---
Just a few days ago, as we wrapped everything up before the break, we had our second official Publishing Party, for our "Boxes and Bullets: Personal and Persuasive Essays" Unit. During this unit, the kiddos learned to craft personal thesis statements such as "My sister and I have a very strong relationship," and then related persuasive theses, such as "Having a little sister is the best thing that can happen to you." I have an amazing student teacher this year (we call her a Teaching Fellow) who took over some of the teaching during the second half of the unit and really pushed the kiddos to create some awesome pieces.
At long last, we reached the end of the unit. The kiddos all had a typed essay (we let them choose if they wanted to type their first or second essay). For the Publishing Party, we had the kiddos do a quiet gallery walk of each other's writing. They stopped at each desk, read each classmate's essay, and then left a short note. Miraculously, it was incredibly peaceful! The kiddos took it all very seriously and wrote really thoughtful comments to each other!
Just a few days ago, as we wrapped everything up before the break, we had our second official Publishing Party, for our "Boxes and Bullets: Personal and Persuasive Essays" Unit. During this unit, the kiddos learned to craft personal thesis statements such as "My sister and I have a very strong relationship," and then related persuasive theses, such as "Having a little sister is the best thing that can happen to you." I have an amazing student teacher this year (we call her a Teaching Fellow) who took over some of the teaching during the second half of the unit and really pushed the kiddos to create some awesome pieces.
The unit did end up being a few weeks longer than I'd intended, in part because our schedule during the first part of the year didn't allow for Writing Workshop every day of the week. I know this is a challenge for many schools that have to prioritize certain subject areas over others. For us, this was due to trying to fit in specific typing practice one day of the week and also "Science Lab Writing" on another day. Of course, both of these other activities are important, but I really felt the affect of not having our true Writing Workshop every day. (I'm working on changing the schedule for when we get back after break). In addition to the scheduling challenges, in early October one of the other fourth grade teachers quit. While this ended up being for the best, it meant that I had to begin planning writing for a long-term substitute in the other class, in addition to planning for my own class. This required creating some more specific teaching points and moving at a slightly slower place than we would have otherwise.
At long last, we reached the end of the unit. The kiddos all had a typed essay (we let them choose if they wanted to type their first or second essay). For the Publishing Party, we had the kiddos do a quiet gallery walk of each other's writing. They stopped at each desk, read each classmate's essay, and then left a short note. Miraculously, it was incredibly peaceful! The kiddos took it all very seriously and wrote really thoughtful comments to each other!
Afterward, everyone returned to his or her own essay, read the comments that had been left, and set some goals based on the feedback. I think goal setting is an essential part of publishing in a Writing Workshop! We always talk about the importance of reflection and revision in the writing process, and that doesn't end with publishing. I think goal setting at the end of a unit helps kiddos make connections between units and transfer skills between genres. We are starting our Journalism unit after the break and I can't wait to see the kiddos bring their essay writing skills into this work!
What a great way to close out 2017!
No comments:
Post a Comment