Write Beside Them - Implications for my Classroom

Reading Write Beside Them came at a perfect time. All year long I reflect on my practices, but this time of year especially I think about what has been working well and what I will change for next year. This is even more true because of working in a school that is still growing. I started last year as the self-contained 6th grade teacher for my school, teaching all subjects in both English and Spanish. This year our school grew to have a 7th grade class and another teacher was hired, so I was able to be the social studies and language arts teacher for 6th and 7th grade. Next year the school will grow one final year, we will hire yet another teacher, and I will be able to teach 6th-8th grade language arts. (I am so excited!)

Last year in my first experience as a self-contained teacher, I was left a bit breathless. There was so much to plan and explore. This year I have relished in being able to focus in more on reading and writing, and I can't wait to be able to narrow in even more on these two content areas next year. With this focus; however, I want to get a firmer grasp on my 6th-8th grade scope and sequence. For the recent class I took on writing I chose to do a year-long writing curriculum as my final project. Though I only needed to do one grade level, I decided to do an overview of all three to see the big picture. In my introduction to the plan I explained that it will always be a work in progress because I will always be changing as I grow as a writing teacher. I had just finished my first draft before I read Kittle's book, and I will be making some revisions before I submit my plan to my professor based on areas that I considered while reading her book and reflections from the final weekend of my class. Many of the ideas that I have been wresting with all year came up in the book.

Here's some of the components that the book prompted me to reflect on:
 *The use of quick writes in the writer's notebook: I often use quick writes; however, she uses quick writes daily and in a different way than I do. Her thorough discussion of how she integrates them will improve my writer's workshop.
*Grading and Feedback: The way that I grade in writer's workshop has changed throughout the year as I have experimented with different ideas for writing assessment. I had an aha moment when I read her thoughts that she grades the final product, while emphasizing the process in her classroom. She gives frequent feedback and support during drafts, and provides students with mentor texts of process through her own writing. She also allows for opportunities to re-submit writing for an improved score. I am still thinking through exactly how I want to set up my grading for next year, but she has definitely played a big part in helping me discover my set-up.
*Multi-genre writing: I had completed two multi-genre projects during college and enjoyed the process of each one. Yet, for whatever reason I have never done multi-genre writing with my students. That is one of the revisions that I will be making to my year-long curriculum plan. I can't wait to see how much fun my students have and can already picture where particular students' strengths and individual favorite genres will lead to fulfilling and amazing final products.
*Individual Focus: While Kittle gave a clear sense of the progression through different units of study during her course, she also made it apparent that she recognizes each class is a different set of learners requiring different things to be successful.
*Reflection and Portfolios: So far I have not had my students do enough formal reflection on their writing process and on themselves as writers. For example, I have not had my students do formal writing portfolios yet. This is an area that came up both in my writing class and in Kittle's book. I will be able to implement this during the spring because of the ideas and support from my class and the book.

There was so much to learn from Kittle. My favorite professional development books are always the ones that help me reflect on what is working and what can be fine-tuned with my current practices. I look forward to reading more of her resources that come up under her name on the Heinemann website. I already have Adolescent Literacy, and I will have to go back and read her contribution.