"Going Informational"

When First reading the chapter on "Going Informational", I thought about what the best way to teach informational writing could be. What better way to teach than to show? By reading research, students will see models of good informational writing and be able to emulate the style. I found this video about a program that makes researching fun and interesting for students. This resource (SIRS Discover) is a user friendly way for students to choose a topic and search it. The results of the search come up with credible research that is at the reading level that students can understand. This is a great way for students to begin their research for their informational pieces while at the same time reading great examples of what research should look like. Do you think this is a good resource for students to use in order to learn informational writing in an informational way? What other things can teachers do in order to make the process of research easier for students?

In Chapter 8: Unlock the Door to Revision, Spandel shows the reader the steps for students to take while creating their final draft of a writing assignment. She focuses on each of the six traits, and how to introduce each trait to students. I found this clip to be one way in which we as future teachers can use this technique to engage students in helping them to look at writing from a new perspective. The Emerald Lagasee perspective of BAMM.
Questions to think about: Do you think this analogy of making a meal as to writing better is accurate? Why or why not? Would you use this in your classroom in the future? At what age do you think this would be appropriate? Do you think this role of the media is beneficial to young students?

peer review lab

In chapter 8 of Creating Writers Through 6-Trait Writing, Spandel says that we should encourage students to work with each other as much as possible.
She also emphasizes that as teachers, we should not make our students dependent on us.
We should not be the person that the students should go to all the time.
By pushing our students to work together more we can motivate them to be more independent.
Take a look at this video.
It is an example of a peer editing workshop done in a 4th/5th grade mixed classroom. How do you feel about this revision and editing process?
Do you think it is beneficial for the students?
Do you see any strengths and weaknesses in this program?
Can anything be improved?
How do you feel overall about this peer review lab?

Brainstorming Made Easy & Fun

As we’ve learned from day one in this class, writing is a process. Rome wasn’t built in a day, after all. As Spandel says in Chapter 7, the steps to the writing process are Experience, Prewriting, Drafting, Sharing, Revising, Editing, Publishing, and Assessing. There are so many different experiences that a student can draw from to write about, but it is the prewriting stage where students often find themselves stuck.

Sometimes, students have too many ideas, and sometimes, students can’t think of a single thing to write about. A student who is a strong essay writer might have a difficult time creating a short story, just as a great student poet might be unsure of what to say in an essay. Brainstorming and prewriting can be daunting and chaotic.

As I was searching the web about teaching the writing process, I stumbled upon this brief video about story starter picture cubes. These cubes are used to help students who are stuck on the prewriting stage figure out exactly what they’re going to write about. I thought this was not only a really fun and innovative way to get students excited about writing, but that it was also a way to take the pressure off the beginning stages of the writing process. Sometimes, deciding what to write about is the hardest part of writing, but using materials such as the picture cubes is a great way to fix that. Also, these cubes can be something students make themselves. What a fun project that could be.

My question is: do you think innovative tools such as the picture cubes could really help a student’s writing process, or are there other ideas you find more useful?

Also, to add a fun little free write to this, write a brief paragraph involving popcorn and a space ship. Can't wait to read what you come up with.

Do Rubrics Stifle Creativity?

This video provides opinions from different parents and teachers on the use of rubrics in their classrooms. I thought this video was interesting because rubrics have become a controversial issue between teachers and students as well. Throughout these interviews, teachers have expressed that rubrics no only help organize writing, but they lay out expectations. Many of us have heard that we need to set our expectations with our students right from the beginning. I believe that this statement is valid. Besides expectations, the another professor states that rubrics help grading to be less subjective and more objective. This way students know what is expected of them. The grading is done fairly and they know what the teacher was looking for before they turned in their paper. Another huge point brought up as that rubrics stifle creativity in writing. Sometimes I do believe this to be true, but I also realize that it depends on the teacher. There are some teachers who reiterate using voice and uniqueness in writing. That is what should be done in classrooms. Even though we give rubrics as guidelines, we should not forget that we want our students to bring out their own voice in their writing. These expectations that we are setting can only make our students more successful in writing and not hold them back. Do you think that creativity has been lost in classrooms today? How can we continue to make writing more objective? Are rubrics the answer? Would you use them in your classroom? Do you think it is a good idea to involve your students in the expectation process but having them help you make the rubric?

And Now for Something Funny--A Virus Walks into a Bar

As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I thought it might be fun to look at humor in the classroom. How well does humor help students learn? To illustrate the potential for humor and learning, check out the video above: A virus walks into a bar and other science jokes. My question to you is this: what strategies have you run across that use humor in the classroom to help students learn? Some teachers like Prof. Jim Brown use funny photos to illustrate a point he's making in class. Others are just naturals when it comes to using humor. Do you think you'll be good at using humor? Or is it a special talent that some people have and others don't?

"Adding Flavor" to Student Writing!

