ASSIGNMENT FOUR: WRITTEN REFLECTION-Section Two- Teaching Essentials Chapters 4-6
Read
Writing Essentials, Chapters 4-6 and briefly reflect on the following
thoughts written below and any additional comments that you have after
reading these chapters. Post your reflection to the course blog.
Chapter 4: Raise Your Expectations
• Why we need to raise expectations – ESPECIALLY for our minority and lower socio-economic students
• How to raise expectations in your classrooms as well as in your grade level and throughout your entire building
• What about handwriting, spelling and editing expectations?
• How to use the Optimal Learning Model to support your students’ needs
“Raising
expectations” for our students is a big push in all of our districts.
Under “No Child Left Behind” many schools have been identified as “in
need of improvement” and have been working furiously yet unsuccessfully
for over ten years to “close the gap” for our minority children. But
more important than improving performance on high stakes tests is
remembering that if we raise our expectations and teach explicitly, then
our students will rise to the occasion and astonish us with the high
quality work that each of them is capable of.
Regie
has some great insight into the need to raise expectations of our
students and feeling comfortable and confident with the decision to set
high standards for all learners. She raises the question, What are our
clearly articulated, rigorous yet reasonable expectations? This is a
question that we should reflect on as individual teachers, and one that
should be the starting point for a conversation within our grade levels,
buildings and across entire districts.
We’d
like to know what you think of one of our favorite quotes from the
book: “Worksheets aren’t good enough. The students who can do them don’t
need them, and the ones who struggle with them feel defeated by the red
marks, which only reinforce their feelings of inadequacy. WORKSHEETS
FOSTER MEDIOCRITY!” (We personally wanted to shout out when we read
that!) Please include your thoughts in your Section Two Reaction.
In
this chapter, Regie also sheds some light on several topics that
teachers often ask about. “What about handwriting expectations?” and
“Conventions, Editing and Publishing?” It’s always helpful to get
another professional’s point of view on these pressing issues! Enjoy the
chapter!
Chapter 5: Do More Shared Writing• Where does Shared Writing fit within the Optimal Learning Model?
• For which learners is Shared Writing appropriate?
• How can we link Shared Writing with Shared Reading?
• How can Shared Writing be used to support word work?
• What are some “Tried and True” ideas for Shared Writing?
Regie's
idea of Shared Writing is very different than that of many other
professionals in the field. So often we use Shared Writing only with the
primary grades. As Regie states, “What a great way to teach and engage
all students in all aspects of oral and written language.” If we are to
consider teaching through all phases of the Optimal Learning Model, we
can begin to see how important Shared Writing is for our students. We
think that the idea of using Shared Writing in both upper elementary and
the middle schools is a new way of thinking for many of us.
One
of the reasons Regie encourages teachers to use chart paper and an
easel, instead of projecting to a screen with an overhead or document
camera, is that the children are seated right with you on the floor,
which usually holds the children’s attention a little better. Another
idea that has worked great for me is to move the overhead machine to the
group area and place it on the floor in the middle of the group in
front of the easel. I then project the machine onto the white space of
the easel. It’s great because you’re able to be right there in the
middle of the group and have the benefit of writing more quickly onto a
transparency rather that chart paper. You’ll need to consider which of
your Shared Writing activities you’ll want students to be rereading
(don’t forget that you can hole punch transparencies and put them in a
binder for future reference) and which you may want posted to your walls
on charts.
Regie’s
list of “Tried and True Ideas for Shared Writing” (page 112) is very
extensive. It would be helpful to take a look at Regie’s list as you
create your curriculum map for the year. Where would some of her
suggestions fit within your science, social studies, math, reading and
writing units across the year?
Chapter 6: Capitalize on the Reading-Writing Connection
• How can we become more effective integrating our reading and writing instruction?
• Are we as efficient as possible with our responses to reading?
