I liked what the textbook had to say about making the writing process real to the student and giving them experiences to draw upon to write about. I have always been used to the whole writing process: rewriting, drafting and composing, revising and editing, and finally publishing and sharing usually in some type of author's chair. Now that most schools are using a daily writers workshop, this process isn't as formal as it was before. Students now are in a structured, predictable time where they will write. Instead of grammar worksheets and textbooks, schools are incorporating teacher guided writing lessons or mini-lessons to incorporate grammar into real student writing. This is much more beneficial to students because it gives them ownership of their hard work. The book suggested a semantic map to help students think through the writing process. I have used semantic maps in the past and they work especially well with students with disabilities who may not know what to write about next. It gives them an order to follow when thinking through a particular writing. The book also gave the example of portfolios to showcase student work. I think that is a great way to share their accomplishments and organize their writings. It is also a resource for future evaluations for students who may need additional support from the school. When it comes to grading, I have found the use of rubrics to be a great asset for a fair grading system that also lets students know up front what is expected of them.
When it comes to dealing with students with disabilities I think that they need more direct instruction when recognizing words. Teachers need to use all of the examples in the book to help students reach their full potential. From phonics instruction to the different approaches used in the book (VAKT, Language Experience), I think that we still need to remember to make the process enjoyable to the student. When I have used stations in a reading program I had a sight word station. Students made their own paragraghs using magnet sight words on a metal cookie tray. They would love to share the different stories that they developed. Another fun example in the book was readers theater. I know from experience that is a favorite of students. The most important aspect for all language arts is to make it real for the students.
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Brian,
ReplyDeleteI liked your comments on the text. I agree with the whole writing aspect that allows the students to understand the writing process. I enjoy the new approach that schools are taking to engage student in writing. The problem I have found is that a few of the students I work with struggle with basic phonics, decoding, and blending. They have a difficult time reading which makes writing almost impossible. We often have each student write one on one with the teachers to assist them with spelling and grammar. It would be nice if we could alter their lessons to really focus on learning their basics. This is tough in a classroom where some can read and some cannot. It causes a divide, and so we try to be very individualized and assist each student as best possible. If you have any thoughts on ways to bring students up to speed quicker with their phonics let me know. RB
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI love that guided writing activies are being incorporated in your school!! This is wonderful! :-) I personally think that writing is a HARD subject to teach. How do you teach someone to write? It's hard! I love that the teacher is working one on one with the students to help each student indiviually with their stengths and weaknesses.
I loved your example of the cookie tray writing of stories. This is an idea that I would like to try in my own classroom. I have 2 first graders who I work with and I have them write me a "secret" message about anything they want. I do this to make writing fun and to also get them to be imaginitive and to just write! They aren't allowed to asked me how to spell anything or what to write about. So far it has worked out.
Do you have any other suggestions?
Writing fosters reading....I never really thought of that before but it's sooo true. What can we do as teachers to help all of the skills become fluent and one? This is something that even after reading the book my head is still swimming with ideas.
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI really liked all the real life examples you brought up. I especially like the point you made about making activities enjoyable to students. I think that this is true for every lesson and not just lessons on writing. Engagement in a classroom increases learning and decreases problem behaviors. I like the example you gave on how you have used sight words and also your experience in teaching writing to special needs children. incorporating writing lessons into many other lessons, and making a specific time a day for writers workshop is a really great idea. I saw this for the first time working in the kindergarten classroom I work in this year and the kids love it. Sometimes when they have indoor recess the kids want to spend it writing!!! Imagine that! They are so engaged in the activity they even want to do it during recess for fun.
Another topic you touched on was portfolios. These are used in so many ways. They can be motivating to the student looking back on work that they spent a lot of time on and did a great job. They can also be a good thing for a next year teacher to look through when just meeting a new student to see what the student is capable of. It is also good to be able to compare all the students portfolios to one another to see where students in the class are having trouble and where they are really doing well in. I love portfolios and definitely plan to use them one day in my future classroom.