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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Jen Hunt
ReplyDeleteAssignment Two
•
My teaching relies heavily on an “I Do, We Do, You Do” model. This is very similar to her Optimal Learning Model. It scaffolds responsibility and primary action from the teacher to the student. Perfect for kindergarten and a standard for my teaching.
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When I taught 1-2, I definitely remember worrying about [the 12 Writing Essentials] and fighting the urge to teach part-whole just to get all of these in before the end of the year. This last year in kindergarten I spent so much time trying to get kiddos to “write what you hear” that “presenting ideas clearly with a logical, well-organized flow” or “reread, rethink, and revise while composing” fell to the bottom of the to-do list. I am curious to see the changes I could make this coming year—and very willing to incorporate these ideas. I believe in them, but will it work in my classroom? I look forward to finding out.
•
Using the Lucy Calkins series over the years, I have practiced Writers’ Celebrations through publishing, students reading their writing on stage into a microphone, students reading aloud to the class, students reading their piece aloud to other classes, etc. In 1-2 I tried to have a celebration every other month or so. I found that the students still saw writing as a chore and didn’t feel truly celebrated in these celebrations. Through reading these first three chapters, I confirmed what I secretly knew in my heart all along- MY enthusiasm (or lack there of) makes or breaks writing in my classroom. I fall too easily into “getting it done” or see it as a 30-minute-time-slot, “Hurry, hurry, Hurry!!” and forget to take the small moments with each child to celebrate the creation of meaning on a page. I worry most of all about influencing kindergartners with my To-Do mentality. I hope this class is one more (significant) reminder to me that what I SHOW matters. I can say whatever I like, but if I don’t truly feel enthusiastic myself, they know. Kids always know.
I also made many notes through these chapters about having more time for kiddos to share their work with each other. Again, something I KNOW is valuable, but don’t make time for. I know I need to give them more time before writing to brainstorm with each other (and model what that looks like) and more time after writing to share what they’ve done. A daily celebration of what we’ve accomplished can take five minutes. Five valuable minutes.
•
The most important reminder she gave me in the first three chapters was that writing (and getting students to be writers) is based, first, in the relationship between you and the student. If you nurture their stories and value their comments, they will see themselves as story tellers and writers. I try to remind myself, “‘less rush, Jen, more validating and encouraging!”
I loved her various lists of topics. I shy away from giving my students prompts, but struggle to think of topics that we will all have something to write about. Routman has many good ideas.
I also appreciated how she encouraged me to remember how I write- and I’m always thinking of my audience FIRST. I am a seven out of ten at getting my students to think of their reader. Room for improvement.
The biggest Ah-ha for me was when she wrote, “I only write as much as I expect my students to write. It makes no sense to take the time to model a full page of writing when most of the students are able to write just a few sentences.” WHAT?! OH! This whole time I’ve been modeling (narrating my thinking and writing in front of the kiddos) a whole page when half the class doesn’t know which letter sounds correspond with which letters! It never occurred to me to do less modeling! I have to think about this for a while. I see her point, but I struggle with the idea of modeling less- especially because I have some writers that can write a page. The idea crossed my mind to model the first two sentences, then send off the strugglers, but then they are left flying out there alone while I’m modeling the rest of the page to my higher kiddos. I would love some suggestions.
Chapter 1- The optimal learning model is applied in my math classes. I regularly begin new concepts by modeling new problems. I like to do a lot of thinking aloud. I like to think that I am answering the questions before their hands are raised. I think I am fairly successful at this in math because of my familiarity with the curriculum. It is easy to spot the common pitfalls. One of my challenges will be to figure out how this works in writing. After direct instruction, I will have students helping students in math class. I think of this as giving the opportunity for a stronger student to become more independent and the dependent student getting more support. If two students can’t figure out a problem then they come to an adult to problem solve solutions. I agree very strongly that the Optimal Learning Model is the way to go in our classrooms. We assess where our students are “at” and take them to a higher level of competence and independence.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t really used the 12 writing essentials in my classroom. I can envision them being used in class. Most importantly, the writing needs to be meaningful and authentic to the student. I agree that cookie cutter writing models are typically not successful in classrooms. They do very little to motivate and interest our students. Publishing work also seems to be an important element in writing. Our students work much harder and take more care if they know that someone else outside of the classroom will be looking at it.
