Category: Writing

Day by Day: Routines Cycle 1, Day 7

To see a complete list of the reflection activities and for an explanation of the program, visit my Day By Day Main Page.

Routines Cycle 1: Revving Up

Day 7: Plan Boxes

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Challenge: Set aside time to instruct your students about the importance of reaching their writing goals through careful planning. Guide them through the planning process by first having them think about how they’ll use their independent writing time. Next, have them tell their writing partner what they’ll do first, second, and third (if they finish early). Finally, have your students write down their plan in their notebook and show it to you before they leave the meeting area.

This quote has stuck with me ever since I first started typing the reflection parts of these posts during the summer. Because we’re now an AVID school, there have been many conversations about setting goals and putting a plan in place to achieve those goals. So I’m really excited to implement having a plan at a micro level in students’ writing notebooks. Heck, I’m sure I could benefit from one too!

Did any of your students take more than three minutes to craft a plan for their independent writing time? How will you support them in planning more quickly going forward?

Zoinks, I imagine some of them will. I’ll support them by crafting sample plans they can use.

Were any of your students not adhering to their plans?

I’m pretty sure I will have one barometer kid who will not adhere to his plan on a fairly regular basis, so I’ll work with him individually. I imagine some of my students will set too broad or too lofty goals.

How did you get them back on track?

I will encourage them to set two easier, attainable goals, but still keep one of their larger goals.

How will you get them to stay on track with their plan during the next writing workshop without a reminder from you?

I’ll have them articulate their plan to me before they write it down and begin so the plan is fresh in their mind.

Day by Day: Routines Cycle 1, Day 6

To see a complete list of the reflection activities and for an explanation of the program, visit my Day By Day Main Page.

Routines Cycle 1: Revving Up

Day 6: Meeting Areas are for Everyone

Challenge: Consider the effectiveness of your meeting area. Make changes to help you become more efficient during mini-lessons. If you have never developed a meeting area, make plans about how to include this essential part of writing workshop.

What do you like best about your meeting area?

What would you like to see improved about your meeting area?

How do you think the changes you’re planning to make will enhance student learning?

Day by Day: Routines Cycle 1, Day 5

To see a complete list of the reflection activities and for an explanation of the program, visit my Day By Day Main Page.

Routines Cycle 1: Revving Up

Day 5: Communal Supplies

Challenge: Plan a classroom walk-through for your students that will support their independence with regard to knowing where materials are and how to access them.

What did your students learn about the way to access materials for writing workshop during the classroom tour?

How will you restock supplies when they run low? Will you have a student notify you or will you enlist your students’ assistance to replenish supplies?

What’s your plan if you notice your students aren’t properly caring for communal supplies?

Day by Day: Routines Cycle 1, Day 4

To see a complete list of the reflection activities and for an explanation of the program, visit my Day By Day Main Page.

Routines Cycle 1: Revving Up

Day 4: Getting Stuck and Working Through It

Challenge: Have students do a little writing about what they do when they get stuck during the writing process. Ask them what helps them get back on track. Then, using their reflections about how they’ve overcome challenging writing situations in the past, lead a class discussion wherein students discuss ways to overcome “getting stuck.”

How did the open forum you created help your students exchange ideas about independence in the writing workshop?

What did you learn about your students’ resilience with writing as a result of the discussion you lead?

How did speaking openly about the writing process, regarding the ways you get back on track, go with your students?

Day by Day: Routines Cycle 1, Day 3

To see a complete list of the reflection activities and for an explanation of the program, visit my Day By Day Main Page.

Routines Cycle 1: Revving Up

Day 3: Choice in Writing Process

Challenge: Consider the procedures you have in place to encourage students to work within their personalized writing process. Make changes to increase the opportunity for students to work according to their individual needs.

How do your current procedures help or hinder students in developing a personalized writing process?

Considering the previous bulleted list, which procedure would be most helpful to establish in your writing workshop?

