- Creating a supportive environment - make sure kids feel comfortable sharing their writing with each other and with you. Equally important is setting the stage to show kids how to help their peers improve. Sometimes in my class I've seen kids read a paper, give it back, and say it's great there are no mistakes. Okay, I know sometimes this is because they don't care or can't find anything to "fix." But, I've come to realize that sometimes they are not comfortable making suggestions. So one important aspect of improving students' writing, is to help students have confidence in revising their own work, and helping others with theirs.
- Write aloud - model for students how effective writers (in this case you!) compose a piece of writing. Pick a topic, and model for students how you go about putting your ideas on paper, speaking your thoughts on the process out loud. I know this sounds really uncomfortable for some, if it makes you nervous, practice ahead of time, but it really shows kids what the process should sound like in their heads.
- Looking at samples - sometimes, especially in the content areas, kids are exposed to a lot of textbook writing, but is this the kind of writing we expect them to produce? Typically not. Give kids examples of articles, blogs, or other high quality student samples to they have concrete examples to go by.
- Assessment - one idea I really liked is to set individual goals for kids. If you are not required to do so by your school, instead of grading for every component, work with the kids on deciding which area(s) of their writing need the most improvement, and grade students on that aspect for a particular assignment. If that seems too time consuming, trust me I know, I typically have around 120 kids, pick one area you have noticed needs improvement in students' writing in general, maybe organization or explanation and support of ideas.
- Feedback- I can truly say that this is one area I need to improve in. Kids like and need individualized feedback, both from you and their peers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1pnpL8295E
Well I would agree with the idea of creating a supportive environment. I think with out a safe environment for kid's to communicate on paper and with each other that little will ever be accomplished. The write aloud idea does sound a little weird but not after reading one of other classmates books where their author suggested to mimic writing in front of our students so they could see us write, edit, mis-spell, pause, re-write, etc. as we work. It is the same idea as your author has of writing aloud. The idea of using samples is one of my favorites since I am one of those students that always looks at sample of how to do things if it is available to me. This helps me to jump into my own work. The assessment idea sounds great but I would agree it would be a challenge with so many students but it may be a good course of action for some students that are having more struggles than others; this could help them to build their writing from where they are currently are.
ReplyDeleteNatalia, I think you've listed some very important points about the writing process. I agree creating a supportive environment is probably the first thing an educator should do in their classroom. Scaffolding is always nice for students when learning something new. Also, following up with examples is helpful for new learning. I think feedback is extremely important. Sometimes lessons need to be adjusted in order for each student to connect. I think we as teachers also need to take time to reflect on our teaching and make sure we are meeting the needs of each student.
ReplyDeleteGreat points. I believe students perform better when they are in a comfortable environment. I think creativity flows easier between students and teacher when everyone in the class feels safe to make comments and suggestions.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult for students to comment on other classmates work. I think they don't know what to "correct" but they can just make suggestions and also write what they liked and thought was positive about the work.
I like that you included the YouTube Video. A lot of fun to watch. In some ways I wish we had more time to produce our post as was mentioned n the video. Some days I feel a lot of pressure to make my blog entry and worry about the quality of the writing. But than again, it's probably developing my voice as a writer more.
ReplyDeleteAs far as some of your point, I really feel strongly about creating a supportive environment for kids to freely express themselves. In the Art room environment this is of paramount importance as it is with writing. Young people are so susceptible to criticism that might be perceived as negative, and if that happens they might give up and be less willing to try.
I'm glad you all agree about the supportive environment, I think we can get students to do and learn so much more when they feel secure in our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteMatt, I'm glad you liked the video, I thought it was great. Your point about our own blogs made me think about why we are blogging, and I think Dr. Pence is probably more concerned with our learning v. our writing quality. I know she expects high quality writing, but I think (and I could be way off) that she is having us write to learn as the authors of my book calls it. Writing to synthesize the information being presented in our books, and of course being able to read about a variety of books is great, especially since we aren't being asked to read all of them, which would only result in a superficial reading at best. This way we can really delve into our individual books, and learn some from the other books as well. So my book and your comment really made me think about why I assign the writing projects I use in my class.