(Page 142) “…the goal for each student is the same: everyone improves…it is unrealistic to think I am going to make every one of my 165 students a strong writer.”
First of all…165 students? Yikes!!! Can you imagine reading that many papers? It makes the Freshman Academy load sound not so bad! Gallagher has so much common sense. Making every student an exceptional writer would be an impossible task, but making every student improve is definitely attainable. This idea supports why we need to do initial assessments with our students. Writing is one of those tricky things to test, so if we don’t have a sample from the beginning, it is difficult to see what sort of gains are made throughout the year (or semester). I like the idea of taking students up a notch (from weak to average, average to strong, or strong to special). Gallagher’s method of conducting the mini-lesson for what students are struggling with—and doing it in three minutes or less—seems very doable to me. I think it definitely makes learning much more meaningful to the students because what is being taught obviously applies to them. Also, the teacher is more likely to have the students’ attention in a small group setting instead of having them getting lost in whole class instruction. I don’t know about your experience, but I’ve also found that students are more likely to ask questions with just a few others around as opposed to an entire room of students. I’m actually the same way myself. I hate asking questions in front of a large group of people unless I absolutely know it will apply to many.
First of all…165 students? Yikes!!! Can you imagine reading that many papers? It makes the Freshman Academy load sound not so bad! Gallagher has so much common sense. Making every student an exceptional writer would be an impossible task, but making every student improve is definitely attainable. This idea supports why we need to do initial assessments with our students. Writing is one of those tricky things to test, so if we don’t have a sample from the beginning, it is difficult to see what sort of gains are made throughout the year (or semester). I like the idea of taking students up a notch (from weak to average, average to strong, or strong to special). Gallagher’s method of conducting the mini-lesson for what students are struggling with—and doing it in three minutes or less—seems very doable to me. I think it definitely makes learning much more meaningful to the students because what is being taught obviously applies to them. Also, the teacher is more likely to have the students’ attention in a small group setting instead of having them getting lost in whole class instruction. I don’t know about your experience, but I’ve also found that students are more likely to ask questions with just a few others around as opposed to an entire room of students. I’m actually the same way myself. I hate asking questions in front of a large group of people unless I absolutely know it will apply to many.
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Teaching Adolescent Writers
Chapter Seven
The quote Diane used in her post is the one I had written down in my notes from this chapter to respond to. All I can say is AMEN!!! So many times I feel like people outside of education expect us to turn barely literate children in to Pulitzer Prize-winning novelists. The goal should be for everyone to improve. Does anyone remember the movie Summer School with Mark Harmon and Kirstie Alley? Mark Harmon was given all the “low” kids and expected to get them all to pass a high stakes test. His job depended on it. I won’t give away the ending, but that’s what I thought about when I read this chapter.
As for the chapter itself, again Gallagher and Pam should meet. The Color Coding Summary vs. Commentary strategy is great. I think you’d have many students who could easily make the connection when having the difference between summary and analysis explained to them that way, especially some of our student athletes. I also liked the ten tenets of teaching grammar, although not drowning the paper in corrections is hard for me. I guess I think if students see a mistake corrected enough times they’ll finally get it. I was glad to read that Gallagher also doesn’t think whole class peer editing works because I’ve always felt that way. I can’t count the number of times I read a paper that was originally correct, and the peer editor’s correction made it wrong. Loved the Independent Correction Sheet!!! I also think that conferencing with students during the drafting phase makes much more sense than doing that after they’ve turned in their final drafts. All in all, another great chapter!!!
As for Gallagher’s 165 students, I bet his school’s on a trimester schedule!!! At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself!
Blog Entry #11 (Teaching Adolescent Writers – Chapter Seven)
This was another wonderful chapter to read. I really like Kelly Gallagher’s writing style and I hope that one day I have a chance to hear him speak in person. The best suggestions in this chapter for me to use with my students are found on pages 150-152, Tenets #5 (Teach the Big Eight – editing issues) and #6 (Don’t Drown the Paper in Corrections). I also like the Independent Correction Sheet he developed that is featured on page 151 and as a reproducible in Appendix 10. His take on not making the students’ papers bleed with red ink because it will kill their desire to write is so true. Students easily become discouraged by papers that contain so many corrections, and struggling writers just like struggling readers have to experience success early to want to continue trying. At the same time, I love his quote on page 152 about the Independent Correction Sheets being a part of expected behavior for students to improve their writing. He says, “I do not give any points or credit for finishing this assignment. Students should not be rewarded for taking ownership of their own progress. That is expected behavior. However, if a student fails to make the corrections or makes new errors in doing so, I will deduct one letter grade from the final essay score.” I know I too often give students credit for just completing an assignment even if the quality of their work is poor. Gallagher is right. I need to raise my expectations!