Day by Day: Routines Cycle 1, Day 2

To see a complete list of the reflection activities and for an explanation of the program, visit my Day By Day Main Page.

Routines Cycle 1: Revving Up

Day 2: Creating a List of Classroom Expectations

Challenge: Develop a list of expectations for writing workshop with your students. Even if you’ve already created workshop rules, take some time to elicit student input about the expectations for writing workshop. Post these expectations in a prominent place in the classroom.

I’ve dedicated a part of our room to be a writing workshop resource center / writing space. I have two computers set up, as well as a table and a bookshelf with all necessary writing supplies (paper, pencils, big erasers, dictionaries, with more to come as I introduce the items). I’m definitely going to need to set up expectations around that space. Otherwise, I plan for our rules to look much like the charts we use to guide our behavior in Daily 5, which includes Work on Writing.

What are your nonnegotiable expectations for writing workshop?

  • Have a plan for the whole writing time.
  • Write/revise the whole time.

How can you boil these expectations down to something general for students in order to start a discussion?

Again, I think that the “something general” will be our usual expectations from Daily 5 (work the whole time, get started right away, build stamina, etc).

How did creating a list of expectations differ from creating a list of classroom rules with your students?

Classroom rules can seem a bit more concrete — the look-fors are more cut-and-dry. I anticipate that we’ll have to have conversations about writing versus “fake writing” much like we have at the beginning of the year in reading.

 

Day By Day: Routines Cycle 1, Day 1

To see a complete list of the reflection activities and for an explanation of the program, visit my Day By Day Main Page.

Here we go! This is the very first in 180 days of professional development. Ahh! Are you ready? I don’t know if I am yet. :) Feel free to join in through the comments or (if you’re a Federal Way Public Schools employee) via e-mail.

Routines Cycle 1: Revving Up

Day 1: Establishing General Procedures

Remember that the bulk of the information about establishing procedures can be found in the Day by Day text. I’m just including the challenge and reflection questions. I know some of the questions may be difficult to answer for this year’s students, especially because school doesn’t start until Thursday, but I think we can still give it a go. (I need to disclose that the phrase “give it a go” really irritates me)

Challenge: Brainstorm a list of all the procedures you want to teach your students this year. Then, set aside time to teach those procedures and to rehearse them with your students.

I have two lists I’ve used in the past few years to teach classroom procedures. I usually write them down on sentence strips and stick them to the whiteboard. Then, throughout the day, I pull down a procedure, stick it to construction paper, and brainstorm appropriate look-fors for each procedure. Other than the charts we make for Daily 5, which includes Work on Writing, I’ve never compiled any routines specifically for Writers Workshop. Perhaps that’s why it’s always been such a tremendous pain. Here’s what I see myself needing to teach:

  • Selecting which type of paper will be best.
  • Getting a new pencil or an eraser.
  • Taking Post-it notes
  • Dating work
  • Writing even when you have no ideas
  • What rereading writing looks like

What were the most challenging procedures to teach your students for writing workshop?

EVERYTHING. Honestly. I couldn’t even get them to date their work last year.

Why do you think they were challenging to teach and/or for your students to internalize?

They’re the ones I’m least familiar with. I just realized at this moment that I’ve never ever ever seen writing workshop modeled. No WONDER I have no clue what it’s supposed to look like. Yikes.

Are there any procedures you taught that need to be differentiated to fit the needs of particular students in your class?

I hear that I have a student who refuses to write. I’ll need to see how he chooses to work this year, and then I’ll modify accordingly.

How will you make exceptions to the rules without looking like you’re playing favorites?

I’ve found it really useful to consistently use the phrase “stamina for annoyances,” not just in writers workshop. I tell students that although there may be a classmate who is irritating because they are still working to achieve appropriate behavior, it is also our responsibility to work on our stamina for annoyances so we don’t lose out on learning opportunities just because of someone else.