As writers we sometimes struggle finding the best word to convey a message or notion. Some subjects are more difficult than others to write about using voice. Thus far as a tutor in writing have you encountered trouble in helping students find their voice in a writing piece? Have you had difficulty encouraging better word choice in student’s writing? As Spandel (2009) discusses in chapter five, “Adding Flavor: Voice, word choice, and sentence fluency,” there are writing ingredients that keep the reader engaged and represent good writing. Spandel (2009) goes on to describe this interaction of “ingredients,” as voice being the main component and “word choice and fluency are the first cousins of voice and enhance voice tremendously” (Spandel, 2009, p. 86). A reader will most likely not be pulled into a text if the writing lacks detailed, alluring, and expressive vocabulary that flows from one page to the next. The Empowering Writers workshop featured above discusses great lessons to teach students as they develop in the writing process. It is amazing to see the end result of a student’s writing after these notions were mentioned. There are five characteristics mentioned including: “beginnings, elaborative detail, suspense, main event, and endings” (Empowering Writers video, Auray, 2009). I found these to be characteristics of writing that are harder to teach and explain to students without modeling and having them practice. The presenter shared great examples of student writing developing as a result of these lessons taught. These are writing characteristics that are more likely to develop naturally, because they deal with student’s finding their voice in their writing. However, with the help of the teacher modeling and creating rich text environments, students will develop their vocabulary and fluency, which will then support their creativity within their writing. I believe, that showing the students, as discussed in the video, the difference between hearing writing that is boring as opposed to writing with voice and elaborate word choice, students will want their writing to sound just as great as the later (Empowering Writers video, Auray, 2009). Lastly, I would agree with Spandel (2009) who uses read aloud as an example of demonstrating voice, word choice, and fluency (Spandel, 2009, p. 88). Most children are always engaged when reading a great book aloud to them and this is one of the best opportunities to teach lessons concerning reading and writing. Do you believe if the teacher shows more interest in student work and encourages them to share more of what they are writing about, students will want to not only impress their teacher but will learn how to write with more meaning and detail? Are these five characteristics of writing something you would want to incorporate in your classroom? Have you experienced any challenges teaching one or more of the five characteristics, and how so?

Organizing Ideas

For those of us worried about how to teach writing traits such as ideas, voice, or organization here is a great program that will help in the classroom. The program is called Kidspiration, a visual learning tool that includes options allowing students to build graphic organizers, such as concept maps, mind maps, idea maps, and diagrams. Has anyone ever used this software before, would you recommend it if you have? The video focuses on the program's ability to help kids with organizing their ideas by allowing them to manipulate pictures and create a written and visual story. For those of us heading towards middle school and high school, do you think the simplicity of this program could help teachers reinforce the concept of voice and help students with self-expression?

Rethinking Writing Rubrics

This video is an interview with Maja Wilson, a public school teacher and author of Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment. She talks about how rubrics do not allow for teachers to properly assess interesting pieces of writing. Teachers use rubrics in order to follow a common guideline as to what good writing is. Wilson finds a problem with this notion. She talks about the history of rubrics and how they were used to filter through the number of university applicants—to separate the good writers from the bad. She believes that this is not the job of public school teachers. She says that public school teachers are there to help every student. She also talks about how rubrics produce uniformity in writing and also in the teachers’ reading. When this uniformity is utilized writers begin to lose the individualization and texture of writing. Wilson also states that “an interesting piece of writing throws a rubric into chaos.” She believes that rubrics do not work well with interesting pieces of writing. The video states that test scorers have said that interesting pieces of writing take longer to assess. This contradicts what was mentioned by Spandel. Spandel says that rubrics save assessment time. By utilizing a rubric, teachers will have more time for comments and suggestions because everything else is already written down for the student in the rubric. She also discusses how the rubric allows for the empowerment of the student and also for the voice of that student to be heard, which contradicts with the idea of uniformity, as mentioned by Wilson. How do you feel about rubrics? Do you believe they create uniformity among student writing? Is this a positive or negative effect? Do rubrics allow for individuality among writers? Are there any ways to improve rubrics?

Misspellings

You don't have to comment on this unless you want to. I just found this video and thought you would enjoy watching it. It is pretty funny. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Constructivist Learning

Throughout chapter six, Weaver talks about the importance of breaking down grammar into mini-lessons for the help of teaching children to retain more information. The constructivist model for teaching grammar and studies done on this method have shown that the teaching of grammar to be more effective in the context of writing than in isolation. This video shows children in a 4th and 5th grade class working on a social studies project that they got to choose the topic. The students are working in partners and taking the notes and doing the research to make a quality project. The students really seem to enjoy this project and gain a lot of out it. Do you think that children should have a choice in the topics of projects? Do you think it’s beneficial to sometimes work in groups? Also, if this is an effective way of learning, how do you think you can incorporate the constructivist model in your classroom?

By: Megan Tharp

Teaching Grammar

I wanted to find a video that talked about teaching grammar and there were so many out there it was hard to choose. I picked this one because it was short and to the point. Laura form young writers workshops.com gives us several useful tips and ideas on how to teach grammar. First she talks about using mini lessons. I believe that this is a great idea because it does not overload the students with all kinds of rules and regulations because this can make students not want to learn. You can also apply the mini lessons to writing assignments you are doing in class. Again this could be related to peer editing in the fact that they can use what they just learned to help edit other students papers. Next she talks about using literature that you are reading in class as a way to look at grammar by favorite authors. This can be helpful for students writing because when they find a favorite author they are likely to try and mimic their writing style.

