Engage in an online literature discussion group on our class blog. Please read the rest of the book and make four entries
1)propose “meaty” fat questions to discuss,
2) make connections to your teaching and work with students,
3) make connections to your work as a writer.
4) Consider how what you have learned from this book might support the work of your integrated language arts unit
Please respond to one or more of your classmates’s entries in your study group.
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31 comments:
Is this working?
I DID IT!
I Think it is working
This is a test. Is this the first time you are using a blog for class? It is for me.
Gina
yes it's my first time too.
Testing 1.2.3
Page 23 of Because Writing Matters echoes two key concepts we continue to learn about in our reading program: modeling and scaffolding. The NWP and Nagin list ten helpful ideas for encouraging students to develop inquiry strategies as readers alongside these fundamental practices of modeling and scaffolding on pages 23-24. Some of the suggestions, such as #1--having students link concepts in my English course to personal experience and prior knowledge--I incorporate into my focus on having students consider thematic elements of human nature in class, and other suggestions, such as #9, having students think about a controversy and writing a dialogue between two characters with different points of view, is something I plan on trying and perhaps incorporating into my unit I develop for this course. What comes to mind for me is perhaps having students create a conversation between Gene and Leper or Gene and Finny (two characters who are affected by the prospect of enlistment in the war n A Separate Peace) about the Iraq War. I could also use the inquiry-based writing focus and use of technology that the book suggests to have students research on the Internet how troops in the Iraq War have been affected in terms of mental health and their purposes for enlistment. Perhaps another extention might be to create a conversation between two characters about who they might vote for for president based on what students know about their values and goals. I will try to work these ideas into my unit development. How might you incorporate some of the suggestions made on page 24 into your instruction?
Back to my comment about the importance of modeling in my first posting, I have tried to incorporate more modeling of my own writing to students, and I have devoted more time to providing students with a shared writing model at the beginning of this year for our first writing unit that relates to the summer reading essay. I wrote my own summer reading essay to provide students with a model of organizing and introduction, developing a thesis, and supporting a thesis in body paragraphs (and to also share with them my enthusiasm for reading!). I told my students that this was my second draft, that I had typed it on the computer, reread it and revised it. I pulled it up on the SmartBoard and had students highlight the thesis, topic sentences, etc. As we discussed the essay, I asked students to offer suggestions about how some of the support could be strengthened, and I used the "think aloud" to share with them the thoughts I had about how I could improve my essay even more as I reread it with them. I think that talking about my writing, modeling (we also looked at some student models from prior years)and having students see me as a real writer who constantly revises and uses writing to clarify thinking is one way to work towards getting our students to value the recursive nature of writing that the text addresses (p. 10, 25). Also, in another class, I asked students for input in creating a whole class, shared writing graphic organizer for an essay question about a short story we had read together. On an overhead transparency I used student input to model to students the process of planning before writing. As my students offered suggestions about the three main supporting ideas to use for the thesis, I "thought aloud" and led them to reflect and reshape their organization after they discovered they could place their three main ideas in a more effective order. They were pleased with the graphic organizer that they created as a class, and I think that their feeling of ownership in the activity gave them confidence as they prepared to apply their learning to their own creation of a graphic organizer for their summer reading essay, some of which they worked on in class, which leads me to a second point. . .
I also agree that is it so important to give students time to write in class. Like the text says, direct instruction and a focus on product only leaves the students no opportunity to really figure out how to do the things we as teachers ask them to when we write comments such as "clarify" or "support more logically." I believe that this is where the scaffolding comes in and where we as teachers need to be comfortable with giving students time to work through their writing and draw from the feedback of the teacher and classmates to strengthen and develop their writing skills rather than immediately being asked to apply them independently outside of class only.
How have you found modeling and/or scaffolding writing instruction and practice to be effective in your own classroom or teaching experiences?
I like how the text praises the value of writing across the content area. I am glad education is moving in this direction and identifying the reading/writing connection to emphasize instruction of not only reading but also writing in all subject areas, not just language arts. I think that the CAPT at the high school level is a motivator for educators to consider and evaluate writing instruction in all subject areas. As an English teacher, I am curious as to how writing instruction is implemented in other subject areas and in other grade levels. What experiences have you had with writing instruction in areas other than language arts? Have you observed worthwhile, effective lessons or units that incorporated writing in other subject areas?
