Mary John Wilson
| September | January |
| October | February |
| November | March |
| December | May |
September
1. Describe your approach to composition. So far
this year, my students haven’t written any compositions. I was waiting to start
this program so they would be accustomed to the format. Last year, I gave the
students prompts to get them started. They were very familiar with that since
that was what they did in fourth grade to prepare for the Writing Assessment.
I’ve also had them brainstorm and narrow down topics that interest them.
2. How often do your students attempt to write each week? So far this
year; none. In the past, we would usually work on one writing project a week.
3. How have you integrated technology into instruction in the past? Last year, I
tried to use the four square model, but didn’t really know everything about it.
I was just going on what Mrs. Kitts had told me after she had been to the
training. Before that, I had let students type poems or stories on the computer
to print out.
4. What do you hope to gain from participation in this project? I hope to gain a
very organized method of teaching students how to organize add details to their
writing.
1. Describe your class’ positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month. They seemed to adapt to the format well. It is easy for them to comprehend. Some were familiar with it from last year’s teacher. I was pleased with the end results that I received.
2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why?
Most of my students got to the 4+3, but I feel like I really helped them a lot. We did 4 writing activities together. The first one, we did the whole thing together. Then next one, I gave them the topic sentence and they wrote one details for each sentence. With the autobiography, I really guided which information should go beside which bullet. Finally, we did another writing activity and I tried to turn them loose a little more. They had difficulty with the details. So, I feel like most are at the 4+3, but they need lots of practice with it. My special ed students are mostly still at the 4+1.
3. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month? Describe.
The only problem I’ve had is with my students. They only want to write things once. To help them find their own mistakes, I wrote C (capitalization), U (usage), P (punctuation), and S (spelling) at the beginning of each line. They did better with that than just telling them to find their mistakes. I didn’t feel like I was correcting so much for them either. If they had the same mistakes on the second draft, I would make them write it over so they really started looking more closely. Adding the details is another problem they had. They don’t want to elaborate.
4. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? I don’t really have any suggestions other than I plan to try to incorporate writing into other subject areas.
1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month. We did a practice writing assessment activity, and I told the students they could use a four square if they wanted. Most did get out paper for a four square. However, it was like they had forgotten everything we had discussed. A lot of them had written one BIG paragraph, or had gone off on various tangents. After I read their papers, I made them complete a four square. After I refocused them, their writings were ten times better. I am going to make them do a four square from now on.
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?
My students have been writing at the 4+3 pretty much the whole time. I knew they would have to get there eventually so, and I felt like they were ready for it.
3. Discuss the Sentence Stretcher experience.
My class did three or four sets of sentence stretchers. We did one before the writing assessment practice, several others in the classroom, and some in the computer lab. The kids really seem to enjoy doing them. The problem I’m having is that they do a great job of stretching the sentences when were doing “sentence stretchers”, but when it comes time to write a story or do an assessment practice, they start writing those three word sentences again! They don’t apply what they’ve learned.
4. Were you able to complete a Colonial America writing activity? Discuss the success/problems. I was not able to squeeze this in. I worked more on writing prompts for the assessment.
5. Were you able to successfully download a file from the Write On site this month? Tell about any problems you encountered.
Yes, I downloaded several of the sentence stretcher PowerPoints. I didn’t have any problems with that.
6. What problems are your students encountering with their participation in this project? The three things I keep saying to them: 1. You need more details 2. Work on your topic sentence 3. run-on sentences
7. What problems are you experiencing? I am having a little frustration because some of the students don’t seem to care if their writing gets better. They just want to get it finished-one time. Getting them to add details is difficult too. But, I just thought that they may be ready for the next step…whatever comes after 4+3.
8. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? I can’t think of anything Connie hasn’t already thought of. The Write On website is an excellent resource. I’ve also already starting sing Miss Take’s Challenge.
1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month.
We have continued writing with a prompt each week. After they write on Monday, I take it up and put a score on it. Then they have to go back and work on the topic paragraph-including a hook and the 5Ws. I try to write down which ever W they left out. Of course their second attempts are always better. But, I feel like they are all writing
five paragraphs now with better details than before.
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’ve been writing with the 4+3. I’ve encouraged them to add more details than just three though.
3. Discuss the Miss Take’s Challenge experience. My class loves the competition! At first they weren’t working together, and I would call a number to stand up and they wouldn’t have everything written down. They are finally catching on. Last week even my special ed kids won the points. They all sit at a table together.
4. Was Mr. Indent or The Hook helpful to your students? If so, in what way. If not, why? I worked on the hook a lot with my kids. If they don’t use one, I make them go back and try until they do. For example, one day we just worked on introductory paragraphs and they were to bring them to me when they were finished. If it didn’t have a hook, they had to go fix it. Some kids came up to me 5 and 6 times, but finally they had a hook. We’ve started calling the first paragraph the introductory paragraph rather than the topic sentence so they’ll know it has to be more than a sentence now.
5. Discuss your students’ experiences with a practice prompt activity. We’ve been using a practice prompt since before Christmas. They are very comfortable with them I think. We read the prompt 3 times, and now I’ve started writing them times on the board without saying anything else to them. They work on their 4 square for 10 minutes, I write down the remainder of the time, then they begin working on the story.
6. What problems are your students encountering with their participation in this project? The problem I see is that they know what to do to make a 5 or 6 on the assessment; they just won’t put forth the effort. I even asked them if they knew how to make a 5 or 6 and they replied with…”Use a hook”, “the 5 Ws”, “include 5 paragraphs”, “add lots of details.” I told them I felt like my work was done, it would be up to them to step up and make the grade.
7. What problems are you experiencing? Same as above. I guess the above problem is really my own. I guess their problem is trying to break their old bad writing habits.
8. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? I have no suggestions. I think Connie has done a great job of trying to create resources to make the teaching much easier.