When someone reads a post you wrote, do they know it's you? Having a writer's voice and a style of your own comes from writing, writing some more, and writing some more. Eventually, your writing will take on a style of its own.
Authors with several books published are usually easy to recognize by their style. Gary Paulsen with his wordy, descriptive, "I have been there and done it" style is consistent in his books. John Scieszka with his choppy sentences, constant dialogue, and wacky events amuses his readers.
Blogging cured me of my writing blahs. It provided me with an outlet that fits me like a glove, helped me discover my writing voice, and made me realize that I LOVE to write - indeed, maybe LIVE to write.
What about you, student bloggers? Are you beginning to write in a consistent style? Can your readers recognize you by your tone? Or by the way you discuss topics? By the end of a year of blogging, will you have found your style?
*
As we start a new year in Reading Workshop, one of the main goals is making writing meaningful using descriptive writing with many supporting details. It really does not matter whether the writing is a response to a question, a blog post, a journal, a letter, or any other type of writing. Quality writing brings the reader into the mind and the heart of the writer. Details help the reader see, and feel, and understand.
When I read Katey's blog post, it grabbed me and I knew immediately, this was a great example of what I expect in students' writing. This was in response to a prompt from Larger-Than-Life Lara.
My first impression of Lara was "Whoa, what in the world is she describing?" I actually didn’t know what to say about Lara, it was just like an "OMG!" moment, I was speechless. I don’t know if that was what the author wanted people to think, but that was my thought (sorry if that makes anybody mad). When Lara was first described by Laney I thought she wouldn’t be like she is. I didn’t think that Lara would be always smiling and cheerful. I was also suprised after Laney descibed her, that she was a new student. At first I thought she was an adult, but when she said that she was a new student I was shocked.
I read Cassie's blog yesterday, and thought about it several times throughout the evening. I woke up this morning and thought about it again. She really nailed it. She compared the meanness in Larger-Than-Life Lara with what she sees and feels some times at school.
As we work towards improving higher level thinking, and writing that supports ideas and opinions with explicit and intricate details, she wrote a post that was extraordinary. However, there were many mistakes in PUGS (Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling). Her post shows how blogging will build writing skills, while pushing students to think, and reason, and consider themselves, their lives, and how people treat others.
Opinions are sometimes really mean like when someone talks about you. When you talk about them and it is not nice but it could be nice sometimes. When people do that it is just like them talking about you. How would you feel if someone talked about you? It would not feel to good.
That is why I don’t like it when my friends make fun of people to make them look cool. It just makes them look like a jerk. I don’t like it when people talk about people. It is just really mean. I really think that if we don’t talk about people there would be no fights at school and for people who do talk about people need to stop.
Don’t talk about people because when people do it just gets back at them and they talk about kids. People don’t like it when you talk about them because all it does is start a fight. So thats why I don’t but I’m not going to lie. I have talked about people but I quit.
One of the challenges of having students write all of their assignments on a blog is coming up with a fair and objective way of grading. Writing assignments in Reading Workshop are graded with a rubric that looks at several factors to come up with an overall grade.
After considering several rubrics, I created the Stair Steps to Success. As students' writing improves and posts get better and better, they can climb the stairs to writing success.
These questions can help certain determine their grade.
Did you spell everything correctly? I would hope so. After all, who would want to write something that is available to the whole world, and misspell words? Can the reader understand the topic because you stick to it? Following these minimal standards will earn you at least a D.
Did you use correct grammar? Did you take time to check your PUGS? Can the reader follow your post in an organized manner? This is still a most basic expectations for writers that want to publish their work. The skills learned in the primary grades are not too much to expect for work posted on the Internet. A C means satisfactory and not meeting this basic criteria would surely not deserve anything higher.
Do you have interesting content presented in a well-written way? To build loyal readers, you must grab the reader. Supporting details draw in the readers and give them understanding. If posts are written cleanly with correct PUGS, the words illustrate the meaning, and the reader can visualize your ideas, you will earn a B.
Does your writing cause the reader to pause, and think, or cause the reader to agree or disagree? Sometimes hours after reading an essay, the reader is still thinking about it. When a blog post has that something special, then the writer deserves an A. To earn this, the majority of posts must be of exceptional quality.
