Entry 1: Writing - Thinking through the Process [Instructional Context]

What is the point of this entry you ask??
"This entry captures your ability to demonstrate your use of writing to develop students’ thinking and writing skills for different audiences and purposes."

So these are the questions I have to answer for this part of the written commentary (there are 4 parts)...and in the end it is only to be ONE double spaced page...

What is your school setting (e.g., preschool, middle or high school, or alternative school)?
What are the number, ages, and grades of the students in the class featured in this entry, and what is the subject matter of the class? (Example: 32 students in grade 5, ages 10 and 11, Social Studies)

My reply...

I teach third grade at a public elementary school in a large, predominantly Hispanic, middle-class, suburban community. My school educates preschool through 5th grade. My class consists of 28 students, 14 male, 14 female, ranging in age from 8 to 10 years old. Multiple subjects are taught, with the emphasis placed on Language Arts, Math, and English Language Development as mandated by the district. 

A bit of advice I got from another teacher...don't say you do things because the district says so or state standards dictate it...hard not to say that when it is true. More true however, is that I set all that aside to do what I know is good teaching.  Essentially that is what the National Board is after...good teaching...go figure.

What are the relevant characteristics of this class that influenced your instructional strategies for this theme or topic of concern: ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity; the range of abilities of the students; the personality of the class?

My reply...

My instructional strategies have been influenced by the grouping of students I have been assigned.  The class has been clustered with ability level in mind.  My class is considered the “challenge” group, as the class is mostly made up of students who have demonstrated themselves to be “gifted,” “proficient,” or “advanced” per district guidelines.  My class consists of 10 challenge students, 10 benchmark students, 6 strategic students, and 2 intensive students.  I have three identified GATE students (Gifted and Talented Education) as well as one student with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  I also have 8 English Language Learners (ELL), three of which are at the early advanced stage of English fluency and five that are at the intermediate level. 

Personality of the class?  Not sure how to answer that.  They are great kids, eager and excited to learn.  They have their issues like we all do, but in the end they are your typical 8 year olds...curious, imaginative, recess-loving... 

What are the relevant characteristics of the students with exceptional needs and abilities (e.g., the range of abilities and the cognitive, social/behavioral, attentional, sensory, and/or physical challenges of your students) that influenced your planning for this theme or topic of concern? Give any other information that might help the assessor “see” this class.

I'll be honest and say up front that I struggle in answering this one. Not sure why, but here is my reply...

My students are able to write grammatically correct sentences, but struggle with cohesive paragraph writing.  They are very creative and imaginative, and have no difficulty expressing themselves verbally, but struggle when it comes to capturing that same creativity on paper.  Aside from  minor difficulties with grammar and conventions, their writing often lacks voice and organization.

What are the relevant features of your teaching context that influenced the selection of this theme or topic? This might include other realities of the social and physical teaching context (e.g., available resources, scheduling of classes, self-contained classroom, etc.) that are relevant to your response.

My reply...

There are two very relevant features of my teaching context that influenced the selection of "Money" as the theme for my writing instruction.  First, I am to use a prescribed Language Arts curriculum mandated by my district.  Secondly, and more importantly, money is a huge area of interest for my students.  They are quite aware that money is a necessity and that they often need more of it to acquire the things they desire.  Through the exploration of this theme, my students had the opportunity to strengthen their foundation in reading, writing, listening and speaking.


What particular instructional challenges do the students chosen for this entry represent?  Explain the particular dynamics of the class an assessor needs to know to understand how you involve students in establishing a supportive and stimulating community and how you used your topic of discussion to assist students in accomplishing this goal. This might include, but is not limited to, a description of your students’ skills, knowledge, and previous experiences that relate to your teaching.

My reply...

The students chosen for this entry represent the gifted English Language Learner and the English Only high achiever in my class.  I have observed over the course of my teaching career that writing is an area of weakness for most students, and the two students I have chosen to highlight in this entry are no different. The gifted ELL student has demonstrated mastery of third grade standards in both Language Arts and Math consistently all school year.  While he is quite able to compose a grammatically correct paragraph, he is unable to properly harness his humor, leaving his writing feeling rather disjointed.  The high achiever consistently scores well in both Language Arts and Math as well.  When it comes to his writing specifically, he struggles with voice, and development of his ideas.  He quite often rushes through his writing, just to get it over with.  The instructional challenges they present are in their ability to express themselves clearly and in a way that their audience will understand and enjoy.

Whew! This is the most complete this section of my writing has been.  I would like to thank those friends of mine to whom I have complained to about this...and who have been patient and caring enough to guide me.  You know who you are... *wink wink*

STAY TUNED!

Tomorrow Melanie will have to... provide evidence of her planning and teaching, and of her ability to describe, analyze, and evaluate student writing to develop students’ writing ability, and use
student work to reflect on her practice!

I am sure you cannot wait for that one...neither can I...