Assignment Nine: Final Course Reflection
(All assignments are due by 8/22 !!!)
Take a look at the last section in Regie's text, Writing Essentials, it's chock full of great resources!!!
Teaching in Action: Lesson Essentials 5 Day Lesson Plans & Appendices
• Secrets of Second Graders• Heart Poems• Procedural writing• Hero writing• Persuasive writin• Appendix survey
Be sure to look through this section. If you haven’t already done so, look at Appendix A (page A-2.) Re-examine your beliefs about writing by re-reading the statements about the writing process and marking true or false in your book. Did you change any of your previous answers? Would you consider bringing this page to your team or even to your entire school to jump-start discussions about writing? Take some time to look through the appendices. There are several useful examples included. One we’d like to point out to you is Appendix L- The Genre Characteristics Excerpt on page A-13. Look to the Writing Essentials companion website at www.heinemann.com/writingessentials for the entire chart as well as directions to assist you playing the DVD.
ASSIGNMENT NINE: Final Course Reflection - Critically examine your current literacy program and develop realistic goals to improve your instruction. Also reflect on the balance between your home and school life. If our students are to become happy, literate people, they need happy, balanced teachers. BRIEFLY, share several of your goals with the class by posting them to the blog for this final assignment.
Thanks for taking our course!!!! Mary & Jackie!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteI did make it back from my vacation in Rhode Island to Vermont…but I have an infection. They aren't too sure what it is so I'm on bed rest with antibiotics hoping to avoid being admitted to the hospital. I was pretty sick so I didn't keep up with my responses like I had hoped. I just wanted to let you know why I was behind. Thanks for your understanding. Mary :)
So sorry to hear you haven't been well. I hope you are feeling better!
DeleteThanks Sheryl. :) I did have to go to the hospital but was home yesterday. 6 doctors in 3 weeks… all of whom had different ideas and approaches. I think I'm on the mend. :)
DeleteI know very little about our new literacy program other than the majority of the texts are non-fiction. I am looking forward to meeting with my team next week and learning about the new curriculum, as it’s a pretty big unknown at this point. In thinking about what I’ve learned through reading Writing Essentials there are things I plan to change and incorporate that I haven’t done in the past that will improve my instruction. Rather than just having author’s chair at the end of the week, I’m going to have a shorter sharing time each day. That way I have conduct a whole class writing conference and students can learn more about the writing process from their peers rather than only sharing finish writing products. Each week we have a class VIP and students write the VIP a letter, which I combine into a book for the VIP to take home at the end of their week, so my students are familiar with letter writing and working together on a class book. But I’d like to take Regie’s idea to begin the year by making a couple class books that stay at school unlike our VIP books that go home each week. I think students will enjoy getting to read and refer back to the books. I also plan to make writing guidelines and secrets of a good writer list for both my first and second graders that are up in the classroom that they can refer to. Then as the year progresses we can add to the lists.
ReplyDeleteI think I do a good job of balancing my school and home life. I am a morning person so I like getting to school earlier in the morning. I’ve learned that if I take things home, I usually don’t do them, as I want to enjoy my time in the evenings. Therefore, I’ll make a list before I leave school in the afternoon of what I should get done in the morning when I arrive.
I really like having all of these wonderful items in the appendix for use in my new writing adventure! I think I may use the Letter to Parents along with several of the other pieces. I like the Editing Expectations logs.
ReplyDeleteI am excited to try something new in my classroom. I have a lot of room to grow in teaching writing, so this class was very helpful to me. I am going to try what Regie is all about. I am going to commit to write every day. I don’t know if I am going to be able to do the full hour, but I will do a minimum of a half hour and go from there. We are going to celebrate writing! We are going to think about who our audience is when we write. We are going to talk, write, and confer. I am going to write in front of the kids. I am going to let the see the whole process. We are going to write together. The kids are going to share their work with the class. I see myself using the Optimal Learning Model in my classroom. We are going to start at journal for writing about math. I looked at the Appendix A. I think I might feel strong enough to take it to a meeting and discuss a few questions at a time. I work with a pretty seasoned and strong crew. I am the new kid on the block, so I will need to approach this with sensitivity. Perhaps everyone will see the writing my kids are doing and come and ask me what I/we are doing! Something needs to change. I think it may just start with me.
I am taking a bit bigger perspective than my own goals. I am advising and “reinventing” our literacy work with all the 4 – 8 teachers. I have been changed through this course – thinking about what really matters in the instruction process. The rubrics, the written feedback, the papers that are so long ( in our school 12 – 18 pages for 7th 8th grade. The whole thing came into bright perspective as I reread the more “mature” Regie Routman. It was a perfect time for me to read this book and spend time thinking about what makes people love and hate writing. Goals for our teachers:
ReplyDelete1. Examine and change (for the better) the length of work. LETTERS are a great window and a wonderful way to start.
