Chapter 4 Reflections

“I have never worked in a school or classroom where the expectations for students are too high,” states Regie Routman at the beginning of chapter 4, “Raise Your Expectations.”  Come to think of it, I, too, have never worked at that kind of school.  I bet you could ask any teacher that same question and their response would be the same.  These powerful words set the tone for the entire chapter.  “Why are our expectations for what our students can achieve so low?”  “Why is a “proficient” score on a standardized test considered to be okay?”  As Routman noted, our students will surprise and amaze us with their capacity to learn if we give them the opportunity.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Routman maintains that we must raise our expectations when considering conventions, handwriting, and editing.  (So many times, I think teachers use the excuse that we’re working with children, and that they will eventually learn to do these things correctly.)  The example she shared about first graders writing I as i and my as mi grabbed my attention, as well.  I have a list of “No Excuse” words displayed on our word wall.  (These words have been sent home for children to practice with their families.) We review one or two words every day and talk about the “tricky” part of the word and the correct spelling.  We also take turns using the words in sentences that we extend.  Also, I have taught my students a few quick, simple songs on how to spell words such as “they” and “because”.  In regards to raising our expectations for handwriting, our staff has worked together to make a push toward providing more handwriting instruction.  Even at mid-year, I realize that I still need to take the time to demonstrate slow careful letter formation, word spacing, and spelling strategies.  Additionally, I agree with Routman’s stance that work published should be as perfect as possible, even for first graders.  Fortunately, I have assistance in my classroom during our writing time so we can both help students proof-read their finished product before displaying or publishing it.

Routman discusses the optimal learning model that leads to excellent instruction.  I believe that I base my instruction on this model for the most part, but now I am much more aware of the importance of each component which leads to more explicit, effective instruction.  The 4 stages of the model include:

1.    Demonstration – The teacher or expert shows precisely “how to do it” by initiating, modeling, explaining, thinking aloud, and writing aloud.

2.    Shared Demonstration – The teacher is still in charge, but now the children collaborate on the writing as much as they are able to.

3.    Guided Practice – The student is now in charge and attempting to apply what has been previously demonstrated and practiced with the support of the teacher and/or group.

4.    Independent Practice – Finally, students have developed enough competence and confidence to be able to choose their own topics, problem-solve, and monitor and set goals for themselves with little assistance. (Writing Essentials, pgs. 71 & 72)

I experienced a bit of a “shock and awe” moment when I was reading the section describing how Kelly’s mid-year first grade writing was deemed “exemplary” at her school.  As I was looking through and commenting on my students’ December journals today, I would have considered one of my young learner’s writing to be “top-notch”, as well.  (It’s amazing as to how similar it is to Kelly’s story about her cat.)  I am finally beginning to see what “exemplary” or “top-notch” writing should look like.   

Example of "Exemplary" Writing?  (Although the piece is good, she was cautious in only using words she knew how to spell.   Love her Picture!!!)

In conclusion, I loved reading the section on “Building Early Success for All Students, Including Writers Who Struggle.”  The success story that Routman shared about the young boy named Cory was truly inspiring.  It makes me think about a struggling first grader I have in my room this year.  I will never again approach him at the beginning of our conference with what he needs to change.   (Wow! I can’t believe I had to read this chapter to understand what an impact that made on this little guy.  I guess I felt that I needed to help him with everything that was wrong with his writing very quickly because we had a limited time to work together and fix it all up.  Sad, but true.)  From now on, it will be nothing but a positive comment when I begin each conference with my students.  Ultimately, we must find ways to help our writers as opposed to concentrating on what might help the writing.  As educators, it is our job to convey to them that failure is not an option.