This past Monday a colleague and I presented a writing professional development workshop for the classroom teachers and the special educators. We began the workshop together; the teachers analyzed the CCR Writing Standards to make sense of them. The teachers matched and glued the Titles for each of the Cluster Standards. Next, the matched the synthesis statement to each of the standards. Next, we shared a Clarification Document that was created by snipping the Cluster Standards for K-5 from http://rt3nc.org/objects/standards/cclitmap/ela.html
The teachers worked together to reflect on the grade level expectations for their grade as well as the grade level prior and the grade level above them. The teachers found that the intermediate expectations were very rigorous and it was the job of the primary teachers to ensure that our students are prepared as a writers. Later, we split the intermediate and primary teachers in two rooms. We each discussed why we write, how we teach writing, and when we teach writing. In the primary years, students learn to express their thinking first with pictures and with an oral explanation of the pictures. Generally the teacher models writing their thoughts down. Later in their development, they work on refining their thoughts orally. Once they are able to explain their thinking orally and they have an understanding of print, they are prepared to begin to write their thoughts using words. Students have experienced frequent modeling and feedback in the primary years. In grades 3-5 students should be able to write regularly and improve their clarity and the organization of their writing more independently. Written expression is a difficult skill to acquire. It is not developed unless is it taught, students read regularly to analyze the craft of various authors, students have time to practice, they are given immediate feedback, and they learn to revise their work. We then discussed that when we are teaching the writing standards, we should think about where we need our students to go and plan how we will get them there through mini-lessons and informal writing opportunities. The writing process should be scaffolded through modeling and should be consistent. Keep in mind that like adults, children generally do not have the stamina to write for the entire ELA block. We worked on analyzing our upcoming units to identify the writing standards we need to teacher and we worked in grade levels to plan writing mini-lessons in a logical manner. We discussed the importance of using the clarification documents to create a grade level appropriate exemplar. We reflected on the importance of creating success criteria with our class so that they understand the expectations of the assignment. The teachers worked to long range plan and to leave space for responsive small group writers' workshop. We also talked about the importance of providing time for students to informally write to practice and refine their writing skills. We came up with a list of ways students could become engaged in writing during a work on writing literacy workshop. Interested in the resources? https://padlet.com/mhaberkam/WritingPD
0 Comments
Small group instruction occurs throughout the day because the students in our classroom communities learn in different ways and at rates that may vary. The small group model allows the teacher to provide responsive instruction to his/her students. Before small group occurs where teachers are able to successfully work with small groups of students; the students that are not working with the teacher must understand and have practiced expectations, routines, and procedures. Ensuring that the students are working on meaningful independent work that is engaging when the teacher is working with other students in essential in the learner-center classroom. If the teacher begins to pull small groups before the culture of learning has been established, learning will not take place. Preparing your students to work in small group is systematic in nature.This is a great small group model to begin with in a classroom. This model allows for explicit teaching of collaboration and gives the students time to practice and refine their listening and speaking skills. After students have learned to collaborate effectively without the teacher leading the discussion; this may be a good time for the rotation model to be introduced. This model enables the teacher to get to know their students' learning profile because they are available to "spy" on the students. It also leaves the teacher available to provide feedback on how the students are working together. The rotation model helps the students to get used working in a classroom where multiple activities are taking place. This small group model includes productive noise. After students have learned to work together effectively and to work through productive noise, the teacher to should begin to plan lessons that are customized for their students' learning needs. As the culture of learning develops in the classroom, students will begin to take ownership of their learning style. This is when personalized learning occurs during workshop time. The teacher can begin to remove themselves from the collaborative small groups because the students have had time to develop the skills to work together without an adult's intervention. The educator can meet with groups of students based on their academic needs. As the students are developing stamina the teacher may want to consider teaching mini-lessons between meeting with small groups. The students that are not meeting with the teacher are working on similar activities as they are developing self-efficacy and meta-cognitive skills. Once students have taken ownership of their learning, the teacher is able to provide customized lessons for their students and the children have the opportunity to personalize their learning.
|
Author
Hi! My name is Megan Haberkam. I am a S.T.A.T. teacher with Baltimore County Public Schools. I am passionate about teaching and learning. I am lucky enough to work with students and teachers on our constant journey of improving instructional practices and learning in our classrooms. Archives |