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GSSIS K-G1 Session 3 Language Development & Conferring

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GSIS K-G1 Session 1 Workshop, Environment, Literacy Foundations

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GSIS K-G1 Session 1 Workshop, Environment, Literacy Foundations (1)

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Every teacher or coach worth their salt knows that there's no moment more important than the moment feedback is delivered. Do it correctly, and the learner takes a step forward. Do it poorly, and the reverse happens.

The deeper question is, what's the secret of great feedback? We instinctively think that effective feedback is about the quality of the information - telling the learner to do this and not that. But is this true, or is there something else going on?

A team of psychologists from Stanford, Yale, Columbia, and elsewhere recently set out to explore that question. They had middle-school teachers assign an essay-writing assignment to their students, after which students were given different types of teacher feedback.

To their surprise, researchers discovered that there was one particular type of teacher feedback that improved student effort and performance so much that they deemed it "magical." Students who received this feedback chose to revise their paper far more often that students who did not (a 40 percent increase among white students; 320 percent boost among black students) and improved their performance significantly. (See the study here.)

What was the magical feedback?

Just one phrase:
I'm giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.
That's it. Just 19 words. But they're powerful because they are not really feedback. They're a signal that creates something more powerful: a sense of belonging and connection.

Looking closer, the phrase contains several distinct signals:

1) You are part of this group.

2) This group is special; we have higher standards here.

3) I believe you can reach those standards.

The key is to understand that this feedback isn't just feedback - it's a vital cue about the relationship. The reason this works so well has to do with the way our brains are built. Evolution has built us to be cagey with our efforts; after all, engagement is expensive from a biological standpoint. But when we receive an authentic, crystal-clear signal of social trust, belonging, and high expectations, the floodgates click open.

I think the lessons for teachers and coaches are pretty simple:

First, connect: like John Wooden said, they can't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Highlight the group: seek ways (traditions, mantras, fun little rituals) to show what it means to belong in your crew.

Don't soft-pedal high standards. Don't pretend that it's easy - do the opposite. Emphasize the toughness of the task, and your belief that they have what it takes.

If you have any ideas, stories, or examples to share about how coaches and teachers achieve this kind of connection, I'd love to hear them.

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The Simple Phrase that Increases Effort 40% - Daniel Coyle

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Every teacher or coach worth their salt knows that there's no moment more important than the moment feedback is delivered. Do it correctly, and the learner takes a step forward. Do it poorly, and the reverse happens. The deeper question is, what's the secret of great feedback?

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colleen@erinkentconsulting.com

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Literacy Consultants & Consulting Services | Erin Kent Consulting

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Literacy Consultants & Consulting Services | Erin Kent Consulting

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EKC provides literacy consultants, consulting services, and literacy professional learning for schools.

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Reading and Writing Workshop in International Schools

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Reading and Writing Workshop in International Schools

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Great group focused on literacy!

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Story Workshop & Writing Workshop in Action

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Story Workshop & Writing Workshop in Action

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GSIS K-G1 Session 1 Workshop, Environment, Literacy Foundations (2)

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1. To share the adventure and joy of reading.
2. The students have fun with their learning. As a teacher, being joyful and having fun.
3. Seeing the best in them.
4. Helping ELL students to assist them and have more joy in learning, even when English is not their first language.
5. To provide a safe, nurturing environment that is fair and equitable.
6. To encourage our students take intellectual risks.
7. To provide an environment of inquiry and wonder and celebrate the curiosity.

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1. To feel loved and safe in our classroom
2. Have fun discovering
3. To become independent little people

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1. To create a safe environment where students feel safe and are not afraid of making mistakes.
2. To be available to help
3. To provide the help students need
4. To keep students safe, ensure the safety
5. To make students feel supported, loved, valued
6. To encourage students to keep go on, believe in their ability, believe in their potential..
7. To see the remarkableness in students
8. To provide appropriate learning experiences that are engaging, adequately challenging, and fun

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My take-aways from yesterday:
1. Make time for reflection at the end of Workshop! Often, my students and I get busy and then things just end without having time to celebrate/reflect. [Note: Today I made time for sharing and a gallery walk after Writer's Workshop!]
2. Use play to guide the writing process. I was inspired by the pictures of students setting up stories with toys and other items. So today I encouraged my students to set up a story with toys from the classroom and then start writing about it. They loved it and I did too!

My Wonderings:
1. As the workshop model is meant to be a framework and not a comprehensive curriculum, how do I make sure that my students are learning everything that they need? I am supplementing with other resources, but want to make sure I am supplementing with the right resources and not leaving any gaps in my students' learning.
2. I've incorporated some Science of Reading into my Phonics blocks, but I'd love to know if there is a recommended way to do go about doing that- combining inquiry along with Science of Reading strategies.

