Mental Note: I've Been Inspired

This week I read a book by Mark Overmeyer called What Student Writing Teaches Us: Formative Assessment in the Writing Workshop.  And I was inspired, truly moved to experiment with some of the strategies and ideas Overmeyer suggests, but I can't.  Well, at least I can't right now, but I will some day, when I get a new teaching job! (The search for a new job in my new town is not working out in my favor, but, alas, I must never give up hope!)  Since I can't try out the new "hot stuff" I learned from Overmeyer, I thought I would make a list to serve as a reminder for me and hopefully to inspire some change in your classrooms too!

1)  Assessment should be used all throughout the writing process, whether it's graded or not.  Learning targets need to be made continuously clear, instruction needs to be scaffolded to meet the needs of all students, student growth needs to be monitored, and students need to learn to self-assess.  All of that can take place using formative assessment.  Remember, writing is a process, and students can only move through the process if they get constant and encouraging feedback.  Overmeyer says, "Assessment, when used correctly in a formative way, can empower students and teachers not only to improve but, better yet, to believe in themselves as writers and teachers of writing.  And once students believe they are writers and you believe you are a teacher of writing, any barrier, no matter how imposing, begins to crumble" (7).

2)  Teachers need to set the state for students so that they can succeed.  Each student has an individual stage that needs to be set, and it's up to the teacher to know their students and plan to meet their needs.  We need to "teach the writer, not the writing," and that can be done "if we read their writing because we want to learn and not just grade" (11).  

3)  Overmeyer suggests that "[i]f students have a compelling reason to write, then they tend to write more effectively" (12).  Many students write just for school, and, therefore, they  have a narrow audience and purpose, which is primarily to get a passing grade.  As a result, no passion goes into the writing.  We need to ask ourselves why we are asking our students to write?  How can we broaden their audience and richen their purpose for writing?  Overmeyer gives the example of teaching students how to write persuasively so that they are meeting Standard 5 of NCTE.  The students of his workshop recently got a new school principal.  Students had to write persuasively to their new school principal about something they would like to change about their school.  Students were motivated because they had a strong purpose and an audience other than their teacher, the school principal.  Yes, the principal did receive the letters, and that really excited students because they saw a reason for their writing.  Their purpose for writing went beyond just completing a school assignment and getting a grade; they were writing to make a change.

4)  This seems like a no-brainer, but teach to your current students.  Just because a writing assignment or lesson to teach part of the writing process was successful in the past, doesn't mean it will now.  That doesn't mean you have to recreate all new materials each year; it simply means you need to consider if the assignment or how you plan to teach the assignment will reach your current group of young people.  What was good for one group of young people does not mean it will be good for this group of young people.  Overmeyer suggests three things that we might adjust each year as we give writing instruction: time, topic choice, and talk.
Time: Students can be successful in writing for short periods of time.  Try quickwrites--timed, free-choice, or prompted writings.  They can be used at the start of a lesson to prompt thought, during the middle of a lesson to practice, and at the end of a lesson to reflect.  
Topic Choice: Let students select their own writing topic, or give students a "framed" choice.  A framed choice is one single prompt for which there are many possibilities; students can take the general idea and twist the create their own details so that the writing is still tailored to meet their needs/interests.  
Talk: Engage your students in meaningful talk.  The topics for meaningful discussions will change each year, because you will have new interests and new needs to address in discussion.  The key here is to let students talk it out; you get to know your students, as a result, too.  As you talk about writing, keep a list of what you note as a class (strong leads, strong diction that creates imagery, active verbs, figurative language, etc.).  Ask students what they noticed about what you read as a class. Let them come to terms with what impressed them about the writing.  In doing so, you are teaching your students to assess writing so that they can learn to implement such strategies in their own writing and assess their own writing, too.  You can also formatively assess your students as they discuss writing and provide more direct instruction based on their needs. 

5)  In place of a rubric, try a writing checklist.  Sometimes students will look at a rubric and complete the bare minimum to get a passing grade, but if you use a general checklist, it holds all students accountable for that single component.  Either they have it or they don't, and if they do, they can place a check next to it to signify they have it.  It's also a way of teaching students to self-assess.

6)  Use rubrics meaningfully.  Don't use them just to get a score for a grade book; use them to guide instruction so that students move forward with their writing.  

7)  Allow students to be a part of the rubric-creating process.  Overmeyer suggests that a teacher create a rubric, using detail and language that is suitable for the assignment and their students, then present it to their class, followed by an open discussion.  Allow students to voice their opinions about the rubric--what confuses them, what they like, what they would like to change or add, etc.  In doing so, the expectations become extremely clear for students because they are the creators.

8)  When you read your students work, notice something to praise, look for something to wonder about, and look for teaching points; discuss those points with students individually.  Conferencing with students is hugely  powerful...for students.  Let students talk, and listen to them!  When you listen to your students talk about their writing, you learn about their process, purpose, audience, etc.  If we don't let our students communicate that then how can we help them progress?  We can't.  Verbal conferencing can help clarify a lot so that students are redirected.  It's a form of formative assessment and individualized instruction.

9)  Have students create a "self dictionary", where they keep a running list of words they come across that are new and that they genuinely think they would like to use or could use in their everyday language or writing.  Such a dictionary enriches students vocabulary and makes it meaningful to them.

10)  For each new piece of writing, have students set goals for their writing.  Its OK if they keep some of the same goals as they move on to new pieces of writing.  Overymeyer says, "Goal setting allows students to demonstrate what they know about themselves as writers, and goals aligned with this knowledge can provide opportunities for growth" (58).  Once students have set their writing goals, discuss how they can achieve those goals through individual conferences.  You can even make a general list as a class.  And, to promote reflection, have students write a written reflection on their practice and their achievement. 

11)  This one is simple: not all writing has to be turned in for a grade.  Allow our students enough time to practice.

12)  When students are struggling and are not continuously meeting the standard, share with them what they are doing well, and then make a one improvement goal.  Never label students as unsatisfactory; always convey to them that they are capable.  Eventually, even if the progress is slow, students who are not meeting the standard will meet the standard.  It just takes time, praise, and individualized goal setting to help students succeed.  Don't ever give up on them or write them of as incapable.

13)  Don't just assess students when they reach a standard; assess them as they make strides to meet the standard.  Overmeyer says it best:  "I believe that we can justify passing grades if students are making progress toward a standard--we do not have to just wait until they get there" (87).

14)  Allow your students many, many opportunities to write.  Grade student work according to one or two standards.  If a student doesn't do well on a particular writing assignment, let them provide you with another piece of writing they have done (from the many writing opportunities that you provide) to replace the writing assignment with an unsatisfactory score.  

15)  Teach students that the improve the quality of their writing is more important than the grade.  Again, Overmeyer says it best: "I believe one key to deemphasizing grades is in monitoring the talk in the classroom: If the talk is consistently about writing and the qualities of strong writing, then our message to students is about quality, not grades.  If I choose to repeatedly remind my students how to raise a grade instead of how to improve the writing, then I am asking them to work for the grade and not for the quality" (91).

16)  Establish support in your classroom, a support system that students can seek out when they hit a roadblock in the writing process.  The support can take the form of students or teachers.  Teach your students how to ask each other questions and communicate constructive feedback. 

17)  Read to admire students' work.  In doing so you will pick up individual strengths, topics to begin an individual conference, and the possibility of student work as a model for class instruction.