Note: These section are packed!!! Pick and choose your discussion points so that the blog doesn't become overwhelming and packed with so much information that participants won't want to read each others' comments. :)
Sections Four and Five- Advocacy Is Also Essential and Teaching In Action: Lesson Essentials
Assignment Eight: Read Writing Essentials Chapters 11-12 and Section Five. Reflect on the comments below and any additional reactions you have after reading these chapters. Post your thoughts to the course blog.
Chapter 11: Build on Best Practice and Research • What are some of the key research findings most relevant to writing instruction?
• What are the practices of highly effective teachers?
• How can you be part of the ongoing professional development discussions in your building?
• What about test scores? What are the characteristics of high performing schools?
• Think twice before adopting a “program”
Regie begins this chapter sharing her experiences doing residencies in schools and the surprising (and delightful) discovery that whole school cultures changed during the course of their work improving literacy instruction. As she said, “This is what education should be about…whole schools working together so that all students (can) succeed.” How is the climate/culture in your school? On your team? One reason we continue to look to Regie for inspiration is that we feel she is so practical. There is not one right way or method to teach writing. “That is why formulas, programs and recipes don’t work. Every context, school and person is different and has different needs. Literacy is not a set of acquired or learned skills.”
Chapter 12: Make Every Minute Count• You need to “REDUCE THE PAPER LOAD!!!”
• What can we do that will save us time and allow us to focus more on meaningful instruction?
• Regie states, “Take more time to see the light!” Don’t get bogged down with daily worksheets and isolated exercises.
Though this chapter is short it is full of valuable ideas and reminders! Regie reminds us in this chapter to stop and reflect about what we are doing in the classroom. Ask yourself: Is this the best use of my time? Is what I’m about to do going to help my students become more joyful and accomplished readers, writers and thinkers?
“It might be that the best use of your time is to read a professional book, see a movie, visit with a friend. Sharing your experiences with your students may be a more useful way to get them to think about their writing than marks and comments on a paper.” “It’s hard to come to school all excited about teaching if you’ve spent hours the night before pouring over papers.” It is a disservice to our students and ourselves “if our out-of-school time is all about paperwork.” In fact, “Teachers’ comments on students’ papers do little to improve writing, even if the comments are positive ones. It is far more effective to conference with students and focus on specific writing issues with the student at your side.”
Also “(b)e sure that most of your writing time is devoted to writing, not preparing for writing or doing activities about writing. Safeguard sustained writing time; it’s critical for becoming a writer. Limit take-home work for students too, and place more emphasis on free-choice reading. Having more reading experiences positively impacts growth in writing skills.”
Regie closes this chapter by reminding us to breathe, relax and enjoy writing- and your life! “One way to reduce stress and have more energy for teaching and advocacy is to have a life outside of school. I worry about teachers and principals who work twelve-hour days. I have seen no research that shows educators who work the longest hours get the best results or that longer reading and writing projects teach more about reading and writing. Keep evaluating whether what you’re staying late for-or the hours of work you take home-will help your students become more effective readers and writers."
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Essentials of Writing Assignment 8
ReplyDeleteIrene Osterman Sussman
Many of Regie’s insights into research and best practices in Chapter 11 are insightful to me. I believe each teacher I work with is motivated to prepare their students for the needs of the next grade, and, that in our hearts our whole school is working together so that each child can succeed. I witness a lot of informal sharing of teaching practices, goals and objectives within and between grade levels. We are encouraged (and supported) to do peer observations of our grade level team or teachers in another grade. I did an observation of a second grade math lesson and found the expectations very helpful to my focus. I’m hoping to do more in writing and reading next year and to continue these informal conversations. While we haven’t had any school wide residence program, I do feel that our principal works hard to lead us in the direction of information flow and sharing between grades, all for the benefit of the children.
