This year I formed small writing groups with my teachers. Teachers are grouped across grade levels. I provide ideas if they need the support, but many groups have been able to write and share without prompting. My goal is that as they continue to see themselves as writers, they will have a greater understanding and appreciation of the power of sharing and non-judgmental response. By becoming part of a community of writers in a small writing group, the teachers have experienced the power of sharing and feedback in a way that has helped them successfully manage small writing groups in their classroom.
One of the teachers who was especially doubtful regarding the benefits of freewriting attended our local Ozarks Writing Project Writing and Thinking Conference and the Youth Writing Conference both held at Missouri State University. She admits to being unsure of her ability as a writer, but she is no longer afraid to try. She now writes with her students.
I have realized that I have to be willing to model writing for both teachers and students. I have to set an example. After attending a Summer Institute, and then later as the facilitator, I figured out that writing as a means of thinking is important and something our students can do. A lot of the writing we do now is writing about thinking. We also provide more opportunities for all types of writing as a way to process information.
Why Do This as a Literacy Coach?
With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), writing is more critical than ever before. Calkins (2012) writes, “The CCSS place equal emphasis on reading and on writing... writing needs to take its place alongside reading” (p. 10). Our students must be taught by competent writers. Calkins (2012) continues, “Students need to become strong writers, and to do that, they need expert instruction, time to write, and meaningful opportunities for writing a wide range of informational, argument, and narrative texts” (p. 18). Having been in education for 23 years, what I see in my staff is not atypical of how elementary teachers feel about writing, themselves as writers, and the teaching of writing. A literacy coach has the perfect opportunity to change that culture within a school, one small writing experience at a time. But in order to be successful and persevere, the coach needs to have a clear understanding of herself as a writer and why her actions are so important. Without that vision, all those comments shared can easily undermine even the best laid plans.
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/13865/Writing_Marathon_Handout.pdf?x-r=pcfile_d
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