What is the NING all about?

Early Desert Bloom in March

Your Ning group is the official writing response group for the narrative.  We will be working on revising the narratives from now until the end of the class.

You have two official roles as a response group member.  

First, you are a writer who is coming to the group for guidance and advise about your writing.  You, however, are still in absolute control of you own work.

1. Ask the group for SPECIFIC suggests on your paper so that they will feel free to comment.  
2. If there are aspects of your paper which you do NOT want comments on, indicate  you are satisfied or “finished” with that particular item or section.  
3. Ask for clarification if you do not understand the response. 
4. Acknowledge the comments made by others if they ask questions.

Secondly, you are a responder for each member of your group.

1. Read and respond directly to any questions the writer asks,  
2. Make your comments specific and indicate paragraph/ sentences that you are referring to. 
3. Remember to be constructive, not destructive, but also feel obliged to help make the paper even better than it is.   
4. Make your comments include suggests and questions, not just praise .

 Use the following questions I use with my college students as a guide.

• What parts of the paper did you find confusing or hard to understand and why? 
• Is there anything you would cut or add? Why? 
• What is the most important part of this paper and why? 
• What sentences sound awkward or seem odd? 
• What emotions do you think the writer is trying to convey with the narrative?  Does it work?
• Where does he/she seem to be saying/explaining too little? Too much?

Response hint:  Sometimes response is best posed as in questions.  Rather than saying "you should add more detail to the description of your friend"  ask "could you paint a clear picture of your friend in the first section when you introduce him to the reader?"  This is a concrete suggestion and more specific.

Some Clarifying Thoughts on Writing the Narrative

We will be working on the narrative for the next several weeks on the Ning.  Most of you have a start, but during Week 6 the response process will begin in earnest. More will be posted on that protocol.  If you wish to change your topic for Week 6 you can, but after that I would like for you to stick to the same piece and see what can happen with revision.

Your assignment is to write a personal narrative or a memoir. A memoir is simply a memory piece or an autobiographical narrative. For our purposes, you do not need to write your complete autobiography. Instead focus on telling us one story from the thousands of stories you have stored in your mind. You may pick a memory that is fresh or something from the distant past. The narrative might be a glimpse of you in an earlier time, a forceful, emotion memory, some reflection upon your education or an account of a particular experience. All these decisions are up to you.  You may use something you started earlier.

If you are in doubt as to a topic, consider making this a learning narrative. Focus on some aspect or experience that has taken place in your education. What do you most remember from grade school? How did you learn to read? What are your vivid memories about writing? Were there assignments that you loved or hated? Memoirs and other personal narratives have been particularly popular over the years for several good reasons:
• Creative expression. The memoir genre provides an opportunity to write highly personal stories that draw on our own experiences.
• Family history. Memoir is a modern-day (and more indelible) counterpart to the oral storytelling tradition. I think of the memoir or persoal narrative a a way to preserve an event that has touched me or my family. A memoir can become a family treasure.
• Genre Exploration.  Several of you are writing poems; most are wiring prose for the narrative.  You can use any form you like.
Happy writing!

One Thing that Works

When all is said and done, we know what works!  Use this opportunity to share a successful lesson, unit, or practice with your classmates.  This could be the MOST valuable sharing we have done.

Week Five Response to Reading

This week's readings deal with teaching to standards and an article about mandating teaching practices. The National Council of Teachers of English has developed their own set of standards linked here.  Review the Alaska content standards for writing for your level. 

In Chapter Five, the text states that "State curriculum documents and assessments are now carrying a new message: writing should no longer be "the silent R" of learning...Improving writing is now seen as important for learning subjects other than English."  Here are a few ideas to discuss in regard to the reading:

• Do you feel both these statements are true at your site?
• How important are state standards to your daily teaching?
• How "mandated" is what you do?
• Have you ever been forced to teach in a way you did not feel was a good fit for your philosophy or style?
• What are some of your own "standards" or goals as a teacher of writing? 
• If you could change or revise some of the state standards, what changes would you make?

Let's save discussion about assessment and qualifying exams for next week. 

Week Five Overview

AZ: Windmill I see on a favorite walk

Focus:  Sharing Writing, Lessons, Ideas

(I realize spring breaks will be occurring over the next few week. I will be understanding if you are traveling. Just catch up as soon as you can.)

Reading: 

• This week's reading includes Chapter 4- 5 Because Writing Matters as well as an article entitled Working with Mandated Curriculum by Lock
•  Also take this opportunity to review Alaska Department of Education Writing Grade Level Expectations.  Those of you who are not English or Language Arts teachers, see how you can apply these standards to your teaching.

Writing: 

• Share a writing best practice from classroom: lesson, idea, strategy, etc.  You may post it under the "One thing that works" on this blog.
• Begin drafting your own personal narrative/memoir. Write a first draft or fastwrite and post it n the Ning group for response. This could be an extension or revision of something you started on one of the Virtual Journal entries.
• Also in your Ning groups,  discuss what makes a writing assignment work/fail in your specific situation; structuring writing workshops, and/or writing across the curriculum.

Virtual Office Hours: Tuesday 4-5  Remember I will be standing by on email or ready for a chat on gmail or the Ning.  Email me with questions any time or comments.  I appreciate the conversations that are taking place this week.  The candid writing about your classrooms has been valuable and introspective. I am hoping that will carry over to the Ning

Keep writing!  We are  half way through the our Virtual Institute.

Writing Group ON!

Writing group in Denali National Park

This has been a struggle to organize.  Whew!   I have put you in these groups of teachers that I feel you have much in common with; however, if you want to switch for some reason, just let me know.  I will try and make necessary adjustments.

At this point the groups are as follows:

(You will have to name your group) 


1. BISHOP, NOVITSKA, AYUMI, GANTZ, SERGE-HOESCHEN. KEIL (ESL or Language learners)
2.  POCK, KINDRED,  GRIBBLE, ZOSKE, FEUER (mostly elementary)

3.  CURRIER, Woodward, Borland/Bayes, Gardella, Jenness (mostly secondary)
4.   REDM0ND, LLOYD,  THOMPSON, STOLTZ, RASMUSSEN, GOOD (some SPED, middle school)


Let me know ASAP if you would like to switch groups.  I will be linking you up in a Ning or BLOG.  There you will be able to post all your Virtual Journals including your work for this week.  Stay tuned!

Update Sunday PM:  I set up the Ning groups, so you should have received an invitation to join a group by now.  You will have to accept my invitation and join the ASWC ning.  Remember I can still make changes if you wish to be with a certain colleague. 

Best Practice: Formative Assessment Done Right

Best Practice: Formative Assessment Done Right
Another Reading Response option (Week 4 or 5):  Check this link out as it relates directly to our discussion from the text and from "Teaching to the Test."   I also found some of the additional comments by readers of her post interesting.  What do you think about the value of formative assessment?  Do we need more structure and training in this area?  What do you do?  A response here can count for reader response for 4 or 5.