I loved chapter 12! I found it motivating in a very real way. So often we hear, “Take care of yourself, breathe, relax, and take time for family and friends.” Yet we are so bogged down with work it’s difficult! Last year I’ll just say I put in too many hours!! Regie, however, pointed out explicitly WHY we should evaluate our time. My favorite quote, perhaps from the whole book, “Is what I’m about to do going to help my students become more joyful and accomplished readers, writers and thinkers?” That quote will be pinned up next to my desk. It is the crux of what I should be asking myself all day long. She admits that we need to teach to the standards, but do we need to be putting in all of those extra hours. Which ones are necessary and which ones aren’t? I gave this a lot of thought and realized that I was spending a lot of time writing notes on writing pieces and homework that, according to Regie, wasn’t helping my students grow.
Regie’s belief that isolated exercised don’t transfer to better writers is a new one for me. My grade level team uses an exercise book, (written by McCracken) for daily Word Work. They also do word wall exercises, letter formation and sentence practice. I followed their lead last year and now am questioning that format. I’ve been reflecting on how to continue this practice and yet make it more meaningful for the students. I loved Regie’s idea of composing sentences with the children and I’ve been thinking I would try to introduce word wall words in a way that relates to the authentic writing we’re doing as opposed to following a prescribed schedule. At the same time, Regie pointed out in previous chapters the value of legible handwriting and correct sight word spelling. I would be interested to know if you all have time set aside for skills work or if you incorporate it into your daily writing and if so what that looks like.
Regie closed chapter 12 with two charts, “Important Timesavers” and “My Best Advice.” These are great! They are almost a synopsis of the book. I’m a chart person. I’ve come to value them for my students and for myself as the ultimate way to quickly get a reminder of what is essential about what I, and they, have learned. I found, “Keep it short,” “Keep it simple,” and “Teach it first, label it later,” the most helpful. It can be all too easy to go on with explanations or models when the children are really ready to go off on their own and show what they can do.
Last year I had to start saying no to things. It was the FIRST time in my teaching career I really thought about what I was going to say yes to...and it made a HUGE difference. Sometimes I felt bad for passing on an opportunity, but mostly, I felt free and loved my job that much more!
DeleteIs there a way you could do a quick pre-test to see where the kids are on the weekly word work? If they seem to know it, maybe just review it and move on? I incorporate letter formation into my conferences, however, I am one that does believe a k/1 program needs to teach handwriting. I have seen what happens when it isn't explicitly taught (being in 2nd) and it is frustrating. However, with that said, I do think that Regie has a good point with writing A LOT. If the kids are writing a lot, they are practicing a lot, so that could be what you have in place of lots of lessons. Also, if you have a laminated letter chart on each kiddos desk, they could use a vis-a-vis pen to practice each day or circle a letter they need to work on so it is always there.
I also liked the two charts at the end -- I thought they were a nice way to sum up the book!
I do handwriting up to 3rd grade. It only takes 15 min. and with the older student content can be incorporated into the practice. I've just seen too many students (and adults) who have awful penmanship or grips that I feel this is important and necessary. :)
DeleteLearning to say no is really important in order to maintain a healthy balance in our lives! It gets easier the more you do it. And we don't have to answer right away…we can say, "I'll get back to you." OR, "Let me think about that." Good for you!!!
DeleteWow, there is so much in these two chapters. Some things I am taking away:
ReplyDeletePowerful quote on research, “Schools that do well insist that their students write every day and that teachers provide regular and timely feedback with the support of parents.” I can’t agree more. I think a great professional development opportunity is to share this research with my school and then brainstorm some ideas for writing every day (within PLC’s and as a whole school), so that we have a bank of ideas.
I appreciated the practices of highly effective teachers and think this is an area where the teachers in my school could make a goal for the year. I know that there are some things I could work on in this list, such as participating in coaching experiences (scary, but I know it would be amazing)! I actually think the weekly professional conversations would be so fun. I am concerned I’d be the only one showing up, but if I could get a few on board, I think it could REALLY help our climate!
I tend to agree with Regie about being cautious about programs. Unfortunately, I work in a
school that wants programs badly. I think that the professional development she talks about would be key to getting our staff on board with writing without a scripted program.
In chapter 12, I appreciated what Regie said about reducing the paper load. Since I started teaching, I have taken home less and less. I have had to put up some boundaries to protect teaching from taking over my life. I love teaching and don’t want to burn out. However, I like that she said to do most of the writing work in school, and that students don’t read much of what we write on their papers, but mostly listen to a conference. I think that was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me as I am always trying to find a way to comment on everything and it is exhausting.
