Short chapter loaded with final comments and information. I appreciated the "Secrets of Good Writers." I do however disagree with teacher comments on students' papers do little to improve writing, even if the comments are positive ones. I've discovered my students look forward to comments on their papers and journals. They immediately read the script and usually want to share with a neighbor. They will frequently bring an assignment back to me and ask if it reads or sounds better now! Just a thought, but I'm not going to stop just yet writing comments - I still see it as a valuable teaching moment.
The author sums it best in her final paragraph..."I have seen no research that shows that educators who work the longest hours get the best results or that longer reading and writing projects teach more about reading and writing." Kind of hits home - we all lead such busy and fulfilling lives and of course our students are such a large part of it, that we really need to prioritize our goals and objectives for our classrooms. Sounds like I've got some summer school-work to do!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Chapter 11 Build on Best Practice and Research
How do you determine the best practice? After reading the charts for first and fourth grade "What we used to do" & "What we do now" - ugh - I've got some research of my own and correcting or deleting of writing assignments.
I understand that reading and writing coincide, and "good" readers are usually "good" writers, but I deeply feel they need more writing opportunities, however small they may be. I've decided I'm going to have my students use their science and social studies spirals also as a journal. I will instruct them to write their inner thoughts or ideas after each lesson. I think I can give them each a tab to stick half-way through their spiral to separate the writing from other assignments.
This chapter encourages teachers to correspond and share on a regular basis, either through monthly staff opportunities or possibly through blogging if this class would like to continue to share ideas. I know our 6th grade team shares much with each other because we want all of the students to succeed and shine!
I understand that reading and writing coincide, and "good" readers are usually "good" writers, but I deeply feel they need more writing opportunities, however small they may be. I've decided I'm going to have my students use their science and social studies spirals also as a journal. I will instruct them to write their inner thoughts or ideas after each lesson. I think I can give them each a tab to stick half-way through their spiral to separate the writing from other assignments.
This chapter encourages teachers to correspond and share on a regular basis, either through monthly staff opportunities or possibly through blogging if this class would like to continue to share ideas. I know our 6th grade team shares much with each other because we want all of the students to succeed and shine!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Ch. 10 Make Assessment Count
Had to take this chapter to heart. We just finished writing assessments - and guilty as charged many skills were taught in an isolated fashion. I've really got to concentrate on more mini lessons, and much, much more practice writing.
I was interested in the students using rubric and assessing some of their own writing. I thought about printing the information on P. 255 on index cards and laminating them for the students to self check when they are finished with a writing piece. I think this could be helpful, especially the first semester.
Say yes to reducing test anxiety for the student as well as the teacher! The author provided another teacher, Kari Oosterveen's helpful suggestions. This teacher put a positive spin on tests, telling them they are writing to the "deciding people" who determine what should be learned and taught in our schools. This is their chance to "Wow" the crowd with all they know. It's show time! When I read that I immediately thought I WANT TO BE THAT POSITIVE!
Another major point that struck me was the inner voice in writing. I use that terminology in reading and it didn't dawn on me to use it with writing. I have the "Inner Voice" (taken from a Reading conference) small chart posted in my room. I definitely need to add an "Inner Voice" writing small poster now!
I was interested in the students using rubric and assessing some of their own writing. I thought about printing the information on P. 255 on index cards and laminating them for the students to self check when they are finished with a writing piece. I think this could be helpful, especially the first semester.
Say yes to reducing test anxiety for the student as well as the teacher! The author provided another teacher, Kari Oosterveen's helpful suggestions. This teacher put a positive spin on tests, telling them they are writing to the "deciding people" who determine what should be learned and taught in our schools. This is their chance to "Wow" the crowd with all they know. It's show time! When I read that I immediately thought I WANT TO BE THAT POSITIVE!
Another major point that struck me was the inner voice in writing. I use that terminology in reading and it didn't dawn on me to use it with writing. I have the "Inner Voice" (taken from a Reading conference) small chart posted in my room. I definitely need to add an "Inner Voice" writing small poster now!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Chapter 9 Conference with Students
Well I'm relieved! Just the word conference and 28 students petrified me!!! This chapter eased my mind and tension with conferencing with students. I already mini-conference frequently - just didn't title it as such. I've noticed the kids are very respectful about noise and ownership of work when I ambulate around the room checking writing. Although I haven't journaled myself on the students skills on a chart, it may be worthwhile to do so if it is a formal conference.
I particularly liked the quickshare. I tend to let the student tell me the "whole thing" and I could focus on more students if I asked them to choose a particular part, ie: best line, something new they tried, topic sentence etc....
Since I teach 6th grade the goal is to have the students monitor their own writing and problem solve independently so they can eventually draft, rewrite, revise, publish, and edit mostly on their own. Definitely we need more writing opportunities to increase this possibility. The editing conference guide on P. 234 would be a great writing check to keep in their writing folders. I've decided to make a copy for each student.
I particularly liked the quickshare. I tend to let the student tell me the "whole thing" and I could focus on more students if I asked them to choose a particular part, ie: best line, something new they tried, topic sentence etc....
Since I teach 6th grade the goal is to have the students monitor their own writing and problem solve independently so they can eventually draft, rewrite, revise, publish, and edit mostly on their own. Definitely we need more writing opportunities to increase this possibility. The editing conference guide on P. 234 would be a great writing check to keep in their writing folders. I've decided to make a copy for each student.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Chapter 8 Organize for Daily Writing
Have we organized, tested, assessed ourselves into a hole - I think not. It's never too late to dig out! Yes organization is important, but I think it is the teacher who needs to possess the organization and work with the skills the students have. How tricky is that with all the time constraints we possess.