What step are you on? Have you climbed the stairs to writing success?
Everyone that blogs wants readers. And, we wish that every single person that visited our blog would comment. In fact, almost any comment is better than none. So, the most important rule for blog comments is to comment. If you agree, say so. If you disagree, or have a different opinion, say so. But whatever you do, take a minute and let us know you were here.
As students in Reading Workshop begin to build their blogs, post by post, the need for some structure in commenting is evident. Hopefully these guidelines will help students engage in meaningful dialogue, comment by comment.
1. Be nice. No name-calling and personal abuse, please.
2. Keep on topic. Don't write a comment that has little or nothing to do with the subject of the article.
3. Opposing opinions are welcome, as long as they are respectful of the views of others. If you disagree with the opinions of the author, express it politely.
4. Don’t issue personal attacks or insults. Attacks against the author, other bloggers, commenters or people will be deleted.
5. Avoid repeating yourself. If many people have already said something, please don’t say it again. Once you make a point, support it, but don't keep saying the same thing over, and over, and over.
5. Avoid repeating yourself. If many people have already said something, please don’t say it again (See how annoying this is).
6. Don’t make comments like “Great post.” If you read it, say why it was great. Add something to the conversation. Add your own view, or thoughts to the topic.
7. Don’t use incorrect grammar or mispellings. Doing this makes the blog look like a low quality blog. It makes the blogger feel like you don't care enough to take the time to do it right.
Mrs. Scott, the principal stopped by the room as she so often does, just to see how things were going. Up came Chomper Sue, the gum chewingest kid to hit the class in many a year. Mrs. Scott told her to spit out the gum. Boy, did Sue just make her teacher happy.
To this point in the year, Sue had been doing fairly well--much better than last year. It's a shame she couldn't see that she was well on her way to wrecking her great start. In less than a half hour, she was chomping away again, slapping her gums together and cracking her bubble gum. That made two write-ups in one class.
After lunch, Sue came up the stairs for her afternoon class, mouth wide open, chomping on more gum. What a day--three writeups for the same offense. This earned her some time on the wall during recess the next day. Sticking to her pattern of self-destruction, Sue did not stand on the wall today, so this earned her two more days.
In less than two days, Sue aggravated her favorite teacher over and over. She showed disrespect chewing gum, which is so trivial, but then she just kept flaunting her disregard for school rules.
In the process of all of this mess, Sue who thinks of herself as an independent young woman, gave up all control of herself at school. She became a discipline problem, disrepecting teachers and ignoring rules. In the process, the teachers are forced to deal with Sue's behavior, and deal with the aggravation of a student that can not do the most simple things to be successful.
I wonder if Chomper Sue knows all she lost over three sticks of gum?
Her homework paper said she read exactly 30 minutes a day. She read exactly 10 pages each time. As I looked at the paper, I thought, "another fake reader. Why?"
The Read at Home assignment is meant to be low stress. All students have to do to get a good grade is read. And the more they read, the better the grade. And they can read any book they want. But still she chose to fake read.
I know grades do not matter that much to her. So why did she lie about her reading? I had already been watching her in class and could see that she does not like reading and has no interest in her book.
I wonder if she is a Will Smith fan? I wonder if she will believe him when he says she can succeed? I wonder if she has the guts to want to be something and the strength to chase it?
The student's task for the day was to pick one area that Will Smith discusses in the video and write a post in their blog. They could rewatch that piece of the video. The times are listed in parenthesis after the area.
It Can Be That Easy (1:00)
There's No Shortcut to Success (1:38)
Lay One Brick at a Time (3:00)
Focus on Making a Difference (3:48)
Represent an Idea/Possibilities/You Can Make What You Want (4:35)
You Have to Believe (5:00)
Nothing is Unrealistic (5:45)
Our Thoughts are Physical/Make a Choice (6:47)
You Really Have to Focus (8:08)
Attack Your Fears/"I Hate Being Afraid of Anything" (8:30)
Protect Your Dream (9:17)
You can check out their thoughts, ideas, and opinions by following the links to Student Blogs in the sidebar.
As the Reading Workshop students begin to blog regularly (see links in the sidebar), one might question, what do you want the students to get out of this project? How will it help them? Are the benefits academic and or social? Listed below are the goals and benefits of student blogs.
