Description of Implementation
Week One – Introducing the Writing Workshop
The implementation of Phase One of my inquiry began on April 8, 2013, the Monday after our Spring Break. The students were excited to be back at school and I wanted to take advantage of their energy. As planned, I began our first lesson explaining to my students what I noticed about their attitudes towards writing and the areas in their writing that needed improvement. I also explained the changes we would be making in the classroom to support their development as writers and introduced them to their writing tool kits, their first writing project, and their first deadline. Most students were visibly excited throughout this lesson and after receiving their writing tool kits. This was evidenced by total engagement from all students during instruction, students clapping and smiling, careful handling of their folders and writing utensils, and comments such as, “This is exciting!”, “This is going to be fun!” and, “I can’t wait to write my story!” being exclaimed amongst the children.
The rest of the first week was dedicated to mini-lessons that reviewed the writing process, the elements of a story and prewriting activities aimed to assist students in creating the first drafts of their story. I observed that while all students appeared to be excited about our Writing Workshop and toolkits as evidenced by their engagement during mini lessons and positive comments, more than half of the students needed help during the brainstorming activities (making lists of possible events to write about, completing a story element graphic organizer, etc.). On April 10, I noted in my Teacher Observation Journal:
“After 5 minutes of independent writing time, 7 students still had not yet begun writing anything down because they ‘couldn’t think of anything to write’. Five students wrote three ideas down then got off task by talking to others about topics not related to the writing assignment. Three students wrote 2 or 3 ideas down and then stated, ‘I’m done.’ I explained that you could never really be done with making a list of ideas. You could always add things, revise, delete, insert detail, etc., which was something I modeled during the mini lesson. After encouragement and positive affirmations, students were able to add to their lists and expand on their ideas. 30 minutes was allotted for this independent writing time.”
Ultimately, all students were able to come up with their own original ideas and thoughts to write. However, I noticed that most of them were hesitant to verbalize their ideas, let alone write them down. During this first week, I found myself constantly reassuring my students that there were no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers and that that their individual opinions, beliefs and perceptions were important, valid and interesting.
At the end of the first week, 4 students wrote on their exit slips:
"This week, I think I did not improve as a writer because it was too hard."
I asked these students to explain what specifically was 'too hard' for them so I could better serve their needs and plan appropriate mini-lessons. They stated that they did not improve because they couldn't think of anything to write, they are 'bad spellers' and 'writing hurt' their hand. 14 other students shared their sentiments and cited one or more of these reasons as the rationale for why they did not improve as writers that week.
There were a small number of students (6) who believed that week one's writing activities helped them improve as writers. All of these students said that making lists and brainstorming helped them come up with more ideas.
Week Two – Students Grow Into Extended Periods of Writing
I persevered with my plans as I began week two. I had anticipated that the students might need some time to adjust to these new writing practices and believed that with a bit more experience, they would become more and more comfortable with these practices. I acknowledged their efforts, reiterated expectations and assisted all students in starting the first draft of the beginning of their story -- the setting. Mini-lessons were given that analyzed examples of descriptive writing and shared writing activities were provided to enable students to observe and participate in the thought processes behind writing detailed, clear sentences. Again, as this was a new experience for many of the students, more than half of them had difficulty getting started, expanding on an idea, or coming up with ideas to write during independent writing time. This was evidenced by the off task activities I observed at the start of week 2. At least 10 students were off task at the beginning (first five minutes) and end (last five minutes) of their 30-40 minute independent writing time. Off task behaviors included staring around the classroom or at other students, talking with neighbors about topics unrelated to the writing assignment, getting drinks of water, and going to the bathroom. I also observed that 11 students, who had a particularly hard time getting started on their introduction paragraph of the story, were able to come up with descriptive words and complex sentences after talking with me and answering guided questions that I posed such as, "Who were you with? How did you feel? What did you see?" This extra scaffolding helped these students realize that they had the ability within themselves to write descriptively -- they just needed some reassurance that what they had to say was important and valid.
By the end of week 2, there was a marked decrease in off-task behavior and, after sharing (with permission) three students’ drafts of their settings, the class appeared to acquire a renewed sense of motivation and confidence. I encouraged students to share their drafts with each other to give and acquire feedback. Although students mainly offered general, positive affirmations such as, “Good job!”, “That sounds good,” and “I like it,”, the mere act of sharing appeared to have positive effects on their attitudes towards writing and their views of themselves as writers. One student who had a particularly difficult time getting started, proudly stated after completing a second draft of her setting, “I’ve never written that much in my entire life!”
