It's Almost Time

It’s the beginning of August and the start of school is right around the corner. While still enjoying these last days of summer, many teachers are beginning to plan for the upcoming year.  As you begin to contemplate your writing instruction, consider these variables.

We all need a friend. 

In order for students to be able to work cooperatively and compassionately together, they must feel invested in other people. Building relationships between teachers and students, and students to students, takes time and effort.  One of the best sources we have found is The Morning Meeting Book by Davis and Kriete.  https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/product/morning-meeting-book/  The book provides hands-on ideas for building positive classroom relationships.  A fifteen minute morning meeting provides students time to share ideas, complete a cooperative activity and prepare themselves emotionally to have a positive day.  Plan ideas/activities for the first few weeks of school prior to the start of the year.  What do you want this time to look like?  What must be included in your classroom meetings? Building a classroom community will benefit your writing instruction as you ask students to share their writing while giving and receiving constructive feedback.  The time spent in Morning Meeting  will help alleviate student anxiety as they already feel they are a part of the group.

Review of skills and expectations is essential

Each year students need to learn the expectations of a new teacher and grade level.  Think through your expectations for writing.  What behaviors do you expect to see from students during writing?  What will feedback look like in your classroom?  What essential skills must students master?  What non-negotiables will you put in place in your writing classroom?

Make a schedule

Stephen Covey has said, “The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”  A set time for writing instruction is key to students’ success.  We recommend primary teachers schedule 20 – 30 minutes a day, 4 times a week for writing instruction. Intermediate teachers should schedule 30 – 40 minutes a day, 4 times a week, for writing instruction. In order for students to become successful writers, they must consistently practice what has been taught.

Create an organizational system for students to keep their work

One of the biggest challenges we all face is creating an organizational system where our students can keep their writing.

Primary Students:

Primary students will benefit from an organization system for their writing. Primary teachers often use one of the two following organizational methods.

Composition Notebooks:

Composition notebooks work well as writing notebooks for primary students. Primary students will benefit from using the composition books which have the space at the top for an illustration. When using composition notebooks, students will need to be taught to use the pages in order, not skipping around from page to page. When students begin to use their notebooks for planning, be sure to have students write their plan on the left page of the notebook, so they can view their plans while writing their draft on the right page of the notebook. Putting a dot on the left-hand page will help organize students. Students will need a new composition notebook each semester.

Pocket Folders:

These work well for young writers, especially when they are using primary paper. One way to organize is to use two different colored folders depending on their purpose. Red Folder: This folder is for brainstorming, plans, sentence stretching, and any other new learning. Blue Folder: This folder is where students keep drafts that are in progress. For example, if students are working on topic sentences to go with a plan, these would be kept in the blue folder. In this way, students easily keep track of what they are currently completing in writing. In primary grades, we recommend cleaning out these folders once a quarter.

Intermediate Students:

You may choose for intermediate students to use either a spiral notebook or a 1 ½”  3-ring notebook. Students will divide the notebook into sections: ideas, planning, rough drafts, and anchor charts. Students will have an easy system for storing, and then finding, their writing while it is in process. It is imperative students learn to store their writing in the appropriate place. Some teachers find spiral notebooks, divided into the same four sections, a successful choice for their students.

As you begin planning your writing instruction, remember writing is a process

Students must be sequentially taught each writing skill and then be given the time to practice that skill. Students need to master writing complete sentences before they can successfully and independently write a paragraph.

 In the same way, teachers should only be assessing what has been taught. For example, you may be teaching planning to your students. Provide students multiple opportunities to plan for writing. After they have completed the practice, students will then choose which plan they would like their teacher to assess. This helps students gain skill and confidence, while streamlining the amount of grading which needs to be completed. Having students write a complete essay before they have learned or reviewed each component of a paragraph will lead to frustration for both you and your students.

Enjoy teaching writing

If you enjoy writing with your students, your students will enjoy writing. Creating a supportive environment where students feel safe sharing their writing provides a platform for students to learn from one another.  Provide students time to practice writing skills and to master the basics. This helps build confident writers, making writing enjoyable for both you and your students.

Please reach out if we can support you in your writing instruction in any way.  We love to talk writing!! 

Using Picture Books

No matter your age, picture books retain a strong appeal to readers.  Older elementary students often need an excuse to return to childhood favorites.  This year we have been spending time reading and rereading the book The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett.  This creative and visually stunning retelling of the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears will appeal to students of all ages.  Along with being a delightful reading experience, the book can also be used to practice some essential reading and writing skills.