Editing Tips and Spelling Mistakes

As I was searching for a good video on why writing mistakes are a good part of learning and to how to become a better writer, I was surprised to find nothing. I did however find this video, which explains five important points to pay attention to when you edit your paper. The first suggestion she makes is that when you edit your paper you should really pay attention to the spelling, regardless of what spell check might say, for you never know what spell check might miss. Also, look at your punctuation, capital letters, and really check your sentence structure and word usage. While she provides some important tips that are good for adult writers to pay attention too, it had me question what young students should be thinking about and questioning as they are learning to write. Should teachers strive to emphasize these tips in the classroom? What do you think? In our new book “Teaching Grammar in Context,” Weaver talks about how errors are a way for a writer to grow. And when teachers read students' papers, they should not go on an error hunt but instead try to understand what the child is writing about. Do you agree or disagree with this?

Technology Good or Bad?

Technology is affecting the way people think and behave in both positive and negative ways. Technology elicits a different type of interaction with written and oral language. This video brought up interesting facts about how technology has affected what and how people today read and write. For example the newspaper has always been a great source of information and was an everyday read for many, but with technology on the rise “newspaper circulation is down 7 million over the last 25 years.” Watching television is now more common. Cell phones are great for communication and helpful in many situations, but text messaging has taken away the formal letter writing, calling, and use of grammar and punctuation in writing. Over 2,272 text messages are sent by the average American in a month. Sixty-four percent of teens admit that the shortcuts and symbols commonly used in text messaging have appeared in their school assignments. Microsoft Word, Open Office, and many other common computer programs have spell check. Typing something on the computer becomes much easier for children, teens, and adults because everything from word usage to spelling is simply corrected for you. Technology has allowed information to be viewed simply by the click of a bottom. It takes a year to publish one million books and only an hour to digitally scan one thousand pages. Do you think it matters if a child is reading from computer screen or book? How about typing verse handwriting? What is your opinion on how technology is affecting the literacy skills of children? Should teachers be encouraging writing through the use of blogs, reading games, typing as a form of writing, etc.?

Choosing An Inspiring Author

Jennifer Montoya, a fourth grade teacher at Aguilar Elementary School created her own creative writing unit after noticing for years that students took no interest in writing because they had no motivation or inspiration. She states that her personal inspiration for creating this writing unit was derived from the award winning children's author Chris Van Allsburg. Chris Van Allsburg is most successfully noted for his two award winning books Jumanji and The Polar Express, which he both illustrated and wrote. Ms. Montoya's inspired creative writing unit demonstrates one of Routman's major overall points about teaching writing. It is essential to genuinely learn to love writing and demonstrate that towards students, so they can become enthusiastic about it as well. A wonderful way to begin to appreciate good writing is by relying on the reading/writing connection and simply reading books. Having an author that inspires them can assist teachers in become more enthusiastic about writing and cause them to gain a special appreciation for it. Ms. Montoya is obviously very passionate about Chris Van Allsburg's writing style and she brings that to her classroom by channeling the unique creative aspects of his stories into her lesson plans. This same principle can apply to students as well. Not only can having a favorite author make students want to read more, but it also effects different aspects of their writing. I remember some of my favorite authors as a child included Judy Blume, Paula Danziger, and Eric Carle because their writing styles and storytelling always engaged me. Students are more likely to become inspired to write when they see the value behind a particular author’s writing to create engaging stories that have true meaning within them. My final concluding discussion question are this: Do you think that all teachers should find an author that inspires them? How can having a favorite author be beneficial to students in learning to write? Who were your favorite childhood (K-12) authors and how do you think they have influenced your writing style to make it what it is today?

Making Every Minute Count

I have included a video on Erin Gruwell, the one who founded Freedom Writers Foundation, explaining a book that Freedom Writer Teachers have written. The Freedom Writer Teachers are many teachers who use the book called “The Freedom Writers Diary” in their classroom. Erin goes on to say how teaching is a very difficult and challenging profession. This relates to what Routman meant by teachers constantly asking the question of whether or not they are making the best use of the children’s time. In other words, they want to make sure that every minute counts. Routman goes on to offer advice in making a teachers job less stressful. I feel this video shows us that even though there will be many challenges in teaching, but that there will also be rewards. A reward could be the “a-ha” moment a child experiences and therefore validates your profession. Something to think about would be what are some of your ideas on how to make sure you as a teacher are making every minute count. Lastly, what is some advice you would give to teachers that are struggling with the workload that comes with their profession?

Research or you will be sucked into wasteful writing programs!

