Hi Everyone, hope you all did well on the midterm and hope you are all doing well handling the term this far in!
I'm not sure exactly what to write about since we had our midterm last class and we are talking about the assessment chapter next class. (Oops I accidentally posted my comments on assessment on this blog before the class blog :)
The production of Hana's Suitcase will be at the Citadel from Nov3-15 the evening shows start at 7:30 and matinees at 1:30, and the show is 90minutes long. I believe students are half price (if not then there is for sure a student rate) The info is on the website:
http://www.citadeltheatre.com/index.php
What a great way to interest students, that would be my favourite field trip by far. I remember going to the production of Hamlet, and To Kill A Mockingbird in High school and that is something I'll never forget.
I've been delving a little deeper into fan fiction, and while I 'm sure I could explore further I am beginning to see the potential for it's use in the classroom. I confess when I first heard of fan fiction I was wary and nervous. The truth is that there are a number of great writers on the site and what a great way to get children to write, on something that interests them. I'm looking forward to the discussions and sharing in class. it reminds me of something that Rosanne brought up with her journals entries in how students wrote in their own style or on a topic that interested them. As a teacher you need to ensure that you have enough background knowledge while assessing these. There are some Fan Fictions that I have no idea if they are true/consistent or not since I do not know the real story it is based on.
The mini unit we have to prepare is going to be a useful project I think. there are so many different and fun writing activities that you can do in a class if you just think about it. for example Cayley's IPT teacher's idea with the wrapped present.
Writing can be pretty powerful. While I was at my school for my IPT there was a new student who came to the classroom I was in. It was neat to see his excitement at reading the welcoming letters/stories that the class had written for him. Another one of the writing activities that we were working on throughout the year was that we would make a "Hug Book" for each of the students in the class. A student would be chosen for the day that we would be writing (usually the special helper, and every student had a turn) and the class would write whatever positive comment they wanted about that student. suggestions were given such as, What I like to play with..., He/She is a good friend because..., and so on. the class would also illustrate the page and the pages would be complied into a Hugbook for each child.
In another case there was a story read that was "If I was a Dinosaur" and the children wrote their own stories of what they would do as a Dinosaur. The stories were super creative and fun to read.
That's all I can think of for now, I'll try to write more and more constructive comments next time.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Some questions on assessment of writing:
I was confused that Routman was very much against using rubrics to assess writing through our assessment course I thought that rubrics were a valuable evaluation tool. How can you ensure you are not objective when you are assessing?
Routman also talks about not teaching to the test, yet test preparation is important, how much is enough? Where do you draw the line?
Jill- could you show us an example of assessing a piece of writing, or a writing portfolio?
I was confused that Routman was very much against using rubrics to assess writing through our assessment course I thought that rubrics were a valuable evaluation tool. How can you ensure you are not objective when you are assessing?
Routman also talks about not teaching to the test, yet test preparation is important, how much is enough? Where do you draw the line?
Jill- could you show us an example of assessing a piece of writing, or a writing portfolio?
Monday, October 8, 2007
Okay, here is my very first blog ever. I’m not sure how much I will have to write but here goes…
I was thinking about what we have done recently in class. The poem “A Boy’s Head” that we went over was very interesting. At first glance it made no sense to me, yet as we discussed it we came up with plausible interpretations. I like how we wrote poems in a similar form, yet inspiration from the poem can be interpreted in different ways. Some people wrote in a similar structure and others wrote in a similar content.
The book that was talked about briefly in class, “Hanna’s Suitcase”, is also very remarkable. What a way to learn about history! Lessons and activities like this which inspire children’s interest are rich and valuable experiences. I’m excited to hear what our guest speaker will have to say about it.
I, like most people so far, really enjoy this text. It’s very personable to read and Routman gives many examples of strategies and activities that make sense and that we could use in a classroom. I really like how Routman gives a number of ideas for teachers to make time for effective and positive conferences. Writing conferences are important in developing student’s skills in writing, as Routman discusses in chapter 9. I am wondering what would be a good method to teach students to speak constructively to their peers in a manner that celebrates writing. Students will need to learn to be respectful and tolerant of different writing styles and ideas. Conferences include reinforcing the writer’s ideas and providing future goals or ideas for the writer to work on. How do we as a teacher ensure that peer conferences are valuable experiences? Through modeling students will learn their roles and some example questions and procedures, yet do they learn how to be positive and constructive? How do you avoid false praise and negative responses?
