Our writing camp campfire was in full swing. S'mores were being made and compositions were being shared. Things were going well and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, parents included. And then...
I hear screaming and see crying. It's Victor. "It popped out. Just put it back in the hole. Fix it!" I then realize he's talking about the wire that goes in the back bracket of his braces. Apparently, the wire is now poking in his gum. I take him outside to see if there is anything I can do for him. NOTHING! He begins to scream, "Call 911! Call the police! Call somebody and tell them I need help! You need to fix this! Just put it back in the hole. HELP ME! Do something! Call 911, they will help me. Call my dentist." (Please remember that I have an aide and parents in my room at this time...the kids were not left unattended.)
The PE coach hears the yelling and comes over to help. We take him to the nurse's office against his will and find out that she can't do anything either (which I knew), but he was not happy with that response. He continued to scream, "Call 911! Call the doctor! Call my mom and tell her that I need help! I need the nurse to just fix it!" He continues to scream, cry, act like a baby laying on my lap, and making impossible demands for another 20 minutes or so. I finally decide that I need to go back to my room and trade duties with the aide. This is because I can't take any more of the screaming.
I return to my room to calm the kids back down, fill them in on Victor's status and have them group share a piece of their compositions. Even with the drama, the campfire was nice and I think the parents enjoyed hearing their children read the compositions that they have been working on. (I will share a few compositions and pictures from writing camp tomorrow.)
Showing posts with label writing camp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing camp. Show all posts
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
I broke her!
I'll start with the good news. This is part of an e-mail that I received from a parent today. To be specific, it was from Elliot's father. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I've had lots of trouble with Elliot's behavior. He's had emotional and angry outbursts, and often gets mad because I'm reminding him to work. Things have changed in the last few weeks and the message from his father confirms it. This message is referring to writing camp.
"Loved the Hobo stick. Interesting camping ideas.
Seems to have captivated his imagination and attention.
Keep up the good work. I heard him tell me that he LIKES the writing homework where he corrects sentences. Wow!!!"
Seems to have captivated his imagination and attention.
Keep up the good work. I heard him tell me that he LIKES the writing homework where he corrects sentences. Wow!!!"
This makes me feel good and know that all the hokey camp things we are doing this week are really changing attitudes about writing.
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On the other hand, today I passed back the compositions that were written yesterday. On the back of each composition, I wrote a compliment for their writing and something they need to work on, along with a score based on the TAKS rubric. Like I said yesterday, all but one kid passed. The one who didn't pass was an unusual case. I was very surprised to read her writing and knew that it wasn't reflective of her as a writer.
So I passed back the compositions and almost immediately, tears began flowing. I knew that she was very upset with her score. I tried talking to her about it and she said, "But I did stay on topic." I had to tell her that I was sorry and unfortunately the organization and intended meaning wasn't conveyed in her writing.
Off we went to lunch and recess and I was hoping she would begin to understand and get over the disappointment. I was wrong. She cried all afternoon. She didn't write a single word on a paper all afternoon. She used a whole box of Kleenex to dry her tears. Great...just what I need 4 days before TAKS...a kid shutting down who is capable and usually proves her excellence. What in the world was I going to do to help her get through this roadblock and begin writing again?!?!?
The wonderful teacher that I am took her outside for a heart-to-heart. We sat next to each other and talked about her fantastic writing in the past and what I knew she could do in the future. In fact, she's going to write at home tonight about whatever she wants and we're going to meet tomorrow to talk about the great things she did in that writing. She seemed okay with this idea. It is a non-stressful environment in which she can write anything and we'll boost her confidence again tomorrow by talking about the highlights of the writing. I've got Plan B and Plan C in store if this doesn't work out. I'll keep you updated on how this goes and if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know...I need to fix her!
Lesson Learned: Never give a score point 1 back to a child. Lie about it and claim it's a barely 2 or just pretend you forgot to score it and talk to them about it later.
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On the other hand, today I passed back the compositions that were written yesterday. On the back of each composition, I wrote a compliment for their writing and something they need to work on, along with a score based on the TAKS rubric. Like I said yesterday, all but one kid passed. The one who didn't pass was an unusual case. I was very surprised to read her writing and knew that it wasn't reflective of her as a writer.
So I passed back the compositions and almost immediately, tears began flowing. I knew that she was very upset with her score. I tried talking to her about it and she said, "But I did stay on topic." I had to tell her that I was sorry and unfortunately the organization and intended meaning wasn't conveyed in her writing.
Off we went to lunch and recess and I was hoping she would begin to understand and get over the disappointment. I was wrong. She cried all afternoon. She didn't write a single word on a paper all afternoon. She used a whole box of Kleenex to dry her tears. Great...just what I need 4 days before TAKS...a kid shutting down who is capable and usually proves her excellence. What in the world was I going to do to help her get through this roadblock and begin writing again?!?!?
The wonderful teacher that I am took her outside for a heart-to-heart. We sat next to each other and talked about her fantastic writing in the past and what I knew she could do in the future. In fact, she's going to write at home tonight about whatever she wants and we're going to meet tomorrow to talk about the great things she did in that writing. She seemed okay with this idea. It is a non-stressful environment in which she can write anything and we'll boost her confidence again tomorrow by talking about the highlights of the writing. I've got Plan B and Plan C in store if this doesn't work out. I'll keep you updated on how this goes and if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know...I need to fix her!
Lesson Learned: Never give a score point 1 back to a child. Lie about it and claim it's a barely 2 or just pretend you forgot to score it and talk to them about it later.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
I'm so proud!
