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!
As the district's writing coordinator, I get the lucky (not lucky at all) and challenging job of coming up with report card grades for a couple of classes whose teachers are out on leave. While I understand that report card grading is serious business and not appropriate for the subs in the room, I also have to say that it's tricky to give grades to writers I don't know well. I could write more about that!
In any case, the challenge led me to the solution that I would look through all entered scores in our information reporting portal, writing samples in their google classrooms, and then, I would go have some conversations with young writers and have them help me. I had many favorite conversations, but here's one with M., a fourth-grader I've worked with in previous grades and one I've worried about.
Me: So, let's talk about generating ideas.
M. : What does that mean?
Me: How easy it is for you to think of an idea to get you started writing.
M.: That's kind of two different things. I have lots of ideas all the time. It's deciding on one that's hard. And then I start writing, and all the other ideas are jumping around in my head and I think I should write about those too and then I read back what I've written and I can't understand it at all and I have no idea what I was writing about.
Laughter from both of us.
Me: That is about the most reflective and honest self-assessment I've heard today, M.
Yesterday's slice from Dawn Sheriff made me think about my conversation. She, too, finds ideas all around, but the sitting and writing is the part that gets to her. Aren't there so many potholes and potentials traps along the writing pathway? Who says this is easy?
Happy Slicing,
Great reflection, and honesty, too. :)
ReplyDeleteKevin
I so feel your student! Those ideas sometimes jump around so much that even when you don't mean to they end up on the page. It's one big party that doesn't always end with cohesion.
ReplyDeleteOh my. The writing rainfrogs. They jump around in our heads with their slimy little sticky feet and get in the way of all those ideas like some giant brain rainforest. I love this: I start writing, and all the other ideas are jumping around in my head and I think I should write about those too.....M nailed it!
ReplyDeleteHaha. Not really sure where I would go next with this writer. Love that you captured this small moment of honest self-assessment.
ReplyDeleteThat's very relatable, honestly.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, a Writing Coordinator for a district. JEALY! I love how our kids, when given the chance, can be so brutally honest, they teach us a thing or two about life!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing better than talking with children and really listening, Today I had a discussion on the validity of the word banking and when she decided our 'debate' was over she laughed and said "Fine...whatever tickles your tongue". The process of writing is full of potholes and potentials as you say!
ReplyDelete