Goals with student blogs include:
1. Students will communicate effectively. 2. Students will share thoughts, ideas, and opinions, and support them with details that make understanding easy. 3. Students will become better writers, both in content and mechanics. 4. Students will become better readers, improving comprehension and the ability to read critically. 5. Students will share great books and enter into dialogue about them. 6. Students will use Web 2.0 technology as a tool to publish their work to share with their peers, family, and friends. 7. Students will finish the year of Reading Workshop with a published portfolio of their writing projects.
In addition to the goals for learning, there are other benefits to students. These include:
1. Blogging is fun. 2. Students can improve writing in an exciting and engaging manner. 3. Students can share their work with friends. 4. Students can comment on their friend's work, sharing thoughts and ideas. 5. Students can learn about using computers and web-based tools. 6. Students can show off their work to their parents, grandparents, and other family members. 7. Students can earn good grades for doing something they like.
Students, as you begin blogging on a regular basis, the need to write cleanly is paramount if you want your audience to take you seriously. Readers will not follow someone they don't respect, or someone they see as unintelligent. Even a writer in sixth grade must produce good writing that makes sense, and is not filled with errors. Plus, the content must be interesting and engage the reader. But, that will not happen if the writing has basic errors that distract the reader.
Chris Pirillo discusses the need for PUGS--Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling in this video.
Student blogs this year were created and hosted at WordPress. In the past, we used Blogger, but due to the recent changes, (like requiring an access code sent to a cell phone) The Reading Workshop student blogs went to a more user-friendly site. Even though Google owns Blogger, and provides a great service at Google Apps, hosting a blog is not part of the service.
One of the tools provided by WordPress is a spelling and grammar checker. Use of this tool will "clean up" student writing, while helping to teach basic writing skills. Just go to My Account -->Edit Profile-->Proofreading and check the boxes.
Check out the sidebar for a link to all of the student blogs.
Students are creating blogs to post their writing about their thoughts, ideas, opinions, and responses. Using this Web 2.0 tool in the classroom allows students to share their work, comment on each others work, have a real audience, and lets parents view their child's work in Reading Workshop.
For more information about what a blog is, and how it works, check out this video by Lee LeFever of Common Craft.
How does the book you are reading fit in with this list?
1) You enjoy reading the book. You are glad you picked it up. You don't want to quit reading when SSR is over. You want to take the book home and read some more. 2) You have pictures in your head while you are reading. 3) You can hear the characters' voices while you are reading. 4) You can read most of the words on each page. 5) You know what the book is about. 6) It might be a book a friend recommended. 7) It might be a subject you want to learn more about. 8) The book is by your favorite author. 9) The book is part of a series and you can't wait to read the next one. 10) You want to talk to friends about the book and/or do a book share.
Thank you to Carol's Corner, where the idea for this list originated.
1. Choose a book you like, and that you feel is special enough to share.
2. Read the book!
3. Once you finish, ask yourself what made the book meaningful to you
4. Don't give away the ending or any other secrets.
5. Do Not do a retelling.
6. Make it interesting from the start by beginning with a question, sharing a problem, discussing the setting, or a character, or telling a little bit of the plot.
7. Don't ruin the book by telling too much. Grab the readers interest, but leave them wanting more.
8. If you read aloud, it should be short.
9. Prepare and practice, know what you are going to say.
10. Concentrate on the book and your message. Don't worry about the audience.
Each week students have an assignment to read at home. Students choose a book that they want to read from home, the library, or the book room. The only requirement is that they log the date, title, time read, and pages. Students are responsible for filling out this chart each week as they read, logging both at school and at home. Only minutes read outside of class count towards their grade. Occasionally, students will have longer than a week when the school schedule is affected by holidays.
Students can choose to earn the grade they want. The more they read, the higher the score. This is the grade scale:
A = 180 + Minutes B = 120 - 179 Minutes C = 60 - 119 Minutes F = 0-59 Minutes
Although students have no direct assignments associated with Read at Home and the Reading Log, many of the activities and projects in class are based on the book they are reading. The recent project of a Dear Mr. McGuire letter is an example. When students write about their book, it is easy to monitor comprehension and see if students are "getting it." The fact that students can pick their book to read helps because they can find a book that interests them.
