Response to Chapter 7, 8, and 19

This week, I have several small comments to make about specific elements in Katie Wood Rae’s chapters. Here we go!

• In chapter 7, Rae discusses the “no talking while writing” policy that many teachers implement. In fact, I can here my mentor teacher telling his students, “Uhh, we do not need to talk to write.” I even smirked when I read her observation and explanation, because I know I could easily fall into the same trap. I noticed an example of her comment during my writing lesson I taught last week. I asked my students to begin writing their recipes and how to poems, but the noise level of mouths running increased rather than the noise level of pencil marks. At first, I figured that the students were off task and joking with their friends. To my delight, I was wrong! The majority were discussing potential topics. After three or four minutes, pencils began flying across the page. Could soft talking and writing really go together? What an enlightening concept, Ms. Rae!
• “The best way to manage distractions in the writing workshop is to have plenty of attractions for students as writers,” Rae says. I really like this quote. A pencil and a plain piece of notebook paper do not engage the senses. While I have always enjoyed writing, it routinely took a while for me to get motivated, perhaps because of the ordinary materials. Revising always excited me, because I could use color pencils, highlights, sticky notes, markers, and wait for it…colored paper! Let’s halt the monotony and bring some color to writing! We are teaching elementary students, right? Color can match the alphabet poster on the wall!
• I think I can…I think I can…I think I can deal with the slightly-beyond-your-control, messy feeling. It will certainly be a challenge, but from experience, two things work for me. First, count to ten. It relaxes me and prevents me from saying the proverbial, “Be quiet!” Second, I ask myself, “Is it too loud? Or, is it just too loud for me?” By making myself aware of the noise, I can decide if it is too loud with not enough productivity or is it loud with academic thought. If I can accept the latter answer, I keep my mouth shut.
• I am still confused about the difference between writing and drafting. Is writing what you do before deciding to do more to a piece? For example, I wrote my narrative about myself as a pair of pointe shoes. Is it considered drafting when I decide to further develop it into a published writing sample?
• Note to self: Publishing does not have to be in the form of a letter or a class compiled picture book. It can include recipe books, how-to books, joke books, comic books, etc.

It is a Semester of Writing Firsts

Last Thursday, I went where no block 3 student had gone before…. I taught a writing lesson. Dun…dun…dun. Overall, I think it went pretty well! Based on my students’ assessments, they learned how to use transitions words in their writing as I intended for them to learn. However, I want to improve and be the best teacher possible for my current and future students. There is always room for improvement as a teacher in general and as a teacher of writing! What advice can you give?

            I began my lesson by asking students to speak to a partner to brainstorm the definition of a transition words and how it is used in writing. Then, I engaged these fifth graders by making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Students raised their hands and individually told me each step in making the sandwich. With each task, I emphasized transition words like “next,” “after,” “finally,” etc. While my mentor teacher thought the students seemed off task, I believe that they were simply engaged in a creative lesson.   

            Then, I showed the recipe on the board and stressed the transition words in my tone and by circling them on the Smart Board. Towards the end of the recipe, I noticed that some of the students started getting off task, so I decided to quickly identify the final transitions in the passage. Lastly, I wrote the transitions the students identified on the board so they could refer back to the list during their independent writing time.

            For the rest of writing time, I asked these fifth graders to write their own “how to” or recipe pieces. At first, it took a few minutes for the students to get situated, but eventually, they all started composing their thoughts. One student decided to be silly and write about “how to use the bathroom.” Instead of telling him he shouldn’t write about this subject, I told him to think more deeply about using toilet paper, washing your hand, etc. in addition to working on his transitions. Was it wrong to let him write about a taboo topic, because I know he just wanted the attention of his peers?

            Sadly, I talked for too long during my focus lesson and the students did not have nearly as long to write as I had planned. However, I still wanted them to share to avoid the “busy work” discussion. They first shared with a partner, which they all seemed to enjoy. Then, I privately asked one student to share in front of the class. He politely refused but said that I could share. I never said his name, but I used his “how to” piece to show how to properly use transition words. Was I wrong to not let him share his own work? If I read his work for time purposes, should I have given him credit by saying his name?

            After analyzing their work and hearing their examples of transitions, most students used only the transitions they learned during the lesson or those displayed on the board. How do I challenge them to use more that just “first,” “then,” and “next” in their writing? As fifth graders, I assumed they had background knowledge in transitions? Should I have not presumed this idea?

Thanks for reading! Any answers to my questions would be greatly appreciated!

Response to Chapter 14, 15, and 17

• In chapter 14, Ray discusses effective ways of having a conference with a student. She suggests having a record-keeping system so that one knows who he or she has met with during the course of a week. She writes, “They use this record to decide who will have conferences on a given day, their goal being to give students an approximately equal amount of teaching attention.” Obviously, it is important to meet with every student consistently and keep of record of what the teacher and student discusses. However, I do not agree with using it as a way to ensure that each student has an “equal amount of teaching attention.” In school, each student should not just have an equal education. Instead, it should be an education where students are given as much attention as they need to succeed. If one student has particular difficulty with informational writing while another does not, I will conference with the first student more often during an informational unit. I do agree that keeping a log will help with organization, it should not limit conferences with one student. Is that wrong?
• Chapter 15 mentions the importance of sharing time. I couldn’t agree more! While reading this chapter, I came up with a potentially brilliant idea for my classroom design… a sharing stage! In many elementary classrooms, teachers have a reading corner that invites children to want to read. Why not have a sharing corner that invites students to share their work? I will have a small platform with a black drape behind it. For added decoration, red pieces of tied fabric will hang for the ceiling to create a curtain effect. On either side of the stage, lights similar to spot lights will illuminate the writer. Finally, students will use a podium to ease their nerves and practice quality public speaking strategies. I can’t wait!
•  Grading intimidates me. How do I create a rubric that fairly and accurately judges the work of my students? If a student shows drastic improvement but still performs below the grading expectations, how do I reward the student’s accomplishments based on a universal rubric? Ray brought to light a simple but important concept in chapter 17. In evaluating students, remember the root word of evaluation: value. Of course! It seems silly to realize that I have never considered this principle before. It makes perfect sense! Set your values and make them known to your students. Depending on the teacher, these values could be correct grammar or whether a student organizes his or her writing appropriately. Either way, Ray’s simple observation makes grading writing slightly less intimidating.