Comprehension - next steps

S. is a confident 4^th grader who enjoys and identifies with being a reader and a writer.  She reads and writes at home for pleasure and she is supported by a family of readers.  S. reads different genres including historical fiction and adventure.  S. is fond of animals and her cats inspired the Fuzzball the talking cat story.  She has been known to create books to give as gifts and last year she gave her Mom a book for Mother’s day.  Her love of plays and acting contribute to her love of language.

The testing we have done to date, confirms that S. is a skilled reader.  On 1/25, we did a running record while she read The Mouse and the Motorcycle (grade 4.4 on the AR scale).  S. had 98% accuracy (based on 6 errors/300 words) and none of the errors affected meaning.  In addition, the QRI testing on 2/1 showed that S. read 139 words/minute putting her at the 75 percentile for 4^th graders.  In that passage on Amelia Earhart, she scored in the instructional range based on 7/8 questions correct.  She was also a 4 on the NAEP fluency rubric for qualitative measure of fluency and expression.  In her retelling, I scored it as a partial retelling (3) based on the 7 phrases she included in the recap of the story.

Regarding a lesson, I would like to take a deeper look into a story with S.  As Routman says “most students do not read deeply” and I have had glimmers that this might be true based on some superficial retellings.  In addition to the Amelia Earhart piece, S. has given us another retelling of a fictional story (Mouse and the Motorcycle) that was event focused as opposed to character focused.  I might base a lesson on character development and determine if S. can really connect with the characters and understanding why they behave as they do.  I would focus on inference to uncover if S. can read between the lines to understand a character’s motivations.  I have no information in this area.

My thought is to use Tovani’s double entry diary as an easy tool.  I would have S. fold a piece of paper down the middle and make two columns.  On the left would be specific quotes from the text with page numbers (alternatively it could be a summary of a section.)  On the right would be where she would write I infer…..  I would model how to do this out so that my teaching is explicit.  We could then do one together before letting S. go back to her seat to do more on her own.

Writing Analysis and Lesson Outline

Analysis of Student Writing

S. is an outgoing and talkative 4^th grader and clearly proud of her writing ability.  We briefly looked at several pieces in her writing folder before she selected one for us to review.  My analysis is based on S.’s response to a writing prompt about a talking animal.  S. wrote about her own kitten “Fuzzball” and she described what a day might be like if he could talk.  Her story described a series of events including eating breakfast, reading the comics, and washing dishes with the cat.  She engages the reader with her vivid descriptions and choice of language. 

Six Traits

S. has terrific ideas but instead of focusing on one, she has written about several vignettes – some more developed than others.  She is always on the general theme of a day with her talking kitten, but the ideas are not always connected and do not flow logically.  We are left with gaps and questions about the story.  (NREL .p. 2)  Reading the comics leads to a pillow fight with no explanation.  S. suddenly calls a friend and a fashion show is introduced.  These events have some detail, but are confusing because they seem a bit random.  Regarding organization, the story is a bit uneven.  S. starts with a very inviting introduction and I was eager to continue reading.  Subsequently, there are several ideas competing for focus and therefore the middle feels disorganized and somewhat fuzzy.  The story ends with a conclusion that is recognizable, but not completely satisfying for a piece that started so strong. (NREL p. 3)

S.’s strong voice and word choice are “powerful and engaging” and give her writing sparkle. (NREL p.5). Her words and phrases are thoughtful and specific; examples include “muted knock” by the kitten’s paw and “under the whistling voice of the tea pot”.  Vivid verbs include blurted, bounded and pranced.  Descriptions like “happy as a lark,” “thin, high heeled black shoes”, and “purple polka dot dress” all add color and drama to the story.

S.’s sentences always get the job done and in some cases are varied and energetic.  She does use dialogue in her story, although sometimes it is a bit choppy.  Her conversations succeed in introducing varied structure and length of sentences and helps move her story along. (NREL p. 6) Her fluency shows and conveys the excitement that she feels about her new found ability to communicate with her kitten.

