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| Author: Angela Forbes West Marion Elementary School |
I remember the email well, "Mandatory Upcoming Summer C3WP PD Required for ELA Teachers of Grades 4-10." Something about the words "mandatory" and "summer" did not sit well with this tired teacher. I do love writing, and I love new ways to teach writing; however, I do not love attending any workshop that is just another person standing in front of me telling me what I already know. Since this professional development was required, I decided to face the situation with a positive attitude and make the best of the three days of training.
Tuesday, July 9, 2019, was the first day of the professional development sponsored by the South Mississippi Writing Project and led by SMWP site director Robin Atwood. The meeting began at 8:30 a.m. and would end at 3:30 that afternoon. Seven hours in a workshop makes for a long day when you are a teacher in summer mode. However, I was ready to tackle the training and hoping that this would be the workshop I longed for as a writing teacher. As it turned out, the minute I walked into the training location, I could tell something would be different about this professional development. Within an hour of listening to Robin speak on what was known as C3WP, I was both overwhelmed and excited to be participating in such an excellent writing program.
On day one, Robin gave an overview of the program and introduced us to the website with all of the writing resources provided by the writing project. The program offered anything and everything a writing teacher could want or need to teach argument writing, lesson plans, and a PowerPoint for classroom instruction. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This program was exactly what I had been looking for as a classroom teacher of thirty years. Could I be dreaming? Keep in mind, I have been teaching a long time, and I have attended numerous writing workshops throughout my career. I knew immediately that something about this workshop/professional development was unlike any I had ever attended. Ms. Atwood walked us through each resource step by step as if she were the classroom teacher, and we were the students. She modeled what we should do to be successful in teaching argument writing using the resources provided. As the day continued, I became more and more motivated about the potential of using resources in my classroom that I knew the children would love. By the end of the first day of training, I was excited about everything I learned in such a short amount of time and could not wait to return Wednesday morning. By the end of day three, I was eager to get back into my classroom and start teaching!
The rest of the summer, I spent numerous hours reading and researching the resources hoping to be as prepared as possible when the students arrived in the fall. Thoughts of time entered my mind, knowing that I had to teach reading and writing in a seventy-minute class. I became overwhelmed at the thought of teaching the writing mini-units while teaching my reading standards at the same time. Then it hit me; these are my standards. Everything in these mini writing units, provided to me in lesson plan format, can also be used to teach my reading standards. Not only did I have a wealth of information in my hands, but I also had a learning partner (a teacher who had already been through this writing program) who would be available to guide me through the process.
Finally, the children arrived, and I could not wait to tell them what we would be doing this year in writing. As I began, I heard a student in the back row say, "I hate writing." Of course, I had to ask him why. He responded that writing was boring. He said he never knew what to write about or where to start. I replied, "You have never had me as a teacher, and you have never participated in this writing project." Although that was not the answer he was expecting, he did sit quietly and listen to the rest of my passionate pitch on writing. Then, I gave each student a notebook that would be used throughout the year to house all of their writing. We began with "Writing into the Day," and I knew the children were hooked. They loved being able to put their thoughts down in their notebook without worrying about the writing being graded or judged. The first day I asked if anyone wanted to share what they wrote, I only had a few volunteers. By the end of the week, so many students wanted to share that I had to start selecting one or two a day from each group. I could see the confidence building in them already, and they begged to write more.
Around the middle of September, we were ready to begin our cycle called Joining a Conversation in Progress. Our first cycle was on the topic of drones. To be honest, I knew very little myself about drones. I printed off all of the available articles and any other information the students would need for the assignment. Divided into groups, students read articles, with each group focused on one particular passage they would share with the class. After a class discussion, students decided if they were for or against the use of drones. I have never seen students so engaged in an assignment. They used vocabulary from the text and communicated with their peers as if they were experts on drones. Students who were for the use of drones quoted information from the text as to why they believed drones were important. Students against drones could also back up their view with evidence. As we continued through the resource, we had a visitor the day the students began drafting. My SMWP Thinking Partner Sherry Kinkopf taught the students, and me, all about using the "Kernel Essay" for writing. I soon realized this valuable tool would help my students organize their writing and become confident writers. Students who had no idea how to use evidence from one text were now learning to use evidence from various text sets while making sure the evidence all connected to the topic. At the end of this mini-unit, both my students and I had a wealth of knowledge on drones. I was amazed at what I saw and heard in my classroom after just one cycle. Suddenly, I loved teaching writing again, and I could see students beginning to love writing. As we continued through each cycle, I saw students starting to blossom as young writers. Children who never volunteered to read their essays were now the first ones with their hands in the air when I asked if anyone wanted to share. I saw confidence in my students that I cannot explain. Students who struggled at the beginning of the year with where to start writing, no longer struggled. Students who were already somewhat confident with their writing were now writing pieces that made me feel like a proud mother.
Throughout the year, additional professional development days occurred at the end of each cycle led by Robin Atwood and her team at the South Mississippi Writing Project. During these follow-up days, we analyzed students' writing papers using the National Writing Project's Using Sources Tool. After each cycle, papers from the same students were evaluated using this formative assessment to track their progress and plan the next steps for instruction.
Through professional development provided by the South Mississippi Writing Project participating in this program was the best experience I have ever had in my thirty years of teaching. Step by step guides, text sets, PowerPoints, and other valuable tools are available with one click. Using these resources and professional development, I learned to effectively teach argument writing so that students not only understand but also enjoy writing.
Angela Forbes is a fifth grade teacher at West Marion Elementary School.
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