Writing Conferences

Writing conferences. Well, we have done them in my 5th grade class, using the six traits, and I felt awkward and more like a poser than a teacher. I could barely remember the six traits and got so caught up in editing that it was difficult to step back. And what about the fifth grader, let's call her Matilde, who wanted to argue each point, including the fact that her rough draft was in bullet points rather than any form of sentence? That was a whole different conference.

Routman discusses reading conferences, and relaxed ones at that. Now this sounds more like fun! A relaxed atmosphere, interest and goal setting, along with one on one time with a student. I love the idea, now where to find the time?

In my classroom we have half an hour for morning work/AR tests/Advanced Math quizes/catch-up and homework. This is because 7 kids come in half an hour late becuase of band. This would be a great time for reading conferences, and I hope that my MT will approve using my time for this.

The questions that I am most interested in are "What made you choose this particular book, and Tell me what you remember about what you just read." I would love to have 5-7 minutes with each child to understand more about them, check that they are reading at an appropriate and meaningful level, and check their reading for understanding. This would also help with the bonding she spoke of earlier in the book.

Literacy Week Two

In Reading Essentials, by Regie Routman, she discusses the choice to encourage shared decision making in order to have a positive effect upon your classroom. This is found in chapter 2, entitled Bond With Your Students. The quote I chose to explore is the following:

When we make all decisions and choices for students, we disenfranchise them. Wehn we seek input from students and value what they say, we demonstrate respect for their thinking. Even more, we are telling them 'We are a partnership. Our collaboration will result in the best product or decision or format.' As teachers, we must involve students in establishing classroom rules and procedures, determining room and library organization, developiong formats for projects and reading records, creating rubrics, and much more."

Ms. Routman discusses how this model of classroom management would reach from how (and how much) you have decorated your classroom (this is my space and these things are important to me) to the organization of the class library and giving up preconcieved notions that as the only adult you know best how to organize something as important as a library.

We have all been in stunning classrooms; I have been in two that I remember well;one that was colorful, vibrant, and perfect. Another that had a few things slapped up on the wall, a giant poster of how you were supposed to behave and quite a few plants. New plants every year, this teacher told me, as they were all dead by May or June anyway. Telling, no?

There has to be a middle ground; an opportunity for the teacher to feel that he/she has invited the students into a safe, exciting space and for the kids to feel that they have an opportunity to contribute and create within the shared classroom space. Teacher "gets to" do two walls, kids "get to" do two? It will be a challenge as a new teacher to allow for unfinished, imperfect classroom walls, it being our FIRST classroom and all, but section of the bonding chapter made me question the value of being ready versus getting ready together. Everyone goes on this trip, shouldn't everyone have a say in how the trip will look?

Organizing the writing process

In chapter seven of Regie Routman's Writing Essentials she states "Our students will learn to "do" all the necessary skills and a whole lot more if we shift our focus to meaningful teaching of writing and then teach the necessary skills to support that writing." One particulary clear example is that of the jigsaw; sans picture on the box. Routman states that teaching children the pieces of writing, without the whole becoming clear, that is what we are doing.

In giving them the whole, then teaching the parts and coming back to the whole, Routman believes that writing will become easier and more meaningful.

I watched this work in fifth grade this quarter, in the poetry unit. The kids were given eight examples of poetry, walked through one each day and practiced. Every other day they spent on a piece of poetry; learning more about the skill. The kids did great and came up with a number of creative and inventive poems running the gamut from penguins to cheesecake.

The majority of the students worked hard and thought creatively. One or two were frozen with the enormity of writing a poem; and they needed more time to dive into the project. This is their usual mode; they are slower to embrace new things and do not want to appear foolish. One kept his paper covered while typing, covered it while it came out of the printer and turned it in folded in half and stapled.

Focusing on the parts, as opposed to the whole, may not carry over to writing successfully, according to Routman. Comparing the original essential writing goals to the new writing goals on page 144 I could see the difference. It seemed that the new writing goals were thoughtful and interesting; focusing on the whole of being a writer as well as sharing that work, as opposed to skills that were a mystery to the students. Well done.

A filler perhaps?

According to multiple syllabi there are ten posts required; eight of them to be for our literacy course and two for tech. So it is incumbant upon me to provide the filler post in order to reach the tenth post at the apex of stress; our last week of Fall quarter.

