Letting go of lesson planning mishaps and celebrating students’ success

Posted on Jan 21 2009 at 5:07 PM

Overall, I consider my first month of teaching, introducing Writer’s Workshop, a huge success. There have been bumps and changes of schedule along the way, but more important than anything else, kids are excited about writing—some have even gone as far as using the “L word” to proclaim their Love for what they have written and their Love for Writer’s Workshop! My long days, late nights, and worry over getting-it-just-right all become immeasurably worthwhile when I see and hear evidence of the powerful, positive impact Writer’s Workshop is having on my students:

Every Tuesday or Thursday, without fail, at least one student walks into class, sees the board, and exclaims, “Today is Writer’s Workshop?!” It never gets old; I smile every time.

I’ve received many comments like this one from Greg, who wrote: “You make writing fun for me.” And this is coming from a student who announced earlier in the year, “I am not a writer. I only write when I have to.”

Jason, one of my least motivated students, spent yesterday writing prolifically with a smile on his face—raising his hand, eager to show me the piece he was working on: “There are a few things you must know about eating a bowl of cereal”. I celebrated with him the strong voice that he used in his second paragraph (a writing trait we have focused on). I encouraged his ability to engage readers by letting his personality shine through. This positive feedback launched him into completing a full page more before the end of work time—more than he usually writes in a month! And to top it all off, during our review game of “Hot Cow” (Okay, it’s a long story: COW… convention of the week. Hot… hot potato. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea that quickly turned into a student favorite, and proved to be a fantastic means of learning, review, and assessment.) Anyway, during the game, Jason spoke up and shared a discovery about using commas with opening phrases—this turned into a great learning moment and the entire class benefited from his keen insight.  He left class glowing.

During work time this week, when I gave students their one minute warning to find a stopping place, three boys simultaneously looked up at me in desperation, “Nooooooo” they proclaimed, “We’re not done!!!”  I couldn’t be more pleased.

Back

Comments

None Found

Add Comment