Why Do I Do This To Myself? March 9, 2010

My head pounds as I read my students’ writers’ notebooks. I sigh and think to myself, “why do I do this to myself every time?” You ask what do I do to myself. I wait to grade 84 notebooks, 34 essays, and 7 projects. On top of that I have my regular vocabulary tests and other assignments. I should space out grading my notebooks, but I want to collect them all on the same day. I don’t want students going home and “catching up” on the entries they didn’t write. This time I collected both 6th and 7th grade notebooks on the same day but I graded 7th grades’ WN first and waited to grade 6th grade’s today. This process seemed to work well because my students were typing in the computer lab so I had a chance to read their WNs. I stayed after school today and graded the 7 projects, which didn’t take long at all. Now, I just need to grade my essays. I feel that these will go rather quickly, too. I hope. In conclusion, I don’t know why I wait until the last minute. It just seems to happen. I admit; I like to procrastinate.

This Week in Writing Workshop August 26, 2007

Last week I spent time teaching writing workshop procedures with my students. I have both 6th and 7th grades. I still did this with my 7th graders even though I taught them last year because I have new students and I bet some of them forgot over summer. I feel teaching procedures is crucial to success with writing workshop. I developed a power point that I showed my students. It includes what writing workshop is, what to do during workshop, and how to organize their writing binder. Their writing binder includes tools for them to use during writing workshop (rhyming words, common misspelled words, transitions, etc). We add to it as the year goes by.

I have planned this week’s writing workshop. I am excited and hope it goes smoothly.

Monday: personalize writer’s notebooks

Tuesday: celebrity writer’s profile-show Avi’s profile and mine– discuss what good writers do and write in writer’s notebook-students create their own profile and then display them on bulletin board and hallway

Wednesday: finish celebrity writer’s profile – type them

Thursday: discuss how to use writer’s notebook and what they may place into their notebooks- read from Ralph Fletcher’s book A Writer’s Notebook ch 1-explain (how I grade)  rubric and class procedures for writer’s notebookwriter’s notebook handout – have them write their first entry from writing territory sheet

Friday: pretest on nouns- 2nd writer’s notebook entry from writing territory sheet