This week, we read the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing from Education Northwest's website. The six traits are: Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions, and Presentation. See? 6 + 1. I enjoyed this reading. It was short, sweet, and to the point. Maria and I are co-teaching on this for class on Tuesday as well, so it was nice to have an article that was clearly written.
I hadn't thought about some of these traits while writing before. Presentation was one example. I had never thought about how my words appeared on the page before. I believe that this trait is useful for papers that are handwritten. Presentation would matter a lot in this case. You would want the reader to understand your writing first and foremost. But I believe that the writer could add in their own style with the way they write. This would allow the presentation of their paper to take on a new light. It would be another way for the writer to express themselves along with their ideas.
I liked the description of word choice as well. The article states that, "Strong Word Choice is characterized not so much by an exceptional vocabulary chosen to impress the reader, but more by the skill to use everyday words well." I thought this was a great way to put it. You don't want to bore your reader by using extraneous, superfluous, nonessential, supplementary language. You want to speak naturally and use everyday language.
These traits will help many students grasp the idea of writing better. If they have a checklist to go by they can organize their thoughts clearly. Everyone can benefit from using these traits in fact. They're a great strategy if you're thinking of what to write or have writer's block. I know I will use them in my future writing.
This video shows an example of the 6+1 Traits in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23af-ASifr4
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Monday, March 20, 2017
Teaching Writing to Bilingual Students (3/21)
Teaching writing to bilingual students is a challenge posed to many teachers today. More pressure is added to these students not only attempting to learn a second language, but how to write and communicate ideas through writing in a foreign language. Authors Pahl, Rowsell, and Danling Fu offer insight into teaching these students.
Pahl and Rowsell had an interesting article called Conceptualizing Artifactual Literacies: A Framework. In this article, the authors suggest that objects that people keep with them over time are important to defining who that person is. This is relevant for an English language learner. They will bring objects, or artifacts with them when coming to a new country. These artifacts, ranging from anything from toy cars to suitcases, build that person's identity. This influences writing as well. A child in elementary school learning English tasked with a writing assignment will most likely write about their favorite toy. An important quote I found from this reading was, "A text therefore is composed of visual as well as linguistic elements." People write from things they hold dear to themselves.
The chapters from Writing Between Languages book by Danling Fu had interesting information on ELLs. One thing I learned from this reading was that ELLs often find difficulty in expressing their ideas in writing English, so they copy sentences down to write. I found this interesting because this is a resourceful way to write. It is isn't the preferred method to write of course but I believe if I was attempting to learn a new language I would use this same strategy. Another point that Fu brings up is that non native English speakers need to practice writing in English consistently in order to become better. This is something to keep in mind when going into the field of teaching. ELLs will need a large amount of time to practice their writing, speaking, and reading English. Both authors gave me important insight into the world of English language learners.
Pahl and Rowsell had an interesting article called Conceptualizing Artifactual Literacies: A Framework. In this article, the authors suggest that objects that people keep with them over time are important to defining who that person is. This is relevant for an English language learner. They will bring objects, or artifacts with them when coming to a new country. These artifacts, ranging from anything from toy cars to suitcases, build that person's identity. This influences writing as well. A child in elementary school learning English tasked with a writing assignment will most likely write about their favorite toy. An important quote I found from this reading was, "A text therefore is composed of visual as well as linguistic elements." People write from things they hold dear to themselves.
The chapters from Writing Between Languages book by Danling Fu had interesting information on ELLs. One thing I learned from this reading was that ELLs often find difficulty in expressing their ideas in writing English, so they copy sentences down to write. I found this interesting because this is a resourceful way to write. It is isn't the preferred method to write of course but I believe if I was attempting to learn a new language I would use this same strategy. Another point that Fu brings up is that non native English speakers need to practice writing in English consistently in order to become better. This is something to keep in mind when going into the field of teaching. ELLs will need a large amount of time to practice their writing, speaking, and reading English. Both authors gave me important insight into the world of English language learners.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Quickwrite for 3/14
2. Gallagher provides many great examples for modeling writing for students as well as giving plenty of time for students to practice writing. Modeling can be used most effectively in the classroom when giving students a writing assignment. I think getting the students into small groups and going around to each group to give modeling examples would be effective. This way, they get the ideas of how to express their thoughts more effectively and can also bounce ideas off of each other. Giving plenty of time for writing helps out as well. I believe having students write a quickwrite at the beginning of each class on any topic- thoughts of the day, their favorite sport, a fond memory, can help foster better writers.
