love to have the principal read and respond to their writing.
Hi Jordia,
Absolutely, we would agree with you that Regie wouldn’t say occasional skill work is a bad thing, but as you said, it should not be the heart of your writing program.
Writer’s Workshop def. can happen with larger classes. Figuring out the schedule can be tricky, but it’s doable. I know if possible, teachers can ask for SPED teachers to come in and support during this time or give training to para-educators in how to confer. Teachers at one of my schools even asked me to come and confer during workshop time. They kept a single notebook where all adults would record their notes so whichever teacher worked with the student next would have the important information from the last workshop.
The Optimal Learning Model represents and ideal that can improve my teaching. It is so easy to lose track of the importance of the gradual release model. Sometimes I skip the shared writing or demonstration and jump straight to independent practice while I help individuals. Using the Optimal Learning model helps me see how I can demonstrate daily over the two weeks it took us to finish this project.
ReplyDeleteI incorporate many of the the 12 Writing Essentials in various degrees. I would like to collect more texts that relate to our writing. The examples under “Elaborate on Ideas” are helpful. I am trying to “embrace language”. These past two years I have been using more free verse poetry as a way for kids to experiment and explore with language in a non-structured, risk free environment. My hope is that some of the figurative language will find its way into the rest of their writing. Also, the idea that revision is non linear makes sense but again I often take the linear approach. Here would be a great place to model revision as I write! The eleventh essential for writing has, I admit, only recently resonated with me. I realized why my daughter’s writing was so great (strictly teacher’s perspective, no bias here!) is because she is a voracious reader.
I see how celebrating student writing helps students become better writers. They hear other writers, gain ideas, share insight, and become motivated to write. In my class we celebrate writing in different ways. On Mondays we start our day with “The Weekend News”. I try to make it more purposeful though. When they finish, students have the opportunity to share their writing on the projector. They read it aloud while the classroom listens. When finished we applaud and highlight elements we see in the writing. Another way we celebrate writing is through sharing our published books. Students have made books in class that have been revised and edited. Once completed, I show the book on the projector, noting illustrations, reading enticing passages or leads, etc. The other students, having seen a bit of the selection, are motivated to read the rest of the story/report during free reading time. Now that I think about it, it would be nice to have a blank page in the book for reader’s comments!
The reading from chapter two gave me other ideas on celebrating writing. I often see students “stuck” and when I ask them how things are going, they may respond with,” I don’t know how to spell a word.” If we celebrate the message and the reading of the work, perhaps students will be more inclined to write without worry! The questions,” Who tried something new?”, Who rewrote a part that didn’t work?”, or “Who has a great lead?” seem like great ways to encourage writers and I would like to post these in list form in my classroom so we are all mindful of them. Celebrating passages from professionally published tests seems like a good was to highlight what is good in writing without focusing on correctness. By experiencing great writing, kids can begin to use some of the language and style in their own writing.
I need to make changes in my writing program so that students see the purpose of writing and it becomes more meaningful for them. I especially like the idea that stories are “fun”! Fun is the ultimate motivator. Also, I need to read aloud more often in the classroom for enjoyment and to provide examples of “good” writing. This year I have made an effort to connect home and school writing. Routman mentions that some of the kids’ best writing is done freely at home. We need to “tap into their interests”. What really struck me during this section of reading were the notes from the kids. Marquita who feels her teacher doesn’t find anything positive, highlighted the need to affirm what they have produced not only point out what they missed. Many of the ideas presented in this section will help me make writing more meaningful and fun for my class.