At the end of week two, 14 students indicated on their feedback forms and during conferences that they felt they improved as writers. Students attributed 'writing everyday,' 'talking to the teacher,' ‘sharing with friends,’ and 'reading other students’ writing' as reasons for their improvement.
The extra encouragement and acknowledgement students received from me during individual and small group conferencing appeared to help many students ‘grow into’ this longer writing period. Having students’ drafts shared with each other during independent writing time and during mini-lessons also helped as indicated by students’ comments.
Week Three – Awareness of the Deadline
Throughout Phase One, I began each lesson by pointing out the days we had left until the Author’s Celebration and kept the number of days prominently displayed on the white board. However, it wasn’t until the beginning of week 3 that students began to talk about, reference and point to the countdown on their own accord. Every morning of week three, students would come in and exclaim – “We only have X days left!” One student came to realize that we lose two working days over the weekend and began sharing his thinking with his classmates. He stated, “[We have] even less than that because we don’t write on Saturday and Sunday.”
This awareness of the deadline helped tremendously in increasing the output of student work. Off task behavior continued to decrease and most students finished their drafts and final pieces of the middle and end of their story during the third week. I did not need to ask anyone’s permission to share their pieces during mini-lessons as 7 students asked me before our Writing Workshop even began for the day, “Can you read my story during writing?”
I continued to conference with students and modeled how students could conference with each other. Because students identified how helpful verbalizing their ideas was to the writing process, I wanted to give them more opportunities to talk about their writing. By sharing and receiving feedback with each other, students were able to give and obtain meaningful feedback and were able solidify what they wanted to write on paper.
In addition to an observed increase in productivity and focus during week three, I noticed that there was a rise in positive attitudes among students towards writing. During one afternoon, our Writing Workshop had to be cut short due to an assembly. To my surprise, this announcement was met with groans and questions such as, “Will we get to write more later?”
Week Four – The Author’s Celebration
I was a bit apprehensive as we began week four of Phase One. We had a lot to do before the author’s celebration and I was nervous about the turn out, the amount of work still needing to be done, and completing the technology aspects of the project (We created QR codes for each book. When scanned, these codes take the reader to an audio recording of the author narrating the story. Click below to listen to the students' personal narratives. ).
The implementation of Phase One of my inquiry began on April 8, 2013, the Monday after our Spring Break. The students were excited to be back at school and I wanted to take advantage of their energy. As planned, I began our first lesson explaining to my students what I noticed about their attitudes towards writing and the areas in their writing that needed improvement. I also explained the changes we would be making in the classroom to support their development as writers and introduced them to their writing tool kits, their first writing project, and their first deadline. Most students were visibly excited throughout this lesson and after receiving their writing tool kits. This was evidenced by total engagement from all students during instruction, students clapping and smiling, careful handling of their folders and writing utensils, and comments such as, “This is exciting!”, “This is going to be fun!” and, “I can’t wait to write my story!” being exclaimed amongst the children.
The rest of the first week was dedicated to mini-lessons that reviewed the writing process, the elements of a story and prewriting activities aimed to assist students in creating the first drafts of their story. I observed that while all students appeared to be excited about our Writing Workshop and toolkits as evidenced by their engagement during mini lessons and positive comments, more than half of the students needed help during the brainstorming activities (making lists of possible events to write about, completing a story element graphic organizer, etc.). On April 10, I noted in my Teacher Observation Journal:
“After 5 minutes of independent writing time, 7 students still had not yet begun writing anything down because they ‘couldn’t think of anything to write’. Five students wrote three ideas down then got off task by talking to others about topics not related to the writing assignment. Three students wrote 2 or 3 ideas down and then stated, ‘I’m done.’ I explained that you could never really be done with making a list of ideas. You could always add things, revise, delete, insert detail, etc., which was something I modeled during the mini lesson. After encouragement and positive affirmations, students were able to add to their lists and expand on their ideas. 30 minutes was allotted for this independent writing time.”
