Chapter 3 Response

            After reading chapter 2 I decided I wanted to have some type of writing sharing session the last five minutes of each class. During chapter 3 I got the idea to call it “Snapshot Writing” as it was referred to in the book. The chapter also stated that “good writers are good readers.” I connected this statement to the DEAR journals I have my students write in after they read each day. I love seeing their writing about books because they share their thoughts and it is a place where the child and I can easily write back and forth. It’s like I’m reading 23 books at once!

            The chapter also suggests having students read aloud their writing in the peer conferencing stage. This is a requirement in the writer’s workshop in my classroom. Students have to read aloud their writing to me and two other students, which we refer to as the “audience.” The audience then has to ask the “author” at least two interview questions about their piece. I find that students are very engaged when they are conferencing and interviewing their peers. The interview process also gives authors ideas of more details they need to add to their writing.

Chapter 2 Response

As I was reading the 2^nd chapter, the phrase “celebrate risk taking” was a new idea to me. With my writing lessons being only 30 minutes each day, I often feel so rushed. We don’t get a lot of time to have discussions about our writing. I like the idea of have a 5 minute debriefing at the end of each time to share out what risks we took and what things we are going to try for the next day. My students have DEAR journals that they make entries in each day and then we have a “walk and talk” session afterwards to spark interest in other students about the books we are reading. The students really love having this chat time. I am thinking I could do something similar with writing.

            The chapter also mentioned about writing with a real purpose and to a real audience. I love this idea! It would be taking the RAFTS activity to the next step! Instead of it being fictional, students would be writing for a genuine purpose. I am thinking maybe students could write to state representatives about education funding and how their lives are currently being affected by the budget cuts. Talk about a passionate letter!

Chapter 1 Response

As I was reading Chapter 1 from Writing Essentials by Regie Routman, I was able to connect it to my 5^th grade classroom. This is our first year of departmentalization in 5^th grade and I am teaching writing to the grade level. Last year I was really overwhelmed when it came to teaching writing and didn’t feel like I was very effective. I really enjoy departmentalization because it is allowing me to become more specialized in writing.

I have been using a lot of children’s literature to teach writing. The chapter discussed working with an expert teacher. I would consider authors expert writers. The students love reading the children’s books and then for their independent practice they complete some type of extension activity over the trait we studied. I have also done class books this year. I connected this to the phrase “celebrate the writing” because students absolutely love sharing their writing with their peers and take great pride in it. I love hearing my students come in excited and motivated asking, “what book are we reading today?” or “are we going to share our writing today?” By using children’s literature to teach writing, I am able to think aloud from the perspective of the author.

I also made a connection when reading that students need a purpose and audience for writing. This immediately made me think of an activity called “RAFTS.” We do this often in writing, the R stands for role, the A stands for audience, the F stands for format, the T stands for topic, and the S stands for strong verb. A few examples that I have done with RAFTS are “Write a letter to the principal about whether or not you want student uniforms” and “You are a teddy bear who has been mistreated by your 5 year old owner and are writing a letter of complaint.” I absolutely love reading their RAFTS pieces. It is hilarious to hear their voices and read the creative statements they come up with to express their opinions.