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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Ah, worksheets! I know one of the reasons for over-reliance on worksheets, for me, had a lot to do with my confidence in my teaching. Having those worksheets was an easy, quick way to check if students understood these discrete skills I was teaching them. Of course, as I’ve grown as a teacher, I’ve realized, just as Routman points out, that teaching literacy isn’t about teaching discrete skills in isolation. I definitely use fewer worksheets now that I try to teach more holistically than I did when I first began teaching (straight from the basal—ouch!), though I haven’t completely quit them. I still use them when I feel the students need an extra bit of targeted practice with a concept, when I really need to the students to be working independently for some reason, or when I have a substitute. I, strangely enough, have some students who just love worksheets, possibly because they are less challenging to do than real writing. But of course, those are exactly the students who need to spend more time doing real writing.
ReplyDeleteThe example of the student Gillian’s imperfectly edited letter, and the section about handwriting/conventions made me think. I am, admittedly, not a teacher who focuses on handwriting. With so much else to teach, it’s just never made it high on my list of priorities. So long as a child’s handwriting is legible, I tend not to make it a topic of conversation. As far as editing, I generally focus on the things the students have been explicitly taught. If it’s on the word wall, or if we’ve covered the grammar/punctuation concept, I expect the children to do it correctly. But if I’ve never taught my students about using quotation marks, commas, or the –igh family, then how can I expect them to use them correctly? I always struggle with the idea of how much assistance I should give my students when I conference with them about editing their work.
I absolutely loved the ideas in chapter 5 about using the students’ own writing, or shared writing, for reading. So simple, and yet so genius! One of the problems for me in the past was fitting time for writing into the day. But obviously, linking the writing that intimately with reading would be the best way to integrate the two and save time. And I know the students would love it; they always want to read the class-made books that are stored in the class library. I’ve used the idea of cutting up sentences from texts we’ve read for word work before, but I can only imagine how much more engaged the students would be if the cut-up sentences were coming from their own writing. When I looked at the list of Routman’s list of “Tried and True Ideas for Shared Writing,” I could see how a lot of those ideas fit nicely into the different genres of writing that students are expected to learn: procedural, letters, informational, narratives, etc.
I was able to really connect with the ideas about making effective writing connections across the curriculum in chapter 6. At my last school, there was one year when we only had 45 minutes for the entirety of our literacy block. That year I was left with no choice but to do the bulk of my writing instruction in other subject areas. I had the best luck with the science journals, because there were so many opportunities to do procedural writing, cause and effect writing, and explanatory writing. In the past I’ve also done reading response journals. I personally love them, because I feel like they really help my students improve their comprehension. But I do agree that they can be very time consuming as a teacher, so I limited my students to doing them only twice per week; that made it much more manageable for me. After reading the chapter, I now wish I’d also done writing in math journals. I would have the students do oral explanations of their problem solving in math, but written explanations would’ve been another great way to incorporate writing across the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got to the section about retelling versus summarizing, I was relieved to see that Routman didn’t recommend doing independent, written summaries for students before fourth grade. I already know that would be quite hard for my students; we’ve actually spent a huge chunk of this year just mastering the concept of retelling! But I also liked her suggestions for modeling oral summaries with shared reading. That is certainly something I can begin doing with my young students.
Hi Kelly,
ReplyDeleteGlad you found some useful tidbits in this section. I think many of us started out using more worksheets then we do now. I think if you have a clear purpose and reason for using them now and then, that's fine. It's the teachers who use worksheets all the time for all subjects that really must change their practice.
I know, isn't it brilliant to use students' writing? I also love it!
With the CCSS and the lack of time, writing across the curriculum really is the only way to go. I think if you're able to incorporate it, writing in math will be beneficial for your students. :D
Kelly Norman - assignment 4
ReplyDeleteWorksheets for reading and writing:
This is what I remember from reading and writing. Not only were worksheets a huge part of my own education but I learned reading from the SRA. Obviously, I hated reading. Writing was not any better. I have always been terrible at fill in the blank. I can’t even imagine what writing and worksheet have to do with one another. I have never read a book that followed a worksheet.
Why we need raise expectations:
Rigor does not mean more work. This is something that we are working on as a staff. It also does not mean that assignments need to be harder. Rigor, to me, means time. For math, it means stamina to stick with a problem and show ALL of your thinking and how you solved the problem. For reading, it means spend longer on a reading item and go deeper into the meaning, make connections, interpret what is the author’s purpose. Finally, for writing, it means to self evaluate what you are writing, at all levels. What are you trying to convey? Who are you telling and why should they care? Is the presentation respectful to the reader or will they need clarification because of presentation, spelling, and completeness?
Nudging! Ha-ha, I went to a conference where Matt Glover was a presenter. I cannot stop thinking about it and how he engages all writers. He talked about “nudging” students rather fixing everything that is written. Furthermore, he states that teachers go first to conventions because it is the obvious and easiest problem to “fix”. He references Routman often. I see in her examples where Glover’s values come from. Routman suggests that focus should be on language choice, vocabulary and even playful language before polishing writing is mentioned. I find that when I work with students on capitals, periods and especially spelling, my students clam up. I stopped starting with that, and have already noticed a difference in confidence for my students.
Write for a reader. Such a simple change, but the students think so differently about their writing when they know who will read it. Whether it is their 2nd grade teacher, partner, or mom and dad, it changes the presentation. One way we have worked on this is to reread to add missing words, fix spelling and make sure it makes sense (sounds right).
How to raise expectations
Choice
Expect them to write a lot.
Write across curriculum: math problem solving should have written explanation of their thinking. Reading should be reflected upon; opinion, retell review.
Handwriting/spelling/editing
[When we accept poor handwriting, handwriting is poor. (Paraphrased)] Therefore, when we will not accept it, handwriting improves. Duh!! I am going to fix that tomorrow.
Everyday handwriting is messy. When there is an audience, needs to be legible.
Reading-writing connection:
In our school, we focus on the reading-writing connection during guided reading. After each book, the student’s write a sentence about the book. Then we cut the sentences either by words or even breaking the words up. Now, I want to add the students’ writing to their book stacks.
Writing or orally discussing comprehension is great after reading. However, as a first grade teacher, many of my students are reading books without a lot of meat to it. I am seeing how things read aloud or from partner reading could work.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny that you said that about the worksheets never following reading. Lester Laminack said the folling in a conference I attended: (Your comment made it come to my mind.)
I was at the theater and leaned over to a friend who is also an educator and said, "I just had a text to self connection."
His point was that the over-use of the t-t, t-s, and t-w connections is too much. In real life we don't run around shouting I just had a text to world connection. It's good to highlight this as a strategy but let's keep it in perspective.
I was just having the same conversation regarding rigor at my school a few weeks ago. Well said!
Yes, most students will clam up when we start with their convention errors. Who feels good about something when we start highlighting everything that is wrong with it? Glad you are seeing positive results with focusing more on their connent and word choice.
I felt my son's teacher let his handwriting slide towards the end of the year. I'm going to make sure to connect with his teacher next year to reinforce the importance of legible handwriting.