Write about what we’ve done in writing class since midterm and what you learned. This is the first sentence of the “final exam” in our seventh grade writing workshop this quarter. This school year, as I discussed in last week’s post about assessment in the reading …
by Fidan Malikova As a 15 year-old freshmen in high school, I have had quite an experience with writing. I write for the newspapers at my school,which is called Cutlass. It is an amazing experience in which I get to work with such wonderful people, and …
Narrative, argument, informational. We may teach these genres as though writing can be contained in just one of these forms in part because that is how the Common Core State Standards segregate writing. I can’t imagine writing an informational piece without someone’s story to add …
When I wrote last week about cheating with my no-grades classroom, I talked about how I was using narrative feedback (written and verbal) to communicate with students about their learning and how, for the most part, the revision part was not happening. I was reluctant to …
“You can’t just declare that you have a growth mindset,” said Dweck. “Growth mindset is hard. Many educators are trying to skip the journey.” To do it right, Dweck says that many teachers have to change how they teach, offering more critical feedback and giving …
Please join my round table discussion at NCTE this weekend: Reading Art to Access Hope, Wonder, and Significance in Writing Friday, 11/20, 2:30-3:45pm, Minneapolis Convention Center, 208CD Here is an overview, a sample lesson, and a few writing samples: Art can offer a grand and …
After spending the summer researching assessment and grading, after meeting with colleagues and my principal about facilitating a no-grades classroom this school year, after resisting numbers and letter grades on student work for nearly nine weeks, after countless hours of writing narrative feedback to students …
Inspiration: Write a list of firsts and how you felt about what happened (e.g., the first time you ate vegetables, your first job, your first overnight, your first house). Or, write about witnessing someone else’s first (e.g., your child’s first step). Of course, write about …
How can we communicate learning to students and parents? Self-assessment letters go home with midterm reports in a seventh grade writing class.
Please watch this five-minute excerpt from Human, a film by Yann Arthus-Bertran, and take a few moments to reflect on what makes us human. Maybe you’ll write a stanza or story inspired by Francine Christophe in the comment section below.