# data[].attributes.body
From my  general knowledge and from what I have noticed from my field experiences, most middle schoolers are struggling to find out "who they are." A middle schoolers search for their identity can be difficult and confusing, therefore, as I develop my final project I have decided to base my theme around identity and self. It is stated here that, "the development of a confident and stable sense of self is one of the key tasks of being a teenager" (Watson, 2019). Middle schools are unfortunately filled with bullying and judgement, helping middle schoolers to find their identity and self will not only help them with combating this issue, but it will build up their confidence and self-esteem.

Implementing your students' interests and identity has been long integrated into teaching pedagogies and philosophies. Specifically, the text, Cultivating Genius (2020) by Gholdy Muhammad, really emphasizes and supports this main idea. As shared by Muhammad (2020), the most effective lessons and instructions come when there is authenticity of students' "histories, identities, and literacy and language practices" (49). Therefore, in order to have meaningful and successful lessons, teachers must guide and support students in the search for their identity.

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: Real-Life Connections

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: Real-Life Connections

# data[].attributes.body
This news article examines a school that set up its students in to the House, Senate, and committees. The  students discussed real life uses such as environmental hunting and technology in schools. Students were encouraged to be involved, especially when it pertained to their individual interests.

This activity connected what the students were learning to real-life situations and scenarios. Students' used Model Legislation which just furthered the legitimacy of the activity.

This real-life activity helped build students sense of identity. As mentioned, students were able to incorporate their individual interests in to the activity, and then learn and grow was a student body.

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: Prompting for Core Competencies 

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: Prompting for Core Competencies 

# data[].attributes.body
This attachment begins to look at core competencies for students. Each different document provides a separate prompt that students can incorporate within their writer's-reader's notebooks.

These prompts help guide students with what they need to do and guide them to see if they have accomplished it.

This scaffolded support helps guide students who may be struggling to stay on task and incorporate aspects of self into their assignments. All of the major topics such as personal awareness and responsibility, and positive personal and cultural identity will help students continue to build their identity and sense of being.

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: Super Self Cartoon

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: Super Self Cartoon

# data[].attributes.body
This next activity that I found is another option that allows for individual expression. The Super Self Cartoon activity gets students to take a personality test. While personality tests are not the end all be all of students finding  themselves and their identity, it can help students to get started and potentially even compare.

With the data from the personality test and what they already know about themselves, they will begin to answer questions found on this activity and set goals. After students begin to develop this initial part, they will get to be creative and start the art making activity. Students will take what they learned from the personality test and apply it to their cartoon. They will draw their “Super Self” or ideal person. Their super power will be what they are good at or what they aim to be. They will exaggerate one component of their features, show their power in the drawing, write out their power, and color the whole page with colored pencils.

This entire activity is great as it has multimodal aspects and helps students build their sense of identity. Students can look at their peers and ask each other questions.

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: 30-Day Challenge

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: 30-Day Challenge

# data[].attributes.body
During many of these activities, there is a large component of self-reflection. Some students might be anxious when they begin to reflect on who they are. All of these activities can pose different challenges for students.

30-day challenges in the classroom can helps students establish new habits and commit to a growth mindset.

The activity that I attached above might be beneficial for students who are struggling to find their identity and sense of self. This 30-day challenge works to help students commit to being nice and inclusive of their classmates. If students are struggling, this gives them something to think about that will be something simple they can complete each day that betters themselves and the entire classroom community.

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: I Believe Activity

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: I Believe Activity

# data[].attributes.body
"I believe" activities challenge students to share their beliefs on controversial topics, this activity helps students examine their unique perspectives and consider why their fellow participants may feel differently.

This activity can obviously be adjusted depending on the grade level within middle school but should provide students to be open and reflective about their own and their peers ideas and opinions. Again, I think  this is an activity that can only be successful once a strong sense of classroom community and being is developed.

Attached above I have found a lesson plan and activity that would work execute this idea through a more formal assessment. Before this more formal assignment, this lesson can be introduced with a classroom activity. Corners of the classroom can be labeled with “always true”, “sometimes true” and “rarely true” — with space for students to move near. The teacher or students will take turn readings statements surrounding a variety of inclusion topics or even more narrowed to fit specific classroom goals or topics. Students will move to different areas of the room to answer the question respective to what they believe.
Potential questions may be:

(Your school name) is welcoming to people of all racial backgrounds.

Most students in my classes are of the same race as me.

People are basically good.

A hardworking person can overcome their lack of privilege.

This activity gets students to be reflective on what they believe and why. Anytime students reflect on their beliefs and what they think, they are strengthening their identity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback

According to the National Public Radio website, the "This I Believe" series is "a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives." In this lesson, students participate by writing and recording their own essays. Students first complete a series of activities designed to get them thinking and writing about their experiences. They then write, read, and record their essays for a class blog. The final activity has students comment on each other's work. Designed specifically for disabled students, the lesson also includes suggestions for use in inclusive classrooms.

