Saturday, January 24, 2009
Writer's Notebook Ch. 7&8 group c 4pm
View the first sample chapters (available on line) Using the Writer's Notebook in Grades 3-8: A Teacher's Guide at (http://www1.ncte.org/library/files/Store/Books/Sample/35006chap1-2_x.pdf) and begin your writers notebook then post entries on Class Blog. Engage in an online discussion group on our class blog. Please read designated chapters and 1)propose “meaty” fat questions to discuss, 2) make connections to your teaching and work with students, and 3) make connections to your work as a writer (ie Keep your own notebook and share your response to it), 4)Please respond to two of your classmates’s entries in your study group, 4) Consider how what you have learned from this book might support the work of your integrated language arts unit.
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Response to Chapter 7 and 8:
ReplyDeleteI like this idea of students being able to pick and choose. Using the writer’s notebook on an individual level and providing the freedom of personal decision is an ideal approach to the writing process. I think Janet Elliot truly hit the target when she spoke of multiple approaches being necessary to expose students to different forms of organization and planning. The writer’s notebook is so much more open-ended that I originally thought! It is interesting to know, on a personal level, that I can make a short list or even just mention a question and answer and that truly can be a “lead” to a magnificent piece of writing. As a teacher that doesn’t regularly teach the writer’s notebook, I had reservations about the practicality of this tool. Now, being able to integrate graphs, and comparisons and contrasts, illustrations, points of view, and even dialogue, opens the door to the endless possibilities of that notebook. I’m seeing how the elements of good writing can all be incorporated as the writer simply “jots” these In fact, in my notebook, I include things like answers that may not be correct, but that I think are correct in my head. I imagine I could create a very unique creative story or essay by taking an assumption or what I think could be an answer to life and making it fantastical and innovative. I’ve currently been pondering on how I can create a light-heartedness in my classroom when teaching grammar. In my writer’s notebook I’ve made a pattern of words that will help incorporate song and rhythm to help kids remember irregularities in the language. By creating somewhat of a “score” for these concepts, I hope to help students remember through poems and rhymes that are logical for future use. It sounds very confusing on paper, but it is organized and sensible for memorization of the language. Such a small idea or thought can grow to wherever the writer wants to take it. Through mini-lessons, modeling, and guided practice, students too will realize that the small ideas in their heads are very important and really a huge step towards their classroom careers as successful writers.
I think much of this chapter is about taking risks in terms of what is planning and what is writing. It seems as though students have doubts and find difficulty in believing in their ideas. What makes our students these days afraid to be wrong? Where does the pressure really derive, parents, peers, teachers, society? I find it difficult to support students’ self-esteem and to convince them that their ideas, their wonders, their confusions are the way of learning. Instead of following these reflections, why are students reluctant to think deeper?
The integrated arts unit will incorporate some of the writer’s notebooks elements. For example, using perspectives or points of view are something that is going to drive home my expectation of students’ making comparisons and connections from the Latin American cultures to their own. Lessons of the unit will encourage students to consider various formats of writing. This is true, even in my classroom. Like my development of the unit, my classroom lessons provide a variety of writing formats. I try to explore various styles including letters, dialogues, advertisements, menus, directions, and captions and skits and plays. These formats work well with applying Spanish skills and I intend to continue their use.
Jane Elliott discusses so many ways students can write in their notebooks. There are no limitations. Students can experiment with words and pictures. It is clear that children need many opportunities to write. In order to develop children as writers, one has to work hard to offer many approaches to appeal to the different learning styles of the students. It seems that teachers get away from this freedom to write in any genre because of the requirements of the curriculum. We would encourage children to respond with words and become comfortable as writers. Wouldn’t we develop better writers if we just gave students many opportunities to explore their interests? Are we stifling students by focusing on the particular type of writing on the standardized test? In my program, I would love to develop a writer’s notebook with my students, however with a limited amount of time, I don’t know if I could achieve the desired outcome. Perhaps, the children could have a writer’s journal for the entire time they are in the program and keep it from year to year. If they exit the program, they would take it with them in hopes that they would continue to put their ideas into it. There are great resources listed in this book. I will definitely review some of them for additional writing units.
ReplyDeleteJane Elliott lists some graphic organizers that she finds useful. In my integrated unit, I will be asking students to use graphs, venn diagrams and charts to show their data. As they work in pairs, they will decide which graphic organizer will work best to show their information. The students will also use story boards to help understand and solve word problems in mathematics. In this way, my students will be able to visualize the main idea of the word problem and draw a picture to represent the factors in order to solve the problem. I am hoping that in time, the students will be able to read the word problem, understand what the problem is about and picture in their minds how to proceed in order to solve the problem. In my own writer’s notebook, I need to expand my ideas and begin to write about a broader variety of topics. How can I become a more creative writer?
Stefanie has indicated how Jane Elliott has broadened the world of writing. We as teachers need to be able to offer this variety to our students. Through a different approach to writing, perhaps we can make believers out of our skeptical students. And in doing so, make them think and delve deeper into themselves and their interests. Maybe we can make them risk takers and have them share their writing.
ReplyDeleteI also see many middle schoolers striving to be perfect, so they feel their work is inferior to others. Where does this attitude come from? I would hope that teachers and parents wouldn't pressure students to be perfect. In middle school, peer pressure is certainly an issue. In some instances, a student might not feel comfortable responding to a question because of peer repercussions. How do we make our classroom environments safe for all students?
Phyllis really hits a soft spot of mine when she asked the questions, “Wouldn’t we develop better writers if we just gave students many opportunities to explore their interests? Are we stifling students by focusing on the particular type of writing on the standardized test?”
ReplyDeleteStandardized testing has and is a current topic of controversy for teachers at all levels. I feel that education contradicts itself so much and all of the efforts people putting into individualizing lessons and assessments are simply mocked by the state’s standards. I mean, here we are trying to make kids wonder, be creative, think critically, take interest in what appeals to them, write on their own accord, and yet, standardized testing basically says who, what, where, when, how, and why. It is almost as if we want students to do as they say, not as they do. It makes no sense. Honestly, I think this contradiction is due to a lack of intelligence and awareness of how teaching should work within the legislative system. Law makers and Board of Education members do not have the knowledge to be making such huge decisions for America’s teachers and students. I think it’s important to keep on following Elliot’s vision and strive for a variety of writing, thinking, planning, and learning. I truly feel that if standardized testing continues to stifle the thoughts of our young learners, our classrooms will be filled with “robot children” before we know it.