What Student Writing Teaches Us

This summer I loved the glimpses of Mark Overmeyer's What Student Writing Teaches Us through skimming sections of the on-line version available through Stenhouse and comments on the blog tour. I knew that eventually I wanted to read the full book. This weekend my copy arrived, and I could hardly put it down once I got started. As soon as I finished I got on-line and ordered Overmeyer's first book, as well as Carl Anderson's How's It Going?, two books I had heard a lot about.

With chapter two I was pondering the question Mark proposed, "How much time do I set aside for my students to meaningfully write each day?" (15). In this section Overmeyer commented on the value of quick writes in some settings. Lately I have been trying to re-think my writing block for my students who are pulled from my classroom to received additional writing support through special education services. Typically they are in class for word study, they are pulled out for most of workshop, and they return for our Everday Editing lessons (I decided to call all of my lessons inspired by Jeff Anderson Everyday Editing lessons because of the catchy title of one of his books). However, when it comes to the Everyday Editing phase where students look at their own writing rather than observing the writing of others, the students who were pulled out from my classroom do not have many writing samples. I wanted to see how they could get some meaningful writing in the short time frame when they are in my classroom. I loved the possibilities of quick writes to help these students to consistently produce writing even if they are not in my class for the whole writer's workshop.

In addition, this summer during the blog tour Overmeyer mentioned the value of prompts and quick writes, so I had an idea to have Free Flowing Friday where students would write from a prompt each Friday. I have not been able to layer this into my writing block yet, but the book reminded me that it could be a very beneficial portion of my instruction. I appreciate Overmeyer's distinction of "framed" choice promps where "there are many possibilities within the story idea" (19). I will keep this concept in mind as I develop prompts for my students, whether they are for students returning from pull-outs or for Free Flowing Friday.

When discussing rubrics and possible pitfalls, Overmeyer stated, "As with so many issues in education, the tool is not the problem or the solution. Great tools can be misused, and marginal tools can elevate thinking in a well-run classroom," (47). I loved this reminder of the importance of always being cognizant about why we have the practices we do and making sure that we are utilizing our resources (including valuable instructional time) in the best way possible.

Many of what Overmeyer suggests reminds me of the philosophy of my university writing lab. When I first took the course to become a writing tutor I had no idea how influential it would be in my formation as a writing teacher. It was heavily emphasized to first comment on an improvement students could make globally (such as ideas, content, organization) and then move on to a local issue (such as conventions) in later drafts. The key of not pointing out every mistake/place where there was room for improvement was also emphasized. Overmeyer said, "When I read student work, I notice something to praise, and I look for something to wonder about, and then I look for teaching points," (48). Later he mentioned, "I chose to tell him what he was doing well and to pinpoint one thing he could work on," (86). I always love comments that remind me of the essentials I learned through the writing lab.

The chapter that stuck with me the most and that is really making me consider how I can improve was about grading. This quarter my students' language arts grades are mainly composed of workshop participation (rubric), home reading log, writing samples, Everyday Editing activities, word study, book clubs, and small group assignments. However, I am not completely satisfied with how student scores average out and translate into grades. Overmeyer's comments about standards-based grading sparked an interest to dig deeper into the topic and to consider possibilities for improving in this area. I appreciate how standards-based grades provide more clarity about where students are at according to state standards, as well as providing multiple opportunities throughout the marking period to demonstrate competencies. Another important focus of the chapter was fostering a community of writers that focus more on improving as writers than on their grades (91). In one way or another I will definitely be adjusting my grading practices next quarter to incorporate standards-based concepts.

There were so many great ideas in Overmeyer's book. I was excited to see the Stenhouse post announcing access to a webcast Overmeyer did earlier this year focusing on his key concept of admiring student work. I cannot wait to see it. I will be referring back to the book in the future to reevaluate my practice and refocus as needed.