• The benefit and necessity to integrate our content area teaching with both reading and writing
• The importance of writing (and reading) more nonfiction
We
know research shows that reading achievement affects writing
achievement and vice-versa, and we also know that it continually gets
harder to fit “it all” into our day. Effectively using reading and
writing connections throughout the day in all areas of language arts,
math, science, social studies, and even specials such as art, music and
library, is our only option.
Regie’s
suggestion of taking a closer look at how we use written response to
reading is a very important one. Careful consideration is needed to
decide if what we’re asking the students to do is “worth their time.”
For example, if the response we’re looking for will “deepen
comprehension, cause the writer to reflect on the content, and/or foster
appreciation for the text” then it’s worth it. We whole-heartedly agree
with her statement that many of the overly structured assignments such
as book reports can alienate our readers! While response journals do
have their benefits for us professionally Regie states, “they also take
up a lot of our time!” It’s a very organized teacher who can effectively
keep up with their responses without feeling overwhelmed and
frustrated. Don’t forget the bottom line – “Be sure that students spend
more time reading than writing about reading!” (Page 126)
We
are so glad that Regie addressed how to effectively teach summary
writing. We know that many teachers have a difficult time
differentiating between a summary and retelling – I (Jackie) was one of
them until several years ago. The snapshots and procedures that Regie
shares on how to teach summarizing are invaluable and should be a
reference that we all refer back to throughout our teaching year.
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Jen Hunt
ReplyDeleteAssignment Four
Chapter 4
I don’t find any place for worksheets in writing. Routman’s book, however, does make me reflect on cloze activities with my beginning writers. I did this once last September with Carle’s “Brown Bear” book. “I see a Brown Bear looking at me” is a line from the book. We did some short responses, “I see a _________ looking at me.” I thought of this activity as just that, kind of a lame activity. However, after reading and reflecting, I’m wondering if more of these would be helpful in September and the beginning of October to help those students who struggle with letter-sound correspondence: giving them something less overwhelming that a blank white page wherein they have to create something out of nothing (p.7)
Chapter 5
I was always taught to use chart paper with kiddos, but my experience has been opposite of Routman’s. Each time I use chart paper, I find the kiddos more distracted and I find it harder to keep my eye on them when my back is to them as I’m writing. My document camera is my best friend and I love how it allows me to constantly keep my eyes on every single child, frequently calling on them for help or ideas. Engagement is a top priority for me, and though I favor the document camera, I think posting our shared writing chart paper will be extremely valuable. I will strive to use a balance between the two.
Once again, the most valuable learning for me in this chapter was her emphasis on the Writer coming first. It is so important to remain non-judgmental about students’ writing. I need to work on this every day. She said two things that resonated deeply with me. “In my rush to “cover” more material, I acted insensitively to the people I was working with.” (p.78) and “Try to focus more on what the child is trying to do and less on what we are trying to teach.” (p.80) I can tell what the most significant learning from this class will be for me, and I hope it will stick with me for a long time. “Leave the writer intact.” (p. 81)
Chapter 6
I would love to correlate some of her shared writing ideas with my curriculum map for the year. I did abysmally little non-fiction writing with my students last year and think shared writing would be a perfect way to write about our learning in science (duh! Why wasn’t I doing this?!). Oh! And in math! I just thought of this! I know it’s valuable for students to teach others something they’ve just learned in order to solidify the learning. What if we did a shared writing about how to add or the problem solving steps we use? We could even write a piece explaining some of our new math vocabulary to next year’s kindergartners.
There is an increase in non-fiction writing in kindergarten as we transition to the Common Core standards. I have already heard fellow K teachers murmur about what this will mean, but Routman is right. Students LOVE the nonfiction topics. They are the most curious creatures on the planet and they’ll eat up any non-fiction I put in front of them. I just need to DO it!
Routman’s use of book summaries inspires me. This last year I found that kindergartners have NO CLUE how to retell a story- and even have trouble explaining “what happened in the beginning of the story”. This surprised me, but it will not deter me from explicitly teaching them, modeling, doing shared summary writing, and having them write story summaries of books we read together. I am getting excited to start my writing plans for the year!