The emphasis on reading is largely based on the research from Richard Allington. Allington cites four "background factors" associated with why students have difficulty with reading. According to the author:
1. the amount of reading that students do in and out of school was related to reading achievement; 2. children who spend more time on workbook activities versus reading text are more likely to have difficulty reading; 3. children who come from homes where reading is not modeled have difficulty reading; and, 4. students who have difficulty providing details and arguments to support interpretations of what they read have difficulty with reading.
According to the author, time on task is the best predictor for reading success in students. Put simply, more reading is equal to greater academic achievement.
The best part of this system for monitoring reading, and increasing reading time is how students can control their grades. If they are willing to work hard, their grades will show it.
Having said this though, I was struck by the accomplishment last night of Derek Jeter, when he tied Lou Gehrig's Yankee hit record. What makes it most remarkable is the class he showed and has demonstrated every game of his career.
The most amazing part of breaking the record was the response from fans and his opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays. A standing ovation went on and on, paying tribute to his success.
I started thinking about school and students.
Soooo, riddle me this students, do you root for your peers? Do you pay tribute to the success of others? Do you consider how you can help your classmates achieve success? Even if someone isn't on your "team" can you celebrate when they do well?
Students were given excerpts from the President's speech and asked to respond. Many of the comments were insightful, and showed a real understanding of what it takes to be successful.
Excepts taken from Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. (1)Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, (2) paying attention in class, or (3) spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or (4) volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll (5) decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
So today, I want to ask you, (7) what’s your contribution going to be? (8) What problems are you going to solve? (9) What discoveries will you make? (10) What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too.
So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Cierra:
Barack Obama talks about how he wants children to do their best in everything that we do, and I am inspired to do my best finishing assignments and turning everything in.
Hannah H.:
Kids should stand up for other people that are being teased or bullied.
Jacob P.:
I believe that if you work your hardest you can be successful, and to work your hardest you must set goals for yourself. My goal is to give 110% this school year.
Jacob A.:
I think that paying attention in class is important because if you don't pay attention, you will not learn anything, and you will not become successful.
Kasi:
If you work hard, do your best, set goals, and always have a positive attitude you will be successful in life. . . If you get a good education in school, you will be successful when you are an adult.
Shaylee:
When I read this I thought, "we can make a difference, and we can make the World a better place."
Kaylee:
I agree when he said, "spend time each day reading a book." I think this can help you learn more words and help you like to read.
Zach:
I think that if you start something, you should work as hard as you can until you finish.
Justin G:
I think that people should listen to the good things that Barack Obama has to say, even if they don't like him. I agree with him when he says that when the going tets tough, you will have to keep on going. I think you should try your hardest, no matter what.
Garrett:
You have to commit to what it is you are doing. If you don't, you will not succeed. That one word, "commit" means a lot and makes a big difference.
Hannah C.:
The part that really sticks out to me the most is where he said, "Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is."
Hadley:
I have a goal: Make every day better than the last!
Madison:
If you set a goal, and try to reach that goal, you are pushing yourself to do better. If you set and reach goals, people around you will recognize your progress and be proud of you.
The sun is breaking over the horizon, anticipation builds, at the dawning of a new day. School is starting. New faces walk into the building in new shoes that have been waiting in boxes for the first day of school. Bookbags hang from shoulders as students climb the stairs.
Feeling a little nervous? Don't worry. Don't fret. We will have a good year. Your tennis shoes will leave worn out and dirty, but your mind and your heart will be stronger for having spent the year growing and learning.
Recently students in Reading Workshop wrote about the "good stuff" that they see at our school. Sometimes people forget just how much positive goes on every day at school. The student responses serve as a reminder.
* People find money and put it in the lost and found * People help each other * Mr. McGuire bugs other teachers * When our teachers tell us to get into groups no one is left out * When we work in groups everyone works together * Teachers are almost always happy * Kids help other kids get on track *Kids having good attitudes *People are always smiling * Everyone is respectful to each other * There is a future for my friends and me * We get to sing * It's so much better than city schools where everyone always wants to fight *You can act like yourself without being judged * People work together to get things done * Kids give 100% effort on almost everything * The teachers are really funny * Kids don't make fun of you, if you can't do what they can * Teachers make it fun to learn * No one really cares about looks * People share stuff with other people * When a person drops their stuff people help them pick it up * Kids are happy to come to school * Everyone can make the right choices and be smart *People keep their promises *People get along at recess *Teachers are so kind-hearted *Kids don't just eat with their friends *People compliment each other *A nice principal *People encourage other people *People get along *Students help students * Lots of technology *Great staff, that has a big impact on the school *People respect each others' differences *Friends like me for who I am
What challenges have you overcome? What challenges have you faced? As you look back on this school year, 170 days full of goods and bads, what went well? Where did you succeed?
