6 Degrees of Motivation

       Today  has been another great day at the Writing Institute! Each day I have learned so much that it is taking me a while to process everything. Ultimately, I continue to go back to my inquiry question: How do you motivate students to write at school? How can I create a safe environment for my students that will encourage them to feel comfortable enough to write at school and share what they have created at home.  

        So far, there are 6  big ideas that I have learned about/been exposed to  that will make a difference between the English/Language Arts  classroom  that I have had in the past and the one that I hope to create in the future. Perhaps my Devolver movie called "The Hidden Life"  best shows an example of conversations that I hope to have with students. (The alien is the teacher in this video. http://www.dvolver.com/live/movies-595505)

1)Technology Tools

The technology tools that I have been exposed to in the week have been great. Several of them were not new, but I had not ever seen them used. I love the Devolver website. I am looking forward to creating those little videos to provide classroom reviews and summaries. I will also use them to introduce topics.  Probably the most important use that I will get from the site is seeing what the kids create. I can't wait to see what the sixth grade mind will create using that tool. Learning about the others tools, especially Storify, have inspired me to take time after the institute is over to play and learn so that I can use them in the fall.

2)Using Visuals

I have always used visuals of some kind to organize my reading instruction and I love graphic organizers. Preparing my demo and seeing the News and observer website today have given me more ideas about using visuals as brainstorming tools within my room. I still need some more time to think about how to  use these in my classroom.

3)Writing Circles

I have been planning to work to organize student writing and reading workshops within my classroom.  I have used them in the past, but organization has always been a challenge for me. How to organize the time and what do I want students to produce when they finish working as a group are questions that I need to find an answer for.  Tara's demo today has made me begin to think about how to incorporate the writing circles into my class in a more effective way.

4) Mission Statements

I realize that my Middle School Writing Teacher's Pledge is only the beginning of my mission statement for the classroom. I want students to understand why I want them to read and write as I do. That pledge needs to be revised to include reading goals and a challenge for students and their participation in class.

5) Image Grammar

Alieen's presentation today was great.  The idea os using brushstrokes to enhance student writing has gotten me thinking about fun ways to teach basic grammar and strategies to "beef up" their writing. Centers come to mind immediately.

6)Daybooks

Having students create and utilize a daybook to keep track of their thoughts, ideas and writing is  a great idea. As I have started to read Thinking Out Loud on Paper,  I am getting  more ideas about how to use them in class and what value they have for students in the writing, and reading, process.

As  I organize  my classroom,  I know that these six ideas will provide positive contributions to my classroom. One activity that I did not mention above that bears more thinking is my own writing life. How can  I use myself as an example to teach students how to write and, hopefully, inspire them to write as well. I want them to see my mistakes, know my frustrations and celebrate my writing successes. I want to use these times as opportunities to encourage them to have the same experiences. I guess I need to write, and read, by example.