Chapter 2- Celebration in the classroom recognizes that students like to experience success, and it motivates us to do better in the future. I think celebration can come both informally with praise in the classroom and more formally in class or school assemblies. I lead a school wide “morning meeting” each day for 15-25 minutes. The purpose of the meeting is to inform, build rapport, have fun and set the tone for the day. This would be a great opportunity to develop a celebration for writing as ALL the teachers will have a writing class next year.
Meaning and interest for a seventh grade student is all about finding things that they can relate to. I will need to develop my writing class around topics that they will find naturally appealing. Relationships, celebrities, athletes are common topics to begin developing writing lessons. Routman is adamant, I think correctly so, that students need to have joy and need to see meaning before the punctuation and formatting lessons will stick. I think I will also need to develop some stories and written examples to help the students become stronger writers. I don’t currently have examples of writing for the students to model.
Chapter 3- I selected to write about a time when my Shepherd-Husky ran away. I chose it because it is still memorable to me because it had an unexpected outcome. The whole time I was writing about it, I was thinking of a way to write that makes it as interesting to the reader as the quality of the memory is to me. I didn’t really have to do much planning because it was a story that comes out because it involved up and down emotions. When I write I am always a person that writes a few sentences and then goes back to read and see if I still like what I wrote. When I write anything that I send out to others I spend most of my time writing and rewriting. I usually only have a piece of what I want to say and the rest comes out as I write. This process is much different for me when I am writing a piece of non-fiction. Then I al inclined to start by writing out outlines with topics and quotes or facts that I want to use in the writing. Overall, I think that I will be fairly comfortable with students watching me writing. I am comfortable with all learning being viewed as a process. Even though we are viewed by our students as being the experts, I want them to know that we go through the same process when we want to do or learn something new.
I am glad you are finding useful ideas in the text. Just as I was worried that the book would not provide enough for kindergartners, as I started to read I began thinking of you and wondering if there are enough applicable ideas in here for 7th graders!
DeleteI really enjoyed the first chapters and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book to learn how to apply the ideas further. I really like the Optimal Learning Model that Regie demonstrates throughout the book. In my classroom I try to do “I do, we do, you do” but often times it turns into “I do, you do.” I know that I am very guilty of getting caught up in the time crunch of it all along with everything that needs to be taught. Another thing that I find challenging is conferencing with every student. It takes so long and find it hard to manage the student that is distracting others around them or the student that just learned to recognize all of the letters of the alphabet. I was much more successful with conferencing and the 'we do' mentality my first year teaching. The stress of trying to get it all done and the management issue of several students makes me dread writing. When reading these chapters I found myself reflecting a lot on how I really do feel about writing. It was very eye opening to realize how much I dread it, and of course this is pushed onto my students attitudes toward writing!
ReplyDeleteI try to teach the '12 Writing Essentials' in the classroom throughout the year. However, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph I get into the time crunch and everything that needs to be taught. I am then not teaching it for students to understand. I am teaching it so some kids get it and hopefully the rest will come along. I am looking forward to reading more about teaching the 12 writing essentials and taking a closer look at writing instruction in my own classroom.
We try and celebrate student writing weekly in my classroom. Most weeks we are successful and get through most students. We share in short increments throughout the day to keep the audience attention. When reflecting about sharing student writing I found myself really thinking about what that looked like this past year. I give students the choice to share or pass. Most students do choose to share but it is always the same students passing. I would love to still give students the choice to share or pass and have them all chose to share! I would also love to be able to share in longer increments rather than breaking it up throughout our day due to the lack of attention!
Wow where to begin about changing instruction. I will start with my attitude about writing. I already find myself excited about brainstorming some of the ideas and how it would look to apply them in my own classroom. I will also use Regie's advice about using real life stories and writing in front of the kids. I feel like I am spending to much time planning unsuccessful writing lessons. I also think that when I am modeling in front of the kids I get in a hurry and miss parts or don't explain as in depth as I should. As Jen mentioned in her post as her ah – ha, only write what I expect my students to write. This makes so much sense, but has never crossed my mind. I need to bring more of myself into the classroom and take the time to share with them. I also realized that if I slowed down and taught for whole class understanding and love of writing, I would be teaching more than I am now by covering 'everything' in the scope and sequence!
Chapter 1: Looking at the demonstration/teacher part I realized that I demonstrate and explain a lot. I have gotten lazy and do not model and think aloud enough. It takes too much time and I always feel like the kiddos get antsy and restless. I know I should model and I have done it in the past. I rarely conference anymore and make the students write quietly instead of discussing, conferencing, and sharing. There is never any time at the end for share.
