A Note on the Curriculum
This past year (2009–2010 school year) the city of New Haven introduced a new, performance based assessment English Language Arts curriculum which was the result of a two year effort of approximately two dozen area teachers, supervisors and advisors. This massive document was designed to provide the district with a flexible and practical reading and writing based curriculum. While the focus on poetry in the curriculum is set for the third quarter, the ecphrastic approach to writing poetry and the creation of books of poetry leads to exactly the type of performance based assessment opportunities that are offered in the curriculum.
The time, effort, dedication and training that has gone into developing the teaching of language arts in New Haven is important to this unit, for many aspects of the new curriculum will appear in the unit. While the city is focusing on aspects such as reader workshop, journal writing and performance based assessment, the writer workshop introduced in the section below is probably the most relevant to this unit.
The Writer Workshop
The writer workshop is an essential part of the new, New Haven, 6–8 curriculum. Writer workshop is a way of teaching writing that emphasizes revision based on mini lessons, and revision. The format used in this unit has its roots in the New Haven teaching community and a partnership with the Connecticut Writing Project, an affiliate of the National Writing Project. In order to run the writer workshop in the classroom, teachers need to be flexible in their instruction as well as trustful of their students. The tight grip we often associate with classroom management must be loosened a bit when implementing writer workshop in the classroom. The reason for this is the same reason that the writer workshop really works for children; it allows and encourages students to work at their own pace and to progress at a rate that is comfortable for them. Not all students will be on the second draft at the same time because not all of the students will finish their first draft and move on at the same time. The writer workshop can be a very intimidating teaching tool for this very reason. A classroom of twenty five middle school students all working on some different aspect or phase of their writing can look like a class out of control. Some students may be on the computer typing, some may be involved in conversation around peer editing, some may be getting up to gather supplies for another draft and some may be working in their journal, or conferencing with the teacher. Sounds like chaos, but it doesn't have to be if students are taught early in the year how the writer workshop works.
At the beginning of every writer workshop session I review the basic steps that students will be going through in order to complete a writing task: brainstorming topics is usually first, followed by first draft, peer conference, second draft, teacher conference and finally a third or final draft. Students need to be taught how to make their way through these six steps in order for the workshop to run smoothly. And key to a teacher keeping his or her sanity during the writer workshop is turning much of the responsibility of the progression back to the students. Students must understand that they are responsible for keeping track of the writing process that is going on in their workshop. If a teacher is able as early as possible to emphasize students being responsible for keeping track of their place in the process, everything will work smoothly during this process.
Having students keep track of their own progress is key to the success of a writer workshop. Last year I implemented a bulletin board on which students could keep track of their own progress as they went through the process. Each student was assigned a Popsicle stick to write their name on. The stick had a Velcro backing so that the students could move their names across a felt board which is labeled with their class period and the several steps of the writing process. We all begin on brainstorming or seeds, but like a pack of runners in a marathon, the field quickly thins as each writer finds his or her own pace and goes through the steps. Other teachers have used paint stirrers for name labels and cans for the writing steps. Students simply move their paint stirrer along as they make their way through the writing process. Others have used magnets, pencils and numerous other objects with varied labeled containers or bulletin boards. The important thing to do here is set up a system where students are responsible for monitoring their own progress.
Another key element in writer workshop is the mini lesson. When working on writer workshop, teachers need to prepare short lessons to introduce to students as they make their way through the writing process. Teachers decide what a specific class is weak in and create a mini–lesson for students to focus on. For example if a class is weak in punctuating quotations, a teacher will spend ten to twenty minutes on a lesson on the use of quotations and commas in dialogue. Once students go through the mini lesson, they return to writer workshop. The material from the mini lessons becomes the focus of peer group editing. This is really a departure from past practice when peer editing meant a student looked at another student's work and corrected everything from punctuation to spelling to format to dialogue and leads. This practice is unrealistic. Students cannot be expected to be experts on every aspect of editing a paper, so instead the two or three mini lesson topics introduced during the workshop now become the focus. Students understand the topic; they have practiced it and should be expected to be on target with that topic in this writing workshop. I keep the mini lessons, post them near the felt board and of course change them for each new writer workshop piece. Students do not get overwhelmed with the material and actually know how to help each other during the peer editing section of their writing.
The writer workshop takes a lot of up front preparation and organization, but when it becomes routine to teacher and students, the process is extremely rewarding and can make a huge difference in the progress that students make in