For the month of March, I am participating in the Slice of Life Challenge, hosted by the community of writers at Two Writing Teachers. Many of my slices are at my personal blog, Just Write, Melanie, but ones that deal specifically with education appear here. All are welcome to join the slicing party by reading and commenting. People write amazing posts.
I have a love/hate relationship going with the Common Core State Standards, and this relationship is complicated by the SBAC...more on that perhaps next week, when the testing begins.
In the meantime, one of the aspects of the CCSS that I appreciate is the fact that I see absolutely no way for students to meet the standards at any grade level unless they are transferring what they know and are able to do across units. Therefore, some of my coaching work has centered on working with teachers to create visible learning pathways for students to see how what they already know helps them learn what they need to know.
In a third-grade classroom, we co-created this chart with the students:
We filled this chart out as an inquiry lesson, so the students' names are after their contribution to the chart. They were thrilled to see that they already knew so much about opinion writing before they even started. In the couple of weeks they have been in the opinion unit, their writing has been strong. Their classroom teacher and I agree that part of the reason for their success has been the confidence gained from this chart.
I created a similar chart for a fourth-grade class as they headed into an opinion unit, adding a column for narrative and creating categories for structure and elaboration. The class generated the features of opinion on the first day of the unit and will continue to add to this chart throughout the unit. Again, there is something very reassuring about using what you know in order to learn new information, no matter what you are doing!
Happy Slicing,
Transfer is so important for students to build agency. Love these charts and will share with writing teachers in my schools! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas here! I teach third grade and I think my students could really use a chart like this!
ReplyDelete-Amanda at http://teachingwanderlust.com/2015/03/20/quarter-three-report-cards-sol20/
Love your charts! This is exactly the kind of thinking we need.
ReplyDeleteWe have been talking about the similarities between informational and opinion writing also, but I hadn't thought of making charts like these. They're terrific, and I know will be really helpful to the kids. Thanks for always sharing your smart ideas!
ReplyDeleteExcellent charts. I think the discussion as you construct the charts is key. And this is so true, "there is something very reassuring about using what you know in order to learn new information, no matter what you are doing."
ReplyDeleteThe use of anchor charts is a critical piece in the adoption and transfer of learning. it makes the learning visible, not just to students but to anyone entering the classroom. it is the footprints of the learning taking place. You are doing valuable work here Melanie. More power to you!
ReplyDeleteThe use of anchor charts is a critical piece in the adoption and transfer of learning. it makes the learning visible, not just to students but to anyone entering the classroom. it is the footprints of the learning taking place. You are doing valuable work here Melanie. More power to you!
ReplyDeleteOur school needs you. Your organizational skills and seeing the work clearly leads students to confidence in their writing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the standards. All in all they are not a bad bunch. They do provide a continuum that is necessary. We tested this week, so I was able to see how the standards unfold in the test. This is not so great.
This is beautiful. You have hit on what is good about CCSS: the need for transfer. The way you set students up to see the links in such a simple way is masterful. Thank you so much for this post. Melanie. I second Margaret's comment!
ReplyDeleteThis is great Melanie, so often kids don't realize how much they do now, or make the connections they need to from one type of learning to another. This is a wonderful reminder for us to be explicit in helping them create these bridges and connections from one context to another.
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