Final Reflection

Teachers with teachers; We were our own keynote speakers.
How to have an orderly fire drill.
Getting to write.
Creating blogs.
Reading blogs.
Community of writers
Humor amidst anxiety
Digital Story telling--Macs Rule?
Writing ideas from coupons!
Nurturing Marigold seeds--a writer's metaphor.
Goodbye Rodney?
Border collies, sheep, catnaps.
Bird Walking--a novel term.
Make your own salads.
I am from . . .
We are going . . .

What I learned from presentations to take to classroom.

1. 6+1 Traits by Megan: I learned the "language" of the traits to use. I learned how to use picture books to model 1 trait at a time.
2. Writer's Notebooks by Lupe: I learned how to buy and prepare a writer's notebook for each student. I also learned some strategies for how to organize that notebook.
3. Journaling by Shannon: I learned about buying and presenting a journal to each student that they claim ownership of by covering and decorating themselves. I was given some writing prompts to write in the journals or have student write in. I was given ideas for grading and setting up routines.
4. Potpourri for Beginning Writers by Audrey: I was given black lines and opportunities to practice using some of them. I will take them with me in my toolbox in a notebook.
5. Content writing around 1 book by Cheryl K. Practical incremental example of a writing unit series of activities around 1 book. Some helpful concrete ideas to apply to any book.
6. Using music to inspire writing by Cheryl F. I was reminded about using song lyrics as take off for writing. I loved the idea of listening to music portions, stopping, drawing, then listening and drawing again. Writing can be added later.

Rubrics

Rubrics do not replace good teaching
Students help design rubric.
Revise the rubric as the year goes by, deleting, adding,
Rubric needs to be subject, development level appropriate


A rubric clarifies goals
A rubric designs instruction
A rubric communicates goals
A rubric guides feedback
A rubric guides the final product

A rubric can be used for
self evaluation
peer evaluation
teacher evaluation
ongoing evaluation
high lighted evaluation


Is the rubric valid?
Is the rubric reliable?
Is the rubric equal?

And yea for rubric web sites!!!!!!!

Did I hear behavior rubrics?


50 years ago my cousin said,
"All I learned to do in school today was stand in that stupid old line."

Hmm. Put that into a rubric?

Emily

Intentional. That is the word I would use to describe Bonnie's presentation on
test writing preparation and integrating that into the writing curriculum.

The teacher needs to be intentional in helping reluctant students learn to write on a daily basis or in writers workshop. The teacher must then be intentional in teaching students about real writing and test writing.


The teacher needs to be intentional in preparing students for test writing by using a simple writing prompt or idea to write in different genre. He or she must be intentional in teaching the process of how to take almost any writing prompt and use it to write in different modes and genre.

The teacher must be intentional in teaching children and practicing how to access writing strategies both in writers workshop but also in test writng practice.

The teacher must deliberately tell the students that this is "test writing" but that they can do it using strategies they already are practicing.

The intentionality is what I came away with. Also the process of teaching good writing but then also providing scaffolding exercies to prepare students for test writing.