Or, as sung by Miley Cyrus
The struggles I’m facing,
The chances I’m taking
Sometimes they might knock me down but
No I’m not breaking
And as you look ahead, what challenges still have to be faced?
There’s always going to be another mountain
I’m always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
And how will you handle those challenges?
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm going to have to lose,
Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb
The Reading Workshop has been included in a list of 100 Incredibly Inspiring Blogs. The post on What Makes a Good Teacher leads the list of posts that take a look at what makes a good teacher and will inspire you to appreciate what you do or maybe even improve your style as an educator.
Thank you for inclusion! As I stated in the post, I am not claiming to do these things, but it does give me something to work towards.
Want an A on your blog? Climb the stairs to writing success. Climb the stairs to earning a good grade.
Did you spell everything correctly? I would hope so. After all, who would want to write something that is available to the whole world, and misspell words? Can the reader understand the topic because you stick to it? Following these minimal standards will earn you at least a D.
Did you use correct grammar? Can the reader follow your post in an organized manner? This is still a most basic expectations for writers that want to publish their work. The skills learned in the primary grades are not too much to expect for work posted on the WWW. A C means satisfactory and not meeting this criteria would surely not be sufficient for earning any higher grade.
To build loyal readers, first you must have interesting content presented in a well-written way. Supporting details draw in the readers and give them understanding. If posts are written cleanly, the words illustrate the meaning, and the reader can visualize your ideas, you will earn a B.
Occasionally someone will write something that makes the reader pause, and think, or causes the reader to agree or disagree. Sometimes hours after reading an essay, the reader is still thinking about it. When a blog post has that something special, then the writer deserves an A.
What step are you on? Have you climbed the stairs to writing success?
After eight months of commenting on The Reading Workshop blog and writing an online journal on the Reading Workshop Wiki, students are stepping into the driver's seat. A few students have already had the opportunity to create their own blog as part of this class. Now, all students who have their parents' permission can have a blog of their own.
The opportunity to publish online is a powerful motivator for students because it gives them a voice, an audience, and the chance to get immediate feedback. Students are excited about the opportunity to share their work. Blogs engage every student in the writing process and allow the students to both reflect on their own writing and react to the writing of others. I intend to use our blogs as a platform for a variety of writing exercises. Each student will respond to prompts, share ideas and resources, and reflecting on learning inside and outside of the classroom.
The blogs are accessible to anyone searching the Internet, but I will oversee all student blog contributions, and I will exercise administrative access privileges whenever necessary. By their nature, blogs are designed to allow comments by readers, but for safety reasons, this feature will only be available to our students and approved visitors.
If parents and teachers would like access to be able to comment on the blogs, they can send me an email and I will set up privileges.
The students are excited and I look forward to seeing the results of their hard work and creativity. Links to all of the students blogs are in the sidebar.
Being a student in Reading Workshop is hard work. Keeping up with assignments is hard work. The whole educational process is serious business. But, sometimes, in the rush of life, with unrelenting pressure, we need to stop and find a reason to smile.
How is winning a basketball game like passing an Achievement Test? It's all about using what you worked on in practice at game time. Students each year start to freak out as the test date approaches. They love to throw out those, "OMG, I am sooooo nervous!"
Give it a rest, already. Good test scores are a result of following procedures and using what you know. Students in Reading Workshop have learned all they need to know to prove their proficiency. When the big day comes, they will be ready to use the skills they have been practicing.
Going spastic and twitching nervously might give people something to laugh about, but it really doesn't have one thing to do with the test. It really just comes down to reading a few passages, and answering some questions. Being a fruit loop and stressing out yourself and your classmates is a total waste of time.