The first thing I got from this chapter was that all students need more shared writing, writing demonstrations, and guided practice. I have known that all along, but get in a rush and skip those important structures. This year I will pull out my “Talk it Out” sign up sheet and the “Partner Share” sign up. These are structures I have used in the past and have thrown out because of time. I use the Talk it Out sheet for kiddos that want to talk with a peer about an idea they have for a story. The Partner Share sheet is for kiddos that have a piece they would like to share with someone. Reading these chapters made me realize that I must make time for these and that will bring the joy and enthusiasm back into my writing program. I am glad for an updated list of “What Makes Our Writing Interesting?” I do make an ongoing list throughout the year with students and we refer to it each day before going off to write. But, I often felt like they went to write and never referred back to the list. Then I gave each student a list of expectations for their writing folder and still I felt like they just ignore it. So, I am at a little bit of a loss as how to make the expectations stick. With handwriting, each year I do something different. One year I will teach handwriting letter by letter. Then the next year I will not. I have not found a big difference year to year with their letter formation and still not sure which is the best method? I love the quote “Worksheets foster mediocrity.” I’m embarrassed to say that I use grammar worksheets to teach certain grammar concepts. I am now thinking about how I can turn those concepts into mini-lessons instead of students completing the worksheets. I hate the worksheets, I hate correcting them, they seem like a total waste of time! I definitely want to make a book review bulletin board next year! I have been thinking about it for a few years and made notes in the margin on page 69 where it talks about publishing work.
ReplyDeleteShared writing is something I have always tried to get out of doing. I don’t feel like a very competent writer myself. I am nervous to get in front of the students and model what might not be very good writing. I don’t think I have ever done shared writing with a fiction piece and am so nervous to do that. But, I can see how it would benefit all students regardless of their ability and give those struggling students more confidence and scaffolding. I really enjoyed reading about using shared writing as a way to teach summary writing. I often have my students write summaries and thought I gave them the tools they needed to write them. I think now that I wasn’t giving them enough support and modeling. I will add shared writing in the beginning of the year during Reader’s Workshop to teach summary writing. I realize I have been teaching the students how to write their retelling. My book is now covered with tabs to mark the pages I will use this year. I was also very excited to get some ideas on how to use shared writing to teach the word wall. I use the Rebecca Sitton word wall and love it, but am always looking for new ways to incorporate the word wall into everyday lessons.
I hate that over the years I have begun to look at Reader’s Workshop like a time to fill so I can work with guided reading groups. I need to truly look at this time and restructure how I do this. I have put in grammar worksheets, retelling sheets, and comprehension WORKSHEETS! I always feel guilty, but have not figured out how to have students using their time wisely and independently. The most frustrating thing is that I then have so many pages to correct and the work is not done well. Most of the time students complete the worksheets so quickly and do such a poor job. They just want to get to reading! Oh yeh, it is Reader’s Workshop! I also use response logs and never have time to check them. When I do the work is messy and hardly legible. I have now marked up my book and will work this summer to reorganize this time.
Routman says that we need to raise our expectations because our students will perform to our expectations of them. If we give them the excuse of poverty or other labels then we will consciously or unconsciously allow students to get away with less. I think that this is true. I work in a school with 90% free and reduced lunch. Our success is often couched as we are doing well for “our” kids. This grinds on me because these kids will be competing and challenging for college scholarships and jobs. I agree with Routman that we need to see our students as writers first.
ReplyDeleteI think that changing expectations starts with what you do in your room. When teachers see other teachers get results then they are interested in what you are doing. High achievement also catches the attention of my principal. If kids are making positive change then we will get a more systemic approach to writing improvement.
Handwriting is tough in middle school. It is hard to break bad habits of students that have come to me with such poor writing that I literally can’t read it. I am still thinking about how to incorporate this into class. Before this year, I have never taught a writing course. I didn’t make handwriting a point of focus in Social Studies or Math. I have always held my students to high expectations in spelling and editing. I didn’t read any reasons from Routman to stop expecting high quality work. I also agree that we can’t be so picky that we hurt student confidence with our red pen.