Ultimately, all students were able to come up with their own original ideas and thoughts to write. However, I noticed that most of them were hesitant to verbalize their ideas, let alone write them down. During this first week, I found myself constantly reassuring my students that there were no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers and that that their individual opinions, beliefs and perceptions were important, valid and interesting.
At the end of the first week, 4 students wrote on their exit slips:
"This week, I think I did not improve as a writer because it was too hard."
I asked these students to explain what specifically was 'too hard' for them so I could better serve their needs and plan appropriate mini-lessons. They stated that they did not improve because they couldn't think of anything to write, they are 'bad spellers' and 'writing hurt' their hand. 14 other students shared their sentiments and cited one or more of these reasons as the rationale for why they did not improve as writers that week.
There were a small number of students (6) who believed that week one's writing activities helped them improve as writers. All of these students said that making lists and brainstorming helped them come up with more ideas.
Week Two – Students Grow Into Extended Periods of Writing
I persevered with my plans as I began week two. I had anticipated that the students might need some time to adjust to these new writing practices and believed that with a bit more experience, they would become more and more comfortable with these practices. I acknowledged their efforts, reiterated expectations and assisted all students in starting the first draft of the beginning of their story -- the setting. Mini-lessons were given that analyzed examples of descriptive writing and shared writing activities were provided to enable students to observe and participate in the thought processes behind writing detailed, clear sentences. Again, as this was a new experience for many of the students, more than half of them had difficulty getting started, expanding on an idea, or coming up with ideas to write during independent writing time. This was evidenced by the off task activities I observed at the start of week 2. At least 10 students were off task at the beginning (first five minutes) and end (last five minutes) of their 30-40 minute independent writing time. Off task behaviors included staring around the classroom or at other students, talking with neighbors about topics unrelated to the writing assignment, getting drinks of water, and going to the bathroom. I also observed that 11 students, who had a particularly hard time getting started on their introduction paragraph of the story, were able to come up with descriptive words and complex sentences after talking with me and answering guided questions that I posed such as, "Who were you with? How did you feel? What did you see?" This extra scaffolding helped these students realize that they had the ability within themselves to write descriptively -- they just needed some reassurance that what they had to say was important and valid.
By the end of week 2, there was a marked decrease in off-task behavior and, after sharing (with permission) three students’ drafts of their settings, the class appeared to acquire a renewed sense of motivation and confidence. I encouraged students to share their drafts with each other to give and acquire feedback. Although students mainly offered general, positive affirmations such as, “Good job!”, “That sounds good,” and “I like it,”, the mere act of sharing appeared to have positive effects on their attitudes towards writing and their views of themselves as writers. One student who had a particularly difficult time getting started, proudly stated after completing a second draft of her setting, “I’ve never written that much in my entire life!”
At the end of week two, 14 students indicated on their feedback forms and during conferences that they felt they improved as writers. Students attributed 'writing everyday,' 'talking to the teacher,' ‘sharing with friends,’ and 'reading other students’ writing' as reasons for their improvement.
The extra encouragement and acknowledgement students received from me during individual and small group conferencing appeared to help many students ‘grow into’ this longer writing period. Having students’ drafts shared with each other during independent writing time and during mini-lessons also helped as indicated by students’ comments.
Week Three – Awareness of the Deadline
Throughout Phase One, I began each lesson by pointing out the days we had left until the Author’s Celebration and kept the number of days prominently displayed on the white board. However, it wasn’t until the beginning of week 3 that students began to talk about, reference and point to the countdown on their own accord. Every morning of week three, students would come in and exclaim – “We only have X days left!” One student came to realize that we lose two working days over the weekend and began sharing his thinking with his classmates. He stated, “[We have] even less than that because we don’t write on Saturday and Sunday.”
This awareness of the deadline helped tremendously in increasing the output of student work. Off task behavior continued to decrease and most students finished their drafts and final pieces of the middle and end of their story during the third week. I did not need to ask anyone’s permission to share their pieces during mini-lessons as 7 students asked me before our Writing Workshop even began for the day, “Can you read my story during writing?”
I continued to conference with students and modeled how students could conference with each other. Because students identified how helpful verbalizing their ideas was to the writing process, I wanted to give them more opportunities to talk about their writing. By sharing and receiving feedback with each other, students were able to give and obtain meaningful feedback and were able solidify what they wanted to write on paper.
