Katherine Noyes

September
          Today I learned about the Write On Project with teachers Campbell and Mullholland.  We  were trained to use the four square method.  Many of the objectives are familiar to me; however, the actual teaching methods are different. I feel comfortable beginning this new venture in how to teach students to write better.  I enjoy teaching writing; this has always been a favorite of mine. I feel excited about improving my teaching techniques. Hopefully, I will see improvements in the students’ writing.

October

1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month.
        I have completed the first assignment. Each student has a folder, an editing checklist, the rubric grading scale, and a wheel including all the steps in this writing process. The students are enthusiastic. The students are enjoying the participatory activities with me and one another. I teach 3 classes each day, and it has been impossible to keep each class at the same level of instruction. However, everyone is participating, including our special education students.

2. How often did your students attempt to write each week?
We have spent on average writing twice 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?
Yes, we did complete this assignment in one class, and are in progress with the two other classes. I was pleased with the results. The majority of the students who completed this assignment, wrote clear, descriptive paragraphs. There were fewer mistakes in grammar, punctuation, run-on sentences, and incomplete sentences. I attribute this improvement to the editing process. Some spelling errors persist because students still make spelling errors in the final, published version due to a variety of reasons.

4. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month?

I am not experiencing any major problems at this stage.  Some frustrations are the time that it does take and a certain overwhelming barrage of requests from the students.  I believe with practice I can  improve the general management of teaching  with this method.
5. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?

At this time, I do not have any suggestions for improvement.

November
I thought this assignment required higher level thinking skills and making connections. It was difficult for many of my students, although they were interested in Easter Island and had many questions. We did have to take different days to complete the assignment, and this kind of sporadic attention to the assignment may have affected their continuity in thought.

How often did your students attempt to write each week?  My intent was to write every week, but in actuality we write one assignment every ten days. This is true because in 5^th grade there are so many changes in the schedule due to 4H, DARE, the anti-tobacco program, fund-raising events, etc.

 We attempted the Four Square + 1 paragraph with the Easter Island assignment, but the students really only completed Four Square.  I believe this was difficult for them because they are not used to making inferences and connections. Sometimes           students did not understand their own notes on the Four Square outline. Although this was important for me to discover, it was also discouraging.

  The greatest problem I have experienced is finding uninterrupted time to devote to this writing project. Also, it is evident to me that 5^th grade students need help in making connections in their writing assignments.

What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?  I need more uninterrupted time to teach and practice.

January
  1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month.
The students are showing improvements in sentence structure, word choices, and punctuation. However, I do see weaknesses still with fluency and connecting ideas. Many students do not fully understand when to begin new paragraphs. About half of the students still need practice and improvement in developing each paragraph more completely, and connecting paragraphs with transitional sentences.

2. Share your experiences with the “Christmas Surprise” activity.
My students really enjoyed this activity. They liked the participation with one another and the surprise factor in the development of the story. Even the special education students wanted to participate and enjoyed it, but they did require some help and monitoring in order to not slow down the process. I would use this activity again in the future.

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?
Yes, most (80%) of my students have attempted this goal in writing, but at least half of my students struggle with adding the one additional sentence for each detail. The students who struggle with this claim they can not think of anything else. I do not give them sentences to write, but I do find it helpful to ask them questions to stimulate their thinking. Most of the time, this works well.

4. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month?
During the Christmas season most students are excited and easily distracted. This makes their work not as good quality as usual. Nevertheless, it is important to keep writing, editing, and practicing. I have discovered that only a few students are good editors when we peer edit. This has been a disappointment, but I still believe all students need to be involved in peer editing. I believe students learn from each other in this process. However, students are discovered that editing is hard work, and many students are not willing to make that additional effort.

5. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?
I believe it is important to begin this process in the lower grades so that each grade level can improve each year. By the time students enter the fifth grade, they will be more prepared for the fine tuning of writing. Students need the structure of Four Square writing. They need the one on one guidance from the teacher, and most of all, students need to write daily.
 

February
1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month.
We did four practice writing assessment assignments as well as one book report using the Four Square method. The students enjoyed the topics and demonstrated enthusiasm, both orally and in their writing. Their favorite topics were about having one superhero power for the day and being abducted by aliens.

