It's March, and March is for slicing. Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices!
I've tutored D. for several months now, and I know that his progress is jagged, but uphill. Some days, he demonstrates all we've worked on, and other days...well, they can be hard. Since our previous session was one of our best ever, I'm working to manage my expectations. That being said, I decide to offer D. the choice of beginning with where we left off or per usual, with some warm-up sentences. He chooses to return to what he was working on. I know I have to give D. a lot of wait time, but I can also tell when writing feels harder than usual.
Today might feel harder than usual.
I prompt him my reading the sentence where he'd left off. He reads it too, but has nothing more to say once he reads the last word.
I wait. His forehead is wrinkled on the computer screen.
I prompt him again, this time not only reading the last sentence, but also giving him a sentence starter for how the next sentence could go. He reads his last sentence and he remembers the sentence starter, but then... nothing.
"Are you thinking, D," I ask, "or are you stuck?" That's our usual interaction so that I teach him not only how to write, but also how to ask for help, an important IEP goals as he straddles the gap between teenager and adult.
After a few moments, he responds. "I'm stuck."
"You know what, D.," I say. "Let's take a break from this part and write something different."
He navigates back to the top of the document, and he completes his who, what, where, why sentence. His forehead is smoother.
"Should I do my sentence combinations, Miss Melanie?" he asks. (I tried for a while to have him call me just Melanie, but now I enjoy hearing his deep voice call me Miss Melanie.
His sentences to combine are about how he'd used specific skills on Tuesday in order to complete a beautiful letter to a teacher. He verbalizes his plan first, and I offer him a virtual high-five. His smile is back, and he types his compound-complex sentence, a term he loves to use.
We continue through the document, and while he's not on like he was on Tuesday, he's more productive. But that paragraph from Tuesday? When we got to it again, it was like a spike strip.
"You know what, D.?" I say again. "Let's do something else."
I teach him instructional writing by having him give me directions for how to draw a smiley face on my iPad. He gets the silliness right away when the eyes are underneath the head. By the end of our session, he's laughed and he'd written a lot.
He's surprised when I tell him all writers I know get stuck sometimes. "That's important for writers to know."
Maybe we''ll finish the paragraph next week. And maybe we won't. Writing pieces serve different purposes, and that one may have already taught D. plenty about writing and being a writer.
Lucky D. to have such a responsive tutor and a writer at that who can be empathetic to the struggles of writers (especially this month!).
ReplyDeleteYou have patience and a positive approach. A good teacher.
ReplyDeleteThis is such challenging work for both the tutor and the tutee. I admire the patience of both, and I think taking a break is so important for me in the writing process. I get stuck a lot...or know that the thing I just wrote isn't what I wanted to say. In school we don't always make allowances for that need to walk away.
ReplyDeleteGetting stuck can make writers feel so lonely and I’m glad to know there are educators like you out there who make it less so. Thank you for sharing this moment!
ReplyDeleteIt's all about what the teacher does when the child struggles. Your responsive teaching is so powerful. D is lucky!
ReplyDeleteLucky D! Your slice is a perfect mentor text to share with a new teacher and ask them to notice the teacher moves and how many times the teacher shifted the plan in order to respond to the student. Your slice shows so well how many decisions a teacher must make and how it is easier when that teacher has a "big bag of tricks" which YOU show here so well. I could see you adding this vinette into your next PD writing book!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely way to tailor the instruction to the need. I like that he calls you Miss Melanie. Here in the south, that's the general rule - kids can call adults by their first names, but their parents want the respect of a Mr. or Miss in front of the name. I like how you personalized the need for learning with the design for teaching.
ReplyDeleteThat was my comment - Kim Johnson - and I don't know why it's telling me it can't log me in to Google so I can be identified as who I am. I'll keep working on that.
DeleteThe best teachers know how to stray from the plan and go with what students need. I love the image of his forehead from wrinkled to smooth!
ReplyDelete