There are many reasons for "extending ideas about literacy and for teaching with new technologies and mass media" including the "prevalence of electronic media and popular culture in students' lives," the importance of making home-school connections, and also simply the fact that these extensions can make both learning and teaching more fun and interesting.

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

1.

This lesson is designed for use with students who have disabilities. Modifications for use in an integrated classroom are included at the end of each session. The lesson also includes suggested alternatives for students whose parents do not permit them to post to a class blog (see Session 6 to 9).

2.

Begin by visiting the This I Believe, Inc. website and reading through it to understand the format and history of these audio essays. You should select three or four essays to share with your students (see Session 4); you can find them either by visiting the Essays New and Old page or the Search Essay Database page. In addition, visit the Basic English webpage and choose three or four essays to share with students during Session 5. Ideally, you will share these essays by playing the audio versions on a classroom or lab computer that has speakers; you may also choose to print the essays and make copies for your students.

3.

From the This I Believe in the Classroom page, click on the Download Curriculum link and print the PDF file. You will need a copy of page 21, which is titled "Things I Have Learned About Life," for each student in your class.

4.

Check with your school's Internet policies to ensure that you and your students can view and post to a blog and so that you are familiar with any rules or restrictions on use. Use a site like Edublogs or Blogger to set up a classroom blog that students will use to post their podcasts and comment on each other's work. (Both sites allow you to create blogs that only invited members can view.)

5.

Print off the Creating, Editing, and Posting Podcasts handout and review it. Arrange to use recording software such as Audacity, which can be downloaded for free. (See Judge Memorial Catholic High School: Audacity Tutorials or Audacity: Tutorials for tips on its use.) You may want to create your own essay and use it to practice recording a podcast and posting it to the blog. To record, you will need a microphone, either one that plugs in or is built into your computer.

6.

You will need at least one computer with Internet access to share and record essays (see Sessions 4 through 9). In addition, it is best for students to use computers to draft their essays during Session 5 and to comment on each other's work during Session 10. If necessary, arrange to use your school's computer lab during these sessions.

7.

You will use the following statements during Session 1:

I like having a disability.

My friends know I have a disability

I tell others about my disability

I hate being in special education classes

Having a disability will impact my life after I graduate

You may choose to write them on a piece of chart paper or on the board. Cover the statements with a large piece of paper, revealing them to students as you read them.

8.

Print off and make copies of The Top 10 Lessons I Learned From Charlie Brown, Two Belief Statements, and the Blog Permission Slip for each student in your class. Make one copy of the Five Belief Topics handout for every two students in your class; these can be cut in two.

Students will

Interpret their own experiences by responding to a series of statements and writing prompts designed to get them thinking about what they believe

Examine the experiences of other people by reading and listening to short essays

Think critically about what makes a strong essay by developing a list of criteria and applying it to their own and other people's work

Synthesize what they have learned by writing, revising, and recording their own essays

Practice responding to and providing authentic feedback by commenting on each other's work

Use technology for authentic purposes by participating in an online community

Before class starts, use signs to label one side of the room Agree and the other side Disagree. Move furniture so that students can easily group around the signs.

Modification for integrated classrooms
Follow the same steps for this session using the statements from page 14 of the This I Believe in the Classroom curriculum dowload.

Modification for integrated classrooms
This session can be followed as it is written with the exception of Step 4, which should be left open-ended instead of referring to disabilities.

3.

Have students pair up and share their fives topics. They should discuss which two statements are the most powerful and why. If students have trouble with this step, ask questions such as:

Which belief means the most to you? Why?

Which has universal meaning (can be understood by the most people)? Why?

Which statement do you think others would agree with? Why?

Modification for integrated classrooms
Have students think about things that they strongly believe. You can leave this session open ended or narrow it by having students think about what they believe about being a high school student in today's society.

Modification for integrated classrooms
You may choose to have students look at and listen to more "This I Believe" podcasts or have them look at and listen to podcasts written by students that do not focus on disabilities, such as those found at Digital Voices.

Provide feedback on student's essays before the start of this session. You might have students e-mail the drafts to you on a Friday so that you have time over the weekend to respond. Use the class-created T charts from Sessions 4 and 5 as anchors for your feedback.

From here your students will work at different paces. The work will not neatly fall into sessions, but should take approximately three class sessions to complete. See the Creating, Editing, and Posting Podcasts handout for a detailed explanation of the steps you should be taking to make the podcasts while students continue working on their essays.

Students whose parents have asked that they not post on the blog should complete Steps 1 to 4. When they finish their essay, you can have them read it aloud to the class.

By the start of this session, all podcasts should be posted to your class blog. Note that you may send out a link to the blog to colleagues or parents, allowing them to post comments before this discussion. Students will appreciate seeing this feedback the first time they look at the blog.

Note: If you are the only one who has access to the blog, you can use an LCD projector to show students the blog and listen to the podcasts. Ask students to volunteer feedback for each one. Talk with students about the content of the feedback, if they feel it was helpful or not, if it was accurate or beneficial. You may also choose to have the author of the essay respond to comments.

Have students continue to keep digital journals that revolve around the belief shared in their essay.

