Writing Workshop changed my life. Through Writing Workshop I became a writer. I learned how to mentor myself after my favorite writers. I learned to collect the simple everyday moments, relish them, and use them to make sense of my place in the world. This in itself made Writing Workshop worthwhile to me.
Yet that’s not the only way it changed me. As I read about Writing Workshop, I began to question my practices. Often when I read about Writing Workshop, there were things I doubted. This made me start asking questions. As I asked questions then sought answers to them, the instructional choices I made became more purposeful.
I began synthesizing my new learning about Writing Workshop with my knowledge of brain research. I was impressed how the two mirrored one another. At the same time I was introduced to Daniels, Hyde, and Zimmerman’s Best Practice research. This made me even more intentional about the choices I made in instruction.
I’ve come to realize how easy it is to get caught up in the swirl of life in school. There are many things teachers are made to feel they must do. As we scramble through the day, it is easy to forget to consider the purpose behind our choices. This weekend I”m going to take some time to re-evaluate the choices I’m making. Here are some of the things I’m considering:
What have I been teaching in conferences this week?
Are my teaching points helping writers or simply fixing up writing?
How am I encouraging the writers in my classroom?
How can I help my students find authentic topics and genuine audiences?
Do the charts in my classroom support writers?
Is my assessment aligned with standards, as well as my instruction?
What can I do to make sure my lessons are “sticky?”
How can content area teachers use writing to help students understand content?
What are some of the things you’re considering in order to be more purposeful in your teaching?
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Writing Workshop changed my life, too. I participated in a 4 week study through the Coastal Area Writing Project during the Summer 2007. As I lived my summer as a writer, I learned first hand all the mistakes I was making as an ELA teacher. I knew as I experienced my growth as a writer, I had to pass that same learning experience on to my students. I questioned all the things I was doing “just because” and began to change how my classroom was going to function. I embraced the teachings of Katie Wood Ray and used her book Study Driven as my bible. While I am still struggling with district manadates and the while idea of trying to make it all work together, I know I am moving in the right direction. I do make purposeful decisions based on how reading and writing work together. I liked your questions you posed at the end of your post…..they made me think and I, too, will use them to engage in professional conversation with other ELA teachers. I will continue to work towards what I hope will be a classroom where students develop a love of reading and writing and where I can model my own learning to help inspire them.
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Ruth,
I hope you don’t mind but I printed off a hard copy to give all my teachers during our team meetings this week. We are reflecting on mid-year assessment; what it means, where it is directing us, what do kids need to know to move forward. This gave us a great way to start our discussion. It’s nice to know that we aren’t the only ones fighting the good fight! 🙂
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I definitely know what you mean about getting caught up in everything in teaching- I guess that’s why they stressed reflection so much in my teaching programs- except I had more time for reflection then 🙂 I think my “purpose” question is always going back to look at student writing and thinking, “what does this student need to learn next?” “how can I move him or her forward as a writer?” etc.
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Conferring is still one of the big areas that I am considering. I feel like I am getting closer to my goal all the time of conferring with my students consistently and determining appropriate teaching points. I am always reflecting on ways that I need to improve to continue working toward this goal though.
I am also considering blogging and how it could be a dynamic part of my writing workshop. We will be starting student blogs in the next few weeks.
Also coming up in about three weeks will be our state writing assessment, so I am still finalizing my standardized test writing genre study where I will link what students have been learning about all year with writing for a standardized test.
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