S. has a very good grasp of standard writing conventions.  Evidence of S.’s ability to revise and edit for conventions were apparent in the marked up Fuzzball final draft.  There are a couple of small spelling errors (meant and licking) but I am not sure that they accurately reflect S.’s stage of development.  I suspect that with an additional review, the spelling would be corrected and the piece would be ready for publication. (NREL p. 7))    This is consistent with S.'s “Message in a Bottle” writing prompt that was published on the class bulletin board.  Spelling, grammar, paragraphs, punctuation, and capitalization were once again excellent.

Ownership

S. enjoys writing and she is confident and highly motivated to create stories at home and school.  In the Fuzzball piece, her delight in having her kitten talk makes the story silly but fun.  S. sees herself as a capable writer and she proudly showed us several writing pieces in addition to the Fuzzball story.  She was working earnestly on a pre-write about what one thing she would change at school.  Another completed piece was an “All About Me” story and she read us the clever conclusion “if you need more information, call 1-800- SAMI”.  S. enjoys acting in plays and I believe that adds to her love of language and dialogue. 

Spelling

In addition to spelling in context in her writing, S. did well on the spelling inventory.  She spelled all the words correctly except “celler”, “civiliazed” and “oppisition”. This would place her beyond vowel patterns on the developmental continuum.  Derivational relations (opposition) and suffixes (cellar and civilized) would be her stage of development in spelling.  In identifying words from a list, S. was very strong and tested at the independent level through the 6^th grade.  She insisted on continuing through all the word lists and she successfully identified many middle school and some high school level words.  She was eager and proud to know what words she had gotten correct.

In conclusion, S. is a strong writer whose voice and word choice shine.  Her writing is supported by her sentence fluency and correct use of conventions.  Two areas for improvement are ideas and organization.  S. has so many ideas that she would benefit by narrowing the focus of her writing.  Focus would enable her to elaborate on her main theme without getting sidetracked by random and distracting information.  The improved focus would help with her organization as transitions and clarity would improve.  For that reason, I would start a writing lesson on idea development and focus. 

Lesson Outline

Objectives

To brainstorm how to identify the main idea and narrow the focus for the tetherball story.

To identify overlapping and/or unrelated ideas in the tetherball pre-write.

Standards

EALR 1 Student understands and uses a writing process

1.1. Pre-write to generate ideas and plan writing.

EALR 3 Student writes clearly and effectively

3.1   Develops ideas and organizes writing

Materials

Pencil, post-it notes, new prewrite graphic organizer

Instructional Strategies

This lesson is designed as an individual writing conference and a follow-up .  Alternatively, it could be given as a small group lesson to students all working on narrowing the focus for their ideas.

I would ask S. to bring a copy of her tetherball pre-write.  I would have a copy of her Fuzzball story and start the conference by praising her terrific voice, word choice and conventions she demonstrated in the piece.  I would then gently point out that after an engaging introduction, the middle became a bit fuzzy with several competing and unconnected ideas (I would be specific).  I would then focus on the new project and explain how a pre-write helps to narrow a main idea before she starts her draft.  The goal being that the tetherball piece have a clear, well defined and narrow focus before starting the draft.

I would show S. a sample pre-write using the same prompt.  This could be from a previous year or one that I created for illustrating how to narrow topic focus.  I would demonstrate how after I finish a pre-write, I review with the goal to identify and narrow the main idea.  I would use a series of questions.  Are my ideas all different and distinct or do they overlap? Are they all equally important to the story I am trying to tell?  Are they related or connected in some way?  As I ask the questions, I would show how I could eliminate or combine repetitive ideas.  I would show how I could connect related ideas with so there is logical flow.  I would show how to identify the one idea that seems to be the most important in the story I am trying to tell – that is her main idea..

Next, we would turn to S.’s pre-write and together we would ask the first “review” question.  Are all my ideas different or do they overlap?  As S. identifies similar ideas, I would ask how she might combine or eliminate some of the information to help narrow the focus.  Although we did not spend a lot of time on this piece, my recollection is that S. had “listed” three reasons why she wanted to have more tetherball courts.  Yet all of the reasons were related to the main idea that students in different grades need to play on different courts.

When I was confident that S. could revise her pre-write on her own, I would have her go back to her seat to complete the revisions using the questions we used on the sample to combine, eliminate and revise her pre-write.  I would have S. come back when she felt that her revision focused on a narrow topic with all the other ideas connected to one main theme.

