It's time to celebrate!

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It's time to celebrate!
By Erica

I am glad that you posted Debbie, you got me thinking about all of the successes that have occured in my classroom within the last few months. It is time for all of us to celebrate and give ourselves a pat on the back for
even trying something new! It is so easy to stay with what is traditional and comfortable. Yet, I feel invigorated by the challgenges that have come forth my way. (It is so easy to say that now as opposed to 1 or 2 months ago).
As previously stated, we are required to have a 2 and 1/2 hour literacy block in my district. I received support for the last 2 months from 1 of the literacy

coordinators. I wasn;t too gung ho about it, but the experience was truly mind-altering and delightful! I have learned a lot that I plan on implementing early on next year. One very important thing that cannot be stressed enough (in my mind at least) is that your rules, rituals and routines must me established within the first two wekks of school, before you even try to begin the processes of Writing and Reading workshop! It seems like we had to go back to basics when the literacy coordinator came into my classroom. The funny thing (and I find this alot with fifth graders) is that the students were able to tell the literacy coordinator exactly what we do and are supposed to be doing during the mini lesson, work period/ conferencing, and author's chair. They knew it like the back of their hand! The problem is that they do not follow these protocols as closely as they should. The first few mini lessons the coordinator did were to chart these rituals and routines for the students to refer to. It comes in handy especially if new students come into the classroom mid-stream (which has taken place throughout the last month in my case).

Once all of the basics were covered, my literacy coordinator helped me by modeling lessons dealing with the writing process. This was great because my students truly ate up the whole thing! A few of the strategies introduced were using an Editing pencil (red) when the students edit their writing. We have a pneumonic that we use to remember what editing consists of. CUPS- Capitalization Usage Punctuation Spelling. The students enjoy using the red pencils for editing their papers. Editing was modeled for them using a transparency of a piece of work that needed to be edited. Each student had a copy and went along paragraph by paragraph with the coordinator, editing hwere appropriate. They loved doing this! The Response table was another strategy that was introduced. This table is a table where the students can Peer Conference on editing and revisions. The rituals and routines were established and written on chart paper prior to the students use of it. We determined that only 2 paairs of students at a time can respond at the response table (4 students total). The time limit of 5 minutes was set- this minimizes on the fooling around that might occur. When revising, students now choose a different color each day to make revisions on their work. This allows for one to see that the students are working on a particular writing piece over a period of time. Students are allowed to Revise and Edit independendly, but are only allowed to Peer Conference at the Response table. Peer and Self-editing forms are available at the Response table and must be completed each time one edits.

These are just some of the great things that have taken place in my classroom. The students are now more grounded and have a purpose when it comes to Writing Workshop. They get the materials they need and get down to business. It is truly a beautiful thing to see! I hope that we all begin celebrating our successes, however few there may be! The way I figure it, know one else seems to be giving us a pat on the back, so we ought to do it ourselves and continue to encourage and give praise to other colleagues and our students! My spring break has begun and I will be doing report card grades BUT will make sure to REST REST REST! Happy Easter, Passover, and the like- and God Bless you all!- Erica