Eugenia Marion

September
      The write on project will take place during the 2002-2003 school year. It will provide a systematic way to teach students how to write a paragraph. A variety of  tools will be used such as, paper, pencil, computer screen, and keyboard. Writing prompts will hopefully initiate the writer’s thoughts. The write on project will help improve student writing skills while keeping consistent methods in place from grade to grade.

October

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

2. How often did your students attempt to write each week? One to two times a week

3. Did your students attempt a Four Square + 1 paragraph (topic sentence, three detail sentences, one additional sentence for each detail).  If so, what success did they have with it?  If not, why? We are still working on the original paragraph because my students have still not mastered complete sentences and being able to develop quality “Why” statements.

4. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month? My students are having difficulty telling the difference between why? statements and feeling statements.

5. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? I’m searching for ways to work in more 4 square activities during the busy daily schedule. After working with 4 square these last couple of weeks, it is obvious to me that success depends on a routine practice.

November
  The students not only seemed to enjoy learning about Easter Island but seemed to be excited to write about it as well. I guess this shows that if you are interested in it then you will be a better writer.

  We are using the four square method once a week, but sometimes we divide the writing exercise into several sessions.

We did attempt the Four Square + 1 paragraph. After our anti-smoking speaker had been to our room, we did a Four Square + 1 paragraph. The topic sentence was “Smoking is a bad habit.” I believe this has been our best writing session thus far as a whole class.  Again, students seemed very interested in what they were writing about.

 I ran into a problem with a Four-Square + 1 paragraph a few weeks ago. I selected “I am very blessed” to use as a topic sentence. I found that the writings fell apart. After thinking on what could have gone wrong and rereading the papers, I realized that this topic may have been to deep or philosophical for the students. I think they knew why they were blessed but they just had trouble putting it down on paper. I decided to stick to more concrete topics and maybe save the abstract issues for later.

 I’m still having difficulty finding time to conference with the students. I feel this is the biggest weakness in our classroom  Four-Square  writing project.
 
 

January
  1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month. We were able to use our Four Square writing in letter writing this past month. Our letters were to Santa and our topic sentence was “I would make a great elf.” The letters were persuasive letters as to why each student would make a great elf. This writing assignment also allowed us to review letter parts.
 
 

2. Share your experiences with the “Christmas Surprise” activity. I was unable to attend this classroom writing activity.
 
 

3. Did your students attempt a Four Square + 1 paragraph (topic sentence, three detail sentences, one additional sentence for each detail). If so, what success did they have with it? If not, why? We are currently still working on topic sentence, three detail sentences, and one additional detail sentence. Students seem to have difficulty in keeping their train of thought and moving on to the next detail sentence after adding an additional detail sentence. We are continuing to work on this.
 

4. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month? Refer to number three. We can’t seem to get past the detail sentence plus one additional detail sentence.
 

5. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? More tips on how to make yourself stay consistent with writing times each week while trying to keep the rest of the curriculum going. Also, ideas are needed on how to grab more conferencing time with each student while others stay at their seats. Both of these are obviously crucial to the program’s success in the classroom.
 

February
1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month. My class continues to work on four square plus one. We are still needing extra practice with adding that extra detail sentence in each box. I just do not want to advance until they are progressing more on this and are able to keep a smoother flow in their writing.

2. Did your students attempt a Four Square + 1 paragraph (topic sentence, three detail sentences, one additional sentence for each detail).  If so, what success did they have with it?  If not, why? Students are still having trouble with making the transition from that extra detail sentence to the next box.

3. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month? Only what has already been mentioned.

4. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? More classtime to do more one on one conferencing with students. It is a must to allowing this program to succeed.
 

March
1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month. We used the 4-square to write about the astronaut tragedy of the Columbia. We also have done a couple of writings on the importance of reading and the importance of listening.

2. How often did your students attempt to write each week?  At least once a week.

3. Did your students participate in a social studies cross curriculum writing activity?  If so, describe its successes/weaknesses. We are still working on the reasons for the Civil War writing assignment that Connie started with our classroom.

April
  1.    Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month. We are currently working on a couple of writings – revising and rewriting  on volcanoes and springtime topics. We are focusing on conferencing and rewriting this six weeks. 

2.    Share your students’ experiences with the Civil War or Iraq writing activity. The students seemed to really enjoy and learn a lot from these presentations. The writings went well. 

3.    Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month? Only the time issue of working in conferencing and rewriting. I plan to focus even more on this the last six weeks. We have used several of the science power point presentations for review on the terra nova. These proved to be quick and beneficial reviews on various science topics. The children seemed to be very interested in the slide shows and even took part in several active quizzes such as the brainpops. 

May

The Tennessee Master Plan Goals the project addressed was:

State of the art technology will be used to improve curriculum. Tennessee Report Card Performance Indicators Competency (Composition Skills)

1.      How do you feel this project moved toward the goal of improving student composition skills? The write on project has provided an effective and consistent framework for me as a teacher and for my students as well. It gave writing a stronger presence in the daily routines of the classroom in such a way so as not to interrupt other subjects but simply enhance them. It has been a great way to collectively approach writing, technology and other subjects in the curriculum! Eventually the students began to confidently use writing as a way to make their way through a new subject – to learn more through research and express these things learned through written words. 

2.        How did your participation in this project positively affecting the writing skills of the students in your classroom?  I was able to have the time to sit down with the computer and explore computer programs, presentations, etc. that were available. I also gained and shared ideas with other teachers on various write on classroom experiences. When I returned to the classroom, I was able to share this information with my students.  

3.        How did your participation in this project positively affect your instructional strategies? It made me more confident in applying technology to the writing process. I felt I was more able to offer my students more powerpoint presentations which enhanced lessons across the curriculum. 

4.        Describe any problems you encountered through your participation in this project? Time enough for consistent conferencing was a difficulty. So many classroom interruptions make it difficult sometimes to keep a more consistent and productive teaching schedule.  

5.        What could be done to improve the Write On project? A follow up for the next year would be most welcomed! Since we have just put the program into action, it would be productive to share experiences once more when we have the write on up and going from the first week of school. It is a great program.