While reading chapter nine specifically I thought it was interesting when Regie talked about a quickshare. This was especially interesting to me because this year has really helped me realize how much teachers have to fit into one day and a lot of times it does not all get done. This quickshare allows the teacher to take one minute for each student and give them some positive feedback on their writing. It is important to focus on what they have written, not what they have not done. It would be beneficial to make sure the students are on the right track without having to listen to them read their whole text. It gives the teacher a snap shot of what is being written.
I also liked the peer teach conferencing. I feel that it is really important for the students at the third grade level to be able to work without needing the teachers help with everything. If students work together to improve their writing they are themselves gaining a deeper understanding of the concept and of its importance. This also means that the students may not hear teacher praise as often and for some students that is crucial in their efforts. How could you make sure to give each student positive feedback when they are peer editing?
Jessica, to answer your question about positive feedback during peer editing, I think that as a teacher you could make sure to praise the students as a group and say things like, “I love the way that you are giving your partners ideas on how to improve their writing!” Something like that. ☺
ReplyDeleteMy classroom is also working on Daily 5 and how they can practice their writing throughout the year. I think that this is a great way for the students to gain confidence in their writing without focusing too much on the grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc. because the goal of this Daily 5 exercise is for the students to get their thoughts down on paper. I think that Routman would really appreciate the way that we are “starting with meaning” instead of focusing on isolated skills. Although I love the Daily 5 practice that we do, I think that Routman might suggest we have the students focus on the quality of their writing instead of just getting random ideas on paper. On page 144, Routman mentions the four ways certain teachers revised their writing goals for students. Identifying writing genres, deciding who the audience is, modeling the writing process and having students share writing regularly were the four main changes to the curriculum. As I think about the writing that we do in my classroom, none of these are really standing out. I am guessing that Routman suggest that I create opportunities for my students to model the writing process with a partner or in small group and also give them chances to share the writing that they have done. To do this, I might save the last 10 minutes of every day or 30 minutes every Friday as time for students to share the work they have done in their Daily 5 writing notebooks. Routman would most likely stress this because this would hold the students accountable for meaningful writing in their notebooks – if they know they will be sharing the stories, they are likely to work harder on them. Also, it gives the students a sense of pride and will hopefully push them to keep working harder.
Things to think about: Do you think that lower readers/writers in the classroom might get embarrassed about sharing their work? How could I prevent this from happening? How could I comfort that student and keep pushing him/her at the same time?
I agree with Jessica as I too think that when students are peer editing it is important to give students positive feedback. I like what Kelly said about addressing the class as a whole to give general feedback, but I also think that individual positive feedback is necessary. In my placement last year (1st grade), my CT would go around to each student, or each peer editing pair, and write down on positive thing about their writing. She would also express the positive comments to the students at that time. She did this throughout the week so she got a chance to look at every student’s writing at least once a week. She would often refer back to the previous comments about their writing to see how they had progressed or what was different previously than currently. I thought this was a good way to give positive feedback and also keep track of student’s writing progress.
ReplyDeleteI think that any student can get embarrassed about sharing their work in the classroom, whether they are high or low. I know of some students in my class in all categories (low, medium, and high) who would be embarrassed to share. I think this feeling is common throughout all writers and readers. But I do agree that perhaps the lower ones might be particularly embarrassed because they know, or think they know, that they are “bad” at reading or writing. I think an overall or general way to help these students is to set-up your classroom as an open environment and a place where everyone can share and read aloud and it is okay. It would also be important to stress that everyone is at different levels (Daily 5 reference: good fit books) and that it doesn’t matter what level someone is at. Thinking about this problem more specifically seems to be more difficult. If a student was supposed to read aloud and they didn’t want to because they were embarrassed, I’m not sure what I would do in that situation.
If Regie Routman visited my classroom, she would not be happy with the amount of writing we are doing. We have not done any writing so far. We do Daily 5, but only the reading portions of it. Something she would notice though is spelling. We have a spelling list each week and have tests on Fridays. They do practice with the words all week through different activities: spelling games, writing the words, step-writing the words, stamping the words, quizzing a partner, writing the words in sentences, reading stories containing the words, etc. I think the one piece that is missing is the writing portion. If they did a daily or even an every other day free-writing assignment, then they might get a chance to actually use the words in their everyday writing.
Things to think about: When there is such little time in a day, how do you fit things in that aren’t in the curriculum that the teacher’s have to use? There isn’t any time in our day for explicit writing or writing instruction, so how do you fit it in? I think writing is very important so I would be curious to know how other grades, schools, and teachers do it.
In my third grade class there is a 40 minute writing session everyday. I've noticed in my classroom that some students have a lot to say in their writing and some have no more than 2 sentences. The biggest question I have is, "How do we motivate students to want to write?" I don't believe in teachers using many extrinsic motivation strategies in the classroom. However, it is a difficult task to motivate students that are not strong in reading. Most of my students that enjoy writing, also enjoy reading. According to this weeks reading students must understand their purpose for writing. As prospective teachers, we must make writing useful, beneficial, relatable, and
ReplyDeleteunderstandable.
To J. Watson:
I agree that quickshare should be used within the classroom. Students need that encouragement daily in reference to any subject (not just writing).
Zoe:
Holt Public Schools are required to have a 90 minutes of reading instruction and writing. Its sad to hear that your school doesn't make time for explicit writing. Writing should be included into the schedule everyday. This concern should be raised to the principal and if necessary the district. Until then include writing into other daily subjects, such as; math, reading, social studies, and etc.
Kelly:
In order for children to not feel embarrassed about reading their work to the class a strong classroom community has to be built. Students need to be aware of how to respect others comments, ideas, and questions. However, public speaking is the number one fear so I don't expect every child to feel comfortable with reading publicly. I think its a good idea to have students conduct a play during the beginning stages. Have them read aloud with other students (this will break the ice).
Questions to think about: How can we motivate students to write? How do you encourage students to write that struggle with reading?