This post begins Unit 2 in narrative writing. Here are some questions to think about and guide your responses:
How do you motivate your students to reread their writing and make it better?
Lucy talks about helping students write more readable writing during conferencing. How do you manage your writing workshop time? Do you conference with students one on one or in small groups?
What strategies or resources do you use to help students who are struggling to come up with true stories to write about?
Lucy mentions to students that they can sketch their picture quickly to hold their idea, write their words and then come back to their picture to add details. Do you teach your students to write or draw first?
Lucy teaches students in this session to write sentences to tell their story using what they learned about capital letters. Do you find it difficult to expect students to use lowercase letters in their writing if they have not finished learning the proper formation during handwriting? At what point during the year do you expect them to only use lowercase letters? Do you find it difficult to transition them once they have started only using capitals?
I think sometimes it’s really hard to motivate students to make something they have already written better. So many want to move on to another piece. What has worked for many of my students is having a real reason to make the work better. Knowing they will be showing it to others...either classmates, other classes, other adults, etc….gives an actual reason for them to show off their writing skills. Last year when we finished our research projects, we had a “science fair” just in our class where each student made a book about their animals and a poster to go with it. They just walked around and looked at each other’s work, but it became a big deal! And knowing it was going to happen really seemed to make most of the students really put effort into making each page of their books their “fanciest” possible!
My conferences have been more 1:1, just because it was easier to check in with each student and give him/her individual support, but I’m hoping to try to do 1:1 and group conferences this year in order to reach more students that have the same needs. I also really like Lucy’s idea of fish bowling her conferences so others can watch and take the teacher support to their work too! I want to try this out! Has anyone done this? Eons ago I had students cut pictures out of magazines and glue in them in a folder as an inspiration board for them to go back and look at if they needed ideas to write about. This worked for fiction stories, but I’m not sure if it would work for helping students think of true stories. Maybe have them bring in pictures from home or take pictures of different times/places throughout the school day.
I usually let students choose if they want to write or draw first, and each year it’s usually pretty mixed. I worry that asking students to only do it the one way will make it harder for students who would prefer to write first. But having an explicit system might be better. I plan on really trying to follow Lucy’s strategies this year and see what happens so I’m going to try out having students sketch then write (and of course modify it if there is a student who really needs to go a different route to their best writing).
I like the science fair idea. It sounds fun and different and kids love science. We don't always have a lot of time to fit in as much of that as we'd like.
I have never tried the fish bowl technique to conference but it sounds efficient. I wonder if all would pay attention to it though?
I agree the fishbowl idea sounded like a great way for the students to model your teaching point. I'm definitely going to try this! And I think you are right that giving students a real reason and purpose for their writing might help to motivate them to make it better and revise it.
By this point in the school year, it was easier to manage small group conferences. I would tell the students that I would be conferencing with a certain table group for that day. I would like this model to run as smooth as possible, but it is not easy with only one adult in the room.
Like Lisa said, it is hard to motivate kindergarteners to make their writing better without a real reason to made it better. I think this is completely fine and a valuable lesson to teach them. I would like my students to be able to write for a reason, especially to give it to someone. They see flex grouping during ELA and it would be great for them to see flex grouping during writing time too. Another way to show the connection between reading and writing!
It was hard for me to tell students to write before drawing. Honestly, I don't agree with it. I think it is much easier for students to write about their drawing than draw about their writing. They learned to draw, then label their writing, then write on the lines, so why does Lucy want to switch the order once they have learned these steps? Looking at the picture is one of the first reading strategies that we teach them too. It seems very confusing to me that we would suddenly remove the visual that it helping them write.
I also find it a challenge to motivate students to reread their writing to help make it better. At the beginning, students often need extra support by having an adult (alongside the student) prompt the child to reread their writing. As the year progresses, they gradually become more independent with rereading and making appropriate changes. I also have students use a laminated checklist to help guide them with this task.
Once the mini-lesson is finished and the students return to their seats to work on their writing, I go around the room and help get the students settled. It is certainly much easier to manage this portion of writing workshop when there is an extra adult in the room. Once the students are settled, I usually sit at one table and conference individually with students. At times, when I noticed that a group of students shared common areas in need of improvement, I led small group lesson that addressed the shared area of need.