ReplyDeleteAs I reread through the 12 Writing Essentials I see that I do teach most of these essentials. I love language, reading and writing. We have a cute chant in my room that we say before we go off to write. I say, “What are we going to do today?” The students say, “Write for the reader!” Or they say, “Write, write, write!” It is really cute and gets the students excited. I remind the students each day about our chart that has a list of what “good writers” do (this is made up with the students a little at a time and added to throughout the year). I do quick mini-lessons about leads, conclusions, and share mentor texts to model good examples, and make anchor charts based on these essentials.
Chapter 2: I have always felt that I did a good job at celebrating and making a classroom full of engaged writers. The year before I had a “Talk it Out” time, partner share, and whole group share at the end of writing time. This last year I felt so pressed for time that I cut all of those things out and writing was just not the same. I really noticed a difference in my student’s engagement during writing time.
In my class we do have a writer’s celebration each time we finish a longer project (ex. Personal narrative). I bring cookies and juice. Students sit in table groups facing each other with sticky notes and cookies in the center of the table. They each share their work and each student writes a compliment (“I like how you described the water”) on a sticky note and moves to the next student. When they are done sharing they may have their cookies and juice. I take pictures of the groups working and post them on the class web site for parents to see. These happen about 3 times a year and students really enjoy them. Last year we made our holiday party around one celebration and invited parents. What I lacked this year was daily celebrations.
Chapter 3: Part One
Special Memory: crashing on my mountain bike, getting married, favorite family dog dying, camping trip to San Juan Islands, trip to Disneyland, my sister’s pool (so fun!), childhood trips to see my grandparents (eating kielbasa and corn from the BBQ), picking blueberries at a farm that also raises puppies! Start of School: Lucas’ birthday, setting up the classroom, putting paper on the bulletin boards (always a good story there ), meeting new colleagues, seeing my new class list, transition from summer Favorite book, food, movie, etc.: The new Mysterious Benedict Society book, seeing the Hunger Games for the 4th time, eating at Bubba Gumps restaurant on the Santa Monica Pier, sitting by the pool in the sunshine
Last year I wrote two stories in front of my students. One was about my mountain bike crash in Laguna Hills and another one about putting my 14 year old lab to sleep. They loved to hear about my life and especially when I cried while writing about my dog. It always scares them and intrigues them a little when you cry in class. I cry mostly when I am reading aloud.
Chapter 3: Part Two
While writing I noticed I thought about the order of my story. I asked my husband for clarification of what happened. As I wrote I added words and took out ideas when I didn’t like them. As I wrote I continually reread my piece to make sure it was going in the right direction and when I didn’t like part of it I changed it before moving on. As I went along I checked my spelling and corrected as I went along. When I was done I reread the entire piece and was pretty satisfied with the result.
I love your sticky-note and juice celebration idea simply because of how motivating it must be to be really engaged and get right to work in order to have cookies! Love it.
DeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteI hope you took the time to look at Appendix A and note your beliefs about writing. We recently had a student tell us she wished she had earlier in the course, as was suggested, so she could see how her thoughts had changed after reading the text. By the time she finished the book, she didn’t really remember what her answers would have been. (Later in the course we ask you to go back and revisit the statements about writing and see how your thoughts have changed from reading the book.)
I hope you are all enjoying your summer vacation. Jackie was just up in Vermont this past weekend so it was nice to see her and her family. ☺
Jennifer,
Yes! The OLM goes by several different names. To, With, By; I do, We do, You do; The Gradual Release of Responsibility.
Scaffolding responsibility for students is very important in the primary grades, but also important for the upper grades. Often the “steps” that are missed, left out or shortened (due to time constraints) are the Shared Demonstration and Guided Practice. Most teachers find that when they allow ample time for the inclusion of these steps the lesson and results are more positive and students have greater success.
You are not alone in your reflection and thoughts about writing in your classroom. Many teachers view writing as something to do and get done. “Check, I covered it. Now onto ______.” Our attitude and enthusiasm def. corresponds with students’ effort and interest. As you said, “They always know.” Incorporating time to celebrate with your students individually (conferring) will be a positive addition to your instruction. Students love having the one-on-one time with their teacher. And you gain informative data about your student in a short amount of time.