During the follow-up conference, I would have S. read her revised pre-write.  If the pre-write was focused on a main idea with related supporting information, I would have S. proceed to begin her draft.

Assessment

I will document how well S. can narrow the focus of the tetherball paper by comparing the revised pre-write to the original pre-write and checking for a main idea with a narrow focus and connected ideas.  As the assignment progresses, I will use the ideas section of the six traits rubric to assess the clarity and focus of her story. 

Writing Conferences

I spent time on the plane to California reading Routman's chapter on student writing conferences.  I wished I had read it a couple of weeks earlier as I now realize that I have been in a series of writing conferences with my son - we just did not have a name for it.  He is a high school senior writing essays for his college applications.  The whole application process feels very stressful and high stakes with the essays providing an opportunity to differentiate applicants.  I am comfortable with content conferences, but I also got pulled into editing conferences too.


As a parent, I focused on the content of the essays.  Was it interesting? (reviewers would be reading hundreds of essays).  Did it sound like him? (it needs to be his voice).  Did the topic he chose highlight an activity or accomplishment where he learned something? (this is not the time to be modest).  Does it avoid cliche and hyperbole? (not another athlete that overcame an injury to return to triumph).


As a teacher, I think that this is where we can really help our students be successful writers with great ideas to share and communicate.  I agree with Routman when she says to ignore editing concerns at first and focus on content.  I think that a lot of my "parent talk" translates to "teacher talk."  I suggested my son write another intro when I thought his did not provide enough of a hook.  One excellent essay ended flat and I suggested he reconsider the close.  In retrospect, I should have been using Routman's simple suggestion of having him reread his essay multiple times and especially each time he returned to the essays.


As a parent, the editing conferences were not comfortable for me.  I do not remember all the finer points of grammar.  Should it be "that or which" should it be past or past perfect (whatever that is).  What sounds right to me may not be grammatically correct and that worries me with so much at stake.  Luckily, my teenager seems pretty confident in all the editing.  As a teacher, I am okay with punctuation and spelling, but my grammar will need to be dusted off a bit.  I do like the idea of students doing most of the editing themselves or with their peers.  I like Routman's tips about students becoming as independent as possible by having one on one conferences only when the students have done everything they can on their own and completed requirements.

In summary, this chapter was filled with great tips for having writing conferences with students.  Routman's ideas about "frontloading" are among my favorite.  She says that frontloading means "doing whatever you need to do before students write to ensure they understand the talk and expectations and are prepare to succeed. ...the payoff is huge: quality writing, right from the start, along with efficient conferences.  The month of December will be filled with more college applications and essays.  I am prepared to let my son know that before I read another essay that there are certain expectations that I have for him too. 

Writing Vignettes

After writing (and sharing) one vignette, I find myself agonizing about the whole process.  What do I want to write about that feels okay to share with my writing group and eventually the whole class?  I purposely chose a topic for the first vignette that was not too personal, a remembrance of a Mary Oliver poetry reading I attended.  My writing group made the obvious comment that I described the event, but never really shared what it was about her poetry that made me connect so deeply to it.  Public writing, I know it will be a challenge for me.


According to Routman, teaching writing to students needs to include lots of guiding and demonstration. I feel comfortable with certain kinds of writing - reports, emails, memos and the kind of business writing that I used to do.  Personal vignettes and more creative types of writing that include emotions are a different challenge.   It is only one of many areas where I feel stretched and out of my comfort zone.  It certainly will assist me in understanding how some of my students are likely to feel and perhaps we will work through some of the issues together.


I did love the opportunities to work with our kindergarten buddies.  It is so helpful to get to explore the Emergent Literacy Profile by working with a student who is actively working through these important stages.  It has often been the highlight of my week and I look forward to going back to the class in the spring to see all the progress.

Shitty First Drafts

     I resonate with what I have read in Annie Lamott's book Bird by Bird.  I particularly appreciate her chapter on  shitty first drafts (sfd).  I believe that is one of the hallmarks and consistent ingredients of my own writing.  Although I  have experienced immobilization trying to strive for perfection and I still sometimes struggle with getting started, I pretty much always produce a sfd. My personal experience has shown me that the process of getting a first draft on paper is a crucial one .  I need to get something going (the down draft) and although I do not think I throw away most of the first draft, I do many revisions (the up draft).  It is reassuring to read that even successful, published writers still struggle with their craft.


