Context
I am currently student teaching in a first and second grade combination class, which consists of 22 students, 11 in each grade. There are five English language learners in the classroom, three of whom are classified as “moderately proficient”, one is approaching proficiency, and one is classified at a “beginning level of proficiency”. The student who is classified at “approaching proficiency” is in second grade, and the remaining four students are in first grade. There is one student with an IEP in my classroom, in first grade.
With my arrival, my master teacher divided the students into grade level groups and assigned me to instruct the 11 first graders for in writing and mathematics, while she simultaneously taught the second graders the same subjects at their grade level.
With my arrival, my master teacher divided the students into grade level groups and assigned me to instruct the 11 first graders for in writing and mathematics, while she simultaneously taught the second graders the same subjects at their grade level.
Need
Since, prior to my arrival, mathematics had been given priority, the students are neither comfortable with nor proficient with writing. This was due to the fact that the math segments required longer durations of direct instruction, and the students had to wait for students in the other grade level to complete their work. Therefore, the switch to two teachers and split instruction for writing instruction was greatly beneficial for students in both grade levels and allows increased access to writing time.
First, student motivation to write was not high as evidenced by students’ complaints and questions about the number of required sentences. Next, students' writing often lacked key structural components essential for building the story and the reader's understanding. Finally, many students frequently misspelled words, showed discomfort with phonetic spelling, and forgot key grammatical elements, like capitalization and punctuation. My assessment of their writing clearly illustrated significant need in structural guidance, particularly centering around the 5 W's: the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of the story.
In researching the topic of writing, I located Self Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), a highly effective strategy that focuses on direct, explicit instruction, after which students practice in order to reach the next level of competence where they feel comfortable using the new strategy as one of their tools for writing. SRSD captures depth of knowledge, enabling students to learn the inherent structures of writing and move past roadblocks to access deeper content and write more thoughtful pieces. When the cognitive load is not tied to mechanics, writing can explore new depths. SRSD also fits perfectly into the Writer's Workshop model of brief lessons at the beginning of writing time, and then a release to independent writing. Perhaps addressing the infrastructure of a narrative story would have an impact on writing, and could enable students to become self-motivated storytellers with a sense of authorship and independence.
Below this, you will see a slideshow of four student work samples that are representative of the group of first grade writers. Their current proficiency level is listed, followed by a transcription of their writing piece. This particular sample came from a day when we read and discussed Dr. Suess' The Cat in the Hat, after which the students were asked to discuss and write about what would happen if the Cat in the Hat came to our classroom.
First, student motivation to write was not high as evidenced by students’ complaints and questions about the number of required sentences. Next, students' writing often lacked key structural components essential for building the story and the reader's understanding. Finally, many students frequently misspelled words, showed discomfort with phonetic spelling, and forgot key grammatical elements, like capitalization and punctuation. My assessment of their writing clearly illustrated significant need in structural guidance, particularly centering around the 5 W's: the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of the story.
In researching the topic of writing, I located Self Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), a highly effective strategy that focuses on direct, explicit instruction, after which students practice in order to reach the next level of competence where they feel comfortable using the new strategy as one of their tools for writing. SRSD captures depth of knowledge, enabling students to learn the inherent structures of writing and move past roadblocks to access deeper content and write more thoughtful pieces. When the cognitive load is not tied to mechanics, writing can explore new depths. SRSD also fits perfectly into the Writer's Workshop model of brief lessons at the beginning of writing time, and then a release to independent writing. Perhaps addressing the infrastructure of a narrative story would have an impact on writing, and could enable students to become self-motivated storytellers with a sense of authorship and independence.
Below this, you will see a slideshow of four student work samples that are representative of the group of first grade writers. Their current proficiency level is listed, followed by a transcription of their writing piece. This particular sample came from a day when we read and discussed Dr. Suess' The Cat in the Hat, after which the students were asked to discuss and write about what would happen if the Cat in the Hat came to our classroom.
Question
In what ways does the employment of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) in Writer's Workshop affect the writing process for students?
- How does explicit teaching of the basic structure of the 5 W's (Who, What, When, Where, Why) impact students' narrative writing?
- Do explicit mini-lessons affect students' writing quality over time?
- What are the effects of the introduction of self-regulation during independent writing time?