Writing on the Table

Imagine my surprise when Scott Ritter actually told the students in his third grade class to write the word algorithm on their tables. That astonishment continued when he asked them to write what they think the word algorithm means – on their tables. Scott actually likes academic content being written on the tables that students have instead of desks. By the end of the day, each table is an amazing collection of the learning that has occurred throughout the day. Besides the obvious saving of paper, I was struck by the notion that writing on the table makes learning seem more like the practice that it actually is. Spelling, math problems, sketches of ideas all become explicit rather than hanging in the air or kept tucked away in our brain. Different versions of an idea or word can be easily shared, easily corrected, and quickly referred to later in the day, if needed. No needless graffiti, scribbling, or otherwise non-academic writing is allowed. And of course, at the end of the day tables are cleaned by the students in preparation for the next day’s blank slate to be filled with new learning.

Writing Process - Warts and All

What a wonderful chance I had today to watch the writing process – warts and all. Before writing, Scott, a third grade teacher, gave the students lots of background knowledge, ways to organize their thinking/writing, setting the purpose for writing, thinking about the audience, and what they want their story to be about, and still some struggled. One could easily see how much mental attention goes into writing. Of course there are the students who just take off and go, barely stopping to show they are aware of those around them. Then there are the ones who stop and start, getting out a few words then stopping, thinking, writing. Some will sit with their hand up, waiting, waiting, expecting some nudge from a teacher that will help them over their writing hump. There is usually a student or two who gets the title down in a quick burst of energy, but then stalls out, with no other ideas coming. And finally there is the student who has nothing but a blank page after 15 minutes of writing time. All of these are normal, and all pose some type of challenge to the teacher of writing.
I had the pleasure of watching this writing time recently at Scott Ritter’s classroom at Scott Technology Magnet School in Topeka. Scott did a phenomenal job of preparing his students to write a story by first giving them a prompt “ A tsunami is on the way, and you are the only one who knows it. Think about how you could warn people of the tsunami and help them escape the giant wave. Now write a story about how you saved the day.” He showed a video clip about tsunamis and discussed this with the students, incorporating much of the same vocabulary from the video into the discussion. He also told the students in the morning that they would be writing the story in the afternoon, giving them a three hour heads-up to think about what they wanted to write. I like this idea, instead of just springing it on them and expecting students to pump out a story. Then during writing time, Scott guided the students through the process of setting a purpose or purposes for their story, considering the audience, and thinking about the most important point of their story. He also gave them a short list of sequencing words he wanted them to try to incorporate into the story so there would be a sense of flow from one idea to the next. And then he did my favorite part of the lesson. Scott gave the third grade students a copy of the six trait rubric he wanted them to use to keep in mind the expectations for their writing. He told students that for this assignment they should focus on the trait of organization. Then he went one step further and talked about each level on the rubric, clarifying the terms as needed. It’s so important to set that criteria for young writers BEFORE they begin. This year I have been battling my son’s high school English teacher with doing this, and I am losing. So I was very heartened to see Scott clearly share his expectations with students. It is a joy to watch quality writing instruction, and I am incredibly lucky to spend time with some fabulous teachers who recognize this!