In the past, I have used a “visual menu” for students that have experienced difficulty generating ideas to write about. For instance, the writing workshop visual menu had a variety of pictures (e.g. home, toys, friends, school, family, etc.). Students would look at the menu to help think of a topic/idea that they could write about. Certainly, there are still often instances when students struggle to think of what to write about. During those instances, I conference individually with the students to help them generate a writing topic.
I did not stress that drawing or writing should come first during the writing process. I modeled drawing/sketching first to get ideas visually on paper (I focused on this earlier in the school year). I also demonstrated that, sometimes, as a writer, I may already have an idea of some things I want to write and I start that first. Later in the school year, I emphasized that sometimes it may be easier for you to draw first and sometimes you might want to write down your words first. I let students decide what would be best for them.
I do find it difficult to have students to transition to lowercase letters, after they have been accustomed and instructed on capital letter formation. One of the previous schools I taught in provided lowercase letter formation first and then capital letters. That way when students when students wrote, most of the letters were already lowercase, and then teachers would teach students when to use capital letters in writing.
I like the way you keep drawing and writing flexible during the writing process! That's a good idea to return to how we use drawing and writing in different ways as writers during your mini-lessons.
Kids do like to be "done" with their writing. I think it is ok to take a break from a writing piece if they are being unproductive and are stuck on what to do to make it better. Sometimes as you introduce new skills in minilessons, going back to an old piece to make it better may be easier because the student can look at it with fresh eyes and new skills to try to incorporate. At summer school, partnering and asking each other questions about their writing was helpful to add to each other's writing.
I have tried a few things for conferences. I used to try a schedule where I would meet 1:1 with the same kids every Monday, etc. throughout the week to make sure I met with everyone at least once. More struggling writers were on the schedule more frequently. I have also tried at the beginning of the week to take a quick "survey" of everyone in the class and then plan 1:1 or small group conferences for the remainder of the week. This way was much more flexible and I think I met more student needs even though I didn't formally conference with anyone on the first day.
I still prefer that kids draw first, unless that is all they want to do! I have never tried Lucy's strategy of draw a little, then write about it, then draw some more. I wonder if that would help those kids who really just like to draw. Then they would only have to do a little writing at a time.
An idea that came up this summer, to help kids have a topic to write about was the Wonder Box. I guess when kids talk about things they are interested in, or someplace they went, or a sport they are doing, (even if it is not during writing time) they each have something like an index card box that you can tell them to write/draw quickly on a card and then put it in the box for a time when they need something to write about. I thought something like this might work for our age too when they can't think of something to write about.
I have a powerpoint from our Literacy Summer School PD about Writer's Workshop and some photos of some anchor charts that give ideas to use. I will share those with you through email since I don't see how to attach things to the blog. Others were just handouts that I'll have to share with you when we come back to school, if you are interested.
I agree; some kids are more motivated to write a large quantity instead of working on improving writing they have already done. I think that's why sharing writing is such an important part of writer's workshop, as it really motivates students to do their best and edit their work. On occasion, I'll tell the kids that everyone will be sharing with their table, so they know they are being held accountable and want to be able to show off their work.
I have done conferences one-on-one and in small groups, and I honestly usually do a combination. Conferencing in small groups gives me the opportunity to focus on something specific that group needs, but I also like to give more personalized feedback one-on-one.
Sue, Jess, and I do a "Me Box" project in the fall, similar to an All About Me project. The kids bring items in a box to tell about themselves and their interests. They share them with the class, and we take a picture of the items to tape on the inside of their writing folder as a reminder of writing ideas. I also find that giving students time to talk with one another, as Lucy suggests, can be very helpful for kids who are having trouble thinking of a writing topic. I have kids give a thumbs up if they know what they are going to write about before heading to their seats after the mini lesson. Any students who are stuck stay on the rug for a minute, initially to talk with me to brainstorm ideas. This then moves to the students helping each other out through conversation, and soon I'm often not needed at all. I often have kids who arrive at school in the morning excited to tell me about something they did. When they tell me their story, I remind them, "This would be great to write about during writer's workshop! I can't wait to read your story!"
I always start the year modeling drawing before writing. I think this is more developmentally appropriate, as the kids are more comfortable drawing their ideas and then it helps them formulate what to write. Later in the year, I start modeling writing before drawing. I find that students often take my lead, but I don't make a rule that they have to do it in a certain order. (I have, on occasion, suggested to specific students that they do a particular order, as it helps them be more successful.)