Conduct this lesson both at the beginning of the year and near the end. Have students examine how their beliefs have or have not changed.

Complete additional activities from the This I Believe in the Classroom curriculum download.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Informally observe students' abilities to think critically and respond to the work of others during classroom discussions about the essays they listen to and read and while they are working to narrow down their belief statements.

Have students write a two-page self-reflection using the following prompts as guiding questions:

What was your overall experience with this project? Why?

What did you learn about yourself or your disability?

Which piece of feedback did you agree with the most? Why?

Which piece of feedback did you disagree with the most? Why?

What changes would you make to your essay podcast if you could? Why?

This activity works best after students have had a day or two to visit the blog and read the feedback that their podcasts generated.Modify the prompts as necessary for an integrated classroom.

Use the "This I Believe" Podcast Rubric to assess students' essays and recordings and to assess students' abilities to think critically, apply criteria to the work of others, and participate in an online community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Giving Voice to Students Through "This I Believe" Podcasts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We have launched the new ReadWriteThink.org and we would love to get your feedback: Give Feedback According to the National Public Radio website, the "This I Believe" series is "a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives."

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: Introduction Activities

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: Introduction Activities

# data[].attributes.body
Developing a strong and genuine community among your  classroom for your students is vital for their success.  There should be diligent efforts starting in the beginning of the year that encourage students to be open and share  about themselves.

The question I attached above provides a suitable example of how students can meaningfully introduce themselves to their peers. Of course, I think building a classroom community is a well-thought out process, but after surface level discussions, this example is a great option. It is integral that teachers properly support and empower their students so that they feel open and capable to share deeper things with their classmates and peers.

Using meaningful questioning and prompts like this is beneficial for students to develop their identities and sense of self as they are asked to reflect on who they are and reflect on their sense of being within the classroom community. If this activity goes positively, it also will hopefully provide students with a positive community in their classroom.

After an activity like this, it would be to debrief the activity so that students are not left being raw and overwhelmed with emotions. A possible debrief question may be, "How can you find out meaningful information about your peers in the future? What is the value in that?"

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: Debriefing Questions

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: Debriefing Questions

# data[].attributes.body
Another method that can be easily incorporated into any content area or lesson that amplifies student voice is using debriefing questions. Debriefing questions should change to fit various activities, outcomes and goals, and participate' identities. These. questions can  be used with both standard lessons or critical, deeper thinking lessons. They allow students to reflect on the lesson that just happened. Students are given a voice and are able to critique and reflect upon.

Debriefing questions help strengthen student identity as well as it allows them to reflect and think about how they individually worked through a lesson or idea. This is another activity that amplifies student voice and perspective, strengthening their sense of belonging in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Successfully debriefing learning means having solid and meaningful reflective questions to use. No matter what you're teaching, every learner can benefit from asking reflective questions at the end of their journey. We have a list of 15 here that are pretty much the only ones they'll ever need.

If you know about Solution Fluency, then you know all about the 6Ds- Define, Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver, and of course, Debrief. The debriefing stage is one that is often overlooked, and yet it's probably the most important of all the steps. After all, the idea behind debriefing is to gauge how useful and beneficial a learning journey actually was, and to discern what could have made the journey even better.

In school, learning is debriefed for a number of reasons. These can include developing critical thinking skills, fostering lifelong learningmindsets, pinpointing areas for improvement, increasing self awareness, recognizing and exceeding limitations, and more. So it's very important to ask the best reflective questions possible as we debrief on products and processes.

All these reflective questions below are meant to be pondered deeply and discussed thoroughly. In a safe learning environment like yours, the insights gained will astound your learners. What's more, they'll also boost communication and critical thinking skills in the process of using them.

15 Reflective Questions Every Learner Can Benefit From Using

1. Define some of your most challenging moments. What made them so?

2. Define some of your most powerful learning moments. What made them so?

3. What would you say is the most important thing you learned personally? As a team?

4. When did you realize that you had come up with your final best solution?

5. How do you feel your solution relates to real-world situations and problems?

6. What do you feel most got in the way of your progress, if anything?

7. How well did you and your team communicate overall?

8. What were some things your teammates did that helped you to learn or overcome an obstacle?

9. How did you help others during this process?

10. Were your milestones and goals mostly met, and how much did you deviate from them if any?

11. What did you discover as being your greatest strengths? Your biggest weaknesses?

12. What would you do differently if you were to approach the same problem again?

13. What would you do differently from a personal standpoint the next time you work with the same group or a different one?

14. How can you better support and encourage your teammates on future projects?

15. How will you use what you've learned in the future?

Getting to the Essentials

No question about it-reflective questions like these take your learners to a satisfying conclusion on any educational journey. What's more, they apply to situations both in and out of school. In the end, though, it really is the quality of our questions that matters.