I have found success after plenty of practice time with writing. I find the more I write, the easier ideas come from my head onto the paper. This idea relates to many things in life. The more you practice a song on an instrument, the better you will be able to play it. The more you memorize the lines of a play, the better you will be to recite it. Practicing writing with students will allow them to hopefully enjoy the idea of it more as well as be able to create an outlet for them to express inner thoughts.
When I was first introduced to the compare and contrast essay, I was confused on what I had to do. I understood that I needed to compare the likeness and differences of an idea, but I had no idea on how to go about doing that. My teacher had to model the idea to me. She gave me Venn diagrams to look at with one circle capturing one idea and the second capturing separate ideas. With the middle section being similarities between them both. She also gave me examples of other compare and contrast essays that had been written to give me a better idea on what to do. The modeling helped me create a compare and contrast essay.
I have found success after plenty of practice time with writing. I find the more I write, the easier ideas come from my head onto the paper. This idea relates to many things in life. The more you practice a song on an instrument, the better you will be able to play it. The more you memorize the lines of a play, the better you will be to recite it. Practicing writing with students will allow them to hopefully enjoy the idea of it more as well as be able to create an outlet for them to express inner thoughts.
When I was first introduced to the compare and contrast essay, I was confused on what I had to do. I understood that I needed to compare the likeness and differences of an idea, but I had no idea on how to go about doing that. My teacher had to model the idea to me. She gave me Venn diagrams to look at with one circle capturing one idea and the second capturing separate ideas. With the middle section being similarities between them both. She also gave me examples of other compare and contrast essays that had been written to give me a better idea on what to do. The modeling helped me create a compare and contrast essay.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Teaching Effective Writing Strategies (3/14)
Hey guys. How's everyone doing? I hope you're having a good day. Alright enough small talk- let's talk effective writing strategies. After reading both the chapters in the Gallagher book and the article The Policy of the Paragraph I learned many strategies in teaching effective writing strategies to students. I found the main idea from Gallagher was the combination of students reading more along with help from the teacher allowed them to become better writers. The Policy article focused more on avoiding harmful essay formulas.
The Policy of the Paragraph recounts a story in which a student runs out of the room, upset that she is limited to three ideas on an essay when she has five. This upsets her teacher, Michelle Kenney as she wants all of her students to be as creative as possible. This is where the main idea of the article comes in- the rigorous essay formats are more harmful than helpful. The unfortunate part is that most students need to use these formulas come test time. This prompts the teachers at this school to create their own writing strategy- PEAS. It stands for Point, Evidence, Analysis, So-what? The article ends with an idea that resonated with me. We don't want to teach "good enough" writing but unfortunately we do because of things like state testing.
Gallagher had several good ideas when teaching writing to high-schoolers. One of his main ideas was that the more students read, along with help from the teacher, the more effective writers they will become. It wasn't a simple one to one ratio: the more reading a student does, the better the writer. The teacher needs to help the student become a better writer. This includes teaching them the effectiveness of rewriting and revising. Going back and fixing mistakes on an old essay helps students become better writers. This is something I will practice in my classroom one day. I want my students to become effective writers and teaching them to read more and revise their work will help me achieve that.
The Policy of the Paragraph recounts a story in which a student runs out of the room, upset that she is limited to three ideas on an essay when she has five. This upsets her teacher, Michelle Kenney as she wants all of her students to be as creative as possible. This is where the main idea of the article comes in- the rigorous essay formats are more harmful than helpful. The unfortunate part is that most students need to use these formulas come test time. This prompts the teachers at this school to create their own writing strategy- PEAS. It stands for Point, Evidence, Analysis, So-what? The article ends with an idea that resonated with me. We don't want to teach "good enough" writing but unfortunately we do because of things like state testing.
Gallagher had several good ideas when teaching writing to high-schoolers. One of his main ideas was that the more students read, along with help from the teacher, the more effective writers they will become. It wasn't a simple one to one ratio: the more reading a student does, the better the writer. The teacher needs to help the student become a better writer. This includes teaching them the effectiveness of rewriting and revising. Going back and fixing mistakes on an old essay helps students become better writers. This is something I will practice in my classroom one day. I want my students to become effective writers and teaching them to read more and revise their work will help me achieve that.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
A Letter from Mr. O'Hara to Parents on Standards
Dear Parents,
Do not panic, your child is fine. I realize a letter home from school is nerve-racking but I am simply writing to you to inform you about standards. Standards are what each state require students possess before moving further in their education. I figured that informing all of you about what I'll be teaching on and why would keep us all on the same page. I also wanted to inform you on how standards affect my teaching. Follow me while I take you through the wonderful world of Common Core Standards!