I always model proper capitalization, and I help students with letter formation for specific lowercase letters when needed (during a conference, guided reading, etc.) Letters "e" and "a" tend to be particularly challenging, for example. Although I haven't taught lowercase formation at this point in the year through HWT, I still encourage kids to write in lowercase, when appropriate. I focus less on capitalization at this point in the year than spacing and punctuation. And I always have the kids write their names with proper capitalization, which I know does not follow HWT. I just don't like to have a child learn something one way to have to relearn it another way.
Motivating students to reread goes right back to Kelly C.’s idea to post the question “How can I make it even better?” It seems like this is culture you must build and reinforce in your room across all subjects. Something that worked for me last year to motivate students to reread and fix things up was a Personal Goals Anchor chart. Each child wrote their name on a sticky note and stuck it by the goal of their choice for their writing (I can use word wall words, I can stretch out sounds in words, etc.) They really took their goal seriously and were pretty honest about needing to go back and fix something up when I asked how they were doing on meeting their goal.
At this point in the year, I feel like I am putting out fewer fires and able to station myself with a single group, or table of students, for conferencing. I generally focus on one student at a time, but the other students at the table are SUPER nosy and will listen in. If they hear me tell someone to work on adding labels, they will point out every label they have already done! It’s an unintentional fishbowl effect.
In other units of study, I have an ideas chart that we’ve brainstormed together for students who are having trouble coming up with an idea. This is a little trickier for true stories because it should be based on their actual experiences, but I think a chart with general ideas (playground, store, McDonald’s) could get the ball rolling.
I definitely model by drawing first and labeling/writing second in the beginning of the year, but in time, it become clear the preferred writing process of each student. There are some students who make beautiful, detailed pictures and need encouragement to add words while other students prefer to do a quick pencil sketch and delve right into the writing.
I try not to nitpick on handwriting during writing until we are making it better or easier to read. When kids are scribbling down letters as they try to keep up with their ideas, I don’t want to stifle their thinking!
I tend to have a group to focus on every day, and then based on their needs, decide to meet with them individually or all together. I LOVE how Emily mentioned a few people taking the picture of the me box from the beginning of the year. Carter was happy to check back to that photo many times to remind him of thing to write about. That's such a great way to use kids interests for something else behind the actual "me box." I love how Lucy mentions the importance of immersing kids in a culture of story telling. Again, back to having better conversations, leads to better writing. When kids write good simple sentences, at this point in the year, I often take what they wrote, however they wrote it, and then write it correctly myself on a sentence strip to cut apart in a reading group or as morning work. This makes those students feel super cool, and it's a way to show them that their writing is for readers. I like how Lucy connects that their writing should be like a book in their book baggie.
I agree that it is challenging to motivate students to make their writing better when they feel they are done. Kim, I like your idea about having students revisit old pieces after a new skill is taught so they can look at their writing through a new lens. I model drawing before writing because I too feel that it is easier and more developmentally appropriate. I have had some students who prefer to write before draw and I am fine with that. I think they want to get their idea on paper first before they forget. Since Lucy discusses the importance of story telling and having conversations to produce better writing, I am glad that we have the listening and speaking protocols in place to help with this.
Something that was very motivating for my students to reread their writing to make it better was when they were able to use red crayon/pen to go back and edit their work. It would make them take a closer look at their writing and really see what they needed to change and they loved it since they could use the red pen to cross it out/make changes. They became more honest about what they needed to fix and it almost acted as a challenge for them.
This past year I typically held my conferences one on one. Next year I’d like to do more of a mix and have small group conferences as well. By identifying students whose needs are similar and grouping them together, I feel as though I would be able to reach more students each day.
To help students who are struggling come up with true stories to write about, I typically have them work in partners to brainstorm ideas together about what they can write about. Many times something one student said would make the other student think of something like that that had happened to them. If students still could not come up with ideas, I would talk with them one on one and bring up what I know about what they do outside of school that they could write about. I do like the idea some have mentioned about having a bank of picture ideas to choose from.
In the beginning of the year I had students draw first since that is what they know how to do best. As the year went on I would have them write first then draw their pictures. This was mainly because some of my students would want to spend our entire writing session drawing when I knew they were capable of writing. I do like the idea Lucy has when she talks about sketching the picture, writing the words, and then going back to add more details and color to the picture. I plan to try this next year. I like that students have their sketch to go back to to help them remember what they were writing about.
