District Training - "Just Write About It!"

2/20/2018

At our district's training day I attended an invigorating training led by Kelly York from Metro RESA.  Named, “Let’s Write About it!”,  I had hoped that it would help with my fledgling Writer’s Workshop, and give me more tools to help all my writers - both struggling and shining.  The 3-hour workshop was not what I expected, but exceeded expectations.

I had expected something similar to the fantastic Cheryl Daniels training that I attended last year.  I thought that we would learn about activities designed to help our writers, that we would contemplate strong mentor texts and how to use them, that we would brainstorm ways to get our kids writing.  That was not what it was.  My anticipated learning would have been valuable.  What I did receive as training on how to help our kids to write better AND how to show their skills when they are tested on their abilities.

It wasn’t about teaching to the test.

But it did show me how to help my students to shine on the test as well as in their day-to-day writing.

As a test grader, Kelly was able to share just how many students are good writers, but don’t answer the prompt.  As a grader she was able to tell us that we are doing the right thing, but that we weren’t helping our kids to shine.  She was able to break down the tasks and help me to see where I have been weaker in my teaching.

I took copious notes.

The bottom line is, I walked in feeling that I needed help with my writing, but that we were on track.  I listened, I learned.  I left realizing that we are CLOSE, but there is still a gap to bridge, an element still to offer to our kids.

Some highlights to ponder:

• Are we giving our students a PROCESS to help them to unpack a PROMPT?

  • It isn’t just about the ‘test’.  In life, you need to be able to get to the heart of the matter.  You have to see the POINT.

  • Can they look at a multi-layered question and see what is important?  Are they missing elements?

• Students should 100% be reading and writing TOGETHER

  • Side note - the usual frustration arose at the presenters disappointment that we don’t have a block schedule.  So much harder with so little time.

• We need to help students to learn to work with text while writing - this needs to be bettered in our narrative unit for sure!

• Think about doing a daily constructed response.

  • Already in my 2018-19 notes.  How can I integrate more of this in without extra time to do it!

  • Kelly suggested a daily exit ticket.  There is definitely wiggle room!

• Always teach with reflection - how did it start, and how did it change?

Suggested High Impact Practices for Language Arts Instruction

• • Build stamina

  • Do close analytic reading of complex text

  • Citing textual evidence - from narratives as well as informational text.

  • Writing EVERY SINGLE DAY.

  • Never write without reading.  Never read without writing.

  • Don’t just ‘do’ annotation.  Annotation is pointless when it isn’t tied to the purpose.

    • Thousands of students have been taught to hate annotation because it is typically done without purpose (stars and underlines mean nothing when you return to the text!).

    • Annotate for the purpose of the prompt.  Change the purpose = change the annotation.

  • An idea for centers

• • 1. Unpack the prompt

    2. Write from a different perspective

    3. Finish the story

Immediate Adjustments Made

For my Writer’s Workshop I have made a change to the instructions - Kelly actually advised an activity (using picture prompts in lieu of words) that I am already doing (it was nice to have that affirmation), but I am adding to my instructions to help guide the practice.  Rather than a blank space for typing their paragraph, I am using her hints to give a checklist to help give more explicit instructions:

NARRATIVE WRITING CRITERIA

Establish a situation

Introduce and develop characters and the setting.

Use effective narrative techniques like dialogue and description, and interesting character experiences and events.

Use words and phrases that signal shifts.

Provide a conclusion.

I did a block of instruction on breaking down the prompt before setting to work on our formative essay last week.  I will do it again before setting them loose on their summative next week.  This is good stuff!

I immediately talked to the CPT about adjusting some of our review work ahead to help support this need to break down and respond to prompts.

Next year I will add a new protocol with prompt unpacking and more frequent constructed responses.  This year I will add it where I can!

There’s little better than a training that keeps you engaged throughout, stirs the brain towards improved teaching, and gives you immediate action to be taken.