     In a similar fashion, I appreciated Regie Routman's honesty in her Writing Essentials book.  She sometimes struggles to decide what to write even as she is conducting writing workshops for adults and children.  She emphasizes that it is crucial for students (adults and children) to see that struggle in order to make transparent the process and the modeling of writing.  She also talks about how it is important for teachers to write in front of our students so that we understand and have empathy for what we are asking our students to do. 


     I agree with Routman's emphasis on celebrating our student's writing with a focus on writing authentically for a real audience.  I know that I was amazed at the letter my daughter wrote over the summer when I asked her explain in writing why she thought she needed a cell phone.  I told her that I need to be persuaded because I was not sure it was the right time. Her passion for the topic was evident in the abundance of ideas explaining the benefits of her owning a cell phone.  And yes, she is now a texting teen.


     I think that the writing strategy of going from whole to part and not part to whole makes a lot of sense.  We lose too many students to boredom and apathy if we start with templates, conventions and step by step guides.  I like the idea that we need to get students to feel like they are writers and then worry about the details.  Routman says " if all of our students are to become successful writers, then from the day they enter school they, and we, must see the process as doable, manageable and enjoyable."  Amen.

Kindergarten Buddies

It has been a long time since I have spent any time with a five year old and even longer since I visited a kindergarten classroom. I was happy and at least a bit relieved that it was so much fun! Joshua is five and a half and he is a sweet, bright and welcoming child. The 30 minutes we spent together went by all too quickly.


Although we did not get to read a book together, Joshua did some writing for us as we got to know one another. He seems to be using a variety of strategies as he writes words down on paper. In some instances, Joshua used pictures in his writing. For example, he showed us that his favorite color was blue by drawing a blue colored circle. He also drew a picture of a tuna fish sandwich to illustrate his favorite food.


Joshua used a different strategy as he told us his favorite show was MST (monster) as he clearly heard and identified most of the consonants. He seemed very concerned about whether his spelling of Monster was correct. He insisted on knowing the correct spelling of the word and he then inserted the missing letters. He went on to identify all the letters in our nametags that matched the letters in his answers. He also wrote his first name quickly and confidently at the top of the page. He added his last name but used the placemat for reference to confirm that he spelled his last name correctly.


In the readings on phonemic awareness and phonics, Fox describes how children begin to understand the alphabetic principle when they know the names and sounds of most letters. Children in this stage also use one or more consonants to spell words. It will be interesting to work with Joshua on the Emergent Literacy Profile to see where he is on the continuum. In our brief first visit, he seemed to be able to identify all the letters of the alphabet. Also, he could hear sounds in the words and was able to identify and write down some letters associated with the sounds. I look forward to working with Joshua on the Reading Profile to help integrate the readings with actual practice.

Emergent Literacy

It took me a while to find the box in the garage with old books that my children have long since abandoned. Years before I decided to change careers to teaching, I gave away many of our childrens books, but kept a dozen or so that held special meaning. I was happy to find the three Robert McCloskey books Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine with pictures and text that transport me back to my New England roots. I was a bit surprised when my daughter saw the books asked with concern if I was giving the books away. They have a special place in her heart as well!

As a parent of two teenagers, I read the article on Emergent Literacy with interest. Although much of the information was familiar to me from parent practice, not teacher practice, the literacy strategies are much the same. The article’s recommendations to surround children with books, read aloud to children early and often, model reading to kids, are all recommendations that we followed in our home to promote early literacy. The reality that we have one child who is well above his grade level for reading and one child who is reading below her grade level, tells me that following these early literacy strategies and activities are not the only factors in reading success.

The Albright article on reading picture books to adolescents provides an interesting idea for supporting middle schoolers in content area instruction. This high interest reading strategy was successful in engaging middle school students with alternate materials to the standard text. The students’ ability to create their own connections and meaning during the read-alouds was exciting. The model emphasizes the need to follow the three steps of planning, preparing and producing when considering a picture book read-aloud for this age group. Now that my own struggling middle school student is required to read to learn, this might be an effective strategy to help her in social studies and science.