I guess teaching the students that I teach.... I have never thought I was going to make anyone "great" in reading or writing. Now, don't take that as being negative, it is just kind of how it is. I do though strongly believe that EVERYONE can improve and am glad to see someone say that in a professional text. It is doubtful that any of my students will be "special" or even "strong" writers, and many may never be even "average" writers, but they can improve. I wish all teachers really could look at it that way.
In this chapter the idea of adopting the stance of a reader, not a grader really stood out to me. I like the phrases that Gallagher says he uses in order to respond to students writing. I really think this type of feedback will influence students to look at the comments made more openly and not see them all as negative and then become unreceptive.
I also am a strong believer in “I like….” conversations. A friend of mine told me several years ago that the business they worked for had an “I like.. I wish…” stance on providing employees with feedback. When they were being coached on something they needed to improve upon, the one providing the feedback always started the conversation with an “I like” statement and listed something they were doing correctly and then gave the “I wish” statement in which they were coached on something they needed to improve.
I have tried to take this approach with my students, and now with teachers, and have seen that it really makes people more receptive when you intentionally point out something they are doing correctly before you point out something they need to improve on. If more teachers took this approach, I think we could get further with our students as well as build their self confidence and self esteem.
Teaching Adolescent Writers- chapter 7
I could not agree with Diane, Claire and Pam more…its not in the cards for every student to be a poet. I do believe it is in the cards for every student to expect with high expectations, guidance and support that their writing will improve between the time they enter and depart from room 510. I also, much like Claire, have a hard time not bleeding on their papers with the thought that once it has been pointed out they will remediate and make the changes and not have recurring mistakes in grammar (although those who know me well know that is not my strong suit in the spoken word).
I really do wonder in my History classes how much time I can justify in writing multiple drafts but find using the rubrics make life so much easier on my students to understand expectations and set goals. I also find writing conferences done on an individual basis is very effective in helping students to ‘see’ their writing as it is and what it is becoming.
I have to admit that I tried the unthinkable in my classroom – not only did I try editing as whole-class but I also had my kids peer edit (gasp). Both of these strategies were deemed ineffective by Gallgher in this chapter. I guess I should say “I read the chapter a little too late” but to be honest I think these strategies did some good within my classroom. I did the peer editing a little differently – the only changes that were made to the original papers were made by the writer after their peer gave them suggestions on Post-it notes. This seemed to help cut down on the number of incorrect changes made.
Although I was mostly happy with the editing my kids did, I will definitely use Gallagher’s suggestions next time I work on editing. Another suggestion that I love is having students track their Spelling Demons. I tried this with my kids in the fall and it was a little more of a chore than I hoped. Maybe to Spelling Demon Chart will prove to be much easier.
After the recent editing my kids have done I think the hardest part is getting them to take ownership in their work and to actually care about making changes. I had a few students who were quick to say “There’s nothing wrong. I don’t need to change anything.” Unfortunately, their papers seemed to be the ones that needed the most work. I think these students just need more direct, small-group instruction that caters to their specific editing needs. Gallagher discusses exactly how to do this throughout the entire chapter. I love that every year we can start over and try new, better approaches to teaching.
Teaching Adolescent Writers- Chapter 7
Same quote as everyone else! “…the goal for each student is the same: everyone improves.” I highlighted it and placed a big star in the margin! I also love the quote on page 153- “I AM NOT SUPERMAN! I AM NOT SUPERMAN!” Sometimes I feel that I am not a good teacher unless I go over every paper with a fined tooth comb and then I get discouraged because I cannot keep up with my work. I really liked the Independent Correction Sheet- and the fact that Gallagher marks no more than 6 mistakes. That is easy on me and the student. The mini-lessons are do-able and I have found that I am doing those more and more in my classes. This gives the students more time to practice and then I have time to conference with students. However, this is something I definitely would like to do earlier in the school year so that my students can get used to the routine.
I could not imagine having to read and grade 100+ papers let alone assigning something like that more than one time a school year. Years ago when I was teaching our Freshman Focus program the students had to keep a daily journal. At different times during the nine weeks I would have to read anywhere from 75 to 90 journals. I always enjoyed reading what the students had written but I could not imagine having to grade their writing ability. I feel for the Freshman program teachers, espcially those that give writing assignments. Making a student a good writer takes time. We all develop our own tastes in writing. I cannot stand poetry. Never have. When we were studying Emily Dickinson, I thought this is what hell must be like. What we need to do as teachers is help students find where their strengths are and help the sutdents build on that. Self assessment is a good tool.
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