On day two of writing camp, all but one kid in my class finished their first composition. I was hopeful. This is the second to last practice composition before the real thing next week. We've learned so much about writing and come so far in our writing abilities. I've been worried in the past because they have learned so much and when we took a writing benchmark, they forgot everything!
When I read the compositions today, I smiled. I had no other response, but pure happiness. I read some great papers. I had kids write like they've never written before in a wonderfully fabulous way. According to my grading scale, I had all but one kid pass. And the one kid was unusual. She misinterpreted the prompt and just went in the wrong direction. Her normal writing is well above passing. In all other cases, I was glowing with excitement and telling everyone I could what a wonderful job my class was doing on their writing.
The biggest highlight of today was reading one of my student's composition. When I read the composition, I couldn't stop smiling. My response when I was finished was, "WOW!" I've not felt that very often. I have often described a 4 on the TAKS Writing as reading a paper that gets a "WOW!" when you're finished. It's also a paper that you are unable to find a place for revisions. This was how I felt. I did not have any kids in my class score a 4 last year, so that is my goal this year. When the thought of a kid writing a 4 came into my mind, it reminded me why I do this. I reminded me that I have taught them these writing skills. Most of them came to me with little to no personal narrative writing experience, and to see how much they've grown amazes me.
Today made me excited for next Tuesday. I'll still be terrified come Tuesday at 8am because I don't want them to throw all of their writing strategies out the window. I'll keep my fingers crossed and give as many reminders about what I expect as possible in the next three days.
When I read the compositions today, I smiled. I had no other response, but pure happiness. I read some great papers. I had kids write like they've never written before in a wonderfully fabulous way. According to my grading scale, I had all but one kid pass. And the one kid was unusual. She misinterpreted the prompt and just went in the wrong direction. Her normal writing is well above passing. In all other cases, I was glowing with excitement and telling everyone I could what a wonderful job my class was doing on their writing.
The biggest highlight of today was reading one of my student's composition. When I read the composition, I couldn't stop smiling. My response when I was finished was, "WOW!" I've not felt that very often. I have often described a 4 on the TAKS Writing as reading a paper that gets a "WOW!" when you're finished. It's also a paper that you are unable to find a place for revisions. This was how I felt. I did not have any kids in my class score a 4 last year, so that is my goal this year. When the thought of a kid writing a 4 came into my mind, it reminded me why I do this. I reminded me that I have taught them these writing skills. Most of them came to me with little to no personal narrative writing experience, and to see how much they've grown amazes me.
Today made me excited for next Tuesday. I'll still be terrified come Tuesday at 8am because I don't want them to throw all of their writing strategies out the window. I'll keep my fingers crossed and give as many reminders about what I expect as possible in the next three days.
Please stop singing!
To start off writing camp each day, we meet around the "pond" and "fire" in the middle of the classroom to sing our two writing camp songs. Today we started with "Write and Shine" sung to the tune of "Rise and Shine" (the church song). We attempted to sing the song and it was terrible. When the song was over, all I heard was...
"Ms. L, you ruined that. You shouldn't sing with us."
"Can we sing it without you next time?"
"You aren't singing the right tune."
"You just need to listen to us sing."
If you know me well, or at all, one thing you do know is that my class couldn't have been more right. I was ruining the song. When I allowed them to sing without me, the song was beautiful. They did tell me that I was allowed to do the rap song to the tune of "Ice, Ice Baby". The exact words: "Ms. L, you're allowed to rap because you're not bad, but you just can't sing with us."
If I were a teacher who didn't already know what a terrible singer I am or another person listening to my class tell a teacher this, I would be very upset. However, I am not that person. I like the fact that my kids know they can tell me that I shouldn't sing and know I won't get upset because I know it's true. The know that a comment like this is not crossing the line, but others not related to my singing might be. :)
"Ms. L, you ruined that. You shouldn't sing with us."
"Can we sing it without you next time?"
"You aren't singing the right tune."
"You just need to listen to us sing."
If you know me well, or at all, one thing you do know is that my class couldn't have been more right. I was ruining the song. When I allowed them to sing without me, the song was beautiful. They did tell me that I was allowed to do the rap song to the tune of "Ice, Ice Baby". The exact words: "Ms. L, you're allowed to rap because you're not bad, but you just can't sing with us."
If I were a teacher who didn't already know what a terrible singer I am or another person listening to my class tell a teacher this, I would be very upset. However, I am not that person. I like the fact that my kids know they can tell me that I shouldn't sing and know I won't get upset because I know it's true. The know that a comment like this is not crossing the line, but others not related to my singing might be. :)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Writing Camp Day 1
It was Day 1 of Writing Camp and what a fabulous day it was. The room was decked out with vines, a mosquito net tent, and cut out animals and bugs.. The kids were stoked. I made t-shirts and provided snacks and my aide bought some camp goodies...personalized water bottles, hobo sticks, pencils, and bugs to go in their snacks.
The kids were so excited about what this week is going to bring. The writing was the least of their concerns. But as the day went on, the writing progressed well. The editing practice in the morning was fabulous and the beginning of their compositions are promising. I am hopeful for what the rest of the week brings. Maybe I'll post some compositions as the week progresses.
The kids were so excited about what this week is going to bring. The writing was the least of their concerns. But as the day went on, the writing progressed well. The editing practice in the morning was fabulous and the beginning of their compositions are promising. I am hopeful for what the rest of the week brings. Maybe I'll post some compositions as the week progresses.
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