Limit the work you take home...I appreciate this comment. Teachers need to be able to spend as much time and patience with their own family as they do with their "school family." In order to do this, we might consider having students write more often, provide ongoing feedback as they are writing and not feel the pressure to rubricize every piece of work the students do. We can do this by building in table, peer, and individual conferences. I remember in my fourth grade classroom, I had a "Writer's Workshop" set up with structured routines and procedures. I knew the components that needed to be in place, but looking back I think I worried more about the procedures being in place than just supporting my writers! I would conference with Tom, Jerry, Susie, and Sean on Tuesday because they were scheduled for that day instead of relaxing and just supporting my writers through table conferences, peer conferences, and individual conferences when they were NEEDED.
One thing Regie mentions in this chapter is the elimination of daily worksheets and isolated exercises. I completely agree with this section. I agree philisophically, but I also saw with my own children, how the isolated worksheets didn't transfer to real reading and writing for them!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Build on Best Practice and Research
Regie discussing the National Writing Project's summer institute in this chapter ( page 267). I haven't been involved in such an intense writing opportunity, but I would love to. She mentions that she spent five weeks of intense writing and study, learning about her own writing processes. I would love to see a staff take part in just writing about what matters to them for five weeks. I realize that this blog wasn't motivational for many because the participants didn't necessarily write about what "matters to them". It was probably a huge "chore" for those who don't like to write. I am going to reflect on this and possibly change the focus next time we do this book study (if you have any suggestions...I would love to hear them).
One thing that I appreciate about Regie's book is her "Try It and Apply It" sections. On page 268, she lists several practices of highly effective teachers. Working with Buhler Teachers for the past few years, I would have to say that most (if not all) of those practices are in place in most classrooms. The first one, engaging in ongoing professional conversations with colleagues about effective writing and literacy practices, occurs monthly. This can sometimes be very difficult, however, because conversation doesn't always "produce" something and teachers can feel that it is a waste of time because there isn't a product. It can be hard to believe that CONVERSATION IS ACTION!
One thing that I appreciate about Regie's book is her "Try It and Apply It" sections. On page 268, she lists several practices of highly effective teachers. Working with Buhler Teachers for the past few years, I would have to say that most (if not all) of those practices are in place in most classrooms. The first one, engaging in ongoing professional conversations with colleagues about effective writing and literacy practices, occurs monthly. This can sometimes be very difficult, however, because conversation doesn't always "produce" something and teachers can feel that it is a waste of time because there isn't a product. It can be hard to believe that CONVERSATION IS ACTION!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Make Assessment Count
"There is lots of writing assessment going on these days, but little of it actually improves the quality of students' writing." (pg. 238)
"In too many places students are being "rubricized": every piece of writing is scored against a rubric, sometimes even in first grade." (pg. 243)
"Expect your students (from grade one on) to be able to write a whole page of text in twenty or thirty minutes.
"When we put too much emphasis on grading, we spend our time looking to justify the grade rather than helping students learn how to become better writers." (pg. 252).
Do we really expect our students to be able to write a whole page of text in 20-30 minutes? We often talk about fluency in reading, but how often do we talk about fluency in writing? Can students fluently write? If we give them ample opportunities to write and support them at their developmental stage, then I believe they should be able to. Without the support in place, there is no way that students should be expected to do this. High expectations with teacher support = SUCCESS. High expectations without teacher support = FAILURE.
"In too many places students are being "rubricized": every piece of writing is scored against a rubric, sometimes even in first grade." (pg. 243)
"Expect your students (from grade one on) to be able to write a whole page of text in twenty or thirty minutes.
"When we put too much emphasis on grading, we spend our time looking to justify the grade rather than helping students learn how to become better writers." (pg. 252).
Do we really expect our students to be able to write a whole page of text in 20-30 minutes? We often talk about fluency in reading, but how often do we talk about fluency in writing? Can students fluently write? If we give them ample opportunities to write and support them at their developmental stage, then I believe they should be able to. Without the support in place, there is no way that students should be expected to do this. High expectations with teacher support = SUCCESS. High expectations without teacher support = FAILURE.
Conference with Students
I believe the important thing to remember about this chapter is that there are many ways to confer with students. It doesn't HAVE to be so structured that you only meet with one or two students a day and inflexible to where students who really need to have a conference, they can't because it isn't his/her "day".
Some teachers have "triads" in their writing classroom. They put three students in a group to support one another throughout the writing process. The triads become a community. The teacher then confers with the community and supports the group as they write. This structure might work well for those who have tried peer editing and didn't have much success.