You may choose to read the book aloud to your class, provide students copies of book, or watch and listen to a video of the book being read aloud.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr1r09JFOUA

 Primary Students

Sequencing:  Understanding the sequence of a story is an important comprehension and writing skill.  As with many of Jan Brett’s book, the main story is told in the text, while a secondary story takes place in the drawings in the margins of the book.  Using the text first, have students identify the beginning of the story, the middle events in the tale, and the conclusion of the book. Students will complete a flow chart for the book, using either pictures, words, or a combination. 

Students will then repeat the process, using the story about the dogs and the bears told in the margins in pictures.

Compare and Contrast:  Read an original version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to students.  Brainstorm with students the components of a fictional story: setting, character, problem, events, solution.  Create a class chart, listing these components and the title of each book.    List the components for each story.  Using the chart as a reference, make a second t-chart listing similarities and differences.  Students can complete that chart either as a class or independently.

Cause and Effect:  Review the definition of cause and effect. A cause is why something happens, and an effect is what actually happened.  Using the pictures, look for the effects of the following causes:

·       The ice where the dogs are sleeping breaks off.

·       The dogs float off to sea.

·       The bears spy the dogs floating in the distance.

·       The bears reach the ice flow.

Continue looking for the cause-and-effect relationships throughout the book.

Older students

Character Attributes:  The characters in many fairy tales are somewhat one dimensional.  Brainstorm with students attributes that Aloo-ki exhibits. Encourage students to think beyond basic words such as nice, kind, busy, etc.  Students will choose a character trait exhibited by Aloo-ki. 

Remind students of the expectations of a well-written short response.  In the Write Now – Right Now program, these are called Shining Star Answers.  Expectations should include:

-          The answer is correct.

-          The answer completely answers the question.

-          The answer incorporates evidence from the text.

-          The answer is edited for correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

With these expectations in mind, students will respond to the following question:

What character trait does Aloo-ki exhibit in this story?  Defend the choice of this trait with specific examples from the text.

Students will share their responses with one another.  Encourage students to provide specific feedback to their peers.  Examples include:  Was the character trait exhibited?  Can the character trait be better defined in the answer?  Were specific examples provided to support the character trait?  Is the written work edited to make the answer easy for the reader to understand?

Repeat the process with the following question:

What character traits do the three bears exhibit in this story?  Defend the choice of this trait with specific examples from the text.

Story Elements: Read students a traditional version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Snow Bears.  Students can respond to the following questions either verbally or in writing.

How does the setting of The Three Snow Bears impact the story?  How does this compare to the impact of the setting of Goldilocks and the Three Bears?

In stories, the characters are motivated to take action.  What motivates Aloo-ki’s actions?  What is the motivation of Goldilocks?

Think about the conclusion of The Three Snow Bears.  How is it similar to the ending of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? What differences are found in the two stories?

What is your reaction to the character of Aloo-ki?  Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Using picture books is an engaging way to teach and review skills with all age levels. Provide students the time and motivation to revisit these tales.

The Essentials

Hiking in Colorado’s rapidly changing mountain weather teaches hikers the importance of taking essential equipment. While carrying any more weight than necessary is not appealing, neither is being stuck on a mountainside without the necessary supplies.  On a recent hike, we experienced sunshine and 80-degree weather, along with snow flurries and a 20 mile per hour wind. I was very thankful to have thrown in my essential headband and mittens for the cold weather.

Teachers have always been essential workers – but this has never been truer than this school year. Flexibility, always a teacher requirement, is more important than ever.  Teachers are teaching in person, in a hybrid format, or totally online. Routines and schedules that were part of the school day of the past have been shattered. Time, always a precious classroom commodity, is now being used for necessary safety protocols.

With all these demands on teachers and students, instruction goals have to be altered.  With that in mind, teachers are focusing on essential lessons.  What is essential in writing instruction?

Students need purposeful and targeted writing instruction. We do not want our students to continually practice bad habits. Assigning students questions to answer or paragraphs to write without providing them the necessary skills is detrimental to students and frustrating for teachers. The following are essential skills students must have to become successful writing.

·       Recognizing, speaking and writing complete sentences. 

We continually speak with 5th grade teachers who are concerned their students do not write in complete sentences. This foundational skill should be introduced at the beginning of every school year – from kindergarten through 5th grade.

