Teacher Success Story #1: Ms. Ingram

Teacher Success Story #1

By M. Benoliel

It seemed like a typical morning at Okeeheelee Middle School.  Students were eagerly awaiting the first bell to ring so they can enter their beloved school and meet with their first hour teachers.  Or second hour, or whatever was first that day.  I was hanging around the hallway in front of my room as I usually do, speaking to Ms. Rivera and estimating how many dress code violations would come our way.  Suddenly Ms. Ingram appeared near the door of her classroom, across the hall from my own.  I don’t know if she was in her classroom the whole time, or if she walked right passed me in the hallway.  She just seemed to materialize out of nowhere.  She wore a huge smile on her face and her aura was beaming in a supernatural way.

     “You’re going to be so proud of me!”

     I couldn’t imagine what she meant by that.  “Did you bring breakfast?”  Because what could impress me more than that?

     “I did a writing assignment with my class and they did great!”

     “No way!”  I said.

     To make a long story short, and to hide the fact that I just don’t possess the skill to convey Ms. Ingram’s enthusiasm in mere prose, I will highlight the takeaways from our ensuing conversation:

1)       Ms. Ingram never considered herself a writing teacher.

2)      Ms. Ingram took herself out of her comfort zone.

3)       Ms. Ingram’s students learned more subject matter with greater enthusiasm than they normally would have.

4)      Ms. Ingram will definitely use more creative writing assignments in the future.

5)      Ms. Ingram had more energy on the days working on this project because the students were motivated and directing their own learning.

The assignment asked the students to trace the “life cycle” of a grain of sand as if they were a grain of sand, combining elements of fiction and non-fiction writing.  The students had to demonstrate knowledge of the rock cycle and related scientific concepts. 

   Summary:  Had fun. Learned more.  More teacher energy.  Good mood.  Proud of herself.

 

I can’t think of any more to say except that it gives me great satisfaction to have been part of this experience.  Thanks Ms. Ingram!

Why Don't Students Plan, and What Can We Do About It?

Many of us have noticed that when given a choice, most of our students do not plan before they write an essay.  This is an extremely poor judgement call on behalf of the students.  Most, if not all of our students would produce better, more organized, writing if they took the time to plan.  

In class, students are more likely to complete the planning piece if they know it will be graded.  Sometimes, teachers can assign a "planning only" assignment in which students read a text along with a writing prompt, then only complete a graphic organizer or outline for a grade.  Then, instead of writing the entire essay, you may choose to have a classroom discussion or have students share the ideas that they wrote down in small groups or with partners.

I believe your best way to get buy in from the students is to model the planning process for the students.  I usually use the document camera for this.  I would draw a simple graphic organizer, such as the one below:

Then, I would fill out each box according to the text, and explain that each box would represent a separate paragraph in the essay.   

It may also be helpful to brainstorm topics with your students using "Word Webs" to show them how you think.  I have seen many teachers use Word Webs and Venn Diagrams as well to brainstorm a new topic, provide background knowledge, etc.  Here is a simple word web that you can model on your whiteboard or document camera (remember to allow the students to contribute some of the words, after you start them off with the topic) :

Note: the word web can easily be made into an outline 

After this brainstorming, I would explain that the "hardest" part of the essay is completed.  Now, students will have an outline of all the ideas they need to include in their paragraphs.  

Finally, check out the graphic organizers AT THIS WEBSITE.  Some of them may seem elementary, but your students may find them fun.  Adding fun helps.

Planning For Argumentative Writing

Argumentative Writing presents some new challenges for our students.  Most significantly, they will need to know how to make a claim and to address counterclaims.  This graphic organizer may be useful for helping your students organize the information found in the articles before they begin to write.  

Also, see my last post for ideas for High Interest Writing Prompts!  

To download, CLICK HERE

200 Writing Prompts

Teachers-The new FSA Writing Assessment is just around the corner.  If you would like to give some students extra practice in writing, please consider one of the 200 writing prompts featured in this document:

CLICK HERE

Also, if you have questions about the new FSA Writing exam, please visit this page for more information:

FSA Information

Both the educators link and the students and parents link are browse-worthy.