The Problem of Practice:
The compelling problem of practice I would like to focus on with my students is taking ownership of their own writing. (Writing a good piece that reflects the authors style/voice & reading it fluently.)
My first graders are having a hard time applying the skills that we have been working on all year in Writer's Workshop to their written pieces. The students typically remember part of what is learned at different times. When it all has to come together it is difficult for them to remember the steps to take and what to look for such as conventions, beginning/middle/end, spelling, and adding style and voice.
They don't understand that a good author rereads and edits their piece. They often forget that writing is meant to be read not just pushed aside after they have filled their page. I want their writing to be something they are proud of and want to showcase. They need to be able to read their writing fluently for understanding and content. This skill also carries over to reading other authors and texts fluently.
Learning how to be a good writer is an important skill. It is part of the literacy equation to build good readers and thinkers. It helps with storytelling and expression. Writing and being able to put coherent thoughts together is an important life skill that they will need all through schooling and in future professions.
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Writing is so difficult, especially with those little first graders! As I read your problem, it sounds like there are three things you are trying to address: the writing process (seeing a piece through to completion), fluency when reading it and also mechanics when drafting. As I was reading, I was thinking it was a lot to tackle. But then I started thinking about my third graders and how motivated they were to create their digital stories. As we went through the writing process, they were very diligent in editing and using their writer's notebooks to check that they were remembering what we learned from mini-lessons and including those things (similes, word choice, etc.). Reflecting on that now, I think they were so diligent because they couldn't wait to get to the publishing phase to use the "cool" technology tool we used (we used the Apple book feature in iPhoto). I think adding in a technology will be very motivating for your students and will encompass all of the problems you presented. I can't wait to see what you come up with for a solution!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jamie. You might want to consider breaking the project down in phases for the TechQuest - tacking on phase at a time, until you reach the end - similar to the Writer's Workshop lesson lay outs. That way the project will remain doable. You can use the uncompleted parts and for the "Phase B of the assignment - the portion to be implemented after class is over. This statement caught my eye ~ "I want their writing to be something they are proud of and want to showcase." My goal is to get my students to this place. Right now they just want to "get the job done and forget about it."
ReplyDeleteSonja, you really hit on a key point when you said, "They often forget that writing is meant to be read not just pushed aside after they have filled their page." Kids often forget that! I feel kids really need an audience to really get that fact to sink in. When my Kdner's are just learning to read and we're talking about fluency, I read their Dick and Jane type books without expression to them and ask what they think. They usually laugh and say it's BORING! Then I explain how expression can be added to make anything seem more exciting and read it to them again. Once they have gotten the words down, I send them down to the preschool room and they read a story to the little guys. It has made a big difference. When it comes to writing, the same strategy applies...let them know that they will be able to share their stories. Something like digital storytelling would be great. A very remedial version I did with my class last year was just having them create 3 sentences that they wrote and then we typed them into powerpoint. I scanned their illustration to go with it and we had it running during our Open House. Each child's story was on their and they were very proud of their work.
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