Routman tells us to be cautious about choosing writing programs to introduce in the classroom. I chose this video because this writing program called Excellence in Writing expressed online to be an effective writing program to boast students’ skills. As the program is introduced, the set comes with 9 DVDs and the first 6 are for the teacher, the rest are for the students to watch. This is TIME consuming. Why would teachers want to make their lives more complicated by wasting time watching videos instead of observing other teachers practices or talking amongst their colleagues to share ideas? This maybe a good program but it requires more out of the teacher. Routman illustrates a model that does not require hours of preparation and students watching videos. The optimal learning model is more engaging and the students will develop all the skills this writing program is trying to separate into different lessons. Are students really learning watching a video on how to write? How is that going to improve their writing? Why do you think teachers gravitate towards these writing programs without seeking their immediate resources first? If you were a teacher would you buy this program?

"No Child Left Behind" and Assessment

For the video, focus on minutes 1-3 regarding assessment but the whole video is a great reference to understand the reality of “No Child Left Behind.”

Personally, I think the emphasis that is put on high stakes testing is ludicrous. Jay McClain explains it very well in my opinion when he says, “High stakes assessment has killed teachers learning and developing as assessors. It uses external tests and evaluates data…the most vital assessment is actually inside the classroom.” I think this is especially true regarding writing. In-class writing assessment is a valuable tool for students to develop their writing with the help of other students as well as with their teacher. Students must, first and foremost, learn that writing IS enjoyable. However, students are not going to have that joy for writing if emphasis is constantly put on standardized assessment of their writing. I think that giving students freedom to write, without receiving a grade is important for students to maintain that enjoyment in writing. This can be achieved through exercises such as journaling and free-writes, where they are given a choice about what they can write about and are free from the pressures of receiving a grade. Moreover, conferencing is a great way to evaluate the progress of children’s writing. Getting to know students and the power of their individual writing is a fundamental element in progressing student’s writing skills. Pat Johnson said, “Teachers want to know how they can help children”, and I feel like this should be the aim in everyday education. What are your thoughts on “No Child Left Behind” (especially pertaining to assessment)? What is your experience with this act? A goal of the act is to make all students reach the 100% proficiency level by 2014; do you think this is possible? Do you think that 100% proficiency is EVER going to be possible? What kind of pressure does this statistic put on children? Let me know what you think about the video too! :)

Got a good reason to write song!

PBS Teachers | Resources For The Classroom

Shared via AddThis

I am first off sorry that this video did not show up for you on the blog. You just need to click on the like and then hit "View Resource". I could not get the special code needed to put it on here... sorry guys.

This video is short but adorable! I think that it would be a fantastic resource to use for your classroom (for the younger grades) because it is a song about having a reason to write. Routman talks about the importance of teaching your class to write with a purpose. I feel that this is imperative in making not only a good writer, but also in helping to make writing enjoyable for the writer and the readers. This song is something that can be used in your classrooms to help students understand the reasons behind writing and how important it is in everyday life. I think that it is sometimes not made all that clear to some students that writing is something that (even though we may not know it) is used every day for so many more reasons that we might not know. This song helps clarify that for younger students.

How To Use Blogger

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

How To Use Blogger

View more documents from Marcus9000.

As many of you are already aware, blogging has become a wonderful tool in the classroom for encouraging literacy development and stimulating conversations about current issues relevant to classroom discussions. Above you'll find a guide to using blogger, developed especially for teachers. Please take the time to view this so that you can familiarize yourself with all the possibilities that blogs offer to your class and to our class right now.

Reading is Fundamental

‘Reading is Fundamental’ was started in 1966 to motivate underprivileged children to read by delivering books and literacy resources that can help young students get interested. Knowing that 4 out of 10 American 4th graders read below their grade levels show that there needs to be more emphasis on the importance of reading. Students are surrounded by words every day of their lives, within the classroom and even when walking home from school. Students can only become lifelong readers if they are exposed to books throughout their childhood. This also entails having caring adults around that are willing to help students learn how to read. The text talks about how good readers are good writers and without accessible books how can a student ever become a good reader or writer? Reading and writing go hand in hand. Students pick up on the way authors write and the ideas they write about, making them more open minded when it is their time to sit down and write in class. Should teachers in today’s classrooms make it a point that students read every day even if it isn’t educational books?

“The International Teddy Bear Writing Project”

In 2008, the Nation Education Computing Conference held a convention in San Antonio, Texas, where Kathy Timpone and Agnes Awerski introduced “The International Teddy Bear Writing Project.” As seen in the video, these two teachers started up a program where stuffed animals are “adopted” by classrooms, “live” the life of the classroom, and then are written about by various students. These teddy bears are then sent to other countries to participating schools where international students do the same. The greatness of this project is its simplicity. It’s just a teddy bear being sent from country to country, classroom to classroom, but it is so much more than that. The children, who care for the teddy bear, write about what they do in their country and school. They are then able to spread their shared experiences with their teddy bear with others around the world. This project not only supports and encourages writing, but it also encourages global education and diversity. What can we do as future teachers to incorporate other aspects of life and education into the way we teach writing?

Social and Emotional Learning and Writing

Remember the reading we had at the beginning of the semester--Powerful Learning by Linda Darling-Hammond? Darling-Hammond is clearly one of the leaders in the field of education, and her emphasis here on the importance of social and emotional learning taps directly into writing instruction. What kinds of writing instruction nurture the development of social and emotional learning? What kinds hinder it?