This chapter reminded me of the importance of writing every day - writing every day - writing every day! The author noted on P. 175 that writing regularly is more likely to lead to fluency. I think fluency will transfer to the value of writing. If we deem it important - so will the students.
The key points to setting up the environment for success were helpful tools. they can be found on P. 176. I copied this and put it on an index card I keep on my desk now.
I thought it might be insightful to have the kids brainstorm topics they like to write about and incorporate them once or twice a week in their journal. I will post the big chart paper on the wall so they can refer to it when they get ready to journal. I/m looking for some meaningful, interesting, yet fun journal entries to close out the year!
This chapter reminded me of the importance of writing every day - writing every day - writing every day! The author noted on P. 175 that writing regularly is more likely to lead to fluency. I think fluency will transfer to the value of writing. If we deem it important - so will the students.
The key points to setting up the environment for success were helpful tools. they can be found on P. 176. I copied this and put it on an index card I keep on my desk now.
I thought it might be insightful to have the kids brainstorm topics they like to write about and incorporate them once or twice a week in their journal. I will post the big chart paper on the wall so they can refer to it when they get ready to journal. I/m looking for some meaningful, interesting, yet fun journal entries to close out the year!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Ch. 7 Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills
Make writing as real as possible! Great theory but we are caught up in the assessment mode.
I agree with the statement that we isolate many writing skills and think the kids can transfer the worksheet to "real" writing. I enjoy writing, so I like to provide a lot of modeling for my students. The timesaver teaching tip on P. 148 made me realize I fall into that trap of wanting the students to provide more of the sample board writing, and I could use my teaching time better if I allow them to observe me demonstrating writing and thinking out loud.
The second teaching tip on P. 148 is to repeat the expectation. Too many times we state what is expected and switch to independent work. I like to repeat what is expected and allow for any questions to check for understanding before we begin independent work. It seems like we are all on such tight schedules during the school day and writing takes time and sometimes is left out of the school day. I appreciate all the suggestions in this book to incorporate small bits of writing throughout the day and allowing more conversation for the students.
The author has a unique way of inviting the study of the six traits without stating the objective first. For example, When you're the author you get to choose the words. Let's listen to the words this author uses. (Instead of "We're going to learn about word choice.") She also had a unique way of organizing paragraphs. She suggests the students write, then conference with them to pull out "like information" to develop a paragraph. This would certainly help those who struggle with organization.
There is a lot of strength in mini-lessons. I'm going to try and incorporate more mini-lessons using brief writing assignments. I think the students will connect with the lesson objective when they are using their own writing material. For example, they could circle all their verbs when they summarized a social studies lesson. In whole class we could list verbs they used, then invite new verbs we could exchange them for to make our summary more interesting. I would certainly welcome any other mini-lessons you use in your classroom that have been successful or insightful.
I agree with the statement that we isolate many writing skills and think the kids can transfer the worksheet to "real" writing. I enjoy writing, so I like to provide a lot of modeling for my students. The timesaver teaching tip on P. 148 made me realize I fall into that trap of wanting the students to provide more of the sample board writing, and I could use my teaching time better if I allow them to observe me demonstrating writing and thinking out loud.
The second teaching tip on P. 148 is to repeat the expectation. Too many times we state what is expected and switch to independent work. I like to repeat what is expected and allow for any questions to check for understanding before we begin independent work. It seems like we are all on such tight schedules during the school day and writing takes time and sometimes is left out of the school day. I appreciate all the suggestions in this book to incorporate small bits of writing throughout the day and allowing more conversation for the students.
The author has a unique way of inviting the study of the six traits without stating the objective first. For example, When you're the author you get to choose the words. Let's listen to the words this author uses. (Instead of "We're going to learn about word choice.") She also had a unique way of organizing paragraphs. She suggests the students write, then conference with them to pull out "like information" to develop a paragraph. This would certainly help those who struggle with organization.
There is a lot of strength in mini-lessons. I'm going to try and incorporate more mini-lessons using brief writing assignments. I think the students will connect with the lesson objective when they are using their own writing material. For example, they could circle all their verbs when they summarized a social studies lesson. In whole class we could list verbs they used, then invite new verbs we could exchange them for to make our summary more interesting. I would certainly welcome any other mini-lessons you use in your classroom that have been successful or insightful.
Chapter 6 Capitalize on the Reading-Writing Connection
I appreciate this chapter devoting the importance of the reading-writing connection. I definitely want to incorporate more writing outlets during reading class. Literature response could be incorporated almost daily and reread in small groups, whole class, or with partners the following day. The teaching tip on P. 124 on revising effectively encourages us to reread and revise the following day. The tip suggests it may be easier to see what changes are needed on the following day.
Reading comprehension could increase if summary writing was utilized more. Although constructing summaries are not always easy, the value of purpose, recall, decoding for meaning, and understanding the text would be very beneficial to increase comprehension. I don't do enough summarizing - but I'm going to change that!
This book provides a lot of primary examples, so I was thrilled to see the framework exercise for summary writing for 6th grade. Now this is something I can relate to and utilize with future reading lessons. I encourage any intermediate teachers to reread P. 128-131 when they need a refresher for summary writing to check student understanding.
Reading comprehension could increase if summary writing was utilized more. Although constructing summaries are not always easy, the value of purpose, recall, decoding for meaning, and understanding the text would be very beneficial to increase comprehension. I don't do enough summarizing - but I'm going to change that!
This book provides a lot of primary examples, so I was thrilled to see the framework exercise for summary writing for 6th grade. Now this is something I can relate to and utilize with future reading lessons. I encourage any intermediate teachers to reread P. 128-131 when they need a refresher for summary writing to check student understanding.
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