Entry #6- Dear Dr. Jones
Dear Dr. Jones,
So far this semester, I have enjoyed reading, writing, and discussing the connections between reading and writing and how they can be incorporated effectively in the classroom. Although we have engaged with the learning in many ways, I think the blog posts have been the most helpful for me. I like the blog posts because they allow me to reflect on my learning for the week in an informal way. They also allow me to highlight the key takeaways from each week, that I can go back to to “refresh” myself on my learning. I also enjoy working in our writing groups during our Reading/Writing workshop each class. I like this because I like having classmates to hold me accountable, as well as having other people to share ideas with and critique my writing.
I have found much of what we have covered so far to be helpful since I have been able to reflect on my own teaching practices. One of the biggest takeaways that I have had so far is that I need to incorporate writing more into my classroom. In my first grade class, I have writers of all different abilities which makes it difficult to incorporate independent writing throughout the day. Some students can write freely without any support from me, while others need me to help them write every word. Therefore, writing has been a struggle for me this year. However, reading about and discussing things like writing workshop and different writing strategies has helped me envision ways that I can incorporate more writing into my classroom. I want to start doing more explicit mini-lessons, so my students know what is expected of them in their writing.
Lastly, one thing that I have found challenging so far is managing multiple projects at the same time. In other classes, I would focus on one project at a time, then move on to the next after the first one was completed. In this class, we are working on multiple assignments at the same time, which has been challenging for me to refocus my attention depending on the project at hand. With each week, I get more comfortable with this approach and I honestly think it will leave me less stressed in the end.
Overall, this course so far has been going well and I can not believe we are almost half way through the semester!
Sincerely,
Brenna
Brenna
Brenna, yes I appreciate your reflections on how you are thinking about your own learning thus far. I am so glad to hear the ways you are thinking about more routinely including writing in your first grade instruction. I look forward to hearing more about how different types of mentor texts can be useful in your instruction. Also, in regards to your own learning in this class -- I'm glad to hear that you are now finding your "writing-sea-legs" in this class. It is true that a workshop approach requires there to many types of activities and opportunities for students to consider reading and writing at the same time. This is what makes the learning process a richer and more iterative experience.
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