Motivating Students Motivating Students to Writeto Write

Motivating Students Motivating Students to Writeto Write

Inquiry PresentationInquiry PresentationBy: Amy WarbingtonBy: Amy Warbington

Research Question:“What is the best practice for

motivating my students to become quality writers?”

About the class…• This fifth grade class has a full range of academic

ability levels, although the majority of the students read “below grade level”.

• There are 24 students who represent a wide variety of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds.

• There are two special education students who were mainstreamed into the classroom.

• While only two students receive extra support from an ESL resource person, about 20% of the students come from Spanish-speaking homes.

• 30% of the students in the class are new to the school this year.

Where they were…• 3 weeks of MEAP testing, including the Language Arts

portion• Weekly writing assignments given which included

detailed requirements and extensive proofreading directions.

• Same writing format every week.• Excessive MEAP writing practice (Position papers,

constructed responses etc.)• Students had a strong distaste for writing and lacked

motivation for any type of writing.• Some students rarely turned in writing assignments.

Research• Read a number of resources on the Writer’s

Workshop approach to writing such as Writer’s Workshop, by Ralph Fletcher, The Art of Teaching Writing, by Lucy Calkins & 6+1 Traits of Writing, by Ruth Culham

• Talked with peers and other teachers for advice and ideas.

• Visited a classroom during Writer’s Workshop to observe the process and take notes.

• Changing the original research question.

Plan of Attack!• Making it apply to my classroom.• Creating an exciting new approach to

writing and establishing new routines.• Celebrating student’s strengths and

quality writing during every workshop.• Sharing personal writing &

Demonstrating personal disciplines.

The LAUNCH!!!• Had to get the student’s attention and

entice them.• Personal passion for writing shared.• Have the students come to their own

realizations about the importance of writing.

• Invite them on the journey.

Writing Activities• Incorporating a variety of meaningful topics &

activities during writer’s workshop• Interactive approach to drafting, revising and editing

Individual Conferences• One-on-one interaction • Opportunity for

communication about progress in writing

• Allows for the student to set personal goals for improvement

• Student accountability

Group Share• A time for students to share their works in

progress to receive feedback and encouragement from peers

• A time for students to share their finished pieces as a means of publishing their work

Writing as an Expression of Life

• Meaningful topics & prompts• Student choice • Supportive environment to learn about

one another• Stream of Consciousness• Incorporating photos and stories• Individual voice & style (embarrassing

moment)

Where They Are…• Every student turned in at least two of

the four writing assignments during Writer’s Workshop.

• No moans and groans at the start of writing time.

• Student growth and improvement in writing.

• Cesar Chavez Essay Writing Contest

Meet the Students• Student F is an ESL student who speaks English, but

struggles greatly with reading and writing in English. • He receives assistance from an ESL teacher in the

building three times a week.• He had 14 missing writing assignments prior to the

Writer’s Workshop and his excuse was that he didn’t like writing at all because he struggles with spelling and grammar. He also mentioned that he felt too much pressure to write “perfectly” before.

• He turned in all of the writing assignments during the workshop and continuously improved various aspects in his writing.

• “Yes I do like to write. I like to write because these writing assignments are better.” –A quote from his evaluation of the WW

Meet the Students• Student S is a good student who was a strong writer

prior to the launching of the Writer’s Workshop.• Her improved greatly by developing her style and voice.

• She enjoyed the freedom to explore various elements of

language in her writing as well. (See sample work)• She won 1st place in the Cesar Chavez writing contest

out of 100 other students in the Greater Lansing Area. • “I enjoyed having the opportunity to write about

anything you wanted and express your true feelings in what you write.” – A quote from her evaluation of WW

Meet the Students• Student A is a special education student who needs

extra support in the area of literacy. She is dyslexic and greatly struggles with transferring her wonderful ideas on paper.

• She rarely completed a writing assignment prior to Writer’s Workshop because she said that it was “too hard to think about the requirements and the ideas and write it all down”.

• She wrote and turned in every workshop assignment and her attitude toward writing completely changed.

• Read quote from evaluation.

Meet the Students• Student J is an average student who always completes

his work and he needs constant confirmation that he is doing an assignment correctly.

• Prior to the Writer’s Workshop, he followed requirements of writing rigorously and rarely allowed creativity to enter the picture.

• Throughout the workshop he gained confidence and began to take risks in his writing.

• V.I.P. poem example• “My favorite was the V.I.P. writing assignment because

we got to write about people we care about however we wanted.”

My Best Practice…• to consider the individual strengths and

needs of each student and structure the approach to writing accordingly

• to allow the students to have the freedom to be creative and express themselves and their experiences through writing

• to encourage students to choose one area at a time to improve

• to establish a caring and supportive environment for the students to grow and learn about one another