If you don't know the answer to a question, or don't know a word, deal with it. Use skills you have learned. Substitute an easier word, or use context clues to figure it out. If you can't, just miss a question. You will still pass. Basketball players miss shots all the time--no big deal. Miss one, but then get the next one right.
Work hard, work smart, and you will score well. You have spent all year proving your ability, so now just throw it out there one more time. This is your chance to spend 2 1/2 hours and prove that you are a success. *
The Ohio Department of Education has a portal into all of their Achievement Test Resources. Teachers, parents, and students can access this to meet a variety of needs. Teachers can actually build tests, using previous versions, or based on chosen content standards. Parents can look at past tests to see tests their child has taken. Students can practice for the Achievement Test.
In Reading Workshop, I am using this site to prepare students for the OAT that they will take on Monday. The ability to create lessons, using past tests provides online practice that is directly tied to skills and vocabulary necessary for good results. It allows students to familiarize themselves with all aspects of the OAT.
The practice test also provide immediate feedback on multiple choice questions. This is an example of an answered question.
Question 1
What mood is expressed when Bud closes his eyes in the beginning of the selection?
A. He is unhappy because he just walked to the library and up a tall set of stairs.
If a student chooses A, he or she may not understand that the author is implying that Bud is happy to be in the library. Bud does not close his eyes because he is unhappy, though someone may close his or her eyes if he or she is feeling sad.
B. He is excited to feel the page powder on his face so he can fall asleep.
If a student chooses B, he or she may not realize that Bud’s closing his eyes does not mean that he wants to feel the page powder on his face, though he does describe the page powder in great detail later in the selection.
C. He is comfortable with the mixture of smells in the library.
At the beginning of the selection, Bud says he closes his eyes. It is at this point in the story that he begins to describe the unique library smells, showing his mood of happiness and his feeling of comfort.
D. He is nervous about a plan to find Miss Hill.
If a student chooses D, he or she may know that a person may close his or her eyes when nervous. However, the author is not attempting to show that Bud is nervous or trying to think of a plan until the end of the selection.
The green check designates a correct answer. If the question is answered incorrectly, a red X would be placed by their answer. If students will take the time to read the explanations, each answer is a mini-lesson in itself.
Short answer and extended response questions are available also. The rubric to score them is there, for teachers to evaluate students' work. After using this tool in our classroom, I can't help but wonder, when will we be able to take the OAT online?
So Martha, the Test Grader is sitting in her cubical and opens your test. She turns to the first short answer and this is what she sees.
Needless to say, her headache screams out and she wants to be anywhere, rather than try to read this mess. But, she really wants to be fair so she starts to fight through the misspelled words, lack of organization, and off-topic response. She quickly realizes though, this just isn't worth it, scribbles down a 0 and moves to the next answer.
Within 3 - 4 seconds, she has decided this student does not deserve to pass any type of test. As she sorts through each extended response, she becomes more and more agitated at the obvious lack of effort. Sorry, but you failed.
Now it's time for the next test and here is the response.
Martha is smiling now. She is thinking, "this is from a good kid. This is so easy. Why can't all of the kids write like this?"
And little does she know, but somewhere in a state far, far away, a student is smiling as she thinks back to that day of the reading test. She knows she passed, because she did her best, and used all of the test taking strategies that her teacher taught her.
There is someone else smiling. As this student was taking the test, a teacher sat at his desk and watched her work. He knew she would pass. He watched her work hard all year. Today as he thinks back, he knows she did a great job, and anxiously awaits the test results that will show a real success story.
* Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/100366351/
OK, so Martha has your test and answer booklet. She doesn't know you, and doesn't care to. In fact, she doesn't even know about Reading Workshop, the name of the school, the town, or the state where you live. You are just a number in a stack. A tall stack of answer booklets that have to be graded before she can take a break.
Whether or not you pass this test means less than nothing to Martha. The things on her mind include sneaking out to get a diet coke, getting rid of this head ache, figuring out how to avoid listening to her sister complain about having to babysit, and about having to do laundry after work, or she will have absolutely nothing to wear tomorrow. She is also thinking about surfing and last summer's vacation.
Now it all comes down to you, the student, and your answer booklet. Will your hard work be in vain? Will eight months of learning be wasted? Or will you be a success story making yourself, your parents, your teachers, and your school feel proud?