First off, we have the standards themselves. A quick look at ncte.org gives us all the information we need. Just to give you a few example of what English Language Arts standards look like, here are three from ncte.org, "2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience." "5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes." and "10. Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum."
Looking through these standards brings me back to my old college days where we would study these day in and day out. If only I could tell my younger self about my ex-wife Tracy... Sorry I drifted off there for a second. Ah yes, standards. Looking at number 2 and number 5 many ideas fill in my head. These standards affect my teaching directly because I have to base my lesson plans around having your child learn these standards. Number 2, for example involve exposing students to many different types of literature. It's not only a challenge to have students understand what the author is saying in their work, but how to connect it to their lives so they see it more clearly. Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird for example allows students to see that racism is spread through society, not implicitly in the individual. I also included number 10 to point out that some of my ELL students need certain accommodations when learning texts such as Romeo and Juliet or The Canturbury Tales. This is simply another component of teaching- allowing every student the tools they need to progress.
Looking at these standards through a critical theoretical lens allows us to see how standards affect students directly. For example, looking at standard 2 through a progressive literacy lens allows us to see that both the literacy and standard work together. Standard 2 mentions that students will "read a wide range of literature from many periods." The progressive literacy lens fits over this idea well. The literacy states that English classes will "encourage the inclusion of student voice and culture; includes a variety of literature and discourses as part of the curriculum." Both literacy and standard mention that students will encounter various forms of literature. The progressive literacy theory also mentions hearing from students' voice and culture. I think that this is a great ideal, especially for such a culturally diverse class such as mine. I enjoy hearing from your sons and daughters about how they celebrate holidays, which types of food they eat, and what kind of family they have. It makes my job better by allowing me to see where my students are coming from and learning a little bit more about their life outside of school.
Using my prior knowledge of these different areas of literacy allows me to critique the Common Core Standards. Looking at functional literacy for example allows standards to be seen as helping to create productive citizens and members of the workforce. It is usually found in remedial classes. One downside to this type of literacy is that it does not encourage students to challenge texts or ideas. Students simply read the text but don't really dive into its meaning. I don't believe this is all the student's fault. Teachers and students should work together to get to the meaning of a text, with the teacher pushing the student along. That is what I attempt in my classroom, and your sons and daughters have been responding well to it. Looking at a specific standard under the functional lens, we can see how standards can be both positive and negative. Looking at standard 2, we can see that students reading "a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres" is a great ideal. They ideas from these texts will allow students to gain different perspectives on the world and in turn become more aware citizens of the world around them. On the downside, simply reading these texts does not unlock their meaning for students. In a functional classroom, students would not get what the author or poet was trying to say. This is the job of the teacher to make sure the class is on board with what they are reading and can dig a little deeper into texts.
Cultural literacies can be a helpful yet sometimes dangerous thing for many classrooms. On the one hand, cultural literacy teaches the dominant culture's beliefs and values. This is good for some students, the ones that are a part of the dominant culture, but not so helpful for all of the other students. Cultural literacy teaches from one point of view. This does not help students that aren't a part of the dominant culture. With standards that have students read many of the world's greatest writers, most curriculums don't take into account that most of these writers are rich white men that only write from a particular point of view. While the works themselves are great, the ethnically diverse students might not have such a strong opinion on The Odyssey. To not discuss various other issues brought up in texts that involve race, gender, and society in general does not get all students involved.
As I mentioned earlier, progressive literacy is a student centered learning practice. It focuses on student voice and advocates that students learning things about themselves is the best way to learn. I try to incorporate this literacy into my classroom as often as I can. I enjoy hearing back from my students, they always have something interesting to share. When they learn that they enjoy reading a certain author or text, they seem to enjoy the lesson at hand much more. While this literacy doesn't question power, culture, or even the curriculum, it does allow students to be heard. This allows many standards, such as 9. "students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles" to become clearer. Students can gain a respect for diverse language by speaking it. They can also learn something about themselves if they enjoy this type of reading. This way students such as your sons and daughters can relate to something they read in school. This will allow them to become much more avid readers and learners.
Critical literacy covers many areas of the classroom, such as putting the topic of privilege at the forefront in an attempt to transform curriculum and instruction. It also allows students to deconstruct texts as well as the myths of civilization. All in a day's work. This is another standard that focuses on students being responsible for their learning. With some support from me of course. By discussing privilege openly with the class allows students to see how society is influenced. I enjoy discussing this topic with students. It is good to get these ideas out in the open. Talking about these issues at this age allows students to gain important perspectives about society. While these ideas are important, it is possible some students will become confused. This happens because the information we're giving them conflicts with what they have always known. High school is a confusing time for most of us.