While reading the first half of Because Writing Matters, I had to agree with Nagin and the NWP that every educator at every grade level needs professional development on how to teach writing across the curriculum (pg 16). Knowing that writing needs to happen frequently and across different genres, why are schools not giving the necessary training to their staff? The research shows that many U.S. schools do not provide their students enough time to write, but if writing is left solely to the English teachers in middle and high school, how can we fit effective writing instruction into our already packed schedules? Do the schools you work in mandate that all teachers teach writing across content areas or is the task left to the English teacher? If you teach elementary school, how do you already implement writing across the curriculum? I know Chapter 5 in the book addresses professional development but I am curious if schools in CT are being proactive and are providing resources to their faculty to receive training. For years, I have heard my middle school preach writing across the curriculum, but there has never been a day of professional development offered to teachers other than language arts.
I also wonder how schools are keeping up with technological demands of our society and if they have enough resources to provide students with the tools they need to become writers in the “informational age?” What technology do you use in your classrooms that fosters student writing and offers multiple ways to enhance the writing process?
When students create a writing piece in my class, they know beforehand their task, purpose, audience, role as a writer, basic procedures for following the writing process, and assessment. Many of my writing assignments are introduced as performance based assessments that allow students to know exactly what they are writing and why they are writing it to a specific audience. At my school, every student is given a laptop so there are many opportunities to research writing topics, access tools such as Inspiration to organize their ideas, and numerous options to publish their final copy in Word, PowerPoint, or Publisher depending on the assignment.
A challenge I have when assigning a longer writing piece is allocating enough time during the school day for students to write, which the book says is vital in improving student writing. Brainstorming and organizing ideas always happens in class so I am able to confer with students about their ideas and plan for writing. From there, students typically get three or four days to begin drafting and revising their work, sometimes with partners or with myself. In some cases, students have had an entire week to write for 35-45 minutes each day, but once it is time for them to take the responsibility and finish a draft at home, the writing isn’t done. There is no transfer from writing in school to writing outside of school in the home environment. As a language arts teacher, I feel pressure to get back to other standards in my curriculum, and I sometimes feel I can’t spend much more time working on a specific writing piece in class. However, my students don’t take ownership for their writing once we stop using class to compose and I am left with unfinished writing pieces. Many final copies are really a typed version of their second or third copy, and I feel the entire writing process has not been an experience for my students. How do you balance writing assignments with the other aspects of language arts in your classes?
However, when teaching persuasive writing I work closely with the science teacher on my team to integrate both the content and writing. He provides the topic that correlates with the ecology unit and gives students the background information needed to support an argument. He also provides time for students to fully research their topic and collect data to support their stand on the issue. When students come to language arts class, I focus on the technique of persuasive writing and writing to a specific audience. Students essentially have double the class time to create a persuasive essay because they already have background knowledge of their topic, researched facts and statistics, and learned how to present their ideas in a convincing argument. This is where I feel that writing across content areas can offer more experiences for students to write, but unfortunately, it does not always happen this way because of time restraints and scheduling.
testing
Jillian,
I agree with you that educators need to continue to learn about writing instruction in order to effectively help our students improve their literacy skills in a way that acknowledges the reading/writing connection. Although our school has most recently focused a great deal on professional development directly relating to reading across the content area, this work has in effect led us to evaluate how we are teaching writing across the content area, particularly as it relates to CAPT skills. For the past few years, we have formed collaborative groups (and we are encouraged to work with teachers in other content areas) to develop professional growth goals that lead us to work together across the content areas to help our students as writers and readers. I liked how you worked with the science teacher on persuasive writing; that made a lot of sense and I think the students really benefit from experiencing the value of (reading and) writing skills that transfer across subject areas, so they don't associate writing only with English class, for example. I believe our teachers in my school have made a concerted effort to incorporate writing instruction into their daily lessons in a way that suits their content area objectives. As for my own professional development outside of my school building, I really appreciate and enjoy learning about how to implement effective writing instruction through the CCSU Reading Program.
Jillian,
You mentioned how you integrate technology into your writing program. I also like using the Inspiration program to help students organize and plan their writing. I often pull up the graphic organizers to have students participate in a whole class shared writing experience to model how to use the graphic organizers, and to show students how the information can transfer to an outline and body paragraphs of an essay, for example.
Do any of you use Smartboard technology as part of your writing program? I just had one installed in my classroom, so I plan on focusing this year on using this tool to enhance my writing instruction. So far I have used it to have students indentify parts of a five paragraph essay model, and to practice editing and revision. Do any of you use SmartBoards in your writing program?
