Our Successes in Writing by Katherine Smith https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9 Celebrate en-us 2017-10-30 21:21:13 UTC 2025-11-02 00:11:05 UTC hello@padlet.com What are our successes in writing? katherine_smith8 https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/201940026 2017-10-30 21:21:59 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/201940026 katherine_smith8 https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/201940196 2017-10-30 21:22:40 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/201940196 Writing Success https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202975698 The writing workshop has been TRANSFORMATIVE for the students! Each year the students are coming to me with higher skills in writing. Their stamina is increased, the volume they are producing is incredible.  Their passion and interest in their own writing is incredible in comparison to just three years ago. 

This year I have seen HUGE growth in some of my most struggling students. Writing workshop helps me meet my students where they are at-- in just one unit one of my students with disabilities has gone from being low-confidence and unable to produce any writing in our pre-assessment to being able to plan a story and write over a page on our post-assessment. This is huge for him!]]> 2017-11-02 15:50:05 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202975698 Writing jody_jones1 https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202978374 I have seen students caring more about where their research comes from, working outside the box of the 5 paragraph formula, and more willing to take chances in their writing.

After looking at the Aspire scores, I think it is clear that the work we have adopted is strengthening our students' writing skills. This may take a year or two to see in the standardized test SBAC, but we cannot give up on our kids now.]]> 2017-11-02 15:54:36 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202978374 Better quality and ideas https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202979265 Students are engaging more in writing about topics that are more meaningful, and this is also resulting in writing that is more interesting. They are engaging more with writing that is authentic and making connections to how that writing will help them in the future.]]> 2017-11-02 15:56:03 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202979265 Students are not only building strong writing skills but are learning how to build self directed behaviors (agency). Using rubrics and progressions to identify strengths and make goals has been a huge benefit to my student growth. megan_chrisman https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202979297 2017-11-02 15:56:06 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202979297 Writing Workshop https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202979407 Writing Workshop has transformed the writing experience in my classroom. I have watched student work flourish because of the increased volume of writing, opportunities to experiment without anxiety of assessment, extensive peer/instructor feedback, mini-lessons, use of the debate protocol, and many other aspects of the program. I can't wait to--in a few years--see the level of a typical student who has already been though years of this program before they end up in my 11th/12th grade classroom. I know that I will soon be able to start the year at a much higher level of instruction than I currently do because the writers entering my classroom will be so much stronger due to the ELA curriculum adoption. ]]> 2017-11-02 15:56:17 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202979407 Writing Workshop patricia_kelley https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202980229 Students are becoming better at giving peer feedback]]> 2017-11-02 15:57:37 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202980229 narrative https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202980541 Reading narrative short works, not just for analysis purposes, but as mentor texts these last few years has changed the game on my student's narrative writing abilities.  Kiddos come in from middle school knowing these terms from their writer's workshop experience. They know where we are headed, the level of conversation and content output expected of them, and they're confident in their work.]]> 2017-11-02 15:58:07 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202980541 Writing along beside them as they do quick writes and then talk about their writing. Much better products! https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202980759 2017-11-02 15:58:29 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202980759 Individual middle schools are showing significant growth both as measured by standardized testing and teacher assessment. https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981086 2017-11-02 15:59:02 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981086 Students have a language for writing now, and an expectation that they will write all the time-- more text, more analysis, and more rigor. https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981124 2017-11-02 15:59:06 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981124 My students are showing incredible progress over time https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981150 I can see through my multiple opportunities in each writing target that students are progressing by leaps and bounds. The rubrics that we are using to scores students are incredibly rigorous and yet they are continuing to make progress to proficiency.  I have very few students who are not moving up!

]]> 2017-11-02 15:59:08 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981150 With writing workshop I see all my students taking increased ownership of their work and focusing on how they craft their writing. For the last two years all of my students have increased at least one level or maintained 4s on more complicated work from the pre-assessments to even the first opportunities for final drafts in narrative, informative and argumentative writing (I have data, since this was one of my professional development goals). I've also noticed this increased focus on their own craft has transferred to how they look at literary analysis...they have a much better understanding and come up with much more sophisticated insights. sharon_larpenteur https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981178 2017-11-02 15:59:11 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981178 Reading to Write https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981499 Students are seeing the connection between their growing lives as readers and their growing skills as writers. ]]> 2017-11-02 15:59:43 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981499 Something truly notable: there are students at my school that do NOT get writing and they see the difference between their experience and the experience of their peers. They know that the kids who get writing are receiving something they are not--inequitable, yes, but also evidence of an overall change in the district's approach to student learning around this essential set of skills. https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981537 2017-11-02 15:59:48 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202981537 AVID lisa_brownell https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202982139 Through the use of AVID strategies kids are getting much better at note taking. For some kids who have had a lot of failure, this simple writing task is more writing than they have done in ages. ]]> 2017-11-02 16:00:44 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202982139 All Students https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202982287 are discovering that having choice in writing is even better that having choice in reading.]]> 2017-11-02 16:00:58 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202982287 Essential Questions https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202982575 Students are able to create their own prompts based on in-class Socratic methods of discussion. ]]> 2017-11-02 16:01:30 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202982575 Writer's Notebooks kathryn_noah https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202983335 Work! My Sophomores had pages and pages of writing within the first couple days of school. When it came time to write essays, the process was so much quicker and easier for them. They produced much better writing and the turn in rate was much higher than normal. Additionally, I had a student turn in an essay that's never turned one in for school! ]]> 2017-11-02 16:02:47 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202983335 Differentiation https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202983479 When students use writing workshop methods, they are able to challenge themselves based on where they are.]]> 2017-11-02 16:03:05 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202983479 This year I moved from 8th grade to 9th grade. I can definitely see the influence of MS writer's workshop. My freshman are very comfortable with writing processes and terminology. They enjoy writing. https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202984083 2017-11-02 16:04:04 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202984083 Bob and I have gathered writing for each of our students. We are analyzing for what students are doing well and what we need to teach across all content areas including ELA. https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202984509 2017-11-02 16:04:50 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202984509 With my IB students, I've been incorporating writing workshop techniques as much as I can within the curriculum. In the last two years our scores have increased pretty significantly. For example, last year fully 50% of my students received 7s (top score) on Paper 2 (one of the two on-demand exams they do for IB Literature HL. sharon_larpenteur https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202985582 2017-11-02 16:06:51 UTC https://padlet.com/katherine_smith8/7j33o2wefaf9/wish/202985582