Most standards under a critical lens allow students to see texts in a new light. Looking at standard 3 for example mentions that students will "draw on prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers," to "appreciate texts." This will be interesting to experience in the classroom when we address the multiple perspectives in a novel a student has already read. When we look at the topic of race for example in a text the student read, a whole new world of ideas can come about. The student can see the text in a new way and that is what the critical literacy strategy hopes to achieve.
After taking a look at RethinkingSchools.org, I can see some schools are attempting to move away from the typical idea of school where a teacher lectures to a room full of students that aren't paying attention to a word the teacher is saying. This is because of a system that no longer works in our schools. To quote the Rethinking Schools website, "Schools are about more than producing efficient workers or future winners of the Nobel Prize for science. They are the place in this society where children from a variety of backgrounds come together and, at least in theory, learn to talk, play, and work together." The idea of teaching to a group of kids that the teacher knows little about can't continue.
These types of schools seem to take a step away from the idea of standards. They don't focus primarily on standardized tests or a textbook-dominated curriculum. They focus on issues of race, something that most schools avoid altogether. It is important to address these ideas. If they simply get swept under the rug than it will only make students question these ideas more. Rethinking Schools seems to focus more on student needs and less on standards, which is good and bad. We need students to learn standards as they go through school yet we don't want to suffocate them. Rethinking Schools is doing a great job at making students feel welcome in the classroom. Backing away from the standards may cause some problems in the future but adjusting students to a new form of school is challenging. Addressing race and education issues will provide the students with valuable real world information as well.
I need to wrap this letter up, my wife Stacey has just made lasagna. I hope this was informative on the state of our state standards. Teaching these can be difficult at times but with the help of your children it will be much easier. I try to structure my classroom in a way that welcomes student voice. This is why I like the progressive literacy strategy. Hearing more about my students' lives outside of school helps me teach them better. There are many standards I need to teach to your children so understanding where they are coming from helps me out more. If you ever have any questions for me I'm always a call, e-mail, or letter away. Thank you and have a nice day.
From,
Mr. O'Hara
Do not panic, your child is fine. I realize a letter home from school is nerve-racking but I am simply writing to you to inform you about standards. Standards are what each state require students possess before moving further in their education. I figured that informing all of you about what I'll be teaching on and why would keep us all on the same page. I also wanted to inform you on how standards affect my teaching. Follow me while I take you through the wonderful world of Common Core Standards!
First off, we have the standards themselves. A quick look at ncte.org gives us all the information we need. Just to give you a few example of what English Language Arts standards look like, here are three from ncte.org, "2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience." "5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes." and "10. Students whose first language is not English make use of their first language to develop competency in the English language arts and to develop understanding of content across the curriculum."
Looking through these standards brings me back to my old college days where we would study these day in and day out. If only I could tell my younger self about my ex-wife Tracy... Sorry I drifted off there for a second. Ah yes, standards. Looking at number 2 and number 5 many ideas fill in my head. These standards affect my teaching directly because I have to base my lesson plans around having your child learn these standards. Number 2, for example involve exposing students to many different types of literature. It's not only a challenge to have students understand what the author is saying in their work, but how to connect it to their lives so they see it more clearly. Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird for example allows students to see that racism is spread through society, not implicitly in the individual. I also included number 10 to point out that some of my ELL students need certain accommodations when learning texts such as Romeo and Juliet or The Canturbury Tales. This is simply another component of teaching- allowing every student the tools they need to progress.
Looking at these standards through a critical theoretical lens allows us to see how standards affect students directly. For example, looking at standard 2 through a progressive literacy lens allows us to see that both the literacy and standard work together. Standard 2 mentions that students will "read a wide range of literature from many periods." The progressive literacy lens fits over this idea well. The literacy states that English classes will "encourage the inclusion of student voice and culture; includes a variety of literature and discourses as part of the curriculum." Both literacy and standard mention that students will encounter various forms of literature. The progressive literacy theory also mentions hearing from students' voice and culture. I think that this is a great ideal, especially for such a culturally diverse class such as mine. I enjoy hearing from your sons and daughters about how they celebrate holidays, which types of food they eat, and what kind of family they have. It makes my job better by allowing me to see where my students are coming from and learning a little bit more about their life outside of school.