I’m glad you mentioned the point about allowing time for students to converse and brainstorm. This time is valuable to the writing process. If teachers think about how they write and revise they would see that often adults quietly think, orally rehearsal, try things out (brainstorm) and discuss with peers. Plus not every piece we write is completed through all steps of the writing process to publishing. And since it was mentioned here, I am a huge believer in oral rehearsal for students writing. It is a strong strategy for our primary students and all students learning to write.
I would say for Kindergarten and first grade that in the fall to write about topics that happen at school so you can guide and prompt the students since you know what happened. Writing about the day the pet hamster got loose, or When Mrs. Mitchell tripped over her book bag and knocked the easel over, the field trip to the apple/pumpkin orchard, or the day a guess speaker came to class, etc... This provides another level of scaffolding as you can easily help students generate ideas, sequence the event and focus on the process of writing instead of developing the story line. Again, using oral rehearsal for your struggling students or writing lines on their paper so they know where each word should go are useful supports for our beginning writers. Also, as a side note, having an example or shared writing piece up on the easel allows the emerging writers the support to “copy” your structure if needed. And again, this is perfectly fine if a student wants/needs this help.
I would say regarding you’re a-ha about modeling what the students can produce is to keep it in mind. It’s ok to model longer pieces occasionally, but think of what the majority of the class needs and then pull strategy groups to work with the students who need more or less once the class in underway. The strategy group doesn’t need to be a 30 min. lesson at your back table, but you can model an amazing lead or two really descriptive sentences in front of the whole class then pull your “highs” to the back table to continue the instruction for a detailed passage. (Plus it’s nice that it’s not just our struggling students who are pulled to the table for support.) It is also fine if some of your students at their desks are listening to your instruction and possibly trying it out for themselves. That’s one of the benefits of roaming conferences-students near by often are listening to your discussion with a particular student and thinking of how they can incorporate what you talked about into their writing. Also, once you feel your back table group is set, you can get up and monitor the room and then check back with your group. Or change the groups-send your first group back to their desks and then call other students to your table.
ReplyDeleteAnother idea would be to have students work in partnerships. (With K, this would be much later in the year.) But kids could work in pairs to write an interesting lead, or a couple of descriptive sentences, or whatever. This would take much demonstrating, modeling and practice, but perhaps it would be something that would work in your room.
Does anyone else have some other ideas? Feel free to share as this is the beauty of the blog format.
Hello Michael,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to have writing be a focus at some of your morning meetings next year! Since you and your staff are starting these new writing classes, you’ll be able to save some examples for next year. Or, you can touch base with other teachers and see if they have any examples of whatever topic you are working on. (Sometimes some teachers are ahead of other teachers in their instruction or work on different topics at different times in the year.) Of course- remove the student’s name prior to sharing it with your class or ask permission from the student if it is an exceptional piece. (Though I’d still remove the name even it it’s a great example…it can sometimes become “Oh so and so is always called on or picked by the teacher.” )
Another idea that I absolutely love is to use picture books as spring boards for generating story types. If you create (then chart) a list of general story topics for (with) your students and find corresponding books, chapters or examples it helps students think of ideas to write about.
Like “Loss” for example. The loss of a pet, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a toy, the loss of a job. Or “Getting lost” most students have had experiences with getting lost or knowing someone who got lost. For the younger students looking at story formats like, “Happy-sad-Happy.” You can share a read aloud where the story starts out happy, then has a sad part but ends happy.
Leah Mermelstien (co-author with Lucy Calkins and formerly of Teacher’s College in NY has done a lot of reading and writing consulting and training in my last district.)
She would have a handful of touchstone books she knew inside and out that she could use to teach pretty much any point. (Shortcut by Donald Crews, Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe, etc…) She would talk to the students about the framework first and ask the kids if they had any stories like this format. [A feeling story, a moral dilemma story, misunderstandings (Knufflebunny,) perseverance or achieving a dream (Dancing in the Wings or The Carrot Seed.)]
She would then make the story very simple and break it down to its format. For example she would say, “ This is a happy, sad, happy story” for a feeling story example. Or, “This is a happy, scared, relief story.” Or, “This is a sad, happy story” or “a sad, mixed feeling story.” Then she would ask them if they had a “happy, sad, happy story.” Or, “Has anyone had a happy, scared, relieved story like Shortcut?” She would allow a couple of students to share their stories and then excitedly tell them that they should write that story down.