The first thing, can she read it? Did you write legibly? Trying to strain her eyes and her brain to read cat scratches is going to irritate Martha. She probably won't even take the time to sort through it. She will just give it a big, fat, zero. Did you write neatly?
Next, if you restated the question and numbered your responses, Martha can easily find key words and information. Using a rubric to score short answer and extended response answers, Martha is looking for specific words and answers. Did you organize your answers to make finding key points easy?
Going back and finding specific details in the passage is paramount. Any time a questions asks for specific details, they are looking for examples word-for-word from the text. Did you go back into the essay and find specific details?
Another factor that makes grading easier is correct spelling. Most of the words that you need to spell are either in the question, or in the passage. It just takes a second to look back and find the correct spelling. Did you use the passage to help you with your spelling?
Did you use the basic test taking skills that you have learned in class?
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/82881549/in/set-1618327/
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/2487248468/in/set-1618327/
Martha is a single mom, with a four year old daughter named Emily. Martha is just trying to get by day to day. This morning, at 6:00 AM, as Martha was getting ready for her job as an Achievement Test Grader in a state far, far, away, her babysitter called and said she couldn't watch Emily today. After three phone calls, she finally reached her sister, who agreed to watch Emily for the day. The only problem was her sister lived 20 miles away, so Martha barely had time to get there, and then make it to work on time.
As she rushed around the kitchen, eating a piece of toast while she picked up, Emily spilled her cereal all over the floor. Five minutes later, after cleaning up the spill, Martha glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late. She grabbed a cup of coffee to go, snatched up Emily and bolted out the door. She put Emily in the car, and jumped in her seat. As she reached across to buckle the seat belt, she spilled her coffee down the front of her shirt. "Oh @#$#@@#$," she thought.
She unbuckled Emily and ran back in the house to change. She searched high and low, but there was nothing clean to wear. She grabbed her cleanest dirty shirt out of the laundry, shook it out, and slid it on. Once again, she and Emily headed for her sister's house. Naturally, she hit a construction zone two minutes from her sister's. After sitting for 10 minutes, she finally got through. She sprinted in, gave Emily a kiss good bye, and headed off to work. She had 11 minutes to make the 20 minute drive.
She was lucky, the construction only held her up for 5 minutes this time through. Unfortunately, her head pounded with a migraine from the stress of the morning. And work hadn't even started yet.
She reached work, late again. She stopped by the pop machine, but didn't have any change for her daily dose of Diet Coke. As she rounded the corner, there stood her boss, with a mean look on his face, and her daily stack of tests to score. "Late again, I see," he said with a scowl. "Don't even think about taking a break until you get this school's tests scored."
With her head pounding, no Diet Coke, and no time for Advil, Martha reached for the first test. Martha, the test grader opened your test.
How will you score?
*
Thanks to my teaching neighbor, J. Stevenson who first told me about Martha.
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/173120800/
Recently Reading Workshop students took the 2006 Sixth Grade Ohio Achievement Test as practice for the actual test. I surveyed students to see their thoughts after taking the test. Here are some of their responses.
What did you learn taking the practice Reading OAT?
Jessika--I learned to highlight important questions. Actually read the passage. Don't skip questions.
Paitaan--What I learned was to underline keywords. Plus reread the questions.
Kyndrah--I learned that if you take your time and slow down you get more questions right, even if you are the last one.
Rachael--I learned that there are going to be some unexpected questions on the OAT, and that I have to be prepared for it!!!! I also learned that if you don't read the question carefully you have a better chance of missing it!
What was easy for you taking the practice Reading OAT?
Kara--The thing that was easy for me was all that I had to do was think back to what we did in class and I remembered what we did and the things you told us to do and so I did that.
Kayla--The easiest part of the whole test is the multiple choice questions. The reason why is because you have things to chose from. If you don't get the questions and you eliminate answers, it is easy to find the right answer.
Desire'--The easiest part was the multiple choice. The multiple choice was the easiest because all of the answers were in the passage.
What part of the test was difficult for you on the practice Reading OAT?
Makayla--The most difficult questions on the test were the extended response.
Trindi--The part that I thought that was difficult was were you had to find out what the word meant.
Sarah--The most difficult for me was the extended response questions because I didn't know if I was getting everything that the question asked. Mainly because I didn't read the passage enough times for it to sink in.