I think the OLM is reminding us that teaching is an explicit and purposeful activity. Teachers need to be mindful of needs and offer specific help; likewise we need to move the student towards independence. For me, I will need to do a better job of being explicit with my writing instruction.
Shared writing fits in the OLM because the teacher is modeling and scaffolding for the student. It is time to build rapport, confidence and the writer-writer relationship. Students are encouraged to participate and be involved. The learning is taking place almost without the kids knowing that they are learning. Shared writing is appropriate for all learners., but especially for ELL’s. Shared writing taps into oral language and student interests. I agree with Routman that when a student is interested and he or she sees the value then they will work much harder for you.
The question of efficiency is a harder one for me to answer at this point. In reading the parts about teaching efficiency in this chapter, I can see that the author wants us to be careful in using response journals. Being a thoughtful response giver to written work takes a lot of teacher time. It seems that the other way to become more efficient to make sure that the kids are reading high quality materials and examples. The author wants the teacher to empower the students to create written responses that are meaningful. Students should also be taught to reread their own writing. In these ways we become stronger and more efficient teachers of writing.
Many years ago I was an ELL self-contained classroom teacher. My students never asked me if handwriting or spelling counted when we did written response in Social Studies. We now have a much more traditional subject-based schedule. I am constantly asked if writing counts in Social Studies.
I have struggled to find great value in NCLB, however it has seemed to put some emphasis on non-fiction reading. Quite a bit of our state reading test involves decoding non-fiction work. With that said, it also led to double reading and double math classes. Before this upcoming year, there was very little time spent on writing instruction. If the test didn’t count against us then it went on the backburner in terms of school priorities. In reflecting on this portion of the chapter, I was pleased because I realized that I’ve done quite a few of the try it and apply it ideas in my Social Studies instruction. It seemed that quite a few ideas are aligned with some of the strategies in AP training.
I feel for you when it comes to handwriting! I don't know what I would do in your position. It's one of the reasons I love being at the very base of the education--- so I don't have to UNTRAIN bad habits out of them. I hope that you awake with an epiphany someday, that you are able to share it with your colleagues, and that it changes student handwriting in the middle schools! Best of luck.
DeleteHello Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteYes, I think in Kindergarten, using some of those sentence starters as a support makes sense. (And for any student who is struggling: ELL, SPED, etc…) The point is to have successful experiences where they child feels like a writer. I wouldn’t consider what you mentioned the same as a worksheet.
I LOVE the document camera as well. Every school that I go to I make sure that the teachers all have them. I believe Regie would say to you, do what works best for you. Posting your shared writing is a great idea.
The quotes you selected are super. Yes, we hope that many teachers come away from the class with these points: “In my rush to “cover” more material, I acted insensitively to the people I was working with.” (p.78) “Try to focus more on what the child is trying to do and less on what we are trying to teach.” (p.80) and “Leave the writer intact.” (p. 81)
With all that teachers have to cover these days, the only way to do this is to teach across the curriculum. Adding shared and summary writing to your math and science lessons are excellent ways to do this.
Hi Kristian,
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone feeling that with the press of time the fun, engaging activities have gone out the window. As you said in your post, you just need to make the time and make it a priority.
Are you conferring with your students during writing? I think that if you have the lists of ways to make the writing more interesting and writing expectations list with you; you then can discuss these criteria as it relates specifically to the child and their writing piece. (Are your lists too long and overwhelming? Should you shorten them to the most important concepts that you are trying to share with the students?)
Oh, do write with and in front of your students. They are so forgiving AND they can help you make the piece better. The more you do it the easier it becomes.
