April 2nd post
The reoccurring theme I continue to see is instruction need to be on the level of the children. Whether the subject is writing, reading, spelling or any other subject, the child can not learn what he is not developmentally ready to learn. I liked the clear steps given for each block and the examples given. This made their process easy to understand and they had several points I had never considered in writing. I talk about character analysis and plot more in reading than in writing I think. I have not really ever asked a child how they worked on developing their main character. I discuss elaborative detail of the character but I do not really think they are the same thing.
I do find it difficult as a teacher to maintain every ones instructional level when the levels are so vast. I try but each child is different and has very special needs. I have writers at the beginning of the cycle and also at the end. I just find it very hard to scaffold for each level. What do you do in the classroom to help everyone write a story? I feel that I do help everyone improve but know that I could be doing more.
Actually doing the muti genre project is helpful in truly understanding what I would be asking my students to do. I do think that students of all abilities would benefit from the project because they have options on what to write. In theory the more advanced students would challenge themselves and do more advanced writing. I think that sometimes my struggling readers and writers try much harder and put more thought and effort into their work. That is where the strengths and needs assessment part comes into effect. I really like the example in Writing Without Boundries that stated “She might have listened more closely to her revision conversations and expanded on this writing, as was suggested by other students and the teacher.” The student is now aware that the teacher knows she did not listen and make her project better. I do think that multi genre is a great way to get children involved and interested in a subject, especially if they get to choose what they write about.
Reading the assessment chapter really made me think about assessment, evaluation, and test. What and how do I really use these in my classroom? Do I use my formative assessments to effectivly decide what I need to teach to help the children understand what they need to know? I think that these questions go across the curriculum.
I also thought a great deal about the prompts and how they affect the writing. I was amazed at the difference the wording made in the prompts that they gave. I have never stopped to think that simple wording of a prompt makes a huge difference.
In teaching there is so much to think about and mandated for us to do that it is getting harder and harder to be effective. (or at least feel effective) I agree that the assessments that are given by the state are difficult and high pressure for the students. Neither do I think they are going to get any better in the near future.