Christian S.-- The fact that some of the questions were hard to understand.
What would help you score better on the OAT?
Samantha--If I reread more and highlight more, that would help me.
Destiny--If I go over and check my answers when I am done.
Bailey--To go back in the passage and to read stuff all the way through.
Ty A.--Candy while I'm taking the test.
What other information should I know about the Reading OAT?
Taylor--I think we should work more on the responses. Because I heard at least 3 or 4 people say that the responses were hard, and they were I can't lie.
Austin--Something that you should know about is that practicing restating the question really helped.
Jessika--I THINK EVERYONE IS GOING TO PASS THE TEST!!!!!!!!!!!
On a scale of 1 - 10, how hard did you think the Reading OAT was?
As we continue the read aloud of Larger-Than-Life LARA, written by Dandi Daley Mackall in Reading Workshop, the characters are coming alive. This book has a wide variety of characters, each explained in enough detail so that the reader can identify with them. In fact, Dandi makes it easy for the reader to picture him/herself in the book.
LARA is new student at Paris Elementary School. No matter how mean someone is to her, she is nice. She responds to meanness by being kind with a friendly poem. She thinks independently, and always has a smile. She is huge, so fat that she blocks the light around her coming into the door, and needed a special chair and desk.
Joey Gilbert is a leader. Laney does not like him, but he is a hero to the other boys in the class. He is the class bully. He is mean to LARA and picks on other people. He is a good baseball player, but he won't let the girls play.
Wayne is the class clown. He laughs the loudest, and thinks everything is funny, even when he doesn't know what is going on. He is Joey's sidekick.
Maddie is the class princess. She has pretty blonde hair, and thinks she is all that. She wears all the latest styles, dressing like the high school girls. She wants to be the center of attention. She wants everyone to know who she likes and who she doesn't.
Sarah is a follower. She is insecure and usually doesn't think for herself. She wants to fit in with the popular crowd. Every decision she makes is based on what Maddie says and does.
The brothers (Laney's) are mean, skip school, don't like Laney or appreciate what she does. They argue and fight constantly.
Laney's dad has a bad temper, hates his job (and his life). He drinks way too much.
Good readers can relate to characters based on one trait, or many. To enjoy a book though, the reader must understand the characters. Frequently, one characteristic shared between the reader and someone in the story creates involvement and connects the reader to the story.
What character are you connected to? How are you connected? *
I had to see Mrs. Sturgell, a 2nd grade teacher about the Relay for Life. When I walked into her room, she was pausing her read aloud for the day to take attendance. I picked up the book, joined her students on the carpet, and finished the read aloud. There sure was a lot of learning taking place today in 2nd grade.
In this case though, the one doing the learning was me. I was reading a book about the water cycle. Although it was a picture book, the vocabulary seemed appropriate for much older students. This was a reading/science lesson that ended with a plea for water conservation.
The first thing I learned was just how smart eight year olds are. They knew a lot of things about a lot of things. Talking about evaporation, one boy said, "you can't see water evaporate because it turns into a gas, and gasses are clear." In fact, in the twenty minutes that I was there, they could jump into every topic, usually with something relevant, and often informative.
I learned that second grade teachers are all about interdisciplinary lessons. This class, although science based, focused on several reading skills including vocabulary, and using context clues. It also had social studies ties about recycling and contributing to society through recycling.
I also learned that second grade is fun. Students wanted to contribute to the discussion. Even when they were wrong, they would jump back in with a comment, or to try to answer a question. Their enthusiasm brightened the room and my day. Today, in just a few minutes, I discovered, you sure can learn a lot in 2nd grade (and the kids can too).
This blog reflects the thoughts and opinions of the author and is not, in any way, representative of any school or district. The purpose of this blog is to share information for educational purposes. Comments are the sole responsibility of their writers. The views expressed by commenters and those who link to this website do not necessarily reflect the views of this website.
When someone reads a post you wrote, do they know it's you? Having a writer's voice and a style of your own comes from writing, writing some more, and writing some more. Eventually, your writing will take on a style of its own. 
A. He is unhappy because he just walked to the library and up a tall set of stairs.
C. He is comfortable with the mixture of smells in the library.
Posts
