When I lived in NYC, I never had to prepare my fifth graders to do writing on the State ELA Test since there was only a graphic organizer and a short response that the kids had to write about a passage. However, here in Rhode Island, we’re preparing our fourth graders to take the New England Common Assessment Program (aka: NECAP) Test next week. There’s going to be a written response to reading on the test, which I’ve been preparing my students for this week. Though I’m not preparing them for a writing test, I find myself slipping into very formulaic teaching, guiding them to restating the prompt, and to writing a very structured response. I’m not complaining about this at all… I’m just finding it challenging to go from workshop teaching to writing a response to a question.
Anyway, next week in the afternoons, after the testing is over, we’re going to spend time on mathematics and also a mini friendly letter writing unit. (I think my class is going to correspond with Christina’s class at my old school in Manhattan, which I’m excited about!)
Discover more from TWO WRITING TEACHERS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
