Fall Action Plan

My plan of action for the fall is to implement Writer's Workshop in my English III classes. I plan to incorporate ideas from most of the demos - grammar, writing territories, oral history, etc.

I plan to use Writer's Workshop two days a week to begin the year. At this point I plan to rearrange desks for the workshop days so that the students will know the environment is different. I plan to change the workshop days/week depending on the unit of study, i.e. during research papers, we'll probably have only workshop days in the classroom interspersed with library days.

The process of developing my demo involved finding research to support ideas already incorporated into the daily routine of my Literature and Film class and adding more conscious instruction in media literacy. I developed the class based on advice from other teachers and my own research and experience in using film in the classroom. In reading for the demo, I discovered that more attention to teaching media literacy was necessary. I will make those modifications in the fall.

I will collect student writing samples from our first day free write, from the first grammar lesson in Writer's Workshop, from the first essays, and from book reviews before our Fall Renewal. During the year, I plan to collect poetry, creative nonfiction, short stories, and research papers.

The writing project experience has turned my black and white vision into one with vivid colors. The curriculum will be much more exciting for my students and for me with the strategies I've learned this month.

I will implement Image Grammar and Conscious Grammar immediately in Writer's Workshop. I intend to have students record Writing Territories as a beginning for journaling. I will also incorporate Oral Histories as a community-builder toward the beginning of the semester. Honestly, I plan to use something from every demo during the coming year.

Based on the knowledge I have of OWP, I think I would be interested in sharing what I've learned with other teachers. I would enjoy demonstrating the impact of OWP and facilitating change in the classroom.

I hesitate to nominate other fellows for certain areas. I have learned from every one of the other 19 fellows. I see amazing strengths in each one, and I believe that each one should speak to his/her own passion.