Once she broke the picture books down, the possibilities were many for the students to follow the format and write a story that had happened to them. (I think it’s easier for student to write about things they know about, experiences that they have had or talents or skills that they are “experts” at.)
If this doesn’t make sense, let me know and I’ll try to explain it better. ☺ I’m really intrigued with her idea of Story Formats and have told her twice she should write a book about it. ☺ Maybe I’ll send her an email asking if there is any progress. :D
Hi MacKenzie,
ReplyDeleteWe’re glad you are enjoying the text! Many teachers have told us that they plan to reread it and use it as a reference in their classroom.
How long are your conferences? Really you have to push yourself to keep them short and concise. Perhaps later in the course when you see Regie’s or Jackie’s conferring formats they might help you to focus in on the key elements you need to cover with the student. Also, having a timer near by can be a good reminder. It is difficult to keep the conversations short, but in order to make it to all of your students it is necessary.
For your itchy behavior students, taking the time in the beginning of the year to demonstrate, model, role-play and practice is time well spent. Don’t just mention what you want or “cover it.” Really take the time in the first six weeks to be explicit in your expectations. Have another adult come in and role-play with you. Ask the students to demonstrate. Be specific in your expectations and talk about problematic situations that might arise during writer’s workshop or when you are in small group or conferring and what are acceptable solutions to these problems. Include students in deciding what consequences might be (often they have better ideas than we do.) You will need to revisit these expectations after vacations or later in the year. And for those one or two students that continue to have difficulty staying on task, try proximity with them. Can you move them near your back table to help them focus on their assignments and redirect them when needed? Perhaps other interventions need to be looked at if the problem is chronic? Hopefully you have support from the administration, special ed department or guidance department.
Again, any other ideas anyone?
So many teachers feel the “time crunch” pressure to “cover” everything that we need to. It’s that mile wide, inch deep philosophy that isn’t really helping our students learn at all. So, we think it’s great that teachers in our classes are able to take some time and reflect on their practice and instruction and to think of ways to improve for the future. Reflection for both adults and students is important but often skipped due to time demands. As with anything, being aware of the issue if the first step in improving or solving problems. Trying to incorporate reflection into your school year each week might help. (Reflection occurs during activities and units, not just at the end.)
For your students who frequently “pass” you can pull them aside, privately, and say that you notice that they are always passing. Tell them that you expect that they need to share X times a week. (Once, twice, whatever you think is reasonable. Or every two weeks or once a month.) Also, giving them a heads up before Share that they will be sharing that day. Helping them to select something to share might be necessary in order to help them develop the confidence to share. For some students this support and scaffolding is necessary.
Excellent, we’re so glad you are excited about developing ways to improve your writing instruction! We find Regie inspirational as well! ☺
Hi Kristian!
ReplyDeleteI love your chant! Very cute! As I was reading your post you mentioned exactly what I was thinking- including daily celebrations! Those quick moments where you or the student share a great example of whatever you noticed. This way you are able to “hit” students more frequently and provide that positive encouragement when needed. (I would suggest keeping a little check off sheet with your students names and the date you “shared” something of their writing to be sure that you “notice” each student and not just highlight the same few each week. At a quick glance you can see who you need to focus on to find something they did to highlight to the class.)
Oh, looking at your list of ideas I thought of more topics that might be added to an anchor chart that I mentioned in Michael’s reply. A special vacation, the time you were sick/hurt and missed something, a favorite place, a special summer memory…
Just seeing your list made me intrigued to hear more about the stories behind the topics. Plus it reminded me about personal connections that the audience makes after hearing a story. This is an important thing to remember that during writing time (or story time,) students LOVE to share their personal connections after hearing a story. Allowing them a brief, structured time to pair share or share whole class helps create excitement and enthusiasm and helps other students generate ideas to write about. (Plus, don’t you like to share your own example after you hear a friend’s story??? It’s natural and we do it all the time.)
What I was wondering was how you liked the movie The Hunger Games compared to the book? Obviously since you’ve seen the movie 4 times you must really like it. Did you read the trilogy? I’m not normally a fan of YA books, but since I worked at a high school library for my last job (before my daughter was born) I tried to read up on YA books and loved the series.
Oh, I know what you mean about crying when you read stories. I have a really hard time not crying for two books. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and Fireboat (About the John J. Harvey during 9/11) I get choked up each time I try to read these to my students.