I do a lot of modeling rereading my writing to show my students the importance of this skill. It is very hard for them to do independently and I feel like that is one of the most challenging things about teaching writing at this age. My students (for the most part 😉) know exactly what they are writing about at the time they are writing it. I find that a lot of kids struggle to reread their writing, which can greatly impact their ability to make it better without teacher support. It does happen overtime but it is very difficult to do. I try to stop over and see what my students are doing, guide them more in the right direction, and then move on to helping the next friend.
As many of you have said, I do a very similar thing to conference with my students. I do a combination of both 1:1 and small groups based on student need and skill based groups. I find that the writing partners help out a lot because I can conference with two students and they can help continue the conference with their peer when I move on.
As Emily mentioned, we do "Me Boxes" and that does help the kids to remember small moments in their lives! We tape a picture of the contents of their "Me Box" on their folder and they refer to it all year. I also try to bank stories that the students tell me about. During writing, I can give them as suggestions when the students are stuck and can't come up with a story.
I have enforced drawing a "quick sketch" in past and it has worked pretty well. I feel like what happens though is students tend to draw the "quick sketch" and they don't want to go back and finish their picture. I found myself having to remind them frequently to add more details to complete their picture before going on to write another story. Haha! I have also done it where I ask the students to write first. This can be extremely difficult because if they have to stop a writing session, and all they did was write the first page without a picture, they will have trouble figuring out their sentence when they go to continue working on it the next day. I prefer having the students draw a quick sketch. I find that whatever way you choose, being consistent with enforcing it is key.
I agree with what Kylie and Emily said about HWT. I ask the students to write their names in proper capitalization all year because I don't want to have to reteach them to write their name a different way midway through the year. I focus on spacing at this time in the year but if students are ready to use lowercase letters, than I reinforce it during writers workshop. Otherwise, I just encourage lots of writing rather than the type of letters they use until the revision stage. 😃
This post begins Unit 2 in narrative writing. Here are some questions to think about and guide your responses:
ReplyDeleteHow do you motivate your students to reread their writing and make it better?
Lucy talks about helping students write more readable writing during conferencing. How do you manage your writing workshop time? Do you conference with students one on one or in small groups?
What strategies or resources do you use to help students who are struggling to come up with true stories to write about?
Lucy mentions to students that they can sketch their picture quickly to hold their idea, write their words and then come back to their picture to add details. Do you teach your students to write or draw first?
Lucy teaches students in this session to write sentences to tell their story using what they learned about capital letters. Do you find it difficult to expect students to use lowercase letters in their writing if they have not finished learning the proper formation during handwriting? At what point during the year do you expect them to only use lowercase letters? Do you find it difficult to transition them once they have started only using capitals?
I think sometimes it’s really hard to motivate students to make something they have already written better. So many want to move on to another piece. What has worked for many of my students is having a real reason to make the work better. Knowing they will be showing it to others...either classmates, other classes, other adults, etc….gives an actual reason for them to show off their writing skills. Last year when we finished our research projects, we had a “science fair” just in our class where each student made a book about their animals and a poster to go with it. They just walked around and looked at each other’s work, but it became a big deal! And knowing it was going to happen really seemed to make most of the students really put effort into making each page of their books their “fanciest” possible!
ReplyDeleteMy conferences have been more 1:1, just because it was easier to check in with each student and give him/her individual support, but I’m hoping to try to do 1:1 and group conferences this year in order to reach more students that have the same needs. I also really like Lucy’s idea of fish bowling her conferences so others can watch and take the teacher support to their work too! I want to try this out! Has anyone done this?
Eons ago I had students cut pictures out of magazines and glue in them in a folder as an inspiration board for them to go back and look at if they needed ideas to write about. This worked for fiction stories, but I’m not sure if it would work for helping students think of true stories. Maybe have them bring in pictures from home or take pictures of different times/places throughout the school day.
I usually let students choose if they want to write or draw first, and each year it’s usually pretty mixed. I worry that asking students to only do it the one way will make it harder for students who would prefer to write first. But having an explicit system might be better. I plan on really trying to follow Lucy’s strategies this year and see what happens so I’m going to try out having students sketch then write (and of course modify it if there is a student who really needs to go a different route to their best writing).