I often mention The Sisters and their Daily Five and CAFE books. If you are planning on reorganizing your literacy blocks this summer I suggest that you get your hands on these two slim little books. (Regie is one of their inspirations so their ideas mesh nicely.) In the Daily Five The Sisters tell you how to organize your reading block with 5 (research-based) activities. (Read to self, Word work, Read to someone, Listen to reading and Partner Read.) In the CAFÉ book The Sisters walk you though how to confer, assess, set goals with the students and keep simple records. Their writing style is very easy to read and practical. They also have a CAFÉ website that has some free things on it but is subscription based. (Jackie teaches a class on CAFÉ where students subscribe to the site instead of purchasing a text. The feedback from students about the class has been very positive. But you can read up on the Daily Five or CAFÉ by yourself. You don’t need to pay for a class or you can subscribe to their site on your own if you want to.)
Anyway, these two books may be very useful to you in restructuring your literacy block.
I have seem those books and will order tonight. I don't have a very long list on the wall of "What Good Writers Do..." but I conference so infrequently and then do not refer back to the list. It is something I will do this year! :)
DeleteOh, I also meant to add my two cents to your comment about handwriting. I personally think that it's important and that students need to be taught how to print, write in cursive, form the letters correctly and make it legible. (I have been known to tell people at stores that their pencil grip is wrong.) They may choose not to do this later but I feel that they need the instruction on the correct method when in school. Others may disagree, but as I tell my older students, people are judged (not that it's right, but they are) on appearances. How they speak, dress, eat, all create a picture in others minds. This includes how their writing looks. When someone writes and it is very messy and has many errors or can not be read people make judgements. Often that the person writing it is not smart or educated. When you are competing for jobs or promotions this may be important. Have you ever read comments online to a news article? When I see words without capitals that need them, words spelled incorrectly or poor grammar, I usually discount what the author was saying. (Usually thinking that they are either very young, or not an authority on the topic.) People may be unaware that they have formed these thoughts, but they do influence their overall opinion of someone.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to disagree or make comments about this. :)
Hello Michael,
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree with your more! I have also found that it is better to show then mandate. So when I want to make changes I find that working in my class and getting high results is the way to bring others on board. (As a teacher, I say that we can be the most passive aggressive people out there. :D “Yes, I ‘covered’ it. Check, done, now let’s move on to what I think is important.”
Not only are bad habits in handwriting hard to break at your level, but (yes, another soapbox that I have) keyboarding skills are a huge problem for many students. The issue I have with this is that the children can actually be doing harm to their bodies with the bad habits they develop when they keyboard or work at a computer. Many primary/elementary teachers want their students working on the computer and may run through a keyboarding program. (To cover it. :D) But it takes an active teacher monitoring their hand placements and body alignment as well as ensuring the students keeping their eyes up on the screen and not constantly peeking down at the keyboard. Another issue is that many students work/play on computers at home and usually no one is telling them to “Sit tall. Feet flat on the floor. Raise those wrists up.” So bad habits are happening in a variety of places. My answer to this is that districts need to implement keyboarding instruction early on with teachers who are watching and correcting the students, not correcting papers or checking email. On the flip side, as a librarian who has instructed keyboarding for years in a bunch of schools, I don’t think kids are really ready for the instruction until the third grade. Their little bodies have a hard time reaching and coordinating in second and first grade. The problem is that many primary teachers have kids working on the computer hunting and pecking at the keyboard. If I had my way, I’d keep word processing activities to a minimum until the children were in 4th grade. (After at least one year of keyboarding.)
If you are as old as I am, we took typing class in high school on typewriters, now we are expecting students 8-10 years younger to be using these skills.
I also worked in a district in Oregon where the director of curriculum actually said, “Reading, Writing, Math, the rest is fluff.” Her point was exactly what you said, if it wasn’t on the state test it didn’t matter. Errrrrrr…
It seems that we are making progress in this area as I see funds beginning to be allocated for science and social studies material as well as professional development in these areas.