Wow! This book is really reminding me of what writing is supposed to be like. I am one of those teachers that hates teaching writing and look at it as a chore. I feel like I have been ineffective and that my students are not gaining much from my writing program. This is why I took this course and I am so glad I did.
ReplyDeleteWriting has been a chore for me and because of that it also has been a chore to my students. In the world of high stakes testing I really got caught up in the "formula, we must past the test" writing! The first few chapters of this book have really opened my eyes to the fact that my writing instruction has really gotten off course!
In chapter one I really focused on why do we write in my class. We write because we have to and I don't want that to be the case this year. I really want to focus in on the first idea of the 12 writing essentials which is writing for a purpose. I want my students to have an authentic purpose for writing and know that we write for a reason in life not just because our teacher tells us to. I also realized through this chapter that I do teach the 12 writing essentials to my students but I don't explicitly explain that to my class and I think making that more apparent will help my students in their writing. In my class I also do the "I do, we do, you do" model of writing. I feel this is an important way to teach writing but I think I want to adjust the topics in which I use to model my writing. If I have topics that are more authentic to me I think the students will then be able to choose topics to write on that will produce the type of pieces I want to see. I also found it validating that Reggie said to write into front of your students because I feel that is so important for the kids to see me go through the writing process and know that it's okay to struggle. I have taken other writing courses that say you present your lesson through an already prepared piece and I don't like that idea.
Chapter 2 was a great reminder. I know that we should celebrate the students writing. After all, we all want to do things more when we think we are good at it. I feel that this part of my writing program has disappeared quite a bit with the stress of time. It is such a simple thing but so easy for us teachers to cut out. I so love seeing those hands come up to share their writing on days I find "time" to celebrate. This chapter has really reminded me that finding time for celebrations isn't an option but rather celebrations have to be part of a writing program. I also have seen that celebrations can come in different forms. Students can share something they are proud of, I can point out what I think a child does well as a writer, or we can do a gallery walk of people's writing.
Chapter 3 was a no brainer to me. Of course the kids want me to share myself as a writer. I know that they always perk up when I share a story about me or my family. I really feel the more that writing becomes a part of me the more that will transfer into my students as well. I also found Appendix A very interesting because there were many of things I agreed with in it but realized I am not currently doing those things in my own writing instruction. It again really made me see that my philosophy and my practice do not match up write now and maybe that is why I dread writing so much right now. These chapters have really reenergized where I will place my focus in the up coming year.
Yeah Julie!
ReplyDeleteWe are so glad that you are finding the text inspiring and informative! You are def. not alone; many teachers have not really been taught how to teach writing. No wonder it is looked at as something to dread. And how we feel about a subject or topic, usually comes across to our students. They are so perceptive. As we have said before, we truly believe you will find this text a useful reference and tool for your writing instruction.
Yes, switching the focus of your writing instruction to writing for a purpose should make a world of difference. (And writing with your audience in mind as well.) Regie calls the I do, We do, You do the Gradual Release of Responsibility. When teachers make the time to model and scaffold instruction students have greater success.
I don’t like that idea either of presenting lessons through an already prepared piece. As you said, I want the students to see the process as well as my struggles.
YES, celebrations are NOT an option but rather need to be part of the writing process. I love it! :D
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteRegie calls I Do, We Do, You Do and the Gradual Release of Responsibility the OLM. Just caught my mistake today. :D
I don’t currently teach writing so I feel fortunate to take this class early in my career so that I can apply Regie’s approaches with my very first students.
ReplyDeleteSince I am interested in working with both adults and children, I’m reading our text with an eye to which activities might be adaptable for other populations (ESL, adult learners, etc). Since I may have the opportunity to help teach writing in an after-school program, I am also watching for activities and teaching principles that can translate into extra-curricular “writing club.”
Even as an adult writer in workshops, I see the value of demonstration. My most recent workshop facilitator always brings in his own work, at various stages of revision, to share with us. He brings in poems that inspire him, and in turn, uses those poems as writing prompts. By sharing and modeling his own process, I see that he does the same thing that Regie advocates: leading from Demonstration → Guided Practice → Independent Practice. It’s a brilliant tactic that works at any level because it focuses on the positive (what we want to see) versus the negative (what is wrong or should be corrected). This approach to teaching naturally leads to more joyful learning because it is the very opposite of punitive thinking (“I’m such a bad writer that I have to revise this…”), and it encourages students to take risks (the idea of risk is one of my most important take-aways from this text).