Routman mentioned that a benefit of “whole-class share conferences” is that it “gives reluctant writers confidence to write” (page 20). Through celebrating and sharing writing students will gain confidence and improve. This may seem contradictory, that students who are reluctant will not want to share in front of their peers, but through encouragement and interest from the peers will only increase their abilities; and at the same time all students will learn. I have one question though, Routman discusses those writers who are reluctant to share (page 214) by asking them and encouraging while accepting refusal; yet how do you help a child who continues to refuse?
Routman talks about Frontloading briefly (page220-221); to me this seems very important. By thoroughly teaching and modeling writing and conferences a teacher can ensure future time is spent more constructively and efficiently. Students will feel more confident and know expectations of them. As Routman says “conducting a conference is enjoyable and efficient once we and our students are clear about writing purposes, engaged in the process, and know what is expected.” (Page 220)
The section ‘Use the Language of Helpful Response’ reminded me of a practice that I learned as a summer Daycamp counsellor in how to talk with parents, that can also be related to talking to students about their pieces of writing; a technique called the ‘sandwich effect’ where you sandwich a constructive comment between two positive and encouraging comments. This places less emphasis on the negative and boosts their confidence in their abilities. Like Routman said “We have the power to encourage the writer for the whole year or destroy his desire and energy to write with one negative comment.” (Page 224)
Before reading this chapter I don’t think I would have known the importance of writing conferences to facilitate positive and constructive experiences in writing. I don’t think I remember having writing conferences throughout my years in school, and I don’t I would have known how to participate in one, never mind lead/teach one. I’m looking forward to participate in a conference next class, where I can improve my writing skills with your help! (Hopefully I’ll have enough for my fan fiction to bring that in, I’m sure I would love feedback on that :) )
I was thinking about what we have done recently in class. The poem “A Boy’s Head” that we went over was very interesting. At first glance it made no sense to me, yet as we discussed it we came up with plausible interpretations. I like how we wrote poems in a similar form, yet inspiration from the poem can be interpreted in different ways. Some people wrote in a similar structure and others wrote in a similar content.
The book that was talked about briefly in class, “Hanna’s Suitcase”, is also very remarkable. What a way to learn about history! Lessons and activities like this which inspire children’s interest are rich and valuable experiences. I’m excited to hear what our guest speaker will have to say about it.
I, like most people so far, really enjoy this text. It’s very personable to read and Routman gives many examples of strategies and activities that make sense and that we could use in a classroom. I really like how Routman gives a number of ideas for teachers to make time for effective and positive conferences. Writing conferences are important in developing student’s skills in writing, as Routman discusses in chapter 9. I am wondering what would be a good method to teach students to speak constructively to their peers in a manner that celebrates writing. Students will need to learn to be respectful and tolerant of different writing styles and ideas. Conferences include reinforcing the writer’s ideas and providing future goals or ideas for the writer to work on. How do we as a teacher ensure that peer conferences are valuable experiences? Through modeling students will learn their roles and some example questions and procedures, yet do they learn how to be positive and constructive? How do you avoid false praise and negative responses?
Routman mentioned that a benefit of “whole-class share conferences” is that it “gives reluctant writers confidence to write” (page 20). Through celebrating and sharing writing students will gain confidence and improve. This may seem contradictory, that students who are reluctant will not want to share in front of their peers, but through encouragement and interest from the peers will only increase their abilities; and at the same time all students will learn. I have one question though, Routman discusses those writers who are reluctant to share (page 214) by asking them and encouraging while accepting refusal; yet how do you help a child who continues to refuse?
Routman talks about Frontloading briefly (page220-221); to me this seems very important. By thoroughly teaching and modeling writing and conferences a teacher can ensure future time is spent more constructively and efficiently. Students will feel more confident and know expectations of them. As Routman says “conducting a conference is enjoyable and efficient once we and our students are clear about writing purposes, engaged in the process, and know what is expected.” (Page 220)
The section ‘Use the Language of Helpful Response’ reminded me of a practice that I learned as a summer Daycamp counsellor in how to talk with parents, that can also be related to talking to students about their pieces of writing; a technique called the ‘sandwich effect’ where you sandwich a constructive comment between two positive and encouraging comments. This places less emphasis on the negative and boosts their confidence in their abilities. Like Routman said “We have the power to encourage the writer for the whole year or destroy his desire and energy to write with one negative comment.” (Page 224)
Before reading this chapter I don’t think I would have known the importance of writing conferences to facilitate positive and constructive experiences in writing. I don’t think I remember having writing conferences throughout my years in school, and I don’t I would have known how to participate in one, never mind lead/teach one. I’m looking forward to participate in a conference next class, where I can improve my writing skills with your help! (Hopefully I’ll have enough for my fan fiction to bring that in, I’m sure I would love feedback on that :) )
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