The workshop centered on teaching writing in math, science and social studies. The new Common Core Standards will officially begin in our state in the 2014-2015 school year. The Common Core will replace the state tests for most of the country and will signal the demise--at the end of this school year--of the
Hey! Writing should not be done only from 11:00-11:20 anymore. That's was our theme song for the past two days.
Writing is stickier than math (there's always a correct answer and a set way of finding the answer in math). It's more elusive than science or social studies, too. Knowing how to nurture a student's creativity, and figuring out how to teach students to loosen the reins on their writing voice...that's something that often flummoxes teachers.
The mind-boggling thing about this workshop was how many talented voices emerged. This workshop was underwritten by the Gateway Writing Project, a National Writing Project site, and writing is always a part of every workshop/meeting/national conference--it's never pure lecture with passive participants with the NWP. Over the past two days, teachers wrote "I am from" poems and memoir vignettes and a variety of other pieces. The talent and distinctness of their voices was amazing. Often, teachers are sometimes reluctant to share their personal writing, but this time, it was not the case.
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| a student writer... |
If you're a writer, when did you first figure out you enjoyed writing? Or do you--like me--still find it to be a grueling, hair-pulling screamfest (at times)?
What a great post! A year ago, I was a secretary at a Missouri middle school, so I know of that which you speak... It's uplifting to see that good changes are in the future! With your permission, may I refer my teacher-friends to this post? I love to write, but am finding I have many "screamfest" days lately!
ReplyDeleteNoexcuses--(and I sometimes WISH I had excuses that people would listen to ;)
DeleteThanks. Yes, please spread the word. I'd love to connect with other teachers. There's more safety (and power) in numbers...
Sounds like a class I would have liked. MAP drove me away. It made me toss out two day lessons like comparison and contrast with Vanilla Wafers and Oreos for example so I could teach to the test!
ReplyDeleteWriting is both...fun and frolic, angst and agony! :)
Claudia--"...fun and frolic, angst and agony." I completely agree.
DeleteGood to hear that you are being liberated from MAP testing. However...we in the high school division are having more and more courses added to the End Of Course (EOC) testing. It will be very hard to teach that sticky Common Core and get good objective results on an EOC. Says this old dog, shaking a curmudeonly paw at that darn dirty new trick.
ReplyDeleteI think I figured out I liked writing while passing notes in school. As a student, too!
Val--Our plate doesn't get any smaller--it just gets piled higher with requirements...
DeleteHonestly, I've loved writing since I was little. I've always done it.
ReplyDeleteShay--I would love to know what kind of stuff you were writing at 12 or 13...
DeleteI used to write long letters and funny comments in greeting cards that people responded to positively. I've always loved writing.
ReplyDeleteSuch good news, isn't it about those stupid standardized tests? This is why I start them "writing", scribbling and dictating their own who-what-why-where-when stories in PreK. Literacy should be developed early on. YES, writing can still make me feel like pulling my hair out.
Linda--Apparently you don't have to do too much hair-pulling, because you still have a thick head of hair.
DeleteScreamfest, depths of depression, screamfest, depths of depression...that's my writing pattern.
ReplyDeletePat
Critter Alley
Pat--Usually a change-of-pace is a good thing, but with those two--depression and screamfests--taking turns, I'm not so sure.;)
DeleteThat's really neat that you led the workshop and that the teachers really enjoyed sharing their work. I think that it is wonderful that the kids will spend more time on writing.
ReplyDeleteI have always enjoyed writing letters, but discovered that I also enjoyed writing my research papers when I returned to college in 1999.
Through my blog, I have made some short creative attempts and that has been fun too.
Kathy M.
Kathy--You are talented (and an artist) in several ways. You're a photographer, a writer AND you work with little kids. That makes you a triple threat! ;)
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