2. Look at feedback – rubrics, written critiques etc. What matters to kids is a writing coach.. not the written work back to them.
3. Conference with students. We will be doing a writing/reading workshop model – All grades.
4. Don’t be afraid to verbally tell students what you like and record for yourself while you meet with them.
5. One formal piece of writing per month – per student. Assessed in class and in a conference together.
6. Bring your own writing to class – talk aloud and share what good writers do – other great writers.
Thank you for changing me. I really love the way that when we are young, we want to do everything the “perfect way”. As we continue in education, we develop a much more critical eye. It is my work to now give this critical eye to the younger teachers.. so that they can teach smarter NOT HARDER!
THANK you for working with me. I really did enjoy it. Katherine Holtgraves.
I looked through the beliefs about writing and was amazed when I compared it to my initial answers. When I initially looked at the responses I was unsure of many aspects, not even sure of what I thought. I think I have not put a lot of thought into how I teach writing or why I teach writing. But now I had a definite belief about each statement, and understood each statement more. Some of my beliefs were still the same but there were a few that have drastically changed. One of the biggest changes was in how I view revision and editing as two separate entities. I know that is going to completely change the way we fix up our writing in my class next year.
ReplyDeleteFor next year I have many things I want to apply and try to put into place for my writing teaching. The biggest and strongest is simply to follow the optimal learning model. This means for me specifically to put more emphasis and time on teacher demonstration and shared demonstration. I also need to allow the kids to talk more and have more scaffolded conversations with my students to help them sequence their ideas. I will spend the majority of my time trying to be more efficient with my teaching time, (making every minute count), and have more and shorter conferences with students. The last main thing I want to change is the way I teach spelling, and my expectations for what students should be doing as far as editing their spelling.
I think this class is exactly what I needed to rejuvenate me as a teacher, and to encourage me to continue teaching. I started the summer very burnt out, but now I look forward to trying something new. I hope this will help me to enjoy teaching again.
As I looked back at the quiz “Examining Beliefs About Writing”, it is interesting to see which of my answers have changed after reading “Writing Essentials”. One of the statements that I had questioned was “A lot of writing never gets revised”. I learned that that is true. Some of the examples of writing that may not be revised include free-writes, diaries, and letters. Sometimes writing is just for the sake of writing; not everything has to be rethought or perfected. I was also unsure about whether or not writing rubrics are a proven way to improve writing quality. Regie supports rubrics as a way to guide and evaluate student writing, but she cautions that focusing on rubrics does not allow you to look at the writing holistically and may help a student focus on a trait, but won’t necessarily help them become better writers overall.
ReplyDeleteOn Thursday, teacher’s first day back at school, I laid claim to the last overhead projector in our building. My plan is to join the kids on the floor to model writing. I’m looking forward to teaching with a more collaborative process. I hope to find at least 45 to 55 minutes, 4 - 5 days a week to focus on writing. It will be a great improvement over last year where I tried to have writing as a center, which cut the kids short on time to write. I’ve been thinking of ways to further integrate writing into other subjects, and what might have to give in order to find the time. The lesson plans in the back of the book will be a big help getting started. My biggest questions now involve the “nuts and bolts”: what will each day look like? How much time is required to move the kids from dependency to independency for each project? What is the best way to manage materials and works in progress? I’ll continue to refer back to the book and other resources to develop a great writing program in my classroom.
As I said in my Chapter 12 reflection, I really appreciated the idea that as teachers, we need to find time for ourselves to enjoy our lives and have interesting things to write about. On the other hand, I know how easy it is to get buried by school despite one’s best intentions to find a balance between personal and professional demands. My goal for this year is to not let school obligations become overwhelming by staying organized, setting priorities, and making good use of my time. We’re of no use to anyone if we’re overworked, obsessed and stressed out.
My current writing instruction needed some help and that is why this course appealed to me. Reading Regie Routman’s book, Writing Essentials, exceeded my expectations. She has validated many of my concerns about teaching writing, she has taught me practical, easy to use methods, and she has ignited an enthusiasm in me for writing that had been lackluster at best. My goals for teaching writing include the following: 1)Provide time for writing everyday. This writing will be across the curriculum, relevant, and important to the writer. Students will also be given plenty of time to free write. 2) My students will write a large quantity of material. My students will read a large quantity of books. 3) I will find balance between my home life and school life. I will not grade a majority of my student’s writing. My students will learn more from me through conferencing than through marks on a paper. 4) We will celebrate and talk about writing through out the year. Students will share their writing, compliment each other, and discuss ideas together. My classroom will be rich in conversation. 5) I will think, plan, write, and revise out loud in front of my students. I will model the writing process. I will focus more on content first-editing last. I believe these goals are all realistic and will greatly improve my instruction.
