Jean Jarnigan

September
     1. Describe your approach to composition. Composition is a vital part of the curriculum. This is a lifelong skill needed by students. The 4th grade composition efforts should build on the foundation of previous years and lead to skills necessary for successful writing in high school and college.


2. How often do your students attempt to write each week? My students write once a week at least. As the year progresses, I hope they will be writing more than this.


3. How have you integrated technology into instruction in the past? Technology has been an integral part of my instruction for as long as I’ve taught in this county. Students have had specific computer time every day. Our class web site is utilized by our students as their work is posted on the web. Dandridge Elementary has a new computer lab this year, and my class has gone to the lab at least once a week this school year. Students after leaving my classroom have remarked about how much they enjoyed having technology in the classroom.


4. What do you hope to gain from participation in this project? I want to become better trained to teach composition to my students. It is so important for them to develop their writing skills and to be confident in their writing.

October

1. Describe your class’ positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month. After attending this class last month, I went back to my class with great enthusiasm. The very next day I told the class we were going to do Four Square Writing. Immediately there were groans in the room. I thought, “What is this?” But when we started doing the writing using the disk from the workshop, the class became interested in the project. They especially liked using the web site using Sentence Stretchers. As we get into writing more, the class is becoming more positive about it.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why? The students were attentive to the 4 Square presentation. From viewing that, they decided to write on the topic of the Fourth Grade. I used the television screen to write the topic using the model given us. Then, we selected 3 details and did the closing sentence together and put on paper. The next day, we added details. We put that on notebook paper. Finally, after I had proofread their material, they turned in the final product.

It was surprising to me how a few of the students had difficulty following the steps. Some students even have problems with indenting paragraphs. Hopefully, this will improve over time.

3. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month? Describe. No problems were experienced.

4. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? Time is a factor in implementing this writing program. A goal is to write every day. Because of time constraints due to curriculum demands, it is hard to find the time to write every day. The time we do spend in writing is always quality time.

November

1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.

This past month has been a busy month with many activities going on in the classroom. I am finding out that the students are more enthusiastic when a Writing Activity is announced. They enjoy the Power Point presentations on our County web site and are remembering what we discuss.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why?

The students have learned how to write using 4 Square to paper. They want to save time by correcting their rough draft and turning that in as their finished product. I want them to

realize the value of investing time and

effort into a finished product.

3. Discuss the Virtual Field Trip experience.

We used two sessions at the Computer Lab at our school to go on a Virtual Field Trip. The first session the students explored the web site, and at the second session, they took notes from their field trip to do a 4 Square writing activity. They thoroughly enjoyed this activity. It carried over to the classroom to their daily computer time.

4. What problems are your students encountering?

Some of the students wanted to just copy the material word for word from the text. It was difficult to summarize and put the information into their own words.

5. What problems are you experiencing? It still is difficult to plan for daily writing time. My class did a special musical presentation for a Veteran’s Day program to our veterans last Friday, so extra time was required for practice. I keep thinking the pace will slow down and our schedule will become definite so we could have a specific time to write each day. This will be my goal for this next month.

6. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? My students know the importance of my attendance in this project and look forward to what I bring back to the classroom. They know as I learn, they will learn also. We are enjoying participating in this project.

December
 

1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.

My class is becoming more confident in their writing. At the beginning of the year, the students were not so positive when the word writing was mentioned. Some of them are now able to develop great stories. Even the reluctant writers are adjusting their attitudes toward writing now.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method this month? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why?

We are doing 4 Square to paper. They know we are going to do the Four Square first, then complete the activity on paper. At first, they wanted to hurry up and put it on paper. Now, they know our writing isn’t a do it all in one day activity. I think they feel less pressure to produce an instant product.

3. Discuss the Sentence Stretcher experience.

We did this activity as a whole class using my teacher station. They really got into it…the whole class participated. It’s neat to have an activity like this with 100% participation.

4. Were you able to complete a Colonial America writing activity? Discuss the success/problems.

The class really was interested in learning about Colonial America. As I reviewed their writing, I realized that many of them wrote about the same facts, and they stated these accurately. That means the subject had their attention and information was retained. They especially enjoyed hearing about schools in Colonial America.

5. Were you able to successfully download a file from the Write On site this month? Tell about any problems you encountered.

I practiced downloading files last month in class, but I did not have the time to do this outside the class. However, I plan on doing this before the next session.

6. What problems are your students encountering with their participation in this project?

The class enjoys participating in this project. They know they will be learning new things, and they look forward to checking out the student writings from Write On links. My goal is for every student to have something published during this school year.

7. What problems are you experiencing? Time is still a factor. I am having to manage my time better to prioritize time for writing as well as covering all the curriculum areas.

8. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? I love this project! It is a great learning adventure.

January
 

1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.

Most of my students are enjoying their writing experiences. As time goes on, they are becoming confident writers. It’s even extending over to their daily work because more are choosing to do the extra credit writing on their English work. That’s very encouraging to me, to see students writing because they want to write.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method this month? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why?

Most all students are writing 4 Square to paper now. A few are writing 4+1 on a consistent basis.

3. Discuss the Miss Take’s Challenge experience.

The class did Miss Take’s Challenge loved Miss Take. We did teams, keeping score with 4 groups. The students in this class love to compete with each other. In the end, the scores for all 4 groups were very close.