Meeting Students' Needs

On my visit in a second grade classroom, the teacher, Sarah, and her class made a class book that they had formally published by www.nationwide-learning.com. Sarah saved the book to share with students during the sharing time of writing workshop, which she called “The Big Reveal”. The book is hardbound with color illustrations, and the cover has a photo of the entire class. Each student read his or her page and showed the illustration while sitting in the author’s chair. It was easy to see the pride on their faces from being a part of this publication. There is a fee to purchase individual copies of the books, and not all students bought one to keep; however the teacher has a copy that can be kept in the classroom library for all to see. All students contributed to the book, no matter their abilities. Some of the written pages were short and some long; some of the illustrations simple and some elaborate; some handwriting was neat and some not so neat. The important thing is all could contribute at their level. This concept is at the heart of writing workshop!
Sarah spoke to me about her beliefs in the value of writing workshop. She sees the daily structure of independent writing time as a way for students to freely express themselves – something they may not have the opportunity to do during any other aspect of the school day, and for some, not even outside of school. She tells stories of students whose stomach aches and daily ailments seem to get better during writing workshop. Sarah is an advocate for the use of writing workshop to meet the individual of students, and she definitely has experience in this area. Within her classroom of 23 students, nine students have some type of special need. Four students are learning English as a second language. Sarah is bilingual, so she is able to communicate with the students when English is too challenging. I watched her conduct a writing conference in Spanish when she could tell that the student needed a more in-depth explanation than he could understand in English; however the majority of the teaching and learning is done in English. In addition to these students, there are three students with various challenges to learning, one student with autism who receives Tier 3 special education services, and one student with other health impairments related to behavior. Various adults move in and out of the room throughout the day to assist along with various students leaving the classroom for extra help.
Each of these students is a full participant during writing workshop. One student who is not writing words independently traces over his words that have been written down by another adult. Another student is able to write his story, but has difficulty reading the words aloud. Still another student can say the three sentences of her story, but cannot put sounds and letters together to write the words. While another student talks of being an author when she grows up, writing two-page stories which include vivid details and written conversations. It has been amazing to see what these students can do when given the opportunity to express themselves through writing.

Writing Workshop

My sabbatical travels have taken me to Whitson Elementary in Topeka, Kansas where I have the pleasure of being a part of writing workshop in Sarah Lucero's second grade classroom. I am making almost daily visits during this workshop time, which gives me the opportunity to collect samples and to interact with the students. It's such a pleasure to see a fully functioning writing workshop where the students choose what they want to write about and are given the time, space, and materials to take their writing through each stage of the writing process. Sarah has devised a clever system of having the students keep track of where they are in the writing process. A bulletin board display is used so that she can easily track the progress as students move from one step to the next.

Sarah begins the workshop with a mini-lesson based on the grade level curriculum and what the students need extra help with, as she has noticed during writing conferences. So far I have seen mini-lessons about inserting quotation marks, using a powerful writing tree to plan out writing, and publishing their writing in booklets. These lessons are brief, as Sarah frequently lets the students know that she wants them to have plenty of time to work on their writing. During the mini-lesson Sarah reminds students of the ways what she is teaching can be applied to their writing. During the actual writing time, students are working at various stages of the writing process. On-task students are rewarded with the use of a clipboard or pillow during writing time. The classroom is busy with active writers. Sarah is busy holding individual conferences with students.

Once students have finished a piece of writing, practiced reading it aloud to themselves, and visited with a peer editor, they are ready to bring the writing to a conference with Sarah. This is done at her desk, and the student is expected to use editor marks to make corrections as the two of them read the piece of writing together. They sit across from each other with the writing on a small shelf between them. Sarah gives specific individualized instruction to each student during the five minute or so writing conference. Between conferences Sarah checks on the progress of students and answers questions that have been waiting during the conference. She has trained the students not to interrupt writing conferences unless they are bleeding, can’t breathe, or barfing (the 3 B’s).

At the end of the day on Fridays, Sarah has scheduled a sharing time. She makes this a celebration atmosphere by having students put table cloths on the desk and passing out drinks and snacks. The author’s chair is draped with small Christmas lights, and the plastic megaphone is made ready for each author to use. One student sets the stage by saying, “lights, camera, action”, each author takes a turn sharing their writing. After each one finishes reading, the class gives two snaps (instead of clapping), and then share stars or positive comments. This is truly a celebration of the work and effort it takes for each student to write and publish their own work.

Sarah clearly values student writing as seen by the time she devotes to writing workshop each week. When I ask her about the development of writing workshop in her classroom, she kindly says that she first learned about it from me, as she is a former student. Although I may have planted the seed in language arts methods class, Sarah has clearly tended the delicate plant that has grown into a wonderful thing to behold!