Sharing

Breaking Down The Writing Workshop

Ch.15: Sharing

• Have you ever seen a student read something in front of the class that makes things make more sense?

• Jo: When she explains directions and student's don't understand, another student will reiterate in their own terms, and everyone understands

• Types of shares:

• Simple response share

• Pairs or small groups

• Directly from notes

• Refine and aid in editing

• Survey share

• Built around a "frame"

• Sentence of the week

• Brief

• Consecutive students

• Conclude with "what did you notice?"

• Focused share

• In couples or small group based on focus share

• Student-as-teacher

Ch.16: Teacher's Plans

• Vision: have a goal or a big vision for students

• Structure

• Routine: start with daily lessons and move outward

• Three parts- focus lesson, individual writing time, share time

• Write focus lessons by:

• Making notes

• Making "how-to's"

• Structuring independent time by conferring to structure both next lessons and share time

• Structure share time by elaborating on what you found out in independent time- finding

Ch.17: Assessment and Evaluation

• "The questions become the curriculum" p.211

• The role of the teacher vs. the role of the student...

• Teacher:

• Ask questions that make a child know they are a writer, questions help us assess while the child self-assesses

• Use "questions of history" (shows progress of learning), "questions of action" (What do you need), "questions of process" (Where do you get your ideas? How do you put them on the page?

• Student:

• Answer about past writing, where and when they're writing, ways they're following lessons and emulating others

• Self-Assessments

• P.220-223 "scales" and "worksheets"

• Evidence of progress comes from:

• Writer's notebook

• Teacher's records

• Drafts

• How we all learn from evaluations:

• Possibilities for progress vs. process question

• Teacher's assessment and child's assesment are averaged

• Teacher's assessment of progress is averaged with the assessment of the product

• Ways in which evaluation and assessment become curriculum

• As teachers "grade" writing, they become more aware

Ch.18: If they're not really worksheets, what are they?

(they're records we co-create with students)

• Records that consist of...

• Student daily logs p.234-235

• Student conference logs p.237

• Laminated exercises "try-it's" p.238-239

• Seed idea sheets p.244

• Progress worksheet p.246

Ch.19: Publishing and "Finishing"

• They're not optional (should be ready for some sort of audience)

• Ways to decrease fear and increase organization...

• Set specific dates

• Set a specific number of publications for the year

• Talk about who audience is

• Show students places they can publish

• Define what "finished" means

• Talk about a work being ready for the public

• Show and Tell: what is a finished piece?

• Ready to show off, at least to individuals

• Has gone through the process on p. 253

• We see documentation of the process

• What's revision?

• More than fixing what's wrong

• What can be omitted

• Descriptions should be more specific

• Better beginnings and endings

• What should be added

• Knowing when to stop

• Knowing that a piece won't be perfect