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Writing Instruction That Grows Writers Through a Focus on Feedback and Process

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Pre-writing strategies use writing to generate and clarify ideas. While many writers have traditionally created outlines before beginning writing, there are several other effective prewriting activities. We often call these prewriting strategies “brainstorming techniques.” Five useful strategies are…

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What did you learn from this week’s texts?

I learned about the different ways writer's journals can be implemented in the classroom. My promoting the journal as a safe space we can remove the learning barrier of fear. Free of academic judgement that can often hinder student's comfortably to express themselves. Writing is important for students and the journals enable an environment where they can grow independently, explore ideas, and also a way to regulate student's emotions.

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What stands out to you from this reading?

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What stands out to you from this reading?

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What stood out to me, was the amount of different types of ways to brainstorm. I had always been taught the list one, which can be difficult for me to track because I tend to grow off of one idea into another one. Which is more similar to the free writing technique. The way I had done in it in the past is just write as much as I want, for however long and edit as I go. I liked learning about the methods that seemed more "messy" because thats how my brain works. I think by allowing me to NOT edit and just keep writing will help the flow of ideas.

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What questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

After reading the article, I am now wondering the amount of time teacher's have students spend in their writing journals. Do they allot a certain amount of time per day or per week? What is a happy medium of not too much time and allowing students to fully write out their thoughts?

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

Some of the takeaways I will be using for my future classroom are allowing students to be creative and be comfortable in their writing journals. I loved the idea of it being more of a "react" journal and a place for them to explore ideas. I want to be sure I make the act of writing in their journal something they look forward to. A tool I would use is using the prompts that could be on their table or tapped to the inside cover of their book for when they have writer's block.

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How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom?

This week my mentor teacher read a book called "A squiggly story", about a boy who is writing a story for class. He is kindergarten and is still learning to write, so his older sister who loves to read, helps him brainstorm and write out a beginning of a story. He uses the letters "V" to show waves on the beach. I was thinking of that story while reading this article because the boy was using what he knew to write a story. When he shared his story with the class, there wasn't judgment by his teacher that he didn't spell many of the words or didn't perfectly articulate the happenings, and instead was applauded for his exciting story.

By being in kindergarten, I had thought it would be difficult for students to use a writer's journal, but it is a place of practice. Doodling and drawing pictures can help them articulate themselves, while they continue to learn. This will also be interesting to see after the year, because of the amount of growth they have!

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A Squiggly Line: Vescio, Robert, Creamer, Kathy: 9780648652816: Amazon.com: Books

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A Squiggly Line [Vescio, Robert, Creamer, Kathy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A Squiggly Line

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Talk to your mentor teacher about these ideas. What do they say?

After my mentor teacher had read the book, I brought up to her how I liked the idea of the student's being able to write in a way that makes sense to them. She told me it was important she read this story at the beginning of the year so students can notice how writing can look different and that they should write what makes sense to them, as they learn to spell words.

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What did you learn from this week’s texts?

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What did you learn from this week’s texts?

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In the video, she showed how students should respond to literature. In it, the students were tasked multiple times to repeat after her, to use movements, and they watched her demonstrate on a large surface as they did it together. Besides, responding, the way she taught it I found very effective. Especially when she gestured to her head, as the Introduction, her body as the Body, and her feet/legs as the conclusion.

She also explains to "not be polite" while writing a summary and I felt like that was important. The point is to get to the facts and keep it brief. It helps put it in perspective.

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HOW MIGHT THIS HAVE LOOKED IN THE CLASSROOMS? 

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HOW MIGHT THIS HAVE LOOKED IN THE CLASSROOMS? 

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In my classroom- Kindergarten, I can see use using shapes or visuals when we are working on our prewriting. They can use images to think of a story or they can draw a memory they remember, and as the year progresses we can begin to add literary elements such as using arrows and writing their name to demonstrate how they are in the drawing/ story.

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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO REMEMBER FOR YOUR OWN FUTURE CLASSROOM?

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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO REMEMBER FOR YOUR OWN FUTURE CLASSROOM?

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In my own future classroom, I want to ensure students are given a lot of choice on how and when they can write. That in between the writing time they have, say for 3rd grade, where a lot of the writing block is dedicated to STAR reading and writing responses, they have the opportunity to write for themself. Something that they can be connected to. I want to teach them the different ways to brainstorm so when they are stuck, they can be independent to work through a productive struggle.

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

We are still learning to write! The students are practicing their letters. This week we are going over A, M, and T.

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What questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

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What questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

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What ways can we implement ESL strategies into these lessons?

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

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I love the reminder to model a precise definition. When I did my first semester of student teaching in third, I sometimes would call something by it's definition without realizing the kids didn't understand what it meant. For example, when we were doing writing I used "author's purpose" a lot, and had to take a step back when I noticed some of the students were lost. This was a good example of what a "precise" definition looks like and allowing the students to practice using the definition is important too.

