Ragan Long
| January | |
| October | February |
| November | March |
| December | May |
1. Describe your class’ positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.
This was my first experience with Four Square writing and I found that it was an effective way to keep the students on task during writing. I also think that writing, using the Four Square method, set a goal that they were able to accomplish. Writing can be such an abstract and overwhelming experience but this method provides the structure they need to be successful. They especially enjoyed the challenge of producing words to replace worn out words such as fun, pretty, nice and cool.
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 completed the 4+3 and then transferred their four square to paper. We took three days of English to complete our writing activity. The first day they did the 4 square +3, the next day we wrote Sloppy Copies, and the final day the wrote a final draft.
3. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month? Describe.
No
4. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?
1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.
In November, we were able to work on the proper format for writing an introduction paragraph. I was very encouraged to see the students using the pattern to create a paragraph from the topic sentence in the center of their four-square. I also think this activity helped them see the value of completing a 4 Square before starting to write. We also practiced timed writing. I gave them a writing prompt and they made a four square+ 3 and converted it to a five paragraph essay in 45 minutes. Most of them rose to the challenge, however a couple of the students seemed overwhelmed.
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 did 4 Square + 3 and then converted it into an essay. I wanted to start them practicing for the timed writing.
3. Discuss the Sentence Stretcher experience.
This was an excellent activity! They really got into adding “5 and 10 dollar words”. It almost became a competition by the end. We did two together and one independently and the ones they did alone were fabulous. I enjoyed the activity as well as the students.
4. Were you able to complete a Colonial America writing activity? Discuss the success/problems.
We did the Colonial America activity the week of Thanksgiving. They loved the powerpoint on daily life in Colonial America. They had so many questions, the only problem we had was getting through the slides to get to the 4 Square. That and that every time I stood up they stood too, they said they were being polite.
5. Were you able to successfully download a file from the Write On site this month? Tell about any problems you encountered.
Yes, no problems.
6. What problems are your students encountering with their participation in this project?
I think the usual. They still need to improve their editing skills. Some of the students lack confidence in their writing abilities and that causes them a lot of stress when we work on 4 Square writing.
7. What problems are you experiencing?
I think the hardest thing for me is balancing the things I need to teach them in English (i.e. adjectives, complete subjects, etc…) with the activities for this project. I don’t want them to get burnt out with too much English.
8. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?
The project has worked well for us so far. Finding the time to do things thoroughly is the most challenging part.
1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.
The Hook activity helped my students improve the beginning of their essays. Several of them are using questions or exclamatory phrases to begin their writing.
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?
4 Square to paper, We practiced for the TCAP with a practice prompt.
3. Discuss the Miss Take’s Challenge experience.
They really enjoyed this activity especially because they are able to work in groups and challenge each other.
4. Was Mr. Indent or The Hook helpful to your students? If so, in what way. If not, why?
The Hook was very helpful to my students. They struggle with getting started on their essays so this activity gave them a way to begin their essays without writing, “I am going to be writing about…”.
5. Discuss your students experiences with a practice prompt activity.
When we first started practicing by doing timed activities, most of the students would use the full amount of time and elaborate on their 4 Squares. Now, it seems like the more we practice the shorter their writing is and the less time they use to finish. However, their behavior during the activity is exemplary. They are silent and they stay in their seats without disturbing others.
6. What problems are your students encountering with their participation in this project?
The biggest problem I see is that the students aren’t taking the time to produce the best writing possible. They seem to be more concerned with finishing than creating an interesting story. As always their editing skills could use improvement and the amount of careless mistakes are a reflection of the pace at which the papers are written.
7. What problems are you experiencing?
I am running out of ways to motivate them to improve their writing.
1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.
Four Square has been a positive writing experience with my students all year and this past month we used the 4 square model as a note-taking tool in science. The students organized their notes into 4 categories with the main topic in the center. Not only did the four square keep their notes organized, it helped show them the relationships between different information.
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?
They are using the 4 square +3 with transitions, vivid language, introductions and conclusions.
3. Discuss the Goof’s activity.
As I have mentioned before, my class is very competitive and they enjoyed this activity again because they were able to compete against each other to see who could find the most goof’s or who could find them the quickest. It also reinforced the editing skills they are practicing with Miss Take’s Challenge.
4. What problems are your students encountering with their participation in this project?
The biggest problem I see is that they don’t associate the editing skills they work on in Miss Take’s Challenge, etc… with their own writing. They are still making careless errors and not making all the corrections when they go through the editing stage in the writing process.
5. What is the biggest problem you are experiencing in composition instruction with your students?
I think the most difficult aspect of teaching composition for me is getting the students to slow down enough to focus on what they are writing and see the mistakes that they make.
6. What activity through Write On has been most beneficial to your students?
There have been several. Miss Take’s Challenge gives us the opportunity to practice editing every morning, The Hook really improved the introductions of their writing, Sentence Stretchers helped them see that adding vivid words and adjectives improves the way sentences sound, and various other activities have given them the information they need in a light-hearted, approachable format.
7. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?
As a fifth grade teacher, the most beneficial thing for me would be if the students were introduced to four square in third grade and had used it enough to be able to focus more on the details in fifth grade rather than the basics of using the four square.
Grade 5 Teachers Please discuss:
After administering the Writing Assessment test recently to my students I felt …RELIEVED!!! Just Kidding! I was excited. I’m sure some did well and some did not but I was excited to see them using the tools that we had studied to create a story under time constraints. They all seemed relaxed and confident in what they had written. I was glad to see that all the hard work had seemed to pay off.
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?
I think the four-square writing method provided my students with the structure they needed to be successful in writing. Using the four-square they were able to organize their thoughts and create fluid essays; whereas, when they approached writing without the four-square their compositions were much more choppy and scattered. I also think the four-square affords more opportunity to enhance writing with vivid words and transition sentences because once the students have their ideas organized into the four squares they can look at what they want to say and add to it instead of trying to keep it in their head long enough to get it on paper.
List ways your participation in this project has positively affected the writing skills of the students in your classroom.
-engaging activities (especially those provided through the website i.e... sentence stretchers, goofs, Miss Take's Challenge, cross-curricular writing projects) -Learning the four-square method has positively affected my students because I feel more comfortable teaching writing skills. This method lends itself to success and that has given me enthusiasm and confidence in my teaching. -Miss Take's Challenge has been an excellent way for my students to learn editing skills. It has also served as their morning work to keep them occupied and quiet while I take roll, lunch count and other morning activities. -The PowerPoint on the Great Depression and Easter Island started wonderful conversations about Social Studies topics. We went beyond the book to find out about the stock market and how to buy and sell stock and the abbreviations for some of our favorite stores. -I can't say enough about the online activities except that each and every activity got the students excited about learning and keep them engaged while completing it. What a wonderful resource!!!
How did your participation in this project positively affect your instructional strategies?
First of all, I'm positive that without this project my students wouldn't have been nearly as prepared for the TCAP Writing Assessment as they were as a result of the things I learned through 4-Square. I also think that this project got me excited about teaching certain skills because I knew there were excellent activities to accompany my lessons and that enthusiasm encouraged the students. The integration of technology into all subject areas helped both the students and me understand and apply the content material.
How has your approach to writing composition changed through your participation in this project from that of previous years?
This is my first year teaching so I have no previous experiences to compare this year to.
What other curriculum areas would you like to see implemented in a professional development technology integration project?
All subjects. I enjoyed this project so much and learned so much that I would love to participate in a project in each subject area.