Feedback to Reading and Writing Concerns and Gold Standards Resources

Happy Almost September,

By now, most of you are deep into lesson plans and learning about your students. And I’m just now digging out of being on the road for beginning of the year staff development. I’ve returned to my messy desk to remember our work this month and follow up on your ideas and our session on Feedback. Here are some resources to further your work and growth. I’ve tried to think of one, gold standard resource to support your inquiry.

If you will remember, you wrote sticky notes at the beginning of the session about your needs. At the end, you crossed off items you felt the session addressed. Some of you still had needs and questions. I’ve focused on those concerns below.

Reading Conferences:

• How to fit them in? (If I do it while the others are reading, I lose them.) I’ve had that trouble too. Here’s what worked for me. I sit at the front of the class and read for 2-3 minutes until the class is settled. Then I get up with my clipboard and move to my first student. I whisper as I talk to them. If I keep my voice low, the kids learn to ignore me. If people start talking, I stop the timer. We talk about what they are supposed to be doing and how they can ignore me and focus. Then I start the timer again and move on. I’ve also tried a conference table. I tap a kid, they come sit next to me. We talk. Then they go tap the next kid. Takes more time, but seems to work for other things too. It’s a talk zone in the room when people need to discuss something during independent work time.
• How to extend beyond “whatcha reading and what is it about?” Try the Book Head Heart and 3 Big Questions from Disrupting Thinking. Jennifer Serravallo has some good ideas too. Penny Kittle is pretty awesome for the older kids.  And so do Fisher and Frey in Text Dependent Questions. That’s more than one. Sorry. Not sorry.
• Getting them to read: Penny Kittle, Book Love
• Explore New Genres: Google this chick: Teri S. Lesesne.
• Leading Upper Level Classes with Reading Conferences and Small Groups, Tracking Conferences and Setting Goals: Penny Kittle and Gallagher

Reading Comprehension:

• Comprehension is Everything: Reading k-5 Session is coming up from Lead4ward. https://www.escweb.net/tx_r16/catalog/session.aspx?session_id=707626
• This book is AMAZING: Understanding and Teaching Reading Comprehension by Jane Oakhill, Kate Cain, and Carsten Elbro. R16 is having a book study on this now. https://www.escweb.net/tx_r16/catalog/session.aspx?session_id=717280

Reader Response: “Are reading conferences and individual goals the new ‘response’ writing mentioned in the new TEKS?” Yes and no. It’s traditionally been a response to literary text. We’re moving past that.

• Lenses are helpful.
• Shmoop has a good overview of the classic view.
• I’m offering a session on this on October 17^th.

Grammar: “Understanding Grammar”

• As an adult:
• Brushing Up on Grammar: An Acts of Teaching Approach by Dr. Joyce Armstrong Carroll.
• For Pedagogy: Constance Weaver is the Gold Standard for Grammar Instruction
• For Kids: Anything by Jeff Anderson and Gretchen Bernabei. Like seriously. Buy it all.

Writing: “Any strategy that can help a struggling writer gain confidence” and “finding ideas and being confident” and “creating an atmosphere of imagination” It starts with choice and idea fluency.

• Here’s a link to my writing notebook.
• I’ll teach you how on September 20^th and September 26^th.  

Blending Reading and Writing: “Tying it to writing”

• A Resource from a Previous Session
• I took the ideas from Disrupting Thinking and applied them to writing.

Writing Feedback Groups: “Peer vs Teacher: When should I use each?”

• After kids write something, they should participate in a peer feedback group.
• After kids write something, they should ratiocinate and share with a peer feedback group.
• When kids are ready to turn something in, they should participate in clocking with a peer feedback group.
• ALL the time, kids should work with the teacher about their writing.

Need for More Writing Feedback Examples:

• https://www.bulbapp.com/u/sample-analysis-and-feedback
• Patty McGee: Feedback that Moves Writer’s Forward: How to Escape Correcting Mode to Transform Student Writing

Your Fan,

Shona Rose