In addition to an observed increase in productivity and focus during week three, I noticed that there was a rise in positive attitudes among students towards writing. During one afternoon, our Writing Workshop had to be cut short due to an assembly. To my surprise, this announcement was met with groans and questions such as, “Will we get to write more later?”
Week Four – The Author’s Celebration
I was a bit apprehensive as we began week four of Phase One. We had a lot to do before the author’s celebration and I was nervous about the turn out, the amount of work still needing to be done, and completing the technology aspects of the project (We created QR codes for each book. When scanned, these codes take the reader to an audio recording of the author narrating the story. Click below to listen to the students' personal narratives. ).
Students needed to finalize their story, create illustrations, record themselves reading the story, write an “About the Author” paragraph and write letters inviting their families and mentor students to the celebration. Students also felt some nervousness as evidenced by their verbal and written comments. After reviewing the students' journal entries, I found that approximately half of the class was nervous about the author's celebration. These students said they were nervous about people reading their work and not liking it, not understanding it, or finding mistakes. All of this nervous energy translated into an extremely productive week and by May 2, students were ready to take part in the celebration. All of the students were gracious hosts, proudly showing their work to their families, friends, administrators and teachers. When the principal and the superintendent of the School District arrived, several students greeted them and invited them to read their stories. When time allowed, students happily read and commented on their classmates books. All of the children relished in the positive feedback they received, smiling from ear-to-ear and sharing the comments written on their feedback page with each other. Students exclaimed, "Look how many people read my story!" They encouraged their family members to buy an advanced copy of their collection of stories. I was overjoyed with the success of the celebration, the feeling of satisfaction each student clearly felt, and the deserved recognition my students received for their hard work and creativity.
The following day, I had my students complete feedback forms regarding this writing project and the Author’s celebration. Not surprisingly, students unanimously had positive feelings about the Author's Celebration and felt pride in their work and their finished pieces. They enjoyed sharing their stories with their families and reading the finished stories of their classmates. They appreciated the feedback readers left on their Author's sheet and while initially some felt nervous about sharing their work, all students were glad that they did. However, when asked if they were excited to start the next writing project (students were not yet told what the writing project would be), 10 students had a negative reaction. One boy exclaimed, "Are we going to do that again? That was too much work!" One student stated, "Making this book took a really, really long time. We started it a long time ago!” Their comments and reactions made me wonder if my students felt too much pressure from the audience they were writing for, the constant reminders of the deadline and the amount of writing expected. When I asked these students to specify what made this writing project ‘hard’, students kept referring to the amount of time it took to create the book as well as the amount of writing that was expected.
Not all students shared these sentiments. Five students were ‘nervous but excited’ about the next writing project. These students made the following comments regarding their feelings of nervousness:
“I don’t know what the project is. It might be really hard.”
“Because I don’t know what it is.”
“I might not know what to do.”
Nine students were extremely excited. One student wrote on her feedback form, “I love sharing my work. I love writing. I love when people read it and give me compliments.”
The following day, I had my students complete feedback forms regarding this writing project and the Author’s celebration. Not surprisingly, students unanimously had positive feelings about the Author's Celebration and felt pride in their work and their finished pieces. They enjoyed sharing their stories with their families and reading the finished stories of their classmates. They appreciated the feedback readers left on their Author's sheet and while initially some felt nervous about sharing their work, all students were glad that they did. However, when asked if they were excited to start the next writing project (students were not yet told what the writing project would be), 10 students had a negative reaction. One boy exclaimed, "Are we going to do that again? That was too much work!" One student stated, "Making this book took a really, really long time. We started it a long time ago!” Their comments and reactions made me wonder if my students felt too much pressure from the audience they were writing for, the constant reminders of the deadline and the amount of writing expected. When I asked these students to specify what made this writing project ‘hard’, students kept referring to the amount of time it took to create the book as well as the amount of writing that was expected.
Not all students shared these sentiments. Five students were ‘nervous but excited’ about the next writing project. These students made the following comments regarding their feelings of nervousness:
“I don’t know what the project is. It might be really hard.”
“Because I don’t know what it is.”
“I might not know what to do.”
Nine students were extremely excited. One student wrote on her feedback form, “I love sharing my work. I love writing. I love when people read it and give me compliments.”