As someone coming from the publishing program, I naturally see the benefit of celebrating student writing. I really love the idea of helping students produce their own publications. I think for older students, you could really turn this into a cross-content area module. They can make simple books and even handmade paper in art class (some schools still have art, right?), learn about Martin Luther and the printing press in social studies, and publish their own writing in language arts.
I like the dialogs that Regie includes throughout the book, showing exactly how she gets students to participate and how she’s made sure even her lowest level students get the opportunity to share and celebrate. I found it immensely helpful to see the encouraging language she uses with students.
Finally, I see the importance of context setting and writing for real reasons and audiences. Looking back at my own elementary experience, I was lucky enough to attend private schools where this was the case: I remember writing stories and poems and thank you letters. Those experienced taught me that writing is a fun, creative, and exploratory way of putting my own thoughts into the world, of connecting with others.
I am a writer. I “get” to write. My hope would be that I could include Regie’s tactics in my own future teaching so that for my students, writing is transformed from a tedious requirement into an exciting opportunity to wield their creative fire.
Hi Tiah!
ReplyDeleteYes, I wish I had read this book when I was just starting out. :D
The OLM is a wonderful structure to follow in all subjects and as you said for all levels.
I think that is what we all hope, for students to view writing as something exciting that they get to do, not that they have to do.
I love that Routman starts this book like she ended the Reading book, discussing making our teaching life less cluttered and overburdening. While I love teaching reading I must admit that I hate teaching writing. It is overwhelming. Everyone of my students is in a totally different place. Some like to write but have very poor skills. It is hard for peers and staff to read, they can’t read their own writing and they don’t remember what they wrote after they are done. Others may get 1-2 words written in the allotted time. On top of that, many of our kids do not show up for our writing groups on time. This past year our students only got 15-20 minutes for IEP writing. If the teacher does not release them on time we may have as little as 10 minutes to work on their writing. Trying to teach a student to spell when they can’t hear sounds correctly (with my population this is not uncommon) is a never ending struggle. They know rules like end a sentence with punctuation but can’t get passed using a period. Also, capital letters do not necessarily end up where they belong. One of my students always writes a capital “F” no matter where in the word the letter is used. At his IEP meeting I mentioned this and his father laughed. He does the same thing. Neither one of them sees or notices this until someone else points it out. I have never come across a writing program I have been satisfied with. This past year I tried the “Step Up to Writing”. I had not been to training for the program. My EA’s and I read the manual and did the lessons from each unit. We used the primary kit and many pieces I felt were harder and wordier than I expected.
ReplyDeleteI like hearing her say the content comes first and the mechanics will come as we go. While I hate teaching writing I love to write. I write poetry and even have a piece published, which I do share with my students. I read them the piece and show the book. Apparently, I need to focus less on the rules and more on the “12 Writing Essentials”. I look forward to a new approach this year. I like the idea of my showing my writing and sharing and thinking with my students to show them what I am looking for. I was planning on using more DOL this year. I am rethinking that strategy.
I remember back in high school receiving papers back covered with comments and marks in red. I had decided in 2nd grade I would be a teacher. I vowed I would never use red pens or pencils to mark or comment on students papers. I vow now to find something great about each person’s writing and acknowledge that before addressing areas to work on as well. When I hold an IEP I always start my “Present Level” area with a strength of the student and end with a strength. All the other stuff comes in the middle. I will do that with comments, suggestions and questions about writing this year. I loved how Routman told the one student she couldn’t wait to hear the start to his story. WOW, what a great way to acknowledge him, show what he was able to do mattered and encourage him to continue. I have used the sticky not technique many times myself or personal dictionaries if it is just one word. For my very young writers I have them illustrate a story and then label items. Many times they aren’t writing the whole word yet, especially at the start of the year. They can usually give the first sound. I have them write that, share the word with me, I put it on a sticky, they copy it and then I model a simple sentence that they help write and then copy. Another big issue with many of my kids is letter formation. Sometimes it is very difficult to know what they have written because the letter formation is so poor. I am wondering if penmanship is addressed at all in this text. I like the idea of giving the students choice in what they write- one problem that I have ran into with this is the kid who can’t pick a topic. When topics are suggested they turn them down. I do also like the idea of it being ok for a topic to remain the topic for several days or weeks. For some of my kids this would help.