I REALLY liked the secrets of good writers. I am going to find a fun way to share this with my class this year. Kids love a good secret I’m thinking of a way I can incorporate this into their homework, as well.
She also touched on homework. I usually send one writing prompt home per week, but it is meant for me (their audience) to read – some examples are tell Mrs. Bethune why you should get an extra recess next week (they ALWAYS persuade me ;) I didn’t used to do my homework this way, and last year when I started this, I got a not from a boy who was a tough one that said he loved doing homework now because he got to write about interesting things and he had never been able to do that. I try to involve an adult at home – usually for editing purposes.
Many teachers have shared their plans to bring parts of this text and/or research to their teams and schools. We think it's a great idea to start the conversation! Good luck with this!
DeleteYes, those teacher-proof scripted programs. Obviously, I'm not a fan but I think that new teachers often appreciate having the mandated curriculum because they then feel that they are teaching what they are suppose to be doing and they may be unsure in their skills to teach. (This not hard and fast research, just my thoughts.) If teachers are required to follow the program, perhaps it can be used as a resource or the quality piece pulled out. Sometimes, it's best to fly under the radar or with our door closed and do what we know is best for our students.
What a great idea to get students writing at home. I bet they were motivated to try to persuade you for extra recess!
Chapter 11:
ReplyDeleteI think this chapter is important because in the end, there is no one right way to teach writing to every student and every school. There are so many programs out there that try the one size fits all category, that simply doesn’t work for students. What we can do though is stay current with the research and focus on the main ideas that we get from there. We have PLC time in my school every other week and I can see a lot of good conversations in those meetings coming from this chapter. While I am definitely getting ideas of what I want to do differently next year based on what I have read in this book, it is always helpful to have those interactive conversations with your colleagues to bounce ideas off of and to see what they are doing and if these ideas will fit into our school culture. In particular I am interested in talking with the other special education teachers in my district to see how they balance the high expectations with the wide range of students (K-5). It will also be interesting to get their thoughts on teaching whole-to part-to whole, since special ed. is so focused on skill building and teaching writing in a certain order and not necessarily in context. This book has definitely helped me to broaden my understanding of how to teach writing and opened my eyes to new ways and to what is important, but I would still like to get the perspectives of my colleagues to see how this will fit with our student population.
Chapter 12:
This chapter says all of the things that I not only want to hear, but that I need to hear. I often feel like I am working really long hours to get things done, and yet I still don’t accomplish nearly what I wanted to accomplish, which always leaves me feeling defeated. It means that I miss out on time with my family, time with my friends, and time for myself. I love that Regie puts it all into perspective in this chapter and asks - so what? In the end, students need sustained time to read and to write - all of the extra stuff that I try to do doesn’t necessarily help them to become better readers and writers as much as the actual physical act of reading and writing does. By reducing the paper load that I take home and that I give to my students, it will give both me and them time to enjoy our lives so that we actually have stories to tell for our writing.
Teaching in Action: Lesson Essentials:
I found it really helpful to see the actual lesson plans for these lessons and to see what it is that Regie does each day with the students and how much time she spends on each activity. Reading through all of the chapters it was good to get that information and to have some ideas flowing, but I wasn’t really sure how it looked all together. This section really showed me what it looks like on a day to day basis for writing and how to fit all of the elements of the optimal learning model into the lesson. It was also helpful to see that the lesson structures weren’t all the same - there are many different ways to apply the optimal learning model to a lesson, depending on what the lesson is and what type of support the students need. I also found the Examining Beliefs About Writing in Appendix A to be really insightful. It would have been interesting to do this before and after reading the book, because even going through the list now there are a lot of things where I’m thinking - I would have marked this differently before I read the book. I think this will be a great piece to bring in to school to discuss with colleagues and get their viewpoint on the different areas. It will also help us to get on the same page and decide what’s really important and what expectations we should set for all students throughout the school.
Exactly! There is no one right way to teach writing. :) I think having those conversations with your colleagues will be really beneficial and bringing Appendix A to your teachers will be a great way to get on the same page and decide what's important and what expectations to set for students. Good luck!
ReplyDelete