If you want to know the best way to create awe-inspiring questions that will both drive learning and help students debrief it properly, then look no further than the Essential Guide to Essential Questions from Wabisabi Learning. It has all you need and more-tips, tools, and tricks of the trade-for understanding, creating, and assessing the best essential questions possible for learning adventures big and small.
So aspire to inquire, and get theEssential Guide to Essential Questionsfrom Wabisabi Learning today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The 15 Most Insightful Reflective Questions for Debriefing Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Successfully debriefing learning means having solid and meaningful reflective questions to use. No matter what you're teaching, every learner can benefit from asking reflective questions at the end of their journey. We have a list of 15 here that are pretty much the only ones they'll ever need.

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: Student Interest Inventory

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: Student Interest Inventory

# data[].attributes.body
Student inventories have been widely discussed in many of my classes. They allow for teachers to get to know their students in a better, more meaningful way. Often times, these inventories are used in younger grades, such as elementary school, but I think they can be equally as valuable in middle and high school. Adapting your questions to be age specific can help with the effectiveness of these inventories.

Being able to understand your middle school students' interests and personal inventory will help you tailor the curriculum to them personally. Students' identity and sense of self will be validated in any classroom where their interests, preference's, and more are being taken into account.

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: Peer Teaching Activity 

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: Peer Teaching Activity 

# data[].attributes.body
When students are good at something, like a hobby or sport, it is likely that they are good at it and even qualified to teach about it. In helping students find themselves, this is an activity that can be integrated into any content area of subjects. First beginning with two cards, students will answer the following  questions in regards to that subject's content area.

- For the first one, students will write something they would like to know how to do and still might be unsure about.
- On the second card, students will write something they are. really good at, even maybe an expert.

This first part is valuable as students get to be self-reflective. More so, they have to think deeply in order to answer both questions.

After these cards are finished, the teacher can hang them on the wall and students have the opportunity to look at the other cards and start a conversation with other students.

This is a valuable activity when supporting students' identity as they get to be the expert about something. Hopefully a classmate  will come up to them and they will get to share what they know. This activity can be done to review information, or even with outside of school interests and information.

This idea of students being experts goes beyond the classroom lessons and expands to so many aspects of daily life. Students are experts of what they experience. Making their perspectives and beliefs ever so valuable. Allowing and motivating students to become experts, they are becoming more involved and engaged in the classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Envisioning roles for students to be and behave like experts throughout the K-12 education system to teach youth is relatively easy. However, seeing new roles for students to teach adults…

# data[].attributes.headline
Search for Identity & Self: Writer's-Reader's Notebook

# data[].attributes.subject
Search for Identity & Self: Writer's-Reader's Notebook

# data[].attributes.body
As mentioned in Reif's text, Read, Write, Teach, writer's-reader's notebooks serve as an excellent tool for students. Writer's-reader's notebooks allow for creativity to explode in various formats. Writer's-reader's notebooks are accessible to diverse learners as there are so many different ways students can express themselves within them, writing, drawing, finding excerpts from newspapers, online quotes, and so much more. Student's can use their writer's-reader's notebooks as a personal diary, or as a more formal way to organize their thoughts for writing assignments. Writer's-reader's notebooks give students a personal way to explore through writing. Reif specifically states that a writer's-reader's notebooks "allow choice, time, and practice with no regard to writing and reading," (2014, 42). More importantly, in regards to self, writer's-reader's notebooks allow students to reflect on their growth and realize that their  "voices need to be heard. as they wonder, question, argue, reason, change their minds, or affirm their thinking" (Reif, 2014, 43).

This website expands more on the ideas for and benefits of writer's-reader's notebooks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
4 Purposes for a Writer's Notebook: Notebooks as a Writer's Tool

That sunny, summer day, I pulled the driver's door closed of my grandmother's 1978 Volkswagen Rabbit. My grandmother sidled in through the passenger door and took her seat beside me. Quickly she closed the door and folded her hands silently in her lap. Looking down nervously, I noticed the pedals. "Why are there pedals?" I asked. I knew one was the gas pedal- that long one there- and I assumed one of the others to be the brake. But what about that third one? "It's the clutch," my grandmother explained. "When you shift into different gears, you have to push it down. That allows you to put the car into first gear, second gear, and so on." At age fourteen, I felt a little bewildered. "Why?" I said aloud. My grandmother's face lightened into an understanding smile. "Well, otherwise we're not going anywhere. Here, let's start the car and I'll show you how the clutch works."

Understanding the purpose of something can unlock a path forward. This was certainly the case with the clutch pedal in my grandmother's Volkswagen. And although it required a great deal of practice to actually operate the clutch with ease and prowess, I soon became a pretty competent driver. This week, the authors of Two Writing Teachers are devoting digital ink to supporting teachers in thinking about the writer's notebooks as an important writer's tool. Today, let's think about the various purposes of a notebook. Like understanding what role the clutch plays when driving a car with a manual transmission, understanding a few vital purposes of a writer's notebook can support students in propelling their writing lives forward in meaningful, growth-oriented ways. And just like my grandmother went on to explain both the importance and the purpose of the clutch in an automobile, it is important that we share the importance, role, and purpose of writer's notebooks with our students.