Using my prior knowledge of these different areas of literacy allows me to critique the Common Core Standards. Looking at functional literacy for example allows standards to be seen as helping to create productive citizens and members of the workforce. It is usually found in remedial classes. One downside to this type of literacy is that it does not encourage students to challenge texts or ideas. Students simply read the text but don't really dive into its meaning. I don't believe this is all the student's fault. Teachers and students should work together to get to the meaning of a text, with the teacher pushing the student along. That is what I attempt in my classroom, and your sons and daughters have been responding well to it. Looking at a specific standard under the functional lens, we can see how standards can be both positive and negative. Looking at standard 2, we can see that students reading "a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres" is a great ideal. They ideas from these texts will allow students to gain different perspectives on the world and in turn become more aware citizens of the world around them. On the downside, simply reading these texts does not unlock their meaning for students. In a functional classroom, students would not get what the author or poet was trying to say. This is the job of the teacher to make sure the class is on board with what they are reading and can dig a little deeper into texts.
Cultural literacies can be a helpful yet sometimes dangerous thing for many classrooms. On the one hand, cultural literacy teaches the dominant culture's beliefs and values. This is good for some students, the ones that are a part of the dominant culture, but not so helpful for all of the other students. Cultural literacy teaches from one point of view. This does not help students that aren't a part of the dominant culture. With standards that have students read many of the world's greatest writers, most curriculums don't take into account that most of these writers are rich white men that only write from a particular point of view. While the works themselves are great, the ethnically diverse students might not have such a strong opinion on The Odyssey. To not discuss various other issues brought up in texts that involve race, gender, and society in general does not get all students involved.
As I mentioned earlier, progressive literacy is a student centered learning practice. It focuses on student voice and advocates that students learning things about themselves is the best way to learn. I try to incorporate this literacy into my classroom as often as I can. I enjoy hearing back from my students, they always have something interesting to share. When they learn that they enjoy reading a certain author or text, they seem to enjoy the lesson at hand much more. While this literacy doesn't question power, culture, or even the curriculum, it does allow students to be heard. This allows many standards, such as 9. "students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles" to become clearer. Students can gain a respect for diverse language by speaking it. They can also learn something about themselves if they enjoy this type of reading. This way students such as your sons and daughters can relate to something they read in school. This will allow them to become much more avid readers and learners.
Critical literacy covers many areas of the classroom, such as putting the topic of privilege at the forefront in an attempt to transform curriculum and instruction. It also allows students to deconstruct texts as well as the myths of civilization. All in a day's work. This is another standard that focuses on students being responsible for their learning. With some support from me of course. By discussing privilege openly with the class allows students to see how society is influenced. I enjoy discussing this topic with students. It is good to get these ideas out in the open. Talking about these issues at this age allows students to gain important perspectives about society. While these ideas are important, it is possible some students will become confused. This happens because the information we're giving them conflicts with what they have always known. High school is a confusing time for most of us.
Most standards under a critical lens allow students to see texts in a new light. Looking at standard 3 for example mentions that students will "draw on prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers," to "appreciate texts." This will be interesting to experience in the classroom when we address the multiple perspectives in a novel a student has already read. When we look at the topic of race for example in a text the student read, a whole new world of ideas can come about. The student can see the text in a new way and that is what the critical literacy strategy hopes to achieve.
After taking a look at RethinkingSchools.org, I can see some schools are attempting to move away from the typical idea of school where a teacher lectures to a room full of students that aren't paying attention to a word the teacher is saying. This is because of a system that no longer works in our schools. To quote the Rethinking Schools website, "Schools are about more than producing efficient workers or future winners of the Nobel Prize for science. They are the place in this society where children from a variety of backgrounds come together and, at least in theory, learn to talk, play, and work together." The idea of teaching to a group of kids that the teacher knows little about can't continue.
These types of schools seem to take a step away from the idea of standards. They don't focus primarily on standardized tests or a textbook-dominated curriculum. They focus on issues of race, something that most schools avoid altogether. It is important to address these ideas. If they simply get swept under the rug than it will only make students question these ideas more. Rethinking Schools seems to focus more on student needs and less on standards, which is good and bad. We need students to learn standards as they go through school yet we don't want to suffocate them. Rethinking Schools is doing a great job at making students feel welcome in the classroom. Backing away from the standards may cause some problems in the future but adjusting students to a new form of school is challenging. Addressing race and education issues will provide the students with valuable real world information as well.
I need to wrap this letter up, my wife Stacey has just made lasagna. I hope this was informative on the state of our state standards. Teaching these can be difficult at times but with the help of your children it will be much easier. I try to structure my classroom in a way that welcomes student voice. This is why I like the progressive literacy strategy. Hearing more about my students' lives outside of school helps me teach them better. There are many standards I need to teach to your children so understanding where they are coming from helps me out more. If you ever have any questions for me I'm always a call, e-mail, or letter away. Thank you and have a nice day.
From,
Mr. O'Hara
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