Standards and Evaluation
The Role of Writing in the Classroom
Curriculum and Differentiation
Changes Over Time and Professional Development
Personal Beliefs and Technology
100
We use grade-level team created rubrics
What is: How do you evaluate you students' writing?
100
Every day!
What is: How often do kids write in your classroom?
100
There are holes in every curriculum.
What is: What is the best writing curriculum?
100
The shift has gone away from grammar and conventions to more craft.
What is: How has writing instruction changed over the course of your career?
100
I think good writers make good readers and vice versa. It encourages higher level thinking and teaches kids to explore their own thoughts.
What is: What is the benefit of teaching writing?
200
Being able to effectively communicate their thoughts.
What is: What makes a writer successful?
200
I include writing in every subject area, have fun materials in the writing center, give each kid a writing journal to free write in.
What is: How do you put emphasis on writing in your classroom?
200
It shouldn't be like this, but differentiation for these students is up to the individual teacher.
What is: How is writing differentiated for English language learners, gifted and talented students, special education students, or struggling students?
200
I would not follow one specific curriculum. I would combine different instructional approaches because I don't think there is one perfect choice. I would also try to spread it across the subject areas more.
What is: How would you change your writing instruction?
200
I use our ELMO (projector) a lot to model writing and to show their writing to the class. I put up student writing and have them give one glow and one grow so we can collaborate to celebrate and improve writing.
What is: What is the role of technology in writing and writing instruction for your students?
300
Individual conferencing, peer conferencing, and whole group reviews
What is: How do you give students feedback about their writing?
300
Building stamina is important and getting them comfortable being writers and taking risks.
What is: What is the most important part of writing for students in 1st grade?
300
Making writing relevant to the students' worlds and giving choice.
What is: How do you make writing an authentic experience for the students in your class?
300
In all the schools I've worked in, it has been sorely lacking.
What is: How do schools provide writing professional development?
300
For older kids, technology has created a whole new genre of writing that didn't exist when I started teaching. I think it is very beneficial as a tool to teach older students about writing to a specific audience.
What is: In what ways do students' uses of technology affect the writing they do?
400
These act as a point of reference to make sure that we're covering all we're supposed to cover.
What is: How do the CCSS impact your writing instruction?
400
The teacher is a facilitator.
What is: What is the role of the teacher in student writing?
400
Requiring less or more writing, having kids work in pairs, partnering with teachers, the old Reading Recovery trick of drawing the lines for them after they say the sentence, coaching and conferencing, using a variety of graphic organizers.
What is: How do you differentiate in your classroom?
400
We do have an instructional coach and a reading specialist that meet with grade level teams to go over strategies. At DSLA, it was my job as ELA curriculum coordinator!
What is: How do you receive training in writing instruction?
400
I love writing and am a very good writer. Writing is more enjoyable for me than reading. It allows me to be more creative and interactive with the process.
What is: How do you define yourself as a writer?
500
There is dedicated time in the schedule for writing and quarterly writing assessments are completed and recorded for each student.
What is: How does your school support student writing?
500
My students need to learn to write to communicate their thoughts. This is imperative to be successful in today's workforce.
What is: Why is writing important to your students?
500
Creativity is stifled or authentic learning is removed or there is limited instruction in mechanics.
What is: What are some of the pitfalls of packaged curricula?
500
The kids I work with in Detroit are so much poorer now. They were poor when I started teaching, but now it's like teaching in a war ravaged area. They are dealing with so much (some of it literally life and death kind of stuff) outside of school that sometimes it's hard to get them to focus on something (that seems to them) as silly as writing.
What is: How are student needs different now compared to when you first started teaching?
500
I want to help teachers that want to improve. I have been around a while and feel like I've learned a lot in those years.
What is: Why did you agree to do this interview?
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