These chapters were very thought provoking to me but I also feel that I have been much more aligned with these ideas than I have been with the previous chapters ideas. I really loved chapter 4 and the focus on raised expectations. I think we all know as teachers if we believe the students can then they can. There were a couple of pieces from this chapter that I felt were extremely important. First, not only do you as an individual teacher need to have raised expectations but your entire grade level and school needs to have these same expectations. I feel this then becomes a school culture rather than an individual teacher's mission. I work in a low income high ELL school and I must say that we as a school need to work at this a little more. I feel that we are moving towards high expectations for our students this upcoming year with the introduction of some new programs and staff changes. The second thing that really stood out for me is the fact that I feel I have high expectations of the students but I haven't been as explicit about them as I should be. I want to focus more on being very explicit with my students this upcoming year because this will leave them no need to guess and it will also set them up for success. I feel that high expectations by themselves won't do it alone but you also need to be explicit in your teachings and thoughts with the kids so they are set up for success and can reach those expectations. This fits well with the OLM because I feel explicit teaching truly is a gradual release of responsibility and gives students a true understanding of what is expected of them. I also very much agree with Regie that students need to produce nearly perfect if not perfect final drafts for publishing. We are judge constantly in this world on first impression and what your final draft looks like is a first impression. I take pride in my students and the work they do so I expect them to do the same thing. As for the quote in the book about worksheets, I absolutely agree with Regie in respect to writing. Writing is not worksheets and they are rather a time filler than an educational tool. I believe in order for something to be learned there needs to be a relevance for it. If I give students a worksheet on nouns in sentences they have no connection to I don't believe they will truly come away with an understanding of nouns but if these nouns are of direct importance to them, their own work, there is a reason for the kids to care about that and therefore leaves a greater impact.
ReplyDeleteSorry I must have had a lot to say about these chapters so I had to post in 2 different entries!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Regie's chapter on shared writing I can see that this is something I need to do more often in my class. I also realized that I rarely if ever do shared writing with fiction pieces. Most of my shared writing comes from summarizing and nonfiction text. I did learn very quickly that most students have no idea how to construct a summary so we do a lot of shared writing summaries in my class. This is probably the best example of the OLM in my classroom because we start the beginning of the year with me constructing summaries of things we read, then spend a large chunk of the year making shared writing summaries, and finally end the year with independent summaries. One thing that really struck me in this chapter was the idea that we need to do more than one example of shared writing for a new idea or concept. Duh, it makes total sense I never do only one math problem with the class for a new concept so I shouldn't only do one example of shared writing either. To me this seems like one of the best ways to improve student writing because the more we see and practice something done right the more likely we will be able to do it ourselves. I would rather the students practice something correctly several times through shared writing than practice it multiple times incorrectly during independent time. I love all of Regie's ideas of doing guide books about your school, classroom, or grade as shared writing. I really feel these activities will really give the kids ownership of these things and therefore allow them to take pride in them. Her list of shared writing topics will definitely be put into use in my classroom this year. I also love the idea of shared writing being something like an ABC book the kids make on a topic of study. I know the kids in my class love reading what they and their classmates have written over and over again. I often have kids that love to read the books that my previous classes have made because it was written by people their age. One thing I slightly differ with Regie on is what I do my shared writing on. I do some of it on chart paper but most of it gets written in my writing journal, which is the same as the kids, on the document camera. I like the writing journal for several reasons: it's the same layout and setup as the kids writing, I can then easily access several stories, I also can easily move it around the room to meet with various small groups, and my journal is always available for kids to access and refer to.
Finally, I couldn't agree more with Regie that reading and writing need to be linked. First, I think writing across the curriculum is a must. This to me is the easiest and fastest way to get students to think about what they are learning. I feel that writing automatically makes us slow down and really think about what we know and want to say. I also think it makes the kids pause a little because they know that their teacher might be reading what they wrote so it needs to be good. Also, I feel with all the cuts to our curriculum and programs writing across the subjects is the best way to get some bang for your buck. Although the students aren't specifically tested on Science and Social Studies these things do appear on their reading tests and therefore they need to be equipped to handle and understand those subjects. Finally, I am a firm believer that when students are writing about reading I do not ask any question that has a specific answer. I ensure that every writing assignment the students have is an open ended question because I feel this is the best way for them to showcase what they know and can do. It is especially important in the intermediate grade levels for me to push the kids to think deeper about their reading because often they have had much practice with simple comprehension but not going deeper into the text. It was very nice to see that Regie is in line with this idea.