What have I seen, what has happened this quarter? I fell in love with middle school and realized that the "cool" teacher is not always the best teacher. Kids need time to work; and real time evaluation of their required work. Reflection, though brutally difficult, makes for a better product; that product being the person who had taken the time and energy to reflect thoughtfully on their experience.

I have learned much about literacy, and know that more will be required. I have written lesson plans but don't feel that I know HOW to write a lesson plan; and I have been evaluated but don't feel that I know HOW to prepare for evaluation. Go figure.

Despite all of this, the quarter will end, and with it will come grades, and the pulling together of forces in order to face next quarter. Viva la loco mutti.

The Best Test Preparation is Excellent Teaching... So what if you are a new teacher??

In Writing Essentials, Routman states that "The Best Test Preparation is Excellent Teaching" but that many education folks do not believe that. In the article Ranking, Evaluating and Liking: Sorting Out Three Forms of Judgment, Peter Elbow states that as little ranking and grading as possible should be done; and that assessent should be replaced with a more careful process; evaluation. He also states that there should be projects and places where no evaluation or grading is done at all.

In my main placement the students; fifth graders, do extensive and wide-ranging writing throughout their school day. We do aim for fluency; whether that be in the science lab that they are writing or the creative assignment "just for their journals" which would never be scrutinized for a grade. Routman would agree, in my opinion, that this will build muscle and fluency without taxing their ability to like writing. It changes, and with it so does the audience. In poetry they were given and SHOWN models of 8 different types; then asked to choose their favorite four and write them; each for a different person or audience.

Just as in Hooray for Diffendoofer Day (please please please tell me that you know this Dr. Seuss/Jack Prelutsky & Lane Smith book) The teachers taught writing, and critical thinking, and not how to take a test per se. They taught audience,and gave feedback (thoughtful feedback given in a timely manner)and the kids did fantastic on the test becuase... well, they were taught to think.

In my middle school placement I see projects and papers and quizes languish for weeks; and I cringe, quietly. Social Studies is information intensive; and my MT cares about their reading skills, and geography and thinking through WHY some states had slaves and others did not. Were some states just evil? Did it perchance have something to do with the land? It takes time and thought and she gives out a TON of homework but has no time to grade and pass back. Routman reminded me of that with the discussion of the standardized tests: without being able to examine their strengths and weaknesses on papers passed back they can't really improve their writing. At this stage of my learning I think there is too much homework, and it is too distanced from the student to do what it is designed to do. We'll see how that changes!

Conjunction Junction, What's your function?

We had our second week with our second graders; and I don't feel that I know much more about him that in the first week. He is eager to please, has a great vocabulary and a slight stutter; and he REALLY likes the book Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Bogan Logan is her name.

"My" student only wanted to read one book; the same book two weeks in a row. He knows it, he loves it, he knows he is GOOD at it. So I told him that it would really help me with my schoolwork for him to read me something else and he chose a book about Fire and Tornados; non-fiction. I was nervous, but he did great. He read particular instead of peculiar and did not know the word furnace; when we talked about what that was he said his family called it a heater. So does mine.

He had no problems with anything that I could hook with a phonics lesson and my erstwhile instructor suggested that we work on his oral reading, and his comprehension through that.

Hey, lighten up Francis

Anne Lamott, on page 18 of Bird by Bird, says "So after I've completely exhausted myself thinking about the people I most resent in the world, and my more arresting financial problems,and, of course, the orthodontia, I remember to pick up the one-inch picture frame and to figure out a one-inch piece of my story to tell, one small scene, one memory, one exchange."

Ms. Lamott, of course, is speaking of me. Homework, writing, reports for work, honestly even Christmas thank-you's; they all paralyze me to differing extents. For example I have been worrying this ELP assignment for two weeks now; tried to start it early and spend three hours on a shallow description of the little girl. At this moment the only thing moving my blog forward is the painful knowledge that when it is done I must turn back to the giant assignment from hell.

Thinking of all the people I most resent; well there's an hour. Considering tracking down flu shots (both swine and regular, thank-you) worrying about those orthodontic bills and the noise in the 17 year old Jeep... These are all the things that keep me from spreading out my papers and getting to work.

So bird by bird. Bite by bite, one-inch picture frame at a time. The thing is that I have tried that before and it has had mild success. But it's not the last minute up all night freaking out me that I have come to know and trust. She makes me crazy, but inevitably she gets it done in the nick of time.