Build on Best Practices

I remember a college professor making the same statement about education as Routman, "We are not taken seriously and our voices are silenced if we cannot back up our beliefs and recommendations with solid research." In today's educational world teachers do not always have the time or resources to read and conduct research. I believe this is why so many things are pushed upon teachers by those who are not in the classroom. As educators we need to take the time to analyze the research. We also need to conduct our own action research. However, for that to happen; we need to be given the time to do so. Could this be a grade level PLC project? If so, we would need to be given the time during our meetings to do so.

I remember ten or twelve years ago, when every library in our district housed professional magazines such as "The Reading Teacher." I think it is time we started demanding that this type of professional reading return to the shelves of every library in our district.

Furthermore, I liked Routman's list of Characteristics of High-Performing Schools on page 273. The very first one is ongoing professional conversations and study groups. Could we conduct a study group and a blog such as this one among our PLC teams. This could led into some professional research by the team. How would Rick defour see this as a tight but lose situation. Maybe the leaders of the district could suggest several books for us to study; then the team would get to choose the book. (The tight) The team would be left to read, analyze, and conduct their research. (The lose) Of course, they would need to be accountable for their efforts. (The tight) Does a blog show that accountability? I am learning through my Intel class that it would be considered a type of assessment. Just a thought.

In addition, I liked the statement about teaching kids to be courageous writer on pg 278. It is my belief that persuasive writing is very authentic. Also, kids need to learn that their words are powerful and it only takes one person to make a change. As a 5th grade teacher, I think I need to spend the last 9 weeks focusing on persuasive writing. This will better prepare them for the 6th grade local assessment and adulthood.

Make Assessment Count

On page 245 Routman states, "Research shows that high achievement and high test scores result when what is tested is woven into daily teaching and challenging curriculum in a relevant manner. So much time teaching to the test exhausts teachers and students and makes everyone anxious." I would agree with the author on these two points. Lots of time is spent across the United States teaching to the test. What is tested must be woven into our everyday practices not a separate curriculum. With NCLB teachers are exhausted and student develop anxiety about test taking.

Also, I love her idea on page 247 about picturing the person who is going to be assessing your writing. I think this makes the assessment more authentic.

Conferences With Students

Yeah for Buhler teachers! We are doing something right when it comes to conferencing. I didn't know that whole class sharing was considered a type of conference. I have been doing this for years, and my colleagues are too. I know that my colleagues are doing this because my students come into 5th grade knowing how this process works.

This chapter confirmed for me that I was doing conferencing correctly because I use the different conferencing techniques in my classroom.

One thing I did learn from this chapter is that modeling a peer conference is important. I have never thought of that before, but it makes sense. I will try this in the future.

Organize for Daily Writing

I liked Routman's ideas for nonfiction writing on page 196. I would like to be able to write lots more nonfiction pieces with my students. However, with a state assessment that focuses on assessing a narrative piece, I feel I have to put most of my efforts on fictional writing at least until February. This year I have had students write nonfictional, short pieces in science and social studies though; so that makes me feel somewhat better.

I would also like to know how others are organizing their writing time. I have about thirty to forty minutes a day for writing. Some of this time includes a mini lesson on the first day and sharing our work and discussing on the second day. As far as procedures go, mine are sharpen your pencils and begin. Often, I do turn on quite background music.

I also have a question about journaling. I haven't done a lot with journaling this year. How do I fit that into my time frame? It feels like most of my day is already scheduled for me: 1 hour for reading (a set time that can't be adjusted due to Title I) , 1 hour 20 mins. for math, 45 mins. for band, 45 minutes for lunch and recess, 35 for music and PE. Hummm, How much time do I have left to teach writing, science and social studies. Oh and I can't forget intergrating technology, the counselor on Wednesday, and teaching life skills-like being kind to others. Too much to do and not enough time! Maybe it's just that time of year, and I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills

Now, some of you may want to continue the debate about teaching skills. I say let's end that debate and move on to what this author is really saying. I don't think that Routman is telling us to throw skills out. In fact, she is saying teach the skills just embed them into whole pieces of writing. However, the big picture that she is trying to get across is let's teach kids how to think!!!!! Go back and really look at that second grade example on page 151. This kid is thinking at a higher level. He is evaluating his work as he revises. He is also using critical thinking and making complex choices about his writing. That's what I want my 5th graders to do!

I would like to see us move forward in our work with students. Above all, I want students to learn how to think for themselves. Wouldn't it be awesome if we worked as a team (building or PLC groups) to establish what we want students to be able to do at each grade level; then build activities to achieve that goal. Just think about how powerful that would be. Our students would learn how to really examine and evaluate their work. Moreover, they would learn how to think! And no one can debate the fact that thinking is a much needed 21st century skill.

Capitalize on the Reading-Writing Connection

It makes sense to me that "children that read literature-well written folktales, narratives and trade books-become better writers than children who primarily read basal reading text." (123)
Often times the basal stories are dry and lifeless; therefore, if we want student to write well they need to be reading dynamic stories.

This week I had my students write book reviews. I got a load of picture books from the library, read one aloud and modeled the process of writing a book review. These were short and to the point. Students had to give a brief summary of the book, tell the author's purpose, and recommend the book to another group of readers. Some of these turned out very well. Others needed much more practice before creating a presentable product. Overall, I do think it was a worthy activity.

I also like the idea of note taking especially for older students. Since my students have been doing much more online work this year, I have utilized this strategy. I have found that it does engage the learner, and they do learn much more.

"Assign writing that enhances the reading-that requires careful reexamination of the text." (125) I have to say here, the best thing that I've done to connect reading and writing this year is blogging. When my class read Blood on the River, they had to respond to the text by blogging. They loved it. It was very interesting to examine their thought processes as they blogged. They also loved the fact that they had a real audience. I think blogging caused them to think about the text more. Every classroom needs a blog for this purpose.

Do More Shared Writing

I think of shared writing as something that primary students and teachers do; therefore, I had to really dig deep into this chapter to discover the purpose for upper grades. On page 87, the author writes a summary over the book Holes. At first, I thought okay, so what! Then on page 88, I found out why you might write a summary with students as a shared writing activity.

"Use your professional common sense. Choose interactive writing if it's the best way to meet your student's needs." Discovery number one! The state reading assessment assesses summarizing. Before I have had students read a passage and write me a summary. Never have I written an example of a story summary with them. That would be an excellent shared writing activity to do during a guided reading activity.

Then on page 90, I found my second discovery. "Having a repertoire of writing strategies is a necessity for writing well. Although we may demonstrate what writers do, that does not guarantee that students will use these techniques in their own writing." The strategies that writers use are constructed, not transmitted."

To me this is a powerful statement. We model and read examples of what we want students to write. However, students often imprint our writing techniques. Yes, they are writing better examples; but are they constructing their own purposeful meaning about writing or transmitting our behavior? So to me this statement is saying focus on the craft of writing. What are real authors doing? How are they beginning their pieces; ending their pieces; constructing characters, plots, and events; writing to inform, and etc.

To summarize, I'm thinking I will concentrate on the craft of writing, during a shared writing time with upper grade students. Maybe we can take a novel we are studying and examine the author's craft. Then look at a small piece of writing and make it better by using the example the author used to improve a piece through a shared writing experience.