When a writing assignment is designed well, with an authentic task, choice within the limits of the learning objective, and clearly scaffolded instruction that helps the student move from one level of competence to another, then we assume the assignment will be meaningful and full of learning opportunities for the student. But if we don't allow for the social and emotional learning that happens through writing, then we've neglected an important part. What can we do to address social and emotional learning in the classroom?

Raising Expectations

Although this video speaks about writing to become a published novelist, we could all use their key points within our classrooms. Regie Routman mentions many teachers who lower the expectations of their students to the point in which they're not challenged to do better, to become better readers and writers, when in reality, many of the students can do better. Everyone has heard the saying “practice makes perfect” and though there is no such thing as perfect, it is impossible to become better at something without pushing oneself to do more, to write, express, read, and imagine more.

The authors in the video express the essential ideas to writing. Dianne Hammond said that you need to write everyday which really is important to early writers. Without that practice, the students’ writing will not improve. Using daily freewrites will force the students to tap into their inner writer, it will allow for the creativity, vocabulary, and length to emerge through their writing.

Do you feel that having the students write everyday, just to write, will improve their writing? If your teachers expected more out of you, would your quality of work improve?

Writing Workshop

This lesson used in a 2nd grade classroom is a perfect example of a

class working together, creating individual ideas, and sharing writing.

I loved how the teacher starts the lesson by reading a book to her

students. They work together to analyze the words used in the

literature and learn how describing words help to make the story more

interesting. The students then break off to write individually while the

teacher passes through the room to help when needed or edit along the

way. At the end the students get to stand in front of the class and

share their piece.

What is so great about the Writing Workshop is the success and

encouragement the children each feel by being excited to write about

their own individual topics. Most of the points in the Workshop support

Routman's ideas of essential writing techniques and the children all

seem genuinely engaged and excited about the lesson and their own

writing. Celebrating and encouraging the children is such an important

aspect of teaching writing. If they only learn that turning in writing

assignments means getting back papers full of read marks and

corrections, they are going to be less likely to enjoy the writing

process. Generating a passion for reading and writing at a young age

will help the students feel confident and proud of their work as

they progress through the years.

For more information on this specific video or program, visit

www.readingrockets.org.

Athletics and Education

Happy Labor Day everyone! Seeing as I am the first to blog I am going to take advantage of my leeway. While athletics is not very relevant to writing outside of sports journalism, I believe that it can impact students in a way that benefits them on the basketball court and in the classroom. The video I posted mentions some of the positive effects sports can have on students, especially those in lower-SES environments.
Sports embed values of teamwork, responsibility, preparation and determination in its athletes. This positive work ethic can also be transferred to the classroom, where student athletes will take the same values they developed through sports and apply them to their homework among many other academic challenges. Sports also offer students a positive and healthy outlet for the stress and anxiety that may build up during the school day. . . exercise! Although exercise may not always be the best cure for stress, there's always the coach to offer his or her advice to the student athletes regarding their situation. After all, coaches are some of the best teachers given the relationship they have with their athletes. For this same reason, a lot of student athletes can look back and appreciate the concern they received from their coaches.
Lastly, sports is an excellent way to motivate students to do well so they can continue on to college. Thanks to the NCAA, student athletes around the nation have the ability to receive athletic scholarships to various colleges and universities; an opportunity that is not offered to ordinary students. These scholarships offer hope for a college education to student athletes who otherwise would not be able to because of financial or academic reasons. Although the main focus of most of these athletes is on their sport instead of their education, at least they are receiving a degree while pursuing their passion.

Expeditionary Learning at King Middle School

While some educators warn that an emphasis on project-based learning will cut into standardized test scores, King Middle School's expeditionary learning projects have flat out proven those people wrong! In the video above, learners work together in teams with their teachers, and community experts to produce video productions of the learning they do in their classes. One project, The Vanishing Footprint, documents their research into Maine's endangered species. Aided by a video expert and a publishing CEO, the students successfully published their work for all to see.

This, I would argue, is where writing, in all its phases, reveals the wealth of learning that can happen. Project-based learning is where writing shines. Even though a video is the final product, all the scripting and drafting of the project takes place through a composing process that students master as they go along. All the elements of project-based learning are here: active, in-depth learning; authentic, formative assessment; opportunities for collaboration; attention to prior knowledge, experience, and development; knowledge organized around core concepts and connections; and the development of metacognitive skills through the use of formative assessment (p. 196-198).

For more information, go to http://www.edutopia.org/expeditionary-learning-maine-video

Celebrating a School Garden

Here, just for the fun of it, is a slide show/video with lively music that celebrates the planting of a garden at another school. This one appears to be a middle school. What would it take to launch a project like this? Would it be appropriate for middle schoolers? How would you as a teacher connect it to the curriculum and the standards?

School Gardens as Community Projects and Learning Opportunities

Have you ever started a garden? This garden is both a learning opportunity for an elementary school and a community project. Children learn about decay as well as growth as they study how worms enrich the soil, how plants decompose, and how the earth is built up to enrich the garden. Theme gardens are also a possibility, with one class planting a Japanese garden, complete with the Japanese use of gardens for contemplation. Children also use the garden as inspiration for the art they do, which is then displayed in the garden.