2. Share your experiences with the writing assessment practice.

It was very valuable for the students to have the practice sessions before the real state writing test. I discovered that many students had difficulty managing the time limit. I did, however, see improvements in time management after the second practice. I also saw improvements in using paragraphs and remembering to indent.

3. What suggestions would you offer for 5th grade teachers next year to prepare for writing assessment?
I would suggest weekly writing practice from the first week of school. I would recommend practice writing tests at least one month in advance to state test date, preferably every other school day. I believe it is important for the teacher to keep an on-going record of the most frequently made mistakes and review these periodically in whole class instruction and discussion.

4. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month?
No. Both Mrs. Connie Campbell, county tech coordinator, and Mrs. Jarvis, school tech teacher, have been helpful on a daily basis. They are both accessible and supportive. I would NOT have been able to do this project without their direction.

5. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students?      None at this time.
 

March
1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month.
          I have not practiced Four Square this month . Due to teacher illness, we have not done the social studies activity. After the state writing test. I have spent most of my teaching time reviewing skills for the TCAP tests.

2. How often did your students attempt to write each week?
Students are working on their book reports. No other writing projects are currently on-going at this time.

3. Did your students participate in a social studies cross curriculum writing activity?  If so, describe its successes/weaknesses.
No, due to teacher illness, I was not able to participate in the social studies activity this month.

4. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month?
NA

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

None at this time.

April  

1.    Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month. We used the social studies writing topic on the Civil War, and we used the science power point lessons that we created during our workshops. I found that the boys were very excited about using these topics. Their enthusiasm for the topics helped the boys to perform better in their writing. Many girls also enjoyed these topics, but there was a more dramatic difference with the boys. 

2.    Share your students’ experiences with the Civil War or Iraq writing activity.  We wrote about the Civil War. The students were interested and had many questions about the Civil War. When they began to write their summaries, instead of being stumped on what to write about they had difficulty processing all the information. For some students, this topic was extremely difficult. These students struggle with synthesizing ideas. Many students wrote what they remembered from the lesson, but did have weaknesses in coordinating main points.  

3.    How have you utilized the resources from the Write On site in your classroom?  I use this site both in the classroom setting and our computer lab setting. We generally do a group presentation and then write.  However, I do encourage students to explore these sites on their own.

4.    Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month?  I have not experienced any serious problems. I have excellent support from Connie Campbell and Leanne Jarvis. However, I have discovered the weaknesses  my students need more practice in.

5.    What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? I have no suggestions; I enjoy it very much. It has been useful and helpful. I do wish I had fewer interruptions in my classroom.

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? I believe this project definitely helped improve student composition skills. The project prepared me to instruct in an organized manner, increasing student skills as we progressed. I felt that I had ample support and encouragement from C. Campbell. I believe the students greatly benefited from the structure of this program. They were able to understand the whole goal while improving the smaller parts of the whole content. As I witnessed the improvements in the students’ writing skills, they also demonstrated more confidence and pride. 

2.        How did your participation in this project positively affecting the writing skills of the students in your classroom?  This project gave me the necessary time and impetus to better teach writing skills. The project gave me the essential structure I needed as the teacher to better prepare my students. Without this project, I believe my earlier, usual methods were much more hit and miss type of instruction.  

3.        How did your participation in this project positively affect your instructional strategies?  I learned in this project various ways to simplify the goals of instruction. I also learned to evaluate what the students already did well and what weaknesses they demonstrated. I became able to zero in on improving weaknesses. I was given strategies and lesson plans to use. Many of these were demonstrated in the classroom with students by C. Campbell. After watching Campbell teach the lesson, I felt confident to teach the lesson.  I enjoyed reading the students’ work and seeing their growth. 

4.        Describe any problems you encountered through your participation in this project?  I wish I had had more classroom time with my students to do more writing.  There are so many interruptions and special programs in the fifth grade level. The disruptions do negatively impact continuity. On occasion, I had some disappointing moments when the computer did not work properly. 

5.        What could be done to improve the Write On project?  I have no suggestions for improvements in the Write On project. I do recommend that more teachers be trained in this way on a continuing basis. 

6.      Other concerns: none at this time