Everyone Has a Story to Tell

Sustained Writing Professional Development Sanders Primary School

Marti RosnerDistrict Literacy Coach

EQ: How can I support my students’ writing so that they

meet or exceed standards?

There is a critical difference between teaching writing and nurturing writers. The verbs suggest different actions and the objects of the verbs suggest very different purposes behind those actions.

Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover

Already Ready ; Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten

Peter Elbow, 1981

No matter how productively you managed to get words down on paper, or how carefully you have revised, no matter how shrewdly you figured your audience and purpose and suited your words to them, there comes a time when you need feedback!

What is Feedback?

From the World English Dictionary

To offer or suggest information or ideas in reaction to an inquiry

What is Exemplary Feedback?

Think back…What was the most effective feedback system

you have ever been in as a learner? What made it so?

“Less Teaching, More Assessing: Learning via Feedback,” ASCD Conference on Teaching & Learning,

San Francisco, October 2005. Used with permission of Grant Wiggins.

How…do I provide feedback?

Exemplary Feedback

• Operates like guard rails or bumpers

• Assists in redirection

• Helps repeat what is positive or effective

• Supports goal setting

• Is positive

• Is approachable

• Offers comments and suggestions that are aligned with specific examples

• Plans for the future

Is this effective feedback?

Exemplary Feedback

• Operates like guard rails or bumpers

• Assists in redirection

• Helps repeat what is positive or effective

• Supports goal setting

• Is positive

• Is approachable

• Offers comments and suggestions that are aligned with specific examples

• Plans for the future

What about this?

Exemplary Feedback

• Operates like guard rails or bumpers

• Assists in redirection

• Helps repeat what is positive or effective

• Supports goal setting

• Is positive

• Is approachable

• Offers comments and suggestions that are aligned with specific examples

• Plans for the future

What is Commentary?

From the World English Dictionary

An explanatory series of notes or comments

Types of Commentary

Verbal Teacher Commentary

Written Teacher CommentaryFor the hall – Glows only

For the student – Glows and a Grow

Verbal Peer Commentary

Written Peer Commentary

Criteria for Excellent Feedback/Commentary

• Timely• User-friendly—in approach and amount• Descriptive & specific in regard to performance• Consistent• Expert• Accurate• Honest, yet constructive• Derived from concrete standards• On-going

“Less Teaching, More Assessing: Learning via Feedback,” ASCD Conference on Teaching & Learning, San Francisco, October 2005. Used with permission of Grant Wiggins.

Let’s try this out.

• This is the first day of school and these students are new to Cobb County Schools.

• Address his/her attire with feedback and commentary.

• Include a strength and a goal to work on for tomorrow.

Students in Need…

Wiggins’s Mantra

Give less advice and more feedback!

• We tend to give advice without helping the student really grasp the feedback on which the advice is based.

• Giving better feedback enables the student to take greater control of giving themselves (or seeking) advice sooner.

Collecting Authentic Evidence

Teachers collect information about a child’s progress in the same way that parents collect information about their child’s growth and learning. They watch children in action, look at collections of children’s work and talk with children. In the Primary Program, this is called ‘collecting authentic evidence’.

Ministry of Education in British Columbia Supporting Learning: Understanding and Assessing the Progress of Children

in the Primary Program, 1991

Collecting Authentic Evidence Through Conferences

• Use the language of the standards• Provide descriptive and specific comments related to

the learning goals• Include honest and constructive guidance about steps

to take or strategies to try next• Celebrate success and/or progress toward the learning

goals• Write your commentary for the student to celebrate

(‘glow’) and to reinforce the ‘grow’.• Record your anecdotal notes in your notebook.

An Easy Formula…

Name, you (LOTS – name the specific element met) when you (give the specific way(s) the student met the element(s) using text evidence).

You may want to…or…Next time… Name one grow for the child to work on for the next conference.

So, what does it look like?

Let’s look at several examples of Glows and Grows.

So, what does it look like?

Emily, you captured me as a reader right away when you began your piece with all capital letters and an exclamation mark. (YIKES!) I couldn’t wait to read the rest of your information.

You may want to add an illustration with labels to help your reader know what your animal looks like.

Collecting Authentic Evidence

The ‘grow’ becomes the goal for the student to work on prior to his/her next conference.

This can be done using a new, current, or previous draft.

Let’s Practice

• Choose one of your writing samples.

• Thinking about the elements of the standard that you have taught, write commentary on a post it note. (Use the ‘formula’ to help you.)

• Include one or two ‘glows’ and a ‘grow’.

• Share with your neighbor.

How do I begin?

• Post your standards!

• Have a whole class mini lesson and model the conferencing process.

• Print a piece of writing from the GHGR Teacher CD, or use a sample from the GADOE website.

• Use it to model a conference.

Include Students

One solution to the challenge of finding ways to communicate can be found in involving students.

Anne Davies

Peer Commentary•Establish protocols students can follow to provide commentary on their own work.

•Provide students with models of exemplary, and less than exemplary work and have them identify the exemplary work and determine what makes the work exemplary.

•Train students to provide peer commentary.

Audience Etiquette

• Encourages connections• Offers opportunities to comment and question• Models positive language

– “I didn’t understand…”– “Could you please tell me more about…?”– “The part of your piece where you told about…painted a picture in my

mind/helped me understand the character’s feelings

• Leaves an enduring understanding • Builds community

Results are in…

• Zane said…”You wrote in first person. I know this because you wrote I. You captured my interest when I saw the exscmashen punt.”

• Daniel said…”Dear Erica, You wrote in first person. I know this because I saw the words I and we. You captured my attention when you said swim, because I like to swim. You also put an esclamshen mark.”

Summarizing Strategy

What can you do to capture your reader’s interest?

• Use interesting words…Igor• Use exlamahions…Madeline• I will use more descriptive words. Courtney• Ask a question…Angelina

The Extra Degree