Purpose One: A Place to Write About Small Things. One of the most basic goals we probably hold for our writers is to write with meaning and focus. It is so important students know that one thing writers do, at a most basic level, is strive to craft ideas in service of a message, a point; in other words, . Writers work tirelessly to answer the question, "What do I want my readers to know or to think after they have read my writing?" Oftentimes writers will use notebooks to hang on to fleeting ideas, jot some notes, capture a bit of thinking, etc. Thus, it can be helpful if we teach our young writers that one purpose of their notebooks can be to "write about small things," which can be loosely translated to "work to write about focused ideas."

One way some teachers have introduced this concept of focusing on small things is through the metaphor of a watermelon. While teaching in seventh-grade classrooms, I used to hang a sign that looked something like the one here:

This metaphor can help students understand the difference between a piece of writing that is full of seeds - too many! - and a piece of writing that grows from one, seemingly small "seed idea." In narrative notebook entries, for example, we often focus on writing moments in our lives. Rather than attempting to write about "My Summers at Grandma's," we might write about "The Time I Rode the Riding Lawn Mower at Grandma's" or "The Time We Went Fishing at Grandma's." Kids often struggle with the concept of focusing writing around a tightly selected topic. In informational writing, for example, students often want to write everything there is to know (well, that they know) about the game of soccer ("Each team has eleven players on the field," "there are two goals," etc.). But from the outset of our workshops, if students understand the concept that one of the purposes of a writer's notebook is to write about things, this can help them to begin focusing right away.

Purpose Two: A Place to Practice Strategies Taught in Class. Writer's notebooks have a second important purpose of providing a place to practice what we (their teacher) have taught them as writers. In this way, a writer's notebook is distinct from a "journal." A quick Google search of the word reveals a number of definitions related to "a place to keep records." Perhaps you or even some of your students enjoy keeping a journal or diary in which you record events that have happened, along with your thoughts or reflections about those events. This is certainly a valuable endeavor with many benefits! However, we want to teach our young writers that a writer's notebook is not that; it is, as Betsy wrote, a writer's tool. It is a place where students both live like writers and work to become stronger writers. As Lucy Calkins writes in The Common Core Writing Workshop (2014), "...there is a great deal of difference by what people mean by journal and what your students are doing. Journals are often containers for writing that have no audience...and that are never revised, edited, or published" (Heinemann, p. 42).

In this way, notebooks are kind of like a practice field. Growing up, my brother and I played on soccer teams. On the weekends, we loved to go out into our backyard and play soccer, oftentimes practicing moves and techniques our coaches (and friends) had taught us in team practices. Most professional sports teams practice in one place and play games in another. This metaphor can be brought to our writers! As their coaches, we want to encourage our students to work hard to improve; one way to do that is to practice, applying what they've learned to do in their notebooks. Aimee Buckner, author of Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer's Notebook (Stenhouse, 2005) once said,

"A Writer's Notebook gives students a place to write everyday...to practice living like a writer. The purpose of a notebook is that it provides students the practice of simply writing. It's a place for them to generate text, find ideas, and practice what they know about spelling and grammar. It's the act of writing - the practice of generating text and building fluency - that leads writers to significance."

Purpose Three: A Place to Experiment and Take Risks. A few years ago, I attended a workshop led by a Harvard Professor, Dr. David Dockterman. In his presentation entitled, "Developing Academic Mindsets for Literacy," Dr. Dockterman enlightened everyone on a critical connection regarding the importance of risk-taking and learning. He said, "We learn when we take risks. We learn when we do something we have not done before...otherwise we are not learning." With this important understanding in mind, we want to invite our students to take risks in their writer's notebooks. This can mean writing entries about very personal topics, trying out new craft moves you teach them or they learn from a mentor text, trying on unfamiliar topics, or however a writer feels he or she defines taking a risk. And knowing that risk-taking can be scary, it is also important that we model such writing behaviors for our students. We can say things like, "I've never tried this in my writing before..." or "I'm not sure how this is going to go, but..." Modeling our willingness to experiment can send the message that writers take risks. Writers experiment. Writers try stuff out.

A Place to Set Goals and Work to Meet Them. Getting better at something requires not just practice but deliberate practice. Often people do stuff year after year and do not get better-because getting better requires resolve! And it takes a 'working on' mindset. Therefore, we can consider inviting students to use the notebook to set goals and work to meet them. There are a few ways this can look:

Volume goals: Sometimes students might work on a goal to write more, either in a single sitting or over a longer period of time. In the past, I have worked with students by asking them to run their finger down a page to a place they think they can write to in ten minutes and place an X. Then I'll start a timer (sometimes a fictitious one) and leave them to work independently. With other students, I have worked with them on setting a volume goal for the week.

Structure/Development goals: In October, I wrote about student checklists (that post is ). Checklists that lay out clear learning targets can also be turned into writing goals by our student writers. After reviewing a draft, students can select a few places on the checklist where they may have marked "Not yet," and copy or tape those boxes into their writer's notebooks. Some teachers have even asked writers to save a special section of the notebook for goals, conference artifacts, etc.