I like the science fair idea. It sounds fun and different and kids love science. We don't always have a lot of time to fit in as much of that as we'd like.
DeleteI have never tried the fish bowl technique to conference but it sounds efficient. I wonder if all would pay attention to it though?
I agree the fishbowl idea sounded like a great way for the students to model your teaching point. I'm definitely going to try this! And I think you are right that giving students a real reason and purpose for their writing might help to motivate them to make it better and revise it.
ReplyDeleteBy this point in the school year, it was easier to manage small group conferences. I would tell the students that I would be conferencing with a certain table group for that day. I would like this model to run as smooth as possible, but it is not easy with only one adult in the room.
ReplyDeleteLike Lisa said, it is hard to motivate kindergarteners to make their writing better without a real reason to made it better. I think this is completely fine and a valuable lesson to teach them. I would like my students to be able to write for a reason, especially to give it to someone. They see flex grouping during ELA and it would be great for them to see flex grouping during writing time too. Another way to show the connection between reading and writing!
It was hard for me to tell students to write before drawing. Honestly, I don't agree with it. I think it is much easier for students to write about their drawing than draw about their writing. They learned to draw, then label their writing, then write on the lines, so why does Lucy want to switch the order once they have learned these steps? Looking at the picture is one of the first reading strategies that we teach them too. It seems very confusing to me that we would suddenly remove the visual that it helping them write.
I also find it a challenge to motivate students to reread their writing to help make it better. At the beginning, students often need extra support by having an adult (alongside the student) prompt the child to reread their writing. As the year progresses, they gradually become more independent with rereading and making appropriate changes. I also have students use a laminated checklist to help guide them with this task.
ReplyDeleteOnce the mini-lesson is finished and the students return to their seats to work on their writing, I go around the room and help get the students settled. It is certainly much easier to manage this portion of writing workshop when there is an extra adult in the room. Once the students are settled, I usually sit at one table and conference individually with students. At times, when I noticed that a group of students shared common areas in need of improvement, I led small group lesson that addressed the shared area of need.
In the past, I have used a “visual menu” for students that have experienced difficulty generating ideas to write about. For instance, the writing workshop visual menu had a variety of pictures (e.g. home, toys, friends, school, family, etc.). Students would look at the menu to help think of a topic/idea that they could write about. Certainly, there are still often instances when students struggle to think of what to write about. During those instances, I conference individually with the students to help them generate a writing topic.
I did not stress that drawing or writing should come first during the writing process. I modeled drawing/sketching first to get ideas visually on paper (I focused on this earlier in the school year). I also demonstrated that, sometimes, as a writer, I may already have an idea of some things I want to write and I start that first. Later in the school year, I emphasized that sometimes it may be easier for you to draw first and sometimes you might want to write down your words first. I let students decide what would be best for them.
I do find it difficult to have students to transition to lowercase letters, after they have been accustomed and instructed on capital letter formation. One of the previous schools I taught in provided lowercase letter formation first and then capital letters. That way when students when students wrote, most of the letters were already lowercase, and then teachers would teach students when to use capital letters in writing.
I like the way you keep drawing and writing flexible during the writing process! That's a good idea to return to how we use drawing and writing in different ways as writers during your mini-lessons.
DeleteKids do like to be "done" with their writing. I think it is ok to take a break from a writing piece if they are being unproductive and are stuck on what to do to make it better. Sometimes as you introduce new skills in minilessons, going back to an old piece to make it better may be easier because the student can look at it with fresh eyes and new skills to try to incorporate. At summer school, partnering and asking each other questions about their writing was helpful to add to each other's writing.
ReplyDeleteI have tried a few things for conferences. I used to try a schedule where I would meet 1:1 with the same kids every Monday, etc. throughout the week to make sure I met with everyone at least once. More struggling writers were on the schedule more frequently. I have also tried at the beginning of the week to take a quick "survey" of everyone in the class and then plan 1:1 or small group conferences for the remainder of the week. This way was much more flexible and I think I met more student needs even though I didn't formally conference with anyone on the first day.
I still prefer that kids draw first, unless that is all they want to do! I have never tried Lucy's strategy of draw a little, then write about it, then draw some more. I wonder if that would help those kids who really just like to draw. Then they would only have to do a little writing at a time.