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I really enjoyed creating this story scene, using the toys I had in my classroom to inspire me. It took me longer than I thought it would to set something up that I was happy with and to generate ideas that I wanted to write about. That was good to realize that I shouldn't rush this first part of the process for my students. In my story, I imagined that 4 animals used an abandoned boat to go on an adventure and stumbled upon a magical forest of food, where every food you imagined appeared on trees or grew from the ground. It looked like the perfect place, except for the dinosaur guarding their way...

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Inquiring into Story Workshop - Preparation

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Inquiring into Story Workshop - Preparation

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Post a pictures of your story creation(s) here! 

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Post a pictures of your story creation(s) here! 

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It felt freeing and fun. Leaning on my creative skills and also what I know about how a story goes. I knew I needed characters and some sort of setting and action that my characters were participating in. I loved using the pieces from my surroundings like the shells and the flowers. That felt important to me as a storyteller.

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How does Story Workshop fit with non-fiction writing units?

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What might we compliment? What might we teach?

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What might we compliment? What might we teach?

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Great examples of conferring and tips.

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From A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences of The Classroom Essentials Series
Invite students to have a real give-and-take with you.

Even though in conferences you're a teacher talking to students, you're also a (more experienced) writer talking to (less experienced) fellow writers about what writers do-come up with topics, make a plan for a piece of writing, write a lead, develop a section
with detail, use commas in a series, and so on. In this give and take, you learn about what students are trying to do as writers and how well they're doing it, and the students learn how they can do their work better.

Speak in a conversational tone.

Tone is the foundation of the good relationships you want to develop with students over the course of the school year. Speaking in a warm, friendly manner puts students at ease and makes it more likely they will talk with you about what they're trying to do as writers. What you learn from this talk helps you assess students and decide what you should teach to help them grow.

Sit alongside students, at their eye level.

How you sit with students helps you establish a positive tone in conferences. You might grab a nearby empty seat or sit on one that you carry with you around the classroom. As you sit, it's important to make frequent eye contact with students and make sure that your
facial expressions show an interest in what students are telling you.

Use "active listening" strategies.

For example, give some wait time after asking a question so that students have the time and space they need to come up with a response. Ask students to "say more" about what they tell you. And repeat what children say to check that you're hearing them correctly.
Using these strategies shows that you have a real interest in what students are saying and that you're really trying to understand them. Students will usually respond by talking to you more.

The goal of a writing conference is to teach students something about writing that they can use in the future. If you add to students' writing repertoires in every conference, they become better writers over time.

Learn more at Heinemann.com

Carl Anderson is one of the nation's leading experts on teaching writing to students in grades K-12. He dedicates his energies exclusively as an education consultant and writer.

Carl recently worked for Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University as a Lead Staff Developer, providing staff development in the teaching of writing grades K-8. He spent school days in New York City elementary and middle schools demonstrating effective teaching in the writing workshop and coaching teachers. He gave day-long workshops for teachers at Teachers College on launching the writing workshop, conferring with student writers, mini-lessons, and developing curriculum for the writing workshop.

Carl is the author of numerous books including the bestselling How's It Going? A Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers, as well as Assessing Writers and the series Strategic Writing Conferences: Smart Conversations that Move Young Writers Forward Grades 3-6.

His latest book, A Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences, is part of the Classroom Essentials series. Full of classroom video, the book helps teachers understand the underlying principles and reasons for conferring with students, and how to make writing conferences a part of teachers' daily routines.

Follow Carl on Twitter @ConferringCarl

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The goal of a writing conference is to teach students something about writing that they can use in the future. If you add to students' writing repertoires in every conference, they become better writers over time.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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One action I'm taking / I'm planning to take based on our learning is...

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One action I'm taking / I'm planning to take based on our learning is...

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I used to think that Writing Workshop was an overwhelming process, especially when trying to meet with students for 1:1 conferencing. But now I see the power of workshop and that stories literally are verywhere.

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I used to think that Writing Workshop couldn't be done with our youngest writers, now I'm thinking that Story Workshop to create a bridge.

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One action I am taking is to create data sheets in Google so that I can better plan my whole group lessons, small groups and 1:1 conferences.

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One action I'm planning to take is sorting student writing across a unit to identify small group possibilities.

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I used to think that the story workshop should only happen at a designated time but now I think story workshop can happen anytime and it can be in any format! :)

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I used to think that the story workshop should only happen at a designated time but now I think story workshop can happen anytime and it can be in any format! :)

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I used to think that my students didn't have the writing stamina to allow me to do workshop fully. Now I know that when they are motivated and equipped with the right tools, they can write for at least 20 minutes while I take a small group and/or conference with other students. It's a beautiful thing!