Writing Process goals: In her book The Writing Strategies Book, Jennifer Serravallo does a beautiful job laying out ten important categories that can help teachers and students identify writing goals, from composing with pictures, to conventions, to writing partnerships. One of her early blog posts summarizes those goals.

Personal goals: Aside from pre-made checklist or teacher-negotiated goals, it is also worthwhile to ask students to reflect and think about what they want to work to get better at in their writing. Some have said, "I want to take more risks in my writing and try to reveal myself more," or "I want to vary the tone of my writing," or "I want to try to write more often."

Eventually, over time, I became more skilled with using a clutch and shifting gears in Grammy's old Volkswagen. It took time, practice, and patience. But with a clear goal in mind and lots of supportive coaching from my grandmother, I soon not only understood the purpose of a clutch, but was actually moving down the road. As teachers, if we are able to help our writers understand the purposes of their writer's notebooks, chances are we can help set them up to be moving down the road of becoming stronger writers.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

This giveaway is for a free 20-minute classroom Skype session with author is an excellent resource for notebookers of all ages and interests.Amy Ludwig VanDerwater whose popular blog Sharing Our Notebooks

For a chance to win this Skype session with Amy, please leave a comment about this or any blog post in this blog series by Sunday, November 11th at 6:00 p.m. EST. Betsy Hubbard will use a random number generator to pick the winner's commenter number. His/her name will be announced in the ICYMI blog post for this series on Monday, November 12th.

Please leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment so Betsy can link you up with Amy if you win.

If you are the winner of the Skype session, Betsy will email you with the subject line of TWO WRITING TEACHERS - AMY LV. Please respond to her e-mail with your mailing address within five days of receipt. A new winner will be chosen if a response isn't received within five days of the giveaway announcement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4 Purposes for a Writer's Notebook: Notebooks as a Writer's Tool

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Understanding the purpose of something can unlock a path forward. This week, the authors of Two Writing Teachers are devoting digital ink to supporting teachers in thinking about the writer's notebooks as an important writer's tool. Today, let's think about the various purposes of a notebook...

# data[].attributes.body
6th Grade ELA Reading/ Writing Activity

Standards

RI.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

RI.6.2 Analyze informational text development.

Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details.

Provide an objective summary of the text that includes the central idea and relevant
details.

RI.6.7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

Why this Lesson?:

An concept that really inspired me from the film, “Making Writing Meaningful,” was getting students to understand the power of their voices. Students are capable of "pulling themselves into something to then think differently about the world." Futhermore,  inspiring kids to pair their imagination/ energy with a simulating idea, the possibilities are endless.

Lesson Specifics:

Specifically, my lesson would be similar to the one presented in the video, “Making Writing Meaningful,” where students used current events to stimulate reading and writing. The students will begin discussing current events as a class, looking at the different factors, modalities, and realities of current event reporting. The teacher should provide the students with different, yet specific current events. After students have began to actively engage, read, and ask questions about the readings, the teacher should inspire independent investigation of various online current event sources.  Furthermore, the teacher can even use sources like CNN Student News.

After the students feel confident in their researching current event abilities and are discussing different ideas, students will begin the project. (Previously in this class there should have been a lesson about identities, or cultures). Students should begin to look for current events related to their own identity or culture. Using the same research and questioning skills, students should begin to think critically about the news they find. They can talk with peers or their teacher about it (collaboration). They can journal (writer's notebook) about what the article is about and what it makes them think/ feel. They can also include anything else they know about the specific topic.

Finally, after all of this inquiry, students should write a letter to the editor, or a leader in the community about what they think. The students should keep in mind the perspective of the author, and incorporate their own perspectives and ideas.

More Reasoning Behind It:

This lesson begins to get students started I looking into current events and different things happening all around them. Students can also begin to feel connected to and stand up for their identity and culture. Here are some more connections to “Making Writing Meaningful,” that served as a basis for my lesson:

Student centered classroom lesson.

Student choice to motivate students.

Student choice in current events that are relatable and relevant.

Incorporating the world around us.

Students can research deeper and more meaningful topics.

Students are able to channel their feelings and expression through writing.

Letter writing teaches students another way to feel heard!

Developing more meaningful writing as their are true connections to self.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose to create a playlist with music as music is something so integral to my life. I have built a music taste based on experiences I have gone through and cultivated playlists to match specific feelings and moods. Therefore, I wanted to create a playlist that symbolized where I feel like I am at in life, right now. I am going to describe each song with a sentence that explains how it plays a role in who I am told.

1. Breadwinner by Kacey Musgraves

Breadwinner is a song that I find empowering. She sings about finding personal success in your own work and livelihood. "He will never no what to do with a woman like you," reminding me of the values my mom instilled in me to never forget my own worth.

2. Nothing from Nothing by Mac Miller

Mac Miller has been the most influential artist throughout my life for as long as I can remember. His music and the messages within have moved mountains for me. This track specifically, I find beautiful and resonate most with, "not trynna be your hero." Oftentimes friendships and relationships can strip you of everything you have, but you must continue to live your life for yourself. I have dealt with one-sided relationships and friendships for as long as I can remember, and I feel like this is something that continues to shape me into the person I am today.