ReplyDeleteReading and reflecting on Writing Essentials has helped me think of some ways I can strengthen my writing instruction. I already have some goals set for myself: increase shared writing (including thinking aloud and editing), publish more pieces of writing and conduct writing conferences (one-on-one and whole-class share).
ReplyDeleteSince my writing block is not very long and majority of the time will need to be spent on Read Well Composition, I am going to take a good look at my schedule and find some additional times during the day where we can take the time for free writing and sharing.
Balancing home and school is always a challenge. A few years ago I was often staying at school until after 7pm and still taking work home (papers to correct or getting things ready for a project). After doing this for a few years, I realized that school was still going to happen whether or not I had every single little thing ready. As long as the kids were happy and learning to read, write, and do math (plus more) every day it was okay if certain projects didn’t happen that school year. It was also okay if their papers didn’t get corrected that night. I’m not good at passing some of those jobs off to parents, but now I do let parents correct math papers for me or cut out something for a project which has allowed me to get some much needed down time at the end of the day!
Currently our adopted literacy curriculum has a very small writing component. In my classroom, my writing groups are struggling because I did not know how to teach writing. I was using an intervention writing program with my primary students and flying by the seat of my pants with my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. They did some grammar and conventions instruction and they wrote some writing samples. This coming school year everything is going to look different with my writing groups. I really like the optimal learning model and plan to use it across curriculums especially writing. This text has given me some wonderful ideas on how to teach writing. I am going to have to re-read this text multiple times to get all the information.
ReplyDeleteMy school days can be very long with all my special education paperwork. I take things home nightly to get everything done. I leave the weekends for myself to refuel and relax. Every year I have been teaching, I get better and better at managing all my paperwork and this allows more time to relax at home. The one thing I do every single night is watch at least 1 TV show I enjoy and read in bed. This helps me unwind and get my mind off school.
I have two goals for this coming school year. One is to get all my writing students to enjoy writing more. The second goal is to implement more conferencing, individual and whole-class.
Hello Everyone!
ReplyDeleteWell this is the end of the term. I’ve enjoyed reading your comments and hope you’ve all found some new ideas to consider or try out in your classrooms.
I will be emailing you all, individually, with your grades. Have a wonderful (and healthy) school year! Thanks for taking our class!
For the students who posted later in the term, I will be going back and replying to your earlier posts soon. Also, if you enjoyed this text, Regie also has an Essentials of Reading text you may want to read some time if you haven’t already. ☺
Have a wonderful year and happy writing!
Hi Alix,
I hope you and your team were able to meet and learn more about your new literacy program. One thing that Jackie and I really like about Regie’s thoughts and ideas is that they fit with any program a district may require teachers to use.
I agree, your students will enjoy creating and referring back to the class books you make. In fact, I know students love reading previous year’s books that may have a sibling or neighbor’s work in them.
Hello Randee,
I think we all have room to grow in our instruction! ☺ You list all the great aspects of writing that Regie recommends. YEAH, that’s awesome you feel that you might bring the appendix to your staff. Even starting the process of thinking and talking is an important first step!
Katherine,
I love how you said, “thinking about what really matters in the instruction process.”
These are excellent goals for your staff to focus on. I’m so glad you liked the class. We really appreciate your kind words. Here’s to all of us working smarter, not harder!
Hi Caitlin,
I’m so glad you did mark your initial thoughts so you could go back and see what may have changed after reading the text. We have had quite a number of teachers over the years share with us how they also felt rejuvenated after reading Regie’s books. Have a safe trip home and a wonderful year with your students!
Sheryl,
I think you’ll enjoy writing with the students close to you. (Make sure to grab some of those extra bulbs also before your librarian gets rid of them. ☺) Yes, a wonderful reminder for us all, “We’re of no use to anyone if we’re overworked, obsessed and stressed out.”
Hi Kathy!
ReplyDeleteI agree! These are all realistic and doable goals and I am confident you will see a big change in your students’ writing and engagement next year! I’m so glad you enjoyed the text—we think it’s great also.
Hi Julie,
I think that’s great that you are planning to look at your schedule to find more time where you and your students can have a more authentic writing experience. It sometimes takes teachers years to get to the point of realizing that it is ok to skip projects some years or to leave work at school. I’m glad you are continuing to work on having more time for yourself and balancing your work and home life.
Brittany,
Awesome goals—really it all boils down to your first goal I think. We want our students to enjoy writing more. I’m glad this text will be a valuable resource for you over the coming years. I know it still is, even for me who has read it countless times. ☺
Throughout this course I have begun a few ideas of what I will take from it in order to apply it to my practice. The first aspect is that I will focus on making my conferences meaningful and helpful to both my students and myself. This will inform my own practice as well and make me better. Another aspect of teaching literacy that I am excited to use is to assess based on students' progress rather than a large final grade. I plan to take these aspects to create a more solid, cohesive, and informative course as well as keep my students engaged.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have some new ideas to implement into your instruction Andrew.
ReplyDelete