An idea that came up this summer, to help kids have a topic to write about was the Wonder Box. I guess when kids talk about things they are interested in, or someplace they went, or a sport they are doing, (even if it is not during writing time) they each have something like an index card box that you can tell them to write/draw quickly on a card and then put it in the box for a time when they need something to write about. I thought something like this might work for our age too when they can't think of something to write about.
I have a powerpoint from our Literacy Summer School PD about Writer's Workshop and some photos of some anchor charts that give ideas to use. I will share those with you through email since I don't see how to attach things to the blog. Others were just handouts that I'll have to share with you when we come back to school, if you are interested.
I agree; some kids are more motivated to write a large quantity instead of working on improving writing they have already done. I think that's why sharing writing is such an important part of writer's workshop, as it really motivates students to do their best and edit their work. On occasion, I'll tell the kids that everyone will be sharing with their table, so they know they are being held accountable and want to be able to show off their work.
ReplyDeleteI have done conferences one-on-one and in small groups, and I honestly usually do a combination. Conferencing in small groups gives me the opportunity to focus on something specific that group needs, but I also like to give more personalized feedback one-on-one.
Sue, Jess, and I do a "Me Box" project in the fall, similar to an All About Me project. The kids bring items in a box to tell about themselves and their interests. They share them with the class, and we take a picture of the items to tape on the inside of their writing folder as a reminder of writing ideas. I also find that giving students time to talk with one another, as Lucy suggests, can be very helpful for kids who are having trouble thinking of a writing topic. I have kids give a thumbs up if they know what they are going to write about before heading to their seats after the mini lesson. Any students who are stuck stay on the rug for a minute, initially to talk with me to brainstorm ideas. This then moves to the students helping each other out through conversation, and soon I'm often not needed at all. I often have kids who arrive at school in the morning excited to tell me about something they did. When they tell me their story, I remind them, "This would be great to write about during writer's workshop! I can't wait to read your story!"
I always start the year modeling drawing before writing. I think this is more developmentally appropriate, as the kids are more comfortable drawing their ideas and then it helps them formulate what to write. Later in the year, I start modeling writing before drawing. I find that students often take my lead, but I don't make a rule that they have to do it in a certain order. (I have, on occasion, suggested to specific students that they do a particular order, as it helps them be more successful.)
I always model proper capitalization, and I help students with letter formation for specific lowercase letters when needed (during a conference, guided reading, etc.) Letters "e" and "a" tend to be particularly challenging, for example. Although I haven't taught lowercase formation at this point in the year through HWT, I still encourage kids to write in lowercase, when appropriate. I focus less on capitalization at this point in the year than spacing and punctuation. And I always have the kids write their names with proper capitalization, which I know does not follow HWT. I just don't like to have a child learn something one way to have to relearn it another way.
I love your idea about taking a picture of the items in their Me Boxes!
DeleteMotivating students to reread goes right back to Kelly C.’s idea to post the question “How can I make it even better?” It seems like this is culture you must build and reinforce in your room across all subjects. Something that worked for me last year to motivate students to reread and fix things up was a Personal Goals Anchor chart. Each child wrote their name on a sticky note and stuck it by the goal of their choice for their writing (I can use word wall words, I can stretch out sounds in words, etc.) They really took their goal seriously and were pretty honest about needing to go back and fix something up when I asked how they were doing on meeting their goal.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in the year, I feel like I am putting out fewer fires and able to station myself with a single group, or table of students, for conferencing. I generally focus on one student at a time, but the other students at the table are SUPER nosy and will listen in. If they hear me tell someone to work on adding labels, they will point out every label they have already done! It’s an unintentional fishbowl effect.
In other units of study, I have an ideas chart that we’ve brainstormed together for students who are having trouble coming up with an idea. This is a little trickier for true stories because it should be based on their actual experiences, but I think a chart with general ideas (playground, store, McDonald’s) could get the ball rolling.
I definitely model by drawing first and labeling/writing second in the beginning of the year, but in time, it become clear the preferred writing process of each student. There are some students who make beautiful, detailed pictures and need encouragement to add words while other students prefer to do a quick pencil sketch and delve right into the writing.
I try not to nitpick on handwriting during writing until we are making it better or easier to read. When kids are scribbling down letters as they try to keep up with their ideas, I don’t want to stifle their thinking!