3. Window by Still Woozy

This song is incredibly upbeat and positive, and truly can change my entire mood around when I listen to it. It reminds me of the good things in the world and encourages me to destress and try to avoid the anxious thoughts in my head by thinking about the good decisions in my life that have gotten me to this point.

4. Heat Waves by Glass Animals

This is another song that helps cheer me up when I am dealing with personal struggles. Currently, when things get busy and hard, I struggle with finding the positive things in life. I focus more on the negatives and dig myself into a hole and it "feels like I can't fight it." Yet through music and reflecting on positive memories I am able to put myself out of the bad places.

5. Good Days by SZA

Another just good song that helps me think clearly. Personally, I noticed when I have songs that I truly fall in love with, it helps the negative thoughts disappear and causes me to relax. As mentioned,  I currently struggle with friendship and relationships, so the line, "feels like  I wasted the best of me on you" would describe a thought/ feeling that I consistently have.

6. One Man Can Change The World

I first heard this song in high school and worked on learning to sign it in America Sign Language, with my lifelong mentor. Not only does this song provide me with the nostalgic belief my mentor has in me, but each lyric resonates and inspires strenght.

7. 1 step forward, 3 steps back by Olivia Rodrigo

I wanted to include this song because it expresses how my anxiety consistently feels in my life. The story she describes resembles this game of back and forth I deal with I my head. Day to day interactions or thoughts in my head will often feel like  back tracking on progress.

8. Hometown Glory by Adele

An old song, but one that still feels just as powerful every time I listen to it. Adele sings about her hometown and the various feelings she has around it, and what 'feels' like a hometown. When moving to college and living here, I wonder about my hometown and how it's where everything came from. Life felt simple and safe there, and well, college and living alone is just a lot.

9. no tears left to cry by Ariana Grande

While I am not typically an Ariana Grande fan, this song represents some growth that I feel like I have in my life. While at times I do cry and get upset, other times I am able to maturely move-on and just not let things bother me, a long-term goal I have for myself.

10. Once a Day by Mac Miller

Of course, I had to include another Mac Miller long because a lot of his music is so influential to my life and meanings. These lyrics talk about more feelings about anxiety with, "what ifs." Anxiety is something I seriously struggle with so listening to music that shares this makes me feel more normal with my journey.

# data[].attributes.headline
 Perspectives from field – Students.  Teachers.

# data[].attributes.subject
 Perspectives from field – Students.  Teachers.

# data[].attributes.body
In my first school for this field experience, there were a lot  of diverse social perspectives present in my classes. From students of different languages, religions, socioeconomic status, sexualities, and abilities, every student was unique.

Student Persectives -
"Why am I learning this."
"How is this relevant to my daily life, I have to go home and work."
"I am so cold."
"I am so tired."
"I am so hungry."
"I don't understand what he is saying, these computer memorization games aren't helping."
"Why does my teacher never ask how I am going or talk with me about the lesson. Just because I do okay memorizing information for the tests doesn't mean I understand."
"I don't understand the jokes he makes."
"Why does my friend always get kicked out of the class, he isn't learning anything that way."
"I wish I could draw or type my notes, writing is so hard for me."
"I am so embarrassed to ask for a pencil and paper everyday."
"Other teachers give us reading guides, can't he give us something?"
I had many students tell me about their home situations and how they spend their time outside of school working. A lot of students also dealt with family issues at school, which made them nervous to act out and especially for dismissal.

My classroom had a seventh grade science teacher. Multiple times he admitted to me that he gave up on his students with disabilities because he was stuck on the suggestions on the educational plans. He didn't know how to implement them because they were slightly basic, but also wasn't making an effort to reach out to families, intervention specialists, or even make connections with the student. Literacy and differentiation did not have a place in his classroom lessons. Every single student regardless of diverse needs, engaged in the same exact curriculum in the same exact way, with no relevant connection to their daily lives or needs.
"Writing down definitions will help students have a copy of the notes."
"Doing this EdPuzzle is a change from me lecturing."
"Kicking him out of the classroom helps other students learn."

# data[].attributes.headline
ELA Middle School & High School Experiences

# data[].attributes.subject
ELA Middle School & High School Experiences

# data[].attributes.body
All of my middle and high school literacy experiences were based on test preparations. Most assignments, tasks, and assessments were based on the next formal assessment or state standardized test. Recently, in other classes, we have discussed whether or not you should disclose a lesson with "this will be on the test," because it changes the experience from learning to pure memorization for the test. I can't specifically remember any differentiation that was done in middle or high school, but in elementary school, I can remember there being a choice in assessment/ progress monitoring. When it came to studying vocabulary words we would have a choice in how we wanted to express them and work through the ideas. Some of the options were repetitive writing, a small skit, a story, a video, and a picture, just to name a few. As I grew older, I felt as if there were less creative options throughout my language arts classes and things became more rigid regarding rubrics, outlines, and required details. Furthermore, the only type of reading I can vividly remember was for the AR tests. Seventh grade through high school I remember my teachers mandating the AR reading tests. Students would cram for points and guess on the tests, instead of ever making a meaningful connection with the text.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A version of this essay originally appeared on the One Book at a Time blog.
When I first started in my current position as a middle school reading teacher, in the days before every student got a laptop to work on, I had one computer in my classroom (running Windows 98) that featured one prominent icon on the homepage - Accelerated Reader. Having been hired to teach reading, I figured this might prove to be vital to fulfilling my duties, and so, in one of my introductory mentor meetings, I questioned what exactly this "AR" entailed.