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Classroom Implications- How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom/Talk to your mentor teacher?

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Classroom Implications- How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom/Talk to your mentor teacher?

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Although we don't teach a grade that writes multiple sentences and paragraphs (Kindergarten), we talked about the ways students can respond verbally. As we sit down on the carpet after reading a book, we can have the students begin to recall what happened in the story. They can also draw a picture from what they remember about the story, such as what we did this week with the letter "I" for Iguana. Students drew something that began with the letter "I", while underneath they wrote the letter, and many of them chose to draw the Iguana from the book we read earlier.

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

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Again, my students are in Kindergarten so seeing this video of older students develop a way to respond to readings by writing about them is different. I continue to have an open mind though and try to find ways to fit it into my grade level, like the Iguana example.

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What did you learn from this week’s texts?

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What did you learn from this week’s texts?

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In this weeks video, I learned about multiple strategies to help writers revise their own writing.

One of the ideas that stuck out to me was the importance on building a community. Allowing students to feel comfortable enough to SHARE their writing vs write it alone is different. Building a foundation, where students can feel safe and supported can allow students to be more open about their writing. Allowing students to interact with others daily in a way that builds that trust and comfortability is game changing.

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What questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

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What questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

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What ways can we implement ESL strategies into these lessons?

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When the teacher tells me to "fix" my writing when I don't know what the problem is. 

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

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I want to remember to provide a lot of choice in the ways students can revise. I want to be sure that in all the different revision strategies, they are all positive and not negative. I don't want students to be told to "go find all the likes or repetitive words and delete/change them". I want students to be able to naturally do this as they add things, as they read it, or others read their writing aloud. I want them to be able to make those changes without the pressure to "fix" their writing.

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Classroom Implications- How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom/Talk to your mentor teacher?

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Classroom Implications- How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom/Talk to your mentor teacher?

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In the kindergarten classroom, the majority of revisions come from spelling and writing our letters correctly. When I spoke to my mentor teacher she told me at the end of the year, they will begin to write sentences and in that their revisions can sometimes be wording and subject related. She explains that she utilizes a lot of peer reading or checking at that point towards the end of the year. This allows students to work together to revise and practices problem solving skills, as well as reading skills.

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

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My students are revising their letters and words, more than any actual writing. (kindergarten)

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What did you learn from this week's text?

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What did you learn from this week's text?

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In this week's reading I learned about the advantages of having a digitalized writing conference platform. By using it on an online forum, both the students and educator/ facilitator are able to access their student's writing. This allows for feedback to come easier, as well as implementing the different writing demonstrations or mentor texts. In the article it focused on the steps of a writing conferences and how much leads up to it.

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What questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

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What questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

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What could writing conferences look like not digitally? For students in the lower grades, what would these meetings with students look and sound like?

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

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I want to remember for when I am in older grade levels or working with students who are more technology savvy, to use the online platform for students to keep their work on--such as a padlet. That way they can easily access the materials, can receive feedback quicker and more easily.

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Classroom Implications- How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom/Talk to your mentor teacher?

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Classroom Implications- How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom/Talk to your mentor teacher?

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In my Kinder room, my mentor teacher gives quick feedback on students writing. We are mainly practicing letter writing, so we often are correcting backwards D's and B's and how to write it (from up to down).

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

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My students have begun to write sentences. They listen to my mentor teacher and myself read it aloud and then try to write it themselves and then draw a picture to go with it. After several minutes and when the majority of the class finishes, we show the correctly written sentence and the students write the correct sentence under their own sentence to reinforce that learning.

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What did you learn from this weeks text? 

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What did you learn from this weeks text? 

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The NCTE updated its old 2004 statement to better fit today’s teaching and testing needs. The new version says that literacy assessment should help students learn, not just measure them with standardized tests. It also highlights that teachers, students, and parents should all be involved in the process, using different kinds of assessments that focus on growth and understanding.

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What Questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

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What Questions do you have about the topic or ideas?

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What kind of training or support do teachers need to do these assessments well?

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

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What takeaways do you want to remember for your future classroom?

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In my future classroom, I want to use literacy assessments that focus on helping students grow rather than just measuring their performance. I’ll use a variety of assessments that value students’ diverse backgrounds, involve them in reflecting on their learning, and guide my instruction to better support their progress.

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Classroom Implications- How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom/Talk to your mentor teacher?

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Classroom Implications- How are you seeing this week’s ideas play out in your clinical classroom/Talk to your mentor teacher?

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In my classroom, I've noticed the importance of relating assessments to the course work. What they are being tested on need to be continuously talked, shown, and demonstrated.

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

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What are you seeing or doing that is different from our coursework?

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In my kindergarten classroom, I’m noticing that assessments are much more informal and integrated into daily activities than what we often learn in coursework. Instead of relying mainly on tests or worksheets, I’m seeing students assessed through observation, conversations, and play-based tasks, which gives a more complete picture of their learning and helps me adjust instruction in real time.