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!
First, hooray for you! You took the plunge! I'm excited about this.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that the students know what transition words are, but they aren't used to pulling writing apart the way we are talking about in our class. They probably didn't even know there was a term for these words that carry our ideas along. This is a good insight - start an anchor chart with the transition words you identified, then, as future lessons or readings happen, notice them and add them to the list. Soon, with any luck, the kids will notice some too and you;ll have a long collection.
I do think we surprise ourselves at how short 5-7 minutes is. It's a short period of time, and you see how it can eat away at writing time if we aren't mindful. But I do think that your kids were very excited about the lesson.
WAY TO GO on letting the kid write about the bathroom, and legitimizing the topic. Maybe he was testing you, maybe he is just trying to get a reaction, but you kept your cool and your eyes on the lesson. Nicely done. Who can say if this is an ongoing issue with the child. Something else to consider, if it was part of a pattern. It could also have been an ongoing distraction if he didn't listen to your guidance and instead persisted in disrupting. so, what happened?
I also really like how you handled the sharing. I think your approach was perfect - give the author the choice, and he opted out, so you read his work instead. I actually like that you respected his wishes for privacy. Maybe if he sees that others like his work, he won't be so shy the next time. (If you haven't read "Love that Dog," there is a young boy writer in the story that is quite similar!)
So excited that you did this. I hope you learned a lot - great reflections here.
Beth