Friday, June 29, 2007

Action Plan

My plan of action in the fall is to give my students many more writing and and sharing experiences than I have done in the past. In the past I have been almost apologetic to my students when I ask them to write another thing yet again. Being in this institute has really brought home to me how much pleasure and learning there is in writing constantly--even if I did have the skinniest portfolio to ever be turned in. Here's what I think: If I can do it, then I really believe I can be instrumental in encouraging and motivating and inspiring my students this fall to become WRITERS! It's like the old-time traveling doctor/quack who suddenly discovers the elixirs and potions aren't placebos anymore--they really work.

What that means for me as a writer is that I plan to continue the habit developed these three weeks of writing on a daily basis. Being around people who do that has been an incredible eye-opener for me. It is what makes a writer a writer. You can't just pick up a pen and splat there it is. It is a skill that has to be developed all the time. It's exciting to think that I can do that and that I can share that with my students.

Every demonstration that I saw was of such high caliber. I can use some/all of each one in my 8th grade Reading and Writing classes. Just as a beginning of what I plan to use this fall:
  • Poetry: I plan to use Poetry 180 every day in my classroom. I will not "save" poetry until the end of the year or just before MAP testing. I will add Laura's Sentence Poetry and Jason's music into poetry/short story ideas throughout the year. They are great strategies for students to use to respond to literature. I loved Haley's demo, too, because I can see how powerful it is in getting kids to develop emotional depth in their poetry.
  • Research: Susan and Julie gave me great ideas to help develop a sense of excitement and discovery about research in the classroom. I can use ideas from their demos at the beginning of novel units or for non-fiction reading.
  • Art: Yet another thing I sort of save for the end of the year. No way. Shelly's demo showed how I can use art to connect to literature and get the kids to use analysis and evaluation through art. I'm also thinking about how I would like the kids to be able to create artifacts around their reading. Shelly and I plan to talk:-)
  • Developing voice: I can see how the divergent demos from Ashlie, Michael, Joann, Larry, Thomas, and Caroline have strategies that I can use to give my kids info and skills to become great writers. IKNOWIKEEPSAYINGGREAT,BUTICAN'THELPIT! This has been an amazing professional development time for me and will change my classroom.
  • The text: This is a topic dear to my heart as a teacher of reading. Zak, Liz, Thomas, Julia's demos are full of amazing strategies to use to help people relate/connect/become passionate about what they read. I am so grateful.
  • Blogging: I already knew I wanted to set up a Blog for my classes. Barb's demo is so user friendly that I think I can, I think. . .
  • Cultural Literacy: I really got to thinking about how I can help my kids not feel clueless in this area. I'm so sorry to have missed this demo!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I loved your analogies...your writing humored me. :)

I like change in your mindset... going from almost apologetic to now fortitude and patience. I agree that you can't just pick up a pen and "splat" you've done it. As a volleyball coach, I constantly tell my students we are practicing our writing...and perfect practice makes perfect... as Nagin says (and I think you, Shelly and I specifically underlined the same passages in Because Writing Matters) that when we give our students thought-provoking lessons they will score well on the high stakes tests. So when we allow them practice time and more practice time and more practice time...they will perform well when it comes to the high stakes games. I do believe that.

You've got some great ideas. Don't forget to include some quality planning time within your curriculum to implement the changes you want to see in you and your students.