I was immediately given a great stack of photocopied pages, bound by metal rings. This tome was handed over with the reverence of a sacred text, the passing met with a confused and quizzical expression on my face. I was told this was the list of all our available Accelerated Reader quizzes, the vehicle by which we would assess whether our students were truly reading books on their own time (and, secondarily, whether they were understanding what they read).

In my mind's eye, I picture my expression changing from one of confusion to one of disgust and disbelief as I was given the full explanation of how this AR system works.

"What happens if a student wants to read a book that isn't on this list?" I questioned.

"Then it doesn't count!" came the answer.

"How many of these quizzes are the kids supposed to complete a term?" Here the answers varied from two to four, the majority falling to the latter.

"How heavily should I weigh this?" Again, the answers varied, from a 100-point test to a 10-point quiz.

"What happens if the kids are doing poorly on these quizzes?"

"Then we know they are lying about reading!"

Even as a fledgling teacher, I felt something about this system didn't sit right. Why were we limiting kids to books on a prescribed list determined by a set of quizzes the school had purchased? Was this some sort of gotcha game, where we were trying to prove students were not completing pleasure reading? Should independent reading be reduced to a score on a computerized assessment?

As time went on, my confidence in this system failed to grow. I saw the picayune questions focused on some of my favorite novels. I saw students who I knew had read and could discuss their novels fail this "measure" of their comprehension. And within my classroom, I responded accordingly. I reduced the point value of these quizzes within the larger scale to almost nil. I encouraged kids to read books not included on that hallowed list. I gave students alternative assignments to count for their independent reading requirement and signed slips in order to have these assignments "count" in their English classes.

When my principal finally decided to discontinue our subscription to the Accelerated Reader program at the end of last year, I (along with my students, their parents and our librarian) rejoiced. Unfortunately, not all of my colleagues are thrilled. Lamenting the loss of AR became a regular topic in our monthly department meetings, regardless of the agenda.

Faced with these complaints, I try (and try and try and try) to make my case against AR, citing the following reasons:

● Limited book choices - In order for a book to be included in AR, it needs to meet one criterion: A quiz has been created by Renaissance and purchased by the school. This designation has no reflection on the quality of the text, its reliability and relevance to our students, or its potential impact upon them as readers. When we require students to read books only from this list, we greatly limit the potential of them finding their next favorite read.

I am not the only one who feels this way. Check out the amazing Colby Sharp's video voicing his opinion on AR.

● Irrelevant questions - Early on in my AR experience, I often had students complain about the questions they were faced with in regard to their novels. Being a middle school educator, I took these complaints with a grain of salt ... until I was confronted with the assessment for The Outsiders. This classic is often the first novel that even my most resistant of readers will admit they enjoy.

During our reading of this book, we discuss many things as a class - which characters could be classified as heroes, whether people are perpetually limited by their social class and whether Greasers and Socs could ever truly be friends. With a plethora of themes and connections to focus upon, the creators of these quizzes decided that a relevant question to ask students would be what color eyes Ponyboy hates. Really, Renaissance Learning?
Beth Jarzabek is a veteran public school educator and a who is pursuing a second master's degree in teaching and leadership through Mount Holyoke College.
● Inauthentic reading experience - If our intention as educators is to create lifelong readers, "rewarding" students with the opportunity to take a computerized quiz at the end of a novel greatly misses the mark. As adults, when we have finished a phenomenal text, we talk about it with others. We lend the magical title to our friends. We may even share it on our social media accounts. At no time do we, as adult readers, scramble to complete 10 multiple choice questions as quickly as we can. I believe this time and focus can be better spent allowing students to talk about what they are reading and have read, sharing their questions and ideas, and becoming the readers we know they have the potential to be.

While I am far from naive enough to believe my arguments and experiences will be enough to change the mind of the staunchest of AR acolytes, I know that I am not alone in my assertions. Literacy gurus like Pernille Ripp, Colby Sharp and Donalyn Miller have all voiced their displeasure with this program and those like it. The tide is slowly, but surely, turning toward new possibilities and endless potential.

Submit a Letter to the Editor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Teacher's View: The Case Against Accelerated Reader - Why a List of Quizzes Should Not Dictate What Books My Students Can Choose

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A version of this essay originally appeared on the One Book at a Time blog. When I first started in my current position as a middle school reading teacher, in the days before every student got a laptop to work on, I had one computer in my classroom (running Windows 98) that featured one prominent [...]