Assignment 1: October 8, 2024 - Pose a Problem of Practice:
Goal: How can integrating explicit grammar and spelling instruction into my writing practice enhance student outcomes and promote transferable skills across other subjects?
Steps to Attain the Goal:
Student Notebooks: This year, students will better utilize their writer's and word study notebooks as valuable resources while integrating writing and grammar lessons. I have developed a new menu of spelling homework activities incorporating writing and grammar instruction to support this. This menu will be updated several times throughout the school year to provide diverse options that reflect what students are learning in writing and grammar. Each activity is designed to enhance student writing and spelling word application in their work.
Merging Writing Units and Grammar into Weekly Spelling:
This year, I will integrate writing lessons and grammar instruction into our weekly spelling activities. My students will have a choice board for weekly spelling homework.
Student Checkpoint:
Students will be encouraged to reflect on their writing, writer’s notebooks, and word study notebooks to assess their development and the application of writing and grammar lessons. These notebooks will serve as valuable resources to support their writing progress.
During ongoing one-on-one writing conferences, provide explicit grammar feedback during the discussion. Teach students how to self-assess their writing and grammar using their work and through peer review.
Notebooks will include:
Charts
Writer’s Notebooks - lessons and charts
Word Study Notebooks - spelling homework that supports the writing and grammar lessons, helping students apply their spelling knowledge effectively in their written work.
Monthly:
Checkpoint Reflection:
Students will complete an on-demand writing task at the end of each writing unit. These on-demands will function as assessments for the teacher and students, providing insights into writing progress and understanding.
Frequent Writing Conferences
Students will collaborate with the teacher to set goals for the next steps in their writing. Each conference will include a writing checklist tailored to the unit of study. Students will reflect on their observations and identify their next steps.
Outcome Reflection:
Visible learning:
I will review all of their on-demands
At the end of the year, I will ask students how helpful the lessons were and what they remembered. My goal is to see what learning has stuck with the students. A reflection sheet will be given to each student. Topics will include:
How did you grow as a writer
What do you best as a writer
Which grammar lessons will you always remember
Suggestions for writing
Disposition of a Fourth-grader:
By the end of fourth grade, I hope my students can write using complex sentences, enriched vocabulary, and consistent proper punctuation. They should organize their ideas, ensuring a logical flow between sentences, and use appropriate transition words. Varying sentence structures and revising for clarity will help students create more engaging and well-developed writing pieces.
Peer Comments: Hi Celeste,
Your plan to integrate explicit grammar and spelling instruction into writing practice is well thought-out and layered with opportunities for students to reflect on and apply their learning across subjects. The use of notebooks as a resource, coupled with a flexible spelling homework menu that evolves throughout the year, supports differentiated learning and reinforces the link between writing and grammar.
Your idea of students checking in with themselves through peer review and self-assessment fosters autonomy and ownership over their learning. It's really brilliant!
Just to probe a bit further, I am wondering the following:
What kinds of activities will be part of the updated spelling homework menu, and how will you decide when and what to add throughout the year?
I'm also curious about the reflection piece—how do you plan to balance student feedback and your own observations to inform adjustments to your teaching throughout the year?
Good luck, Celeste! This is a great action plan. - Sue Luft