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!
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I agree with you that our students need more writing opportunities no matter how small. I'm actually getting this into practice in my room.
The idea of having them reflect on what they learned or write about what was covered is great. My fear is that I will hear the same thing I hear everyday during journal writing: "I don't want to write" or "I don't have anything to write about." What do we do for those kids? It is great to give them many opportunities to write, but what do we do when they won't? Just as I can't make a kid sleep; sometimes I feel, you can't 'make' a kid write.
Today I had our students write about roller coasters after they watched the video. We talked a little bit after the video and then they got to choose what they wrote about. The only regret is that we didn't share some after they were done. I hope to do this more often in other subjects as well.
I have my students write a 2 minute summary at he end of our social studies period. This is one writing that my students do not say "I don't want to write", Amazingly. Their summaries have dramatically improved from the beginning of the year. The one thing I have taken from this book and will apply at the beginning of next year, is do whole class and then group summaries before I let them do them by themselves. I do though need to apply this to other subject areas.
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