I really enjoyed reading these chapters and found myself doing a lot of reflecting on my own teaching, underlining, and note taking. The chapter about raised expectations was very eye opening to me when thinking about my own classroom. My favorite part of this chapter was when she talked about a lesson that she did and after forty five minutes she decided her demonstration was insufficient. I love that she wrote out her thought process of what went wrong and how to make the lesson more successful. Then she continued to go on to talk about how she approached the lesson. Examples like this help me tremendously as I feel like this is what I sometimes struggle with. Also, I have already decided writing expectations will be much higher and approached differently in my room this coming school year. It will start with handwriting. I know that my handwriting expectations are not high enough. I am also glad that I will be able to start this right at the beginning of the school year. I think that will also make the kids and myself more successful.
ReplyDeleteWorksheets make me crazy. All the way from waiting in line at the copier, classroom management while students do them, and correcting them. I was talking about the pile of 'papers' I once had to look through and a colleague told me she doesn't look at everything she just recycles some of them. When I went home that night I found myself really thinking about this. My issue is if I am going to ask the kids to take their time to complete the worksheet, then it should be something valuable enough that I use my time to look at it. If I am just recycling it, I feel like I am wasting their time and not helping them learn anything new. What if they did the entire thing wrong? I do really like the idea of chart paper because you can write it large and leave it hanging somewhere in the room. I do however agree with Jennifer that I tend to have more success with my document camera. The students tend to stay on task when my body is facing them. I do use chart paper occasionally, like I said, when I want to leave something hanging and make sure it is large. When I do it once in a while the students tend to respond well to it though because it is something different. I also like when we can sit together on the carpet and easily refer back to the chart.
I also realized that although I do some shared writing in my room, I need to do more. My goal is to make it more successful and engaging. I agree that shared writing is for all learners and what a wonderful opportunity the modeling is. I also need to do more linking shared writing to reading. I loved the example in the book of the teachers book review of Holes next to the shared writing book review of Holes. It is amazing what students are capable of and how easy it is to get so caught up in moving through the curriculum. Sometimes I just need to slow down. I also made a lot of notes in the sections about working with words and different activities. I have made note to do more of these activities in October and November and then revisit some of them in January.
The teaching summary writing section in chapter 6 was very helpful for me. I know that teaching how to summarize is something that I struggle with. In turn, it makes it very difficult for my students to be successful. This causes frustration for all. I also realized that writing summaries is something that I need to spend more time on an break into smaller lessons. I am excited to re approach this with my students in the coming year.
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI love the thought to have all the writing assignments be open-ended, so that there is not just one correct answer! The value of designing assignments in this matter is great; the more that all teachers push for deeper thinking the better for our students.
Hello MacKenzie,
I love my document camera as well. I really like Julie’s idea of her journal being the same as the students and available to everyone when it is needed.
It’s hard to do but slowing down and going deeper is better for the students. I was at a technology conference a couple of years ago and Allen November was the keynote speaker. He said that if we were really to teach all the content required in schools it would take 20 something years. (I don’t remember the exact number, but the point was that we really have more requirements than actually fits into the school year.) So, we’re actually starting in a deficit. This is why it’s so important to teach with urgency and be constantly asking ourselves if what we are teaching students is important and helping them develop as readers, writers and learners.