Also, last year one of my colleagues spoke about a grant that would allow students in one class to receive laptop computers with artificial intelligence that would provide students with feedback from the computer program on their writing in terms of content, organization, grammar, and mechanics. We discussed the possible potential and concerns we had about this idea. Have any of you heard or used such technology?
Gina, I think it is great that you modeled how you revise your work through the use of computer. It allows students to see that you too have to revise your work. That is so important in gaining the trust of your students.
In response to Gina's question in the second entry, how have I found modeling and in my instruction?
Because I am a remediation class, I don't have the time pressure most teachers have as far as getting through the curriculum. I usually take out two days of my time to model and scaffold new topics. I see the benefit of modeling and scaffolding. At first students may not know exactly what to do when you model it, but through the scaffolding, the concepts become clearer.
In reading the first half of Because Writing Matters, the idea that really resonated is that writing needs to be taught in all subject areas. I especially agree with this notion with the upper grades. In middle and high schools, teachers are chosen based on their expertise of the subject they teach. Writing a Science report on the processes of the respiratory system is a different genre than a persuasive letter to the governor explaining why schools should start at a later time. Content teachers know the jargon of their subject and could help students adequately explain their thoughts.
On page 24, “teaching students how to think and solve problems through logical reasoning and reflective critique,” is a phrase that stood out particularly for me because I am a math and a special education teacher. I constantly have my students reflect things they have learned, their outcomes, etc. I do notice that in the beginning of the school year, this is difficult for students to achieve. They come from a point of learned helplessness. They are not accustomed to using their minds to think critically. Through constant modeling and think-alouds, students are able to communicate effectively in math by the end of the year. Having them write their thoughts down helps clarify their thought and improve their ability to think critically.
My class runs almost like the case study on pages 52 and 53. I have my students take notes, and enter journal entries. When I give them performance assessments, the end of their project must be accompanied with a description of what they learned from completing the assignment. I also have them assess the assignment in terms of how to improve it for next year’s students. I ask them what I could add or delete. I also have them evaluate the assignment as to whether I should give it again.
To be honest, reading these three chapters was reinforcing to the work I am doing in my classroom. When I first started teaching my course, I knew I had to teach math, however, it was when I gave the students a pre-Assessment that I realized that their difficulty in math had more to do with their inability to read and communicate mathematically. Many of the students had the basic skills, but were not able to apply it critically. It is like what NWP and Nagin were saying on page 21 when they said, “It is a mistake to suppose that instruction in grammar transfers readily to the actual uses of language.” In the same sense, it is a mistake to assume that knowledge of basic skills is going to readily transfer into actual uses in math.
Questions that developed as I read the first half of this book are: How do I go about providing students with different writing strategies they can use to communicate mathematically? What are other forms of writen expression can I involve them in? How much time should I spend in one particular subject so that all students learn how to express themselves? How do I help the less than eager students conform to what is being ask of them so that they do not sound like robotic versions of me in order to provide the minimal of what is being ask of them?
Jillian, my school does mandate that writing be taught in all classes. The literacy teachers in our school develop workshops every year on different techniques that can be used to incorporate writing. Each department was responsible for demonstrating their subject's lesson to the entire staff. Last year, our school has also had Janet Allen come it and teach us some research driven techniques all teachers can use to teach vocabulary, note writing, comparing and contrasting graphics, etc.. The only subject area that has had a difficult time incorporating these techniques is P.E.. Which is understandable because they don't have a formal classroom like the rest of the teachers in the school do.
Gina,
My school actually uses the writing program you mentioned that has the "artifical intelligence" that scores student's writing. The program is called MyAccess! and my school has used it for three years now. In sixth grade, we mostly focus on expository writing prompts because the prompts are already created in the program, although teachers can create their own topics for students to write. MyAccess scores student's writing with technology they call intellimetrics, although I am not always convinced is accurate. The writing is scored by a rubric that closely resembles the state's 1-6 point rubric for the DAW. It assesses areas such as mechanics and conventions, voice and audience, and organization and elaboration to name a few. The students seem to enjoy the program because they really like the instant feedback about their writing. MyAccess! shows students their results using graphs, a holistic score and written explanations. Sometimes the feedback can be upsetting to students when they see that their scores are low, but mostly it serves as a motivator to raise their bar graphs and ultimately improve their writing.
On the downside, to incorporate MyAccess! to it's full potential is time consuming and requires training for teachers to understand the ins and outs of the program. There are lessons that need to be taught when introducing MyAccess! as well as familiarizing students with the language the program uses. As language arts teachers, our goal is to use the program at least three times throughout the year and the other content areas try it at least once a year.
