Assignment #9 Final Reflection and Goals

I have a lot of goals around improving my teaching of writing.  My first goal is to communicate to students the purpose behind writing.  We will have a dialogue as a class about why people write.  It is important for my students to be invested in writing, and showing them the purpose behind writing is a good way to get them excited about writing.  During this dialogue I will bring in samples of my writing so students can see me as a writer as well.

My next goal is to make sure students have time everyday to write.  In order for students to improve their writing they need lots of time to practice.  I want to give students at least 20 minutes a day of uninterrupted writing time.  They will be able to have choice within the structure we are focusing on.  For instance if we are studying poetry, they can choose any topic they want, but will need to write a poem.

Next, I will do more modeling of writing.  It is important to draw student’s attention to the skill you are teaching.  If we are working on using descriptive words, then students need to see me modeling using them in my writing so they can see what it looks like.  Then, I need to use the optimal learning model and have them participate so students can get support they need to be successful when they go to write on their own.

Another writing goal I have is to begin writing conferences.  I will meet with every student at least weekly to talk about their writing.  We will talk about what is going well in their writing and what they can focus their energy on to bring their writing to the next level.  I will record what we talked about so I have data and can easily monitor each child’s writing.

Lastly, I want to do more celebrating of writing.  Students need to be recognized when they work hard, and we also need to have school be a place where there is happiness.  We will do more celebrating of writing by having students read their work everyday to the class or to each other.  We will also do more celebrating by having a few special days where families are invited to listen to students read a published piece and share treats together.  Celebrating builds a strong classroom community where students gain confidence and a love of writing.