4. Was Mr. Indent helpful to your students? If so, in what way. If not, why?

The class enjoyed the Mr. Indent presentation. I’ve found that anything I do using technology grabs their attention immediately. Mr. Indent reinforced concepts already taught, but visualization is a great method for reinforcement.

5. What problems are your students encountering with their participation in this project?

My students are relaxing and enjoying the process more. Negative feelings toward writing were a problem at the beginning of the year, but I’m not seeing that as much now.

6. What problems are you experiencing?

Time is still a factor. With the holidays and so many activities going on, I had a difficult time getting everything into the schedule. My ultimate goal is to have writing as a daily component of the curriculum.

7. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?

The support of the Jefferson County Technology Department is so vital to the teachers in this county. You all are helping us, teachers and students, to do a better job. Thank you for all you do!

February
 

1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.

The class feels comfortable with the writing process now. When we write, they automatically fold their paper, put their topic in the center and start developing their ideas. Sometimes the topic is really interesting to them; sometimes I hear moans and groans. Some students have little difficulty in writing as their writing flows in an orderly development of their thoughts. Some still seem to struggle in getting started.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method this month? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why?

We do 4+1. A few students are using 4+3. It is satisfying as a teacher to see their confidence level rise with each writing activity.

3. Discuss the Goof’s activity.

They really enjoyed the Goofs. Anything on the big screen catches their eyes. Having 1 error is easier than searching for more. I plan to continue using the Goofs for reinforcement of skills taught.

4. What improvements are you seeing in your students through participation in this project?

They are enjoying the writing process more and feel more confident in their writing. I want all of them to be successful in writing and see a link between what they do and how good writing is important for life. We share our writing sometimes by the author’s chair. Some students are now sharing their writing for the first time.

5. What is the biggest hurdle you have experienced in composition instruction with your students?

The biggest hurdle is just getting started in writing. Sometimes the students are reluctant about writing. They’d rather be doing something different and are vocal about it.

6. What activity through Write On has been most beneficial to your students?

The most beneficial activities through Write On have been the Power Point activities. It is an attention grabber. Everyone participates willingly and with great competition if we use the material as a game.

7. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?

I would suggest that this project be ongoing through the use of our county web site and having future classes. There is a wealth of material available to the classrooms through this site. We are so fortunate to have so many resources available to teachers. I am so glad to have personally participated in this project this year. I view writing differently because of it, and hopefully my students will be better prepared for the Writing Assessment. Our technology department is truly one of the best!

March
 

1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month.

This month has been a busy one for our class. We have worked on our writing weekly. Some of our writings just used Four Square to put our ideas on paper, and other writings have been developed into a finished product. I like this flexibility. If a student really reaches a stumbling block using the teacher prompt, I let them select a different topic. It seems there’s better writing produced this way. However, most of the time, all the class uses the teacher prompt. I am beginning to see excellent writing for about 1/4th of the class, and they are becoming confident writers.

2. Did your students participate in a science cross curriculum writing activity? If so, describe its successes/weaknesses.

Yes, the students participated in a science cross curriculum writing activity. They always enjoy Power Point presentations. Writing about the presentation is a good way to tie Science and Writing together. One of our reading stories was about the North Pole, so I extended this to their using computers to locate scientific facts about the Polar regions, writing about them, and sharing with the class.

3. Other than time restraints, what is your biggest problem in composition instruction?

Overcoming the feeling of 4th graders at times that writing is a chore is the biggest problem in composition instruction. Students think the process takes too much time. However, by spreading out the writing process, I am attempting to help them realize that good writing is worth the investment of their time.

4. What positive effects can you see in your students through the participation in the Four Square method of composition?

Students are being better prepared for the Writing Assessment. Also, they have more confidence in themselves as writers.

5. Have you been able to share experiences or activities addressed through this project with any other educators? What was the result?

I have shared some of the ideas with other 4th grade teachers, and the results were positive. Sharing ideas is a way to expand the project.

6. What changes will you make in your approach to composition in the upcoming school year?

Composition will be integrated into the curriculum. So many times, it has been only used in Language Arts. Now, I see using it across the curriculum will enhance the students’ learning.

May

This project address the following Tennessee Master Plan Goal: State of the art technology will be used to improve curriculum. Tennessee Report Card Performance Indicators Competency (Composition Skills) How do you feel this project moved toward the goal of improving student composition skills?

This project has improved my students' composition skills. At the first of the school year, some students' compositions did not meet even minimum standards. As the year went on, improvements were noted in their writing as well as in their attitude toward writing.

List ways your participation in this project has positively affected the writing skills of the students in your classroom.

My students are more confident writers now. They are able to integrate writing into other areas of the curriculum, not just language arts. It has made them better thinkers as well as writers. For example, the writing activity on Colonial Life in America caused them to really reflect on what life must have been like in Colonial America and to accurately write about it.

How did your participation in this project positively affect your instructional strategies?

My participation in this project has affected my instructional strategies in several ways. First, I now realize the importance of connecting writing to all areas of the curriculum. Second, I will strive to use more technology in my writing approach. Students

How has your approach to writing composition changed through your participation in this project from that of previous years?

My approach to writing composition has been enhanced by participating in this project. Integrating technology is an awesome means to improving composition skills in my classroom. I look forward to utilizing the Write On project knowledge into the curriculum.

What other curriculum areas would you like to see implemented in a professional development technology integration project?

I would like to see more Social Studies, especially in Tennessee history and also state government.