Some teachers have "triads" in their writing classroom. They put three students in a group to support one another throughout the writing process. The triads become a community. The teacher then confers with the community and supports the group as they write. This structure might work well for those who have tried peer editing and didn't have much success.
Organize for Daily Writing
"The only way to "fit" writing in every day is to write all day across the curriculum. Don't separate "writing workshop" from other writing. Writing is writing-in math reading, science, and social studies; in journals, writing folders, or notebooks; on papers, charts, the computer." (pg. 184)
I love the saying that "WRITING CEMENTS KNOWLEDGE." That is the reason I always tried to make time for writing, even though I never felt as if I a proficient writing teacher. I seemed to shy away from shared writing because I didn't feel very confident as a writer myself. After reading this book (for the third time) , I take risks. I am a writer. I will continue to write and improve my writing skills!
I love the saying that "WRITING CEMENTS KNOWLEDGE." That is the reason I always tried to make time for writing, even though I never felt as if I a proficient writing teacher. I seemed to shy away from shared writing because I didn't feel very confident as a writer myself. After reading this book (for the third time) , I take risks. I am a writer. I will continue to write and improve my writing skills!
Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills
"Imagine having all the pieces of a large jigsaw puzzle on the floor in front of you but never seeing the picture on the lid of the box. That's what learning is like for kids when we start with the parts." (pg. 142)
I completely agree with this Regie. Too many classrooms isolate basic writing skills such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation that students don't always see the connection between these skills and their success in reading and writing. Yes, some students can learn by having all the parts because they can make the connections themselves, but many students...especially the ones who struggle...don't. We must show them the puzzle. As they are reading and writing, help them understand why commas are used and how it helps us better communicate with the author or the reader.
So...how do we make this happen? Some Buhler teachers I have had the opportunity to work with have determined what skills they believe all students should be able to do well in their writing. They have made mini lessons for these skills. These short, 5-10 minute mini lessons can be used anytime throughout the writing process.
I completely agree with this Regie. Too many classrooms isolate basic writing skills such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation that students don't always see the connection between these skills and their success in reading and writing. Yes, some students can learn by having all the parts because they can make the connections themselves, but many students...especially the ones who struggle...don't. We must show them the puzzle. As they are reading and writing, help them understand why commas are used and how it helps us better communicate with the author or the reader.
So...how do we make this happen? Some Buhler teachers I have had the opportunity to work with have determined what skills they believe all students should be able to do well in their writing. They have made mini lessons for these skills. These short, 5-10 minute mini lessons can be used anytime throughout the writing process.
Capitalize on the Reading Writing Connection
"I've found written summaries are too demanding for most students before grade 4. In kindergarten through grade 3, I focus on retelling, oral summary, and shared-writing summary of texts we've read together." (pg. 128)
I wonder what others think of this. It seems like we ask students to write summaries and the quality is low. Shared writing opportunities is a necessity if we want students to write comprehensive summaries.
I did a shared writing experience the other day in a second grade classroom that seemed to work really well. I laminated "who, what, when, where, why, and how" cards. I wrote the a very basic paragraph on a piece of chart paper. The students worked in pairs and I gave each pair one of the question cards. Their job was to ask me a question using those question cards so that we could add more "detail" to our writing. The powerful thing was when we were finished, I asked those questions about my story so the students could see the connection between the reading and writing process. Later that day, I used the same cards during a guided reading lesson, helping students understand that strategic readers ask themselves questions as they read. It was powerful. I have attached the question cards on my blog if you are interested in trying this strategy.
Here is a reading/writing connection site.
I wonder what others think of this. It seems like we ask students to write summaries and the quality is low. Shared writing opportunities is a necessity if we want students to write comprehensive summaries.
I did a shared writing experience the other day in a second grade classroom that seemed to work really well. I laminated "who, what, when, where, why, and how" cards. I wrote the a very basic paragraph on a piece of chart paper. The students worked in pairs and I gave each pair one of the question cards. Their job was to ask me a question using those question cards so that we could add more "detail" to our writing. The powerful thing was when we were finished, I asked those questions about my story so the students could see the connection between the reading and writing process. Later that day, I used the same cards during a guided reading lesson, helping students understand that strategic readers ask themselves questions as they read. It was powerful. I have attached the question cards on my blog if you are interested in trying this strategy.
Here is a reading/writing connection site.
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