Chapter 4
ReplyDeleteI agree with the need to raise expectations. I once worked in an alternative learning classroom for middle school students with academic and mild behavioral problems. I know our kids were a challenging bunch and most, if not all, were living in some kind of very fractured family, dealing with substance abuse, mental illness, poverty, or learning disabilities. None of them had been dealt an easy hand in life. But the vast majority were exceptionally bright and more than capable of academic achievement. However, it seemed as if many of the teachers had just given up on the students (to be fair, I don’t know after how many rounds of disruptive behavior). But for those who straddled the line between our classroom and the mainstream classrooms, there was a definite feeling of shame. The students frequently said they felt unwanted, marginalized, and as if their mainstream teachers were just waiting for them to fail. Very few people expected academic success from these students and over time they internalized those assumptions. One of my students went on to commit armed robbery and ended up in prison.
Conversely, a good friend of mine went through the foster care system in Washington. He went through bouts of homelessness and addiction in his teens. He dropped out of high school. At the time, he was working at a fast food restaurant. Every day his former high school English teacher drove through and ordered one burger. Every day she came through and said, “You can do more than this. I believe in you.” Every day he spit in her food. But eventually, he began to talk to her and develop a deeper relationship. With her encouragement and belief, he got a GED. And then a high school diploma. And then a bachelor’s degree. And then two masters degrees. It may seem simplistic, but I think that’s the power of raised expectations.
Again, I like the way Regie gives practical examples of setting high expectation, the way she tells students that “we must do our best work” or that sending a letter “in our very best handwriting” shows respect to the reader. Those are excellent examples. High expectations are a form of faith and positive reinforcement, of telling students that we believe in their abilities, in them as a person.
I think spelling, handwriting, and editing expectations become easier when the idea of writing as a process is encouraged. I see adults who struggle with this in writing workshops—the idea that if they are truly “A WRITER” then they will have perfect first drafts. But if writing, like any art form, is taught as a craft that one must learn and practice in order to succeed, then spelling, handwriting, and editing become a built-in part of successive drafts, a step in craft rather than punishment for not measuring up.
As far as worksheets go, when I was a literacy tutor, they were a real impediment to struggling learners who needed context and engagement, not rote skills practice. Other strategies were much more helpful in promoting academic growth. As Regie says, “The students who do them don’t need them.”
Chapter 5
ReplyDeleteI see shared writing as a tactic that works for both adults and children. Rarely in the professional world do I craft a piece of writing without some kind of input from others. Shared writing not only demonstrates the writing process for students, but it also promotes collaboration in a way that is applicable to the world they will enter as working adults. I’ve seen it used in an ESL classroom with great success.
Chapter 6
My own recent experience with a 4-year-old proves how fascinating nonfiction is to even young children. A month or so ago, I was babysitting and while cooking dinner set my young friend down with a learn-to-read iPad app. I tried to get her to read something like Winnie to the Pooh, but she choose an e-book about whales. Although I thought the subject matter was way over her head and she would soon get bored with it, she readily started touching words and following along with the narrator. She read the entire e-book, stopping to ask me questions if she didn’t understand, and calling me over to hear audio files of whale noises. At the end, I helped her with the comprehension questions and she remarkably got 93% correct. I was amazed that something with complex vocabulary aimed at kids so much older would be accessible to a 4-year-old. What I forgot about is motivation. If kids are motivated to learn something, they’ll excel. And in my experience, elementary age kids are drawn to animals, insects, and the natural world. What better time to introduce non-fiction titles?
I also recently took a library class, Literature for At-Risk Youth, which strongly advocated for the use of nonfiction titles with struggling readers. The use of pictures and artwork really helps create context for these readers while also exposing them to new vocabulary.
If one takes this from the realm of reading into writing, nonfiction can help kids tell what they know. It can also give them a chance to show expertise and to feel capable and talented. Writing autobiography and memoir can help children develop their unique voice.
I also just finished a class on the subject of content area writing in which I was exposed to zines. Zines not only are a natural fit for nonfiction writing, they give children a chance to publish and celebrate their work and to practice their best editing and writing.
What an incredible story. Thanks for sharing it. It made me think of the video The Power of One. Not sure if you've seen it before, it's less than 2 min. I still get chills when I watch it and feel inspired to be the change I hope for.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QzjqOl2N9c
Motivation should not be over-looked. Great example.