Take some time to browse through the DVD. Choose a part to watch and then reflect on it. What did it make you think about? What did you notice about Penny's teaching that is something you could try? How does this make you think differently about your students? What do you notice?
OK, so I am busting with ideas and questions. First, I have embraced daily SSR and daily Quick Writes. The kids are LOVING SSR, and they are talking about books, which is pretty darn cool. However, I am struggling with how to use the Quick Writes in a more meaningful way that scaffolds skills or works towards an end goal. Right now I am playing around with the idea of incorporating NECAP prompts (narrative, persuasive, process, etc.) into our QW, working on one genre at a time. I will have a more solid idea after vacation when I can really plan it out. As it stands now, QW topics have been random; I want to make them more meaningful for the classroom.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I am assigning a persuasive essay to my honors classes today based on a Macbeth CSI activity (thanks, as always, Michelle for this idea!). I watched two excerpts from the video, one on grammar and the other on using story boards. Today, the students will complete the visual activity then draft assertion statements. I will have the kids display their assertions on pieces of construction paper that are taped around the classroom. We will then do a "gallery walk" of these assertions and everyone will contribute editing advice. For homework, students will organize their collected evidence and commentary into a story board, allowing them the opportunity to visualize their writing. For Monday's class, we are going to cut pieces of the story board into individual squares and work on rearranging evidence/commentary into more effective chronology. We will then do a quick grammar activity on sentence construction, after which students will edit their own storyboards for their writing craft. Lastly, students will use class time to draft their essay which will then be collected for a summative assessment. Whew! I am hopeful that these strategies will work, and I will report back afterwards!
I'm hoping all will pardon me, as my mind is going in many different directions at the moment. I have long been a believer in writing every day, and have required many of my classes to keep journals and begin each class with free writes. I appreciated the demonstrations relative to keeping students engaged in their own writing, but still find one that is somewhat plaguing. I realize we must train students to "silence the editor", but how, other than repeating that they must, can we get them to do so? This is often problematic with honors students who have long been taught to approach assignments with care. A quest for perfection can be a powerful habit to break.
ReplyDeleteThings that really hit home on the DVD were comments from students themselves - specifically the students who didn’t read, began reading, and didn’t think they could write. They speak with such confidence about their abilities after the writing course - thinking and knowing they are capable of writing anything now! I want my students to leave me feeling that way!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of interest journals, as I find that choice makes the assignments more appealing to the students. We have them write daily, but I wish that we had more time for thhe writing consultations.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was watching the segment called, "Teacher as Writer," it really hit me how important it is for students to see my own process when they are doing these assignments. My student teacher is currently doing a fantastic job teaching The Great Gatsby, and is integrating the competency assignment of the tracking poster. Kids always ask the same questions, for her or with me, and a lot of that would be eliminated if I were to model how *I* would do that same project using one of the unassigned themes. In the video, students describe how much of a help it was to engage with Penny's writing process, even though she rarely does complete a final draft. I enjoyed watching her interact with the students in class as she explained the choices she made while writing. For me, imagining how great a conversation could occur in my class, I really want to try this out - I would love to look into shifting things around for next year and trying to implement more of her strategies.
ReplyDeleteI watched the segment where Penny had one student get up in front of the class to explain his storyboard to everyone so that he could get ideas for what to write his piece about. Like Dennise, I too was amazed at the creative ideas the other students suggested--all of the different paths that his piece could take and the various writing techniques he could use to get there. The one suggestion of using the items he was bagging to serve as a vehicle for a flashback was pretty interesting.
ReplyDeleteI actually watched the video on a day we were going to try storyboarding--and I tried to keep in mind how Penny responded when conferencing later on in that same unit with my students. I tried the quick conferencing technique with some of my classes, and found that I could do a decent conference and provide more feedback to more students in a lot less time than I was used to. When final drafts came in last week, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the some of the feedback had resulted in improved drafts, which made me feel pretty good. :)
I liked seeing the way Penny got the students engaged. I like not only how she had such enthusiasm for the subject (don't we all have that here?), but how she gave space for the students to build off her enthusiasm. That is what I strive for. Of course, I have a lot of classroom management to improve before that space is fully developed. However, I have come a long way towards getting it there. Sharing my process, asking the students to help me when it is time to edit, and allowing the students to share their pieces all helped create the space I do have for students to take ownership of the writing process.
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