Where Will My Grades Come From?

Where Will My Grades Come From? Meaningful Assessment in the Writing Workshop Laura Thompson Spartanburg Writing Project 2011

My goals for this teaching demonstration are for us to gain a better understanding of how to assess students in meaningful ways in a writing workshop and to guide them into thinking critically about their own writing.

Two beliefs about assessment that are inherent in my teaching practices are: I value the use of writing in student learning across all subject areas. I prefer to use multiple strategies to assess my students rather than relying solely on pencil paper tests or worksheets.

What I Did, Why it Worked, What I Want to Do to Make it Better *Write to Understanding – writing to understand your own knowledge/ metacognition *Content Area Writing through project based learning – writing to learn *Some worked well, others produced formulaic writing with little thought to process.

After SWP, I see flaws in my approach and know that I can be a better teacher of writing. If I am better, they will benefit. Solution: The Writing Workshop New Problem: How do I assess them?

Most of us are required to have a set number of grades per grading period. Maintaining the required number of grades is possible to achieve . However, there are vital things to consider before we log into PowerSchools or take pen in hand and head for the grade book.

“We don’t believe in grading everything that students write. In elementary classrooms we suggest not assigning grades to individual papers. Instead, base your grade on the body of a student’s work.” --Ralph Fletcher & JoAnn Portalupi Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide

Types of Assessments in Writing Workshop • Self-Assessment • Informal Assessment • Formal Assessment Each type of assessment has its place in any successful Writing Workshop. They are interdependent.

Self-Assessment Self-Assessment will most likely not come automatically to students and must be taught and modeled. Teacher made assessment guides are a great way to get students involved in metacognition. Base the guides on what YOU as the teacher want them to think about every time they sit down to write. Then, put it into words that they can understand. Equip your students by modeling how to go through the self assessment process.

Self-Assessments can be graded for participation, thoroughness, or evidence of growth as a writer. The value of the assignment is up to you, the teacher.

Informal Assessment in the Writing Workshop “Status of the Class” was developed by Nancie Atwell, founder of the Center for Teaching and Learning in Maine. Status of the Class gives the teacher “a glimpse of students’ process over time” while proactively adjusting those students are not focused or those that are not using time wisely. It also helps in scheduling conferences. Status of the Class serves as a management tool as well.

Informal Assessment in the Writing Workshop Conferencing allows the teacher and student to engage in meaningful conversation about the piece of writing. It is more personal than the teacher writing notes on a paper before the student completes the FINAL COPY. It is also a great time for the student to ask questions. This allows the teacher to gain valuable insight on what may be unclear to her students. If several students are experiencing the same issue, a minilesson is needed to address that particular skill. In this case, your assessment guides your instruction and according to Katie Wood Ray, becomes your curriculum (The Writing Workshop p. 211).

So what do I ask in a conference? Katie Wood Ray makes the following suggestions: • What kinds of things have you done inside your notebook and outside it to get ready to write this piece? • Where are the places in this piece where you really tried to craft the writing? • Who is your audience? • What was your process for proofreading this? What things did you check for? What corrections did you make? (Ray, 215-217)

Formal Assessments Formal Assessments should take place ONLY after Self-Assessment and Informal Assessment have occurred. How fair would it be to the student if you skipped the first two steps?

Formal Assessment in the Writing Workshop Formal Assessment in the Writing Workshop can take place through the use of rubrics, checklists, or some form of agreement between the student and teacher that takes place at the onset of the writing process. Above all else, students should know And understand our expectations.

The state rubric for writing addresses many aspects of writing. We can choose to use it as a whole document, or we can adapt parts of it for different pieces based on the needs of our writers.

Students should become familiar with the language of the PASS rubric from the start. You can accomplish this through a word wall and by using the language in conversations about writing. Students will be more likely to actually use the rubric if they know how to do so.

How will I keep a record of students’ progress? • A Writer’s Portfolio serves as an excellent “container” because it: • allows students and teachers to map the growth of budding young • writers . • provides meaningful conversation for student-teacher conference. • houses the work in a “real writer’s” fashion, giving a sense of pride • and ownership to students. • allows students to go back to previous work in order to revise or • convert to a genre that may be better suited to the piece. • prepares the students to keep records of their own work, much like • they will need to in the real world. • provides a tool for the organization of a collection of work.

The Birth and Death of Portfolio AssessmentBy:Pauline SahakianPublication: The Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1Date: Winter 2002 To move our process forward, Joan suggested we write for fifteen minutes about why we would want to assess student writing through portfolios. When we shared our quick-writes, we gave surprisingly similar reasons. We believed that we could see what students were actually learning if we compared early work to later work. We believed we could determine which assignments were well presented and which were confusing. We believed students would be able to see their progress in fluency and idea development and be inspired to work harder, that they could focus their problem solving if they saw patterns of repetition in their writing. We concluded that the more students were required to think about how they wrote, the more their writing would improve. After much discussion, we ultimately settled on two purposes for our portfolio design: we wanted students to see how they were growing as writers and thinkers from their freshman to senior year, and we hoped to collect information on how well we were teaching our curriculum. nwp posting winter 2002

Okay, so if this is real world writing, what about PASS testing? It doesn’t seem to be going away like I was hoping!

Wrap Up: Making it Real According to Study Driven (Ray, 185), if we equip our students to be able to do the following; To become so comfortable with the writing process that it is “no big deal” The stamina to write for an extended period of time To recognize quality writing and how to craft it Some experience with “the weird process” of prompt writing we will ensure their success as writers in the real world where it matters and on the PASS test.

Ralph Fletcher goes into detail about how to prepare students to read the prompt on a standardized test. • Think about the prompt and identify the dind of writing being asked for. Does the test ask you to write a story, persuasive piece, explanation, or a descriptive paragraph? • Once you’ve identified the kind of writing, think about what you know about how to write well in that area.

After you have written a draft, have a conference with yourself. Make revisions as needed. • Once you are satisfied with the content, turn your attention to editing. Make corrections by reading carefully and slowly using the process we use during writing workshop. Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher & JoAnn Portalupi

Where Will My Grades Come From?