Introduce students to the components of a complete sentence. In Write Now – Right Now, we call this concept Team Complete.  Kindergarten students can learn to recognize complete sentences and orally respond in a complete sentence.  Make speaking in complete sentences an expectation of your classroom, whether you are in person or meeting virtually.

Intermediate students need to review the components of a complete sentence. As with primary students, speaking in complete sentence should be a classroom expectation. Spending time practicing sentence fluency and word choice is essential at the start of the school year.  Insisting on correct conventions at the start of the school year is essential. Encourage students to play with language, experiment with word choice and create interesting writing. When that is done, students will then double check their work for correct conventions. While this is a challenging process for teachers, it is well worth the time.

·       Use planning tools prior to writing.

In the past, we often told students we write like we talk. This is not true, for our speaking is often random and spontaneous, jumping from topic to topic.  Students’ writing will be significantly better if they are taught to organize their thoughts prior to writing. At Write Now – Right Now, we encourage teachers to use only one graphic organizer for all expository writing and a single organizer for narrative writing. Time is better spent teaching students how to use the plan effectively than spending time learning an array of plans.  Students must know the difference between the terms: topic, big ideas and details. Teaching students how to add interesting and relevant details is a skill which leads to effective and  interesting writing.

·       Only assess what you are teaching.

It is difficult for all of us to let go of errors we see in students’ writing.  However, grading will become less frustrating and more productive if you only assess what you have taught. If you are working on complete sentences, only assess that. Once students have mastered that skill, it can then be assessed in every piece of writing.  Planning is an essential skill and can be assessed on its own.  Writing is a process and each part of the process can be assessed separately.

·       Give grace to both your students and yourself.

This year is not like other school years. You may not cover the same amount of curriculum and standards as in past years. Teaching schedules and requirements have changed. Provide grace for yourself and your students and celebrate your successes, big and small.

We are here to support you. Please reach out if we can be of service in any way.

“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” E.L. Doctorow

For the first few weeks of school, we have been concentrating on the components of opinion paragraphs.  My students have learned to gather and categorize ideas, organize plans and write opinion paragraphs which included all the essential parts.  Now that students understood how to effectively write about their opinion, it was time to take the next step: writing opinion paragraphs in response to text.

I wanted the content to be accessible and engaging for all the students. To facilitate that goal, I decided to have students read about a topic which they would easily grasp – choosing a local attraction to take guests to visit.  We began with the following prompt:

Students highlighted the format, topic and big ideas in their prompt.

You have friends travelling to Colorado Springs on vacation. You are responsible for choosing one place to take your friends to show them the sights. To help make your decision, you will choose and research an attraction in Colorado Springs to visit. After making your choice, write an opinion essay explaining the attraction you have chosen to visit. You must include three reasons why this attraction is the best location to take your friends.

The focus of this learning engagement was for students to write in response to text. With that in mind, I chose two websites for the students to use as research. The websites contained information about the local attractions using words and pictures. We discussed possible factors we might use when choosing a place to visit. Suggestions such as price, discounts, activities, food options, uniqueness to the area and being family friendly were all given.

Students were assigned the websites through their google classroom accounts. After previewing the possible choices, we selected five attractions to focus on as a class. Students then selected the attraction in which they were most interested and researched the appropriate site. Wanting the information to be accessible to all students regardless of reading ability, I wanted students to share the information they had learned. I provided students chart paper labeled with each attraction. As a group, students discussed and recorded the information they had found concerning each place to visit.

On the following day, students were asked to create their individual writing plans. Reviewing the prompt, we remembered that our writing required three big ideas. Using the chart paper, students looked for similar ideas to classify together. As they had spent time gathering and discussing ideas, the planning came easily.

With completed plans in hand, the students eagerly began to write. Many chose to begin their paragraphs with an “Although” topic sentence, acknowledging that other activity choices would also be enjoyable. They easily incorporated information they had learned from the text, the goal of the lesson.

The students’ engagement with their writing made it an appropriate piece to take all the way through publishing. With green and red pencils in hand, students edited their work, tracing all punctuation in red and all capitals in green. They typed their finished product, adding an image of the attraction to provide the reader with additional information.

The transition to opinion writing based on text had gone seamlessly as we had the needed writing skills in place from previous lessons. The students had been interested in the topic, engaged in the research, and excited to edit their work and share it with each other!  We had definitely been exploring and learning.