A Change of "Plans"
Strengths:
Yesterday was a prime example acting on a "teachable moment" or rather not acting or really teaching at all because rather than follow through with the plan I had for introducing a writing prompt, I ended up letting the students run their own workshop. I set up the projector up with a specific idea for a writing prompt following a video clip (as discussed in the previous post), but before going into the video segment, I showed the group the Candy Houses cover design and the website I've developed since last week Candy Houses Publishing. I explained the bookstore plan for selling their published works, and the gift shop section, for selling hand crafted, literature inspired gifts to raise money for publishing and printing costs.
Excitement was palpable in the room. The kids started talking to each other all at once about what they wanted to write. They were asking me if they could go to their classrooms to get pieces they've been working on. Some of the younger ones perked their ears when I said, "the only rule to be published is that you need to submit something. It could be an illustration, a recipe, a game, a maze, a poem, a story, a letter- anything!"
Before I dove into the video segment I had set to play, I asked to see a show of hands for how many kids had ideas for what to publish. EVERYONE in the room had their hands raised, and several of them were already standing up and heading over to the tables to get their notebooks and start working!
Needless to say, I abandoned my original plans and just let the kids write. It was a good thing because I got 5 new stories typed and competed for our first publication by the end of the hour.
Challenges:
My continuing gripes about this workshop are:
1. limited time I have available to work with the group and
2. The student to instructor ratio
When I originally agreed to teach the class, I signed up for a 4th-8th grade writing workshop class. Due to the nature of the after school program, the gardening class, which takes place during the same hour, was jam packed with several K-3rd graders running amok outside, causing hair-pulling stress and a sever sense of un-accomplish for another teacher. When asked if I would be willing to take a handfull of primary kids under my wing, How could I say no when:
A: It would help to de-stress a fellow teacher and
B: I could work with more young writers (especially those young enough to still be enchanted with the idea of pouring their ideas into story form without that dreaded self-critic which often rears it's ugly face after a few years of schooling, and exposure to enough teacher-edited papers filled with red pen markings and nearly illegible manuscript markings scribbled on by someone else).
*This is not meant to come across as a judgment about any of the teaching practices at this particular school, but rather a rant on my own experience as a student and some of what I've observed over the years as a student teacher at various school sites.
There were two new students in the workshop today, totaling our numbers at a 14 students:1 teacher. I definitely do not get enough one on one time with any of the writers during the hour. The best I can do for now is take home their journals, read them and write personalized responses on a separate page. The push right now is just getting something completed for our first publication. I am anxious to observe the outcome of our first completed publication.
Yesterday was a prime example acting on a "teachable moment" or rather not acting or really teaching at all because rather than follow through with the plan I had for introducing a writing prompt, I ended up letting the students run their own workshop. I set up the projector up with a specific idea for a writing prompt following a video clip (as discussed in the previous post), but before going into the video segment, I showed the group the Candy Houses cover design and the website I've developed since last week Candy Houses Publishing. I explained the bookstore plan for selling their published works, and the gift shop section, for selling hand crafted, literature inspired gifts to raise money for publishing and printing costs.
Excitement was palpable in the room. The kids started talking to each other all at once about what they wanted to write. They were asking me if they could go to their classrooms to get pieces they've been working on. Some of the younger ones perked their ears when I said, "the only rule to be published is that you need to submit something. It could be an illustration, a recipe, a game, a maze, a poem, a story, a letter- anything!"
Before I dove into the video segment I had set to play, I asked to see a show of hands for how many kids had ideas for what to publish. EVERYONE in the room had their hands raised, and several of them were already standing up and heading over to the tables to get their notebooks and start working!
Needless to say, I abandoned my original plans and just let the kids write. It was a good thing because I got 5 new stories typed and competed for our first publication by the end of the hour.
Challenges:
My continuing gripes about this workshop are:
1. limited time I have available to work with the group and
2. The student to instructor ratio
When I originally agreed to teach the class, I signed up for a 4th-8th grade writing workshop class. Due to the nature of the after school program, the gardening class, which takes place during the same hour, was jam packed with several K-3rd graders running amok outside, causing hair-pulling stress and a sever sense of un-accomplish for another teacher. When asked if I would be willing to take a handfull of primary kids under my wing, How could I say no when:
A: It would help to de-stress a fellow teacher and
B: I could work with more young writers (especially those young enough to still be enchanted with the idea of pouring their ideas into story form without that dreaded self-critic which often rears it's ugly face after a few years of schooling, and exposure to enough teacher-edited papers filled with red pen markings and nearly illegible manuscript markings scribbled on by someone else).
*This is not meant to come across as a judgment about any of the teaching practices at this particular school, but rather a rant on my own experience as a student and some of what I've observed over the years as a student teacher at various school sites.
There were two new students in the workshop today, totaling our numbers at a 14 students:1 teacher. I definitely do not get enough one on one time with any of the writers during the hour. The best I can do for now is take home their journals, read them and write personalized responses on a separate page. The push right now is just getting something completed for our first publication. I am anxious to observe the outcome of our first completed publication.
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