What learning opportunities do you see for a garden as a project-based learning opportunity? How would you integrate it into the curriculum?

The Cell Project--PBL Applied

The Cell Project illustrates one use of problem-based learning that sounds intriguing. One class of eleventh graders at High Tech High have been given the challenge to teach seventh graders all that they've just learned about cell biology. As you watch this, what questions do you have about it? What works from what you can see? How did they decide to go about teaching younger learners? What do you think of their approach? How would you go about setting up a situation like this?

Peer Editing

This humorous example of the peer editing process covers the entire spectrum of peer editing possibilities. The students show the potential for peer editing to become frustrating to both the writer and the reviewer. Have you experienced any of these pitfalls in your own peer editing sessions? Do you think this is an effective learning tool for peer editing in higher grades?

Peer Editing

This is an example of peer- editing in a 4th/ 5th grade classroom, which shows many of the features we have discussed in class. What aspects of the students' peer editing do you think are most helpful? Which could be improved upon? Overall, do you feel that this is effective in assisting the students with their revision processes?

Rethinking Writing Rubrics

Maja Wilson, author of Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment speaks about how uniform rubrics can be. As we talked about in class, rubrics can often hinder learning and leave the students with a unclear assessment of their work. Wilson speaks of how Diederich sought for one way to assess student writing, and how this is now used to conform student writing. Wilson believes that rubrics are a tool that keeps the supposed "bad" students out of colleges, do you agree with this idea? She also states that an original and good piece of writing can upset a rubric, what do you think should be done to ensure that this doesn't happen? Do you think that teachers can use rubrics in tandem with their own commentary? I believe that although Wilson does not like rubrics, they can e used effectively in the classroom. Rubrics can be used as a guide for students on teacher expectations, but Wilson does not give the impression this happens. Do you think that future teachers should be educated in both the successes and failures of rubrics?

Reading Wars

The way that reading is being taught in classrooms has been a topic for debate for countless years. Teachers and policy makers call this the "Reading War", and this war is between those who endorse using phonics and those who promote whole language learning. Both sides of the argument state that their way of learning is "the key to effectively teaching all children to read". This war on teaching methods does nothing to help the teachers and students, and it has become a game of politics. The article "Reading Wars", states that although both sides believe in their cause, "There is virtually no disagreement, though, "that reading is the gateway to learning in all content areas and essential for achieving high standards," as stated in the National Education Association's official reading policy."

According to the article, which can be read here, a complete reading program should be approached like a well-balanced diet. It states that a "Completeness in both diet and reading," said the Task Force, "is achieved by providing diverse components in ratios that are not necessarily equal. In addition, the ratios might vary with individual needs and with development." I thought that this was an interesting analogy, and by providing diversity, students will achieve more. I also think that by promoting balance, students will be encouraged to read more and to think critically about what they read. However, getting the student reading in the first place is the most important thing. After looking at the phonics vs. whole language, what has your experience been with them? Which one do you think is a more helpful learning tool, and what do you plan to use in your own classroom? Lastly, what do you think about keeping a complete reading program balanced? Do you think that reading programs should be standardized or catered to individual students?

Digital Learning

In the video Vision of K-12 Students Today it discusses digital learning. It emphasizes the fact that the students are digital learners and learn by doing, however the teachers do not know how to use digital technology to incorporate digital learning.



Do you think digital learning is a good idea? why or why not?

If students are digital learners how come most teachers do not incorporate it into their classrooms?
Would you, as a teacher, use digital learning in your classroom?

Teaching Argumentative Writing through Debate

In our textbook Writing Essentials, Routman discusses that teachers should save time and make every minute count. Instead of having the students do a lot of papers have them focus specifically on a big projects In this article Teaching Argumentative Writing through Debate by Joe Connor he discusses the students learning a lot through one big project: argumentative debating. It not only engages the students because they realize their beliefs, get to argue their opinion, and they consider opposing views, but they develop critical thinking skills needed throughout life.

Do you think big projects are more engaging for the students than a lot of small papers or projects? why or why not?

Is Argumentative writing a writing style you would teach your classroom? Why or why not?
What other ways could you incorporate argumentative writing into the classroom?

Blogging in the Classroom

Using Blogs in the classroom is becoming more and more popular. Many teachers are using these blogs as a part of their writing curriculum.

In Saipan, one teacher uses these blogs to help his students whose second language is English, master their writing skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRyh4UeP-IY

What do you think about using blogs in the classroom? Is it something you would want to do?

How can using blogs in the classroom help those students whose second language is English?