Gina and Gricel,
I think it's wonderful that your schools mandate writing across the curriculum and also provide the essential training for teachers to do so. How do the math teachers incorporate writing into their classes? I know that the math teachers in my school sometimes find it challenging and look for ways other than writing reflections or explaining the steps in solving the problem as a way to incorporate student writing.
In a previous class here at CCSU, I read the book Yellow Brick Road by Janet Allen. I found it to be an amazing resource as well as her knowledge endless. How lucky your staff was to have her for a professional development day!
Gina,
I think the strategies listed on pgs. 23-24 can really work with my integrated unit, especially because they teach critical thinking. One strategy that really stands out is #10, develop cases by writing scenarios that place students in real life situations and reach a decision to solve a conflict. The novel that I plan to use for my unit poses many historical conflicts and issues that students must research in order to understand the major themes in the story. It would be interesting to see if students would chose to solve these conflicts differently than in the past, or if they could find solutions to some issues that still exist. Another strategy, #7 that asks students to role-play unfamiliar points of view or what-if situations tie into the historical aspect of my unit as well. Students would be put in the position of the slave traders who steal young Navajo girls to sell for money, or even officials in the U.S government when they force the Navajos out of their land and onto reservations. Most of the research necessary to understand the historical context of the book will be done using technology, and students will incorporate a writing piece that supports the piece of research they conducted. They can utilize various types of technology available to them such as PowerPoint, Publisher, Movie Maker to “teach” the history to the rest of the class. The writing products will be inquiry driven although modeling and scaffolding of these strategies early in the year is important for students to complete the types of activities mentioned above. I find modeling and scaffolding writing instruction valuable especially when looking at the quality of writing and the content or information that needs to be included. I do it with each new genre that I introduce, and then pull small groups to reinforce the writing process when needed.
Research states that "the very difficulty of writing is its virtue: it requires that students move beyond rote learning and simply reproducing information, facts, dates, and formulae" (pg 22). - Isn't this contradictory to the emphasis on assessment preparation in our school districts?
Also, after reading the section on "How (and when) children learn to write" (pgs 30-31) I was reminded of the saying of how people learn to write by reading and visa versa. I am sure that this is a very simple concept, however, I cannot seem to wrap my head around how one can learn to read by writing. How is this so?
"Written language makes language available for examination in a way that oral language doesn't" (pg 34). Does P. David Pearson write this because oral language is considerably more informal than good writing?
Text: Teacher
Page 38 describes how a Native Alaskan teacher dealing with her Athabaskan students' difficulties with "book language" impacts her teaching style. She was able to show her students "the stylistic differences between their own language and standard text." It was crucial that this teacher was familiar with the culture of her students. This reminds me of when I taught fifth grade in Providence, RI. My class was predominately composed of students of Puerto Rican descent with a minority of students of Dominican Republic descent. Although I am not Hispanic, I made it a point to find read-aloud books that they could identify with. Instead of reading Shiloh or Zia, I chose to read a novel about a teenager who grew up in America but was sent to live with her Uncle in Puerto Rico each summer. The students really enjoyed being able to make solid connections with a school text.
Text : Writer
On page 35, Sherry Swain, the former director of the Mississippi Writing/ Thinking Institute writes about how she has her 1st graders read their writing aloud three times. I think that is a great idea and shows how we develop as critical writers. She found that even in the first grade there was a bit of self-revision. Growing up my mother would tell me to read something I've written out loud, because you catch things you'd miss reading silently. This is a habit I've gotten into and I find it makes a large difference in my writing. When I was little she would encourage me to read it to a stuffed animal so I wouldn't feel silly reading aloud. I think that it might also help for students to read to pets in this case too.
Supporting an Integrated L.A. Unit
On page 38 the author states that "a student's dialect or home language is respected and used as a tool for teaching" in a complex literacy lesson. I believe that this thought most certainly supports an integrated language arts unit. Cultural literacy is an important piece of an integrated language arts program. When you are familiar with your students' dialects or languages it is easier to connect them to meaningful content area lessons where their own history and prior knowledge are taken into consideration.
Gina-
I agree with you that modeling your own work for your students is very important. Students need to see that teachers have room for improvement too- whether it is in the area of reading, writing, or what have you. I think that it is a nice idea to have students revise and edit the work of a teacher too so that they can see that everyone's opinion about a piece is important.
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