I tend to have a group to focus on every day, and then based on their needs, decide to meet with them individually or all together.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE how Emily mentioned a few people taking the picture of the me box from the beginning of the year. Carter was happy to check back to that photo many times to remind him of thing to write about. That's such a great way to use kids interests for something else behind the actual "me box."
I love how Lucy mentions the importance of immersing kids in a culture of story telling. Again, back to having better conversations, leads to better writing. When kids write good simple sentences, at this point in the year, I often take what they wrote, however they wrote it, and then write it correctly myself on a sentence strip to cut apart in a reading group or as morning work. This makes those students feel super cool, and it's a way to show them that their writing is for readers.
I like how Lucy connects that their writing should be like a book in their book baggie.
I agree that it is challenging to motivate students to make their writing better when they feel they are done. Kim, I like your idea about having students revisit old pieces after a new skill is taught so they can look at their writing through a new lens. I model drawing before writing because I too feel that it is easier and more developmentally appropriate. I have had some students who prefer to write before draw and I am fine with that. I think they want to get their idea on paper first before they forget.
ReplyDeleteSince Lucy discusses the importance of story telling and having conversations to produce better writing, I am glad that we have the listening and speaking protocols in place to help with this.
Something that was very motivating for my students to reread their writing to make it better was when they were able to use red crayon/pen to go back and edit their work. It would make them take a closer look at their writing and really see what they needed to change and they loved it since they could use the red pen to cross it out/make changes. They became more honest about what they needed to fix and it almost acted as a challenge for them.
ReplyDeleteThis past year I typically held my conferences one on one. Next year I’d like to do more of a mix and have small group conferences as well. By identifying students whose needs are similar and grouping them together, I feel as though I would be able to reach more students each day.
To help students who are struggling come up with true stories to write about, I typically have them work in partners to brainstorm ideas together about what they can write about. Many times something one student said would make the other student think of something like that that had happened to them. If students still could not come up with ideas, I would talk with them one on one and bring up what I know about what they do outside of school that they could write about. I do like the idea some have mentioned about having a bank of picture ideas to choose from.
In the beginning of the year I had students draw first since that is what they know how to do best. As the year went on I would have them write first then draw their pictures. This was mainly because some of my students would want to spend our entire writing session drawing when I knew they were capable of writing. I do like the idea Lucy has when she talks about sketching the picture, writing the words, and then going back to add more details and color to the picture. I plan to try this next year. I like that students have their sketch to go back to to help them remember what they were writing about.
I do a lot of modeling rereading my writing to show my students the importance of this skill. It is very hard for them to do independently and I feel like that is one of the most challenging things about teaching writing at this age. My students (for the most part 😉) know exactly what they are writing about at the time they are writing it. I find that a lot of kids struggle to reread their writing, which can greatly impact their ability to make it better without teacher support. It does happen overtime but it is very difficult to do. I try to stop over and see what my students are doing, guide them more in the right direction, and then move on to helping the next friend.
ReplyDeleteAs many of you have said, I do a very similar thing to conference with my students. I do a combination of both 1:1 and small groups based on student need and skill based groups. I find that the writing partners help out a lot because I can conference with two students and they can help continue the conference with their peer when I move on.
As Emily mentioned, we do "Me Boxes" and that does help the kids to remember small moments in their lives! We tape a picture of the contents of their "Me Box" on their folder and they refer to it all year. I also try to bank stories that the students tell me about. During writing, I can give them as suggestions when the students are stuck and can't come up with a story.
I have enforced drawing a "quick sketch" in past and it has worked pretty well. I feel like what happens though is students tend to draw the "quick sketch" and they don't want to go back and finish their picture. I found myself having to remind them frequently to add more details to complete their picture before going on to write another story. Haha! I have also done it where I ask the students to write first. This can be extremely difficult because if they have to stop a writing session, and all they did was write the first page without a picture, they will have trouble figuring out their sentence when they go to continue working on it the next day. I prefer having the students draw a quick sketch. I find that whatever way you choose, being consistent with enforcing it is key.
I agree with what Kylie and Emily said about HWT. I ask the students to write their names in proper capitalization all year because I don't want to have to reteach them to write their name a different way midway through the year. I focus on spacing at this time in the year but if students are ready to use lowercase letters, than I reinforce it during writers workshop. Otherwise, I just encourage lots of writing rather than the type of letters they use until the revision stage. 😃