Never Again

In this video we are shown the many horrible genocides that have taken place over the years. We are shown that each time our country has said "Never Again," but it keeps happening all the time. Beginning with the Holocaust this video gives a list of the many different horrible events that have taken the lives of so many innocent people. The video closes with the facts of Darfur. The present day genocide that is not talked about nearly enough. After watching this video I think it would be a great idea to have your class write a letter to congress, and even the President of the United States. It would be a great way to incorporate the writing aspect into something that can really help to make a difference. Also you can have your class write a proposal on what they can do to raise awareness about the horrible genocide that is taking place today in Darfur. The more people talk about it, the more people will actually step up and help make a difference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhow9xFH2_4&feature=related

Darfur

Here we see a picture of the women and children of Darfur. Through this picture we are able to see so much just by the looks on their faces. Through this picture you can have your students write a short story about one of the people in the picture. You can have your students research the horrible events that are taking place in Darfur and have them write a story or a poem about this picture. There is so much life captured in this picture. You are able to see an entire story through this one picture. What other questions would you ask youtr students after showing them this picture. What ways could you get your students involved in helping the victims of Darfur? Do you think we are Americans should do anything to stop this genocide from happening? As future teahers we have the ability to shape young minds, and we have a responsibility to ensure our students are well educated on everything that is going on in our world.

Journal Writing in the Classroom

This article, "Journal Writing in the Elementary Classroom" by Beth Lewis talks about many different ways to incorporate journal writing into the classroom.

She talks about the ways she has used it in her third grade classroom. She gives a new perspective on what journal writing should be or has been in the past. She provides ways to make it more exciting and enjoyable for students.

She also includes grading criteria she uses, including this checklist.

What do you think about Journaling and Freewriting in the classroom?

Do you think her ideas would be useful?

Do you think using a strict grading criteria for students would be hurt or help their view of writing?

Thinking Maps

This Monday, a small group of students and I observed Ms. Tonti's 4th grade class. After the lesson on transitions, during which she mapped the use of transitions in a story, she showed us some of the students' publications and raved about "Thinking Maps." Thinking Maps is part of a commercial product and is marketed as an amazing tool for learning. Take a few minutes to view their video and see what you think.

Does this strategy strike you as sound and valid? Are there possible challenges to this strategy of relying on graphic organizers that have been made even more sophisticated through the use of Thinking Maps?

When we think of graphic organizers, we think of the schematics illustrated to the left of this post. Is there something more than this that we need to rely on an educational supplies company to provide, or can we figure it out ourselves as teachers?

What do you think?

Should Students Be Rewarded for Excellent Performance in School?

“Rewards for Students Under a Microscope” is an article by Lisa Guernsey that was published in the New York Times on March 2, 2009. It explores the question of whether or not it is beneficial to reward students with money, toys, etc. for academic success. Many psychologists warn against its use, while economists and business-oriented people believe in its benefits. The heated debate continues while the number of reward-based programs located in poverty-stricken areas is increasing. The article discusses the details of multiple programs that use some form of a token economy as well as outlines the current research being conducted to learn more about this subject. Click here to view the article.

What are your reactions to the article? Are you Pro/Con the use of money or prizes to reward academic success?

Were/Are you rewarded for your academic success with money/prizes? If so, has that influenced your understanding of school and the importance of learning?

Teaching Kindergarten Kids English

This video portrays what one teacher does in a once per week 45 minute kindergarten class at Aire English school. The school website is written entirely in an Asian language, suggesting that the majority of the students enter the school to learn English as a second language.

The class shown has 4 students, so there is plenty of room for individual attention. In the class, the teacher incorporates song to teach popular English phrases such as “Hello, what’s your name?” and counting. He has individual conversations with the students and models how to introduce oneself. In summary, the teacher uses fun, games and songs to teach students English using a variety of methods.

I thought this video was interesting because the teacher incorporated many different activities to encourage language and literacy development. Throughout the lesson, students were required to listen to, speak, and read English words and numbers.

I encourage you to think about any/all of the questions below:

High-fives were used frequently as positive reinforcement. What do you think about this approach? What are the limitations, if any?

Do you think he was successful in incorporating various techniques to assess students’ understanding of English?

Do you think his approach would be successful in any kindergarten class?

Do you think he provided authentic opportunities for students who learn best with different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) to succeed?

Two-Way Language Immersion

My niece is entering kindergarten next year, and her parents have decided to enroll her in a two-way language immersion program, where she will be taught from kindergarten through twelfth grade in both English and Spanish. In kindergarten children are taught in 90% Spanish and only 10% English. Each year the amount of English language instruction increases until instruction is 50% Spanish and 50% English.

I thought that this model of learning was very interesting and something that could be very beneficial for students, especially in ethnically diverse places such as Southern California.

The following video provides an example of a Spanish- English immersion program.



Explore the California Department of Education's web page regarding Language Immersion Program standards.

What do you think of this program? Do you know anyone who has experience in a program similar to the one in the video?

In what ways can it be beneficial? Harmful?

Do you think more schools should offer programs like the one above?

Eliminate Kindergarten?

An article published in the Orange County Register on Feburary 17 states that the Capistrano Unified School District has proposed eliminating kindergarten entirely from all of the districts schools. The proposed cut would eliminate 119 teachers, saving the district nearly 9 million dollars a year. Parents in the districts are obviously concerned and question the legality of the proposed cut.

The problem is that the legal lines in this case are blurry. According to the article, "State laws do not explicitly say whether school districts are required to offer kindergarten, according to the California Department of Education." However, other sections of the legal code contradict the prior statement causing parents and educators alike to question the validity of the possible cut.

I could not imagine what hardships both students and teachers would face if Kindergarten programs were removed from schooling. Children who do not attend preschool are usually well behind their peers upon the entrance of Kindergarten and have a difficult time catching up. Could you imagine how far behind our students would be if Kindergarten was not mandatory as well?

Click here to read the rest of the article.

What are your feelings about this possible elimination of kindergarten?

What are the consequences for students and parents short term? Long term?

Do you see the offering of Kindergarten as a legal obligation of the districts? The state?

How Much Freedom?

Not far from here, in Long Beach, one high school teacher, Erin Gruwell, encouraged her students to tell their stories through journals and anonymous story sharing. Her teaching practices led to the book Freedom Writers, which was later made into a film.



Here, Erin describes the guidelines she set up to help her students feel safe about taking the risks involved in disclosing how they felt and what they were going through.



Erin's work also raised issues of ethical behavior in the classroom. Here she explains what she discovered in working with these issues.



One question that emerges from this film is this: How far should teachers go in encouraging students to write about what they know, in approaching authenticity in their writing? Some school boards and parents objected to too much freedom in the writing students did in their journals and in their published work. So how much freedom is appropriate and how much is too much?

Writers On Writing

This video shows a series of quotes from writers about writing. Many students' fear of writing is due to the fact that it's never discussed in class. Those who struggle with any aspect of writing hold it inside because they may feel alone, but what they may not know is that writing is a hard process that takes time. Their own teachers may struggle from time to time and students need to know and even see that.  Why is it important to lead an open discussion about writing with students early on?

Top Ten Reasons to Use a Blog in the Classroom

Here it is, right from the students themselves! These short clips feature students explaining why they like using blogs in the classroom. Check it out and see if you agree.

Young poets and "The Private Eye"

At Provo Primary School, Miss Bonnie has been inspiring her students with The Private Eye, a program encouraging students to look closely at everyday objects and answer questions to develop their creativity and thinking skills, as well as how to transfer that to paper. At Miss Bonnie's Blog we can see the process as well as examples of her students work. In what ways can this approach be effective in getting students to dig deeper when writing their thoughts?  How can learning to theorize and think by analogy be useful in other subjects?

Inkheart! Can You Make Writing Come to Life?

What if you had the ability to bring a book to life? In Cornelia Funke's book Inkheart, both father and daughter have the ability to do just that. Based on the premise that a gifted storyteller, otherwise known as a “silvertongue,” has the power to bring a tale to life, Funke populates her stories with the stuff of myth and the magical realism of fantasy grounded in everyday life.



Here Funke talks about the creative process she used in coming up with her tale.


What kind of potential do you see in a book like this for teachers who want to encourage writing and reading? How would you use it in your classroom?

If you could bring a story to life, what would it be?

Blogging in the Classroom

- Sarah Guth is a Professor at the University of Padua.  She uses blogs as tool in the classroom to help her college students learn and reflect.  Dr. Guth talks about how blogs can serve as a "personal space" for the student to feel comfortable in.  She also mentions that it is a good way to keep track of her students.  Do you think blogging at the lower levels of education would aid or hinder student learning?  What age is it appropriate?  What type of class?  How could it be used? 

Barack Obama comments on writing and education

- Barack talks about how reading and writing are interrelated.  In what ways does reading help writing? 

- What do you think about Barack's postition on the education system and the NCLB act?

Praise Song for the Day!

Poetry got a front and center seat at the inauguration with the wonderful reading of Praise Song for the Day. Here it is, as she read it aloud that day. What did you think of it? How appropriate did you find it for the day?

Hallelujah! The Inauguration. At Last!

What an interesting series of paintings! The New York Times posted this on their web site: "The Inauguration. At Last"--a lovely artistic journal of one participant's impressions upon attending the inauguration on January 20th. What strikes me is the spareness of the language she uses, as if she were writing poetry and then illustrating it with her own small journal sketches. How would you use this in your class? Is it possible that this kind of journal keeping could help model reflections that include the use of multi-media like this?

Take 20: Writing Teachers Talk about Teaching Writing

Here's an interesting video entitled Take 20: Writing Teachers Talk about Teaching Writing. In these interviews, nationally known writing teachers give their views on a number of topics about their approaches to writing. As you listen to their answers, think about their relevance to the kind of teaching you'll be doing. How would you answer these questions?

Welcome to Celebrating Writing

Welcome to Celebrating Writing K-12, a blog for EDUC 412, Teaching Writing K-12. Through this blog, you are invited to share your curiosity and discoveries about writing and teaching in general. Instead of writing to a limited audience of a teacher, you're invited to write to your peers as well. Each week, we will trade off in hosting the blog, in posting an entry, and in facilitating a discussion on the blog.

Here as an example of what you might post for a topic of discussion is a YouTube video entitled "Worth Celebrating." This is a fascinating account of a writing celebration, where students display and explain their ethnographic research into the various literacies of their communities.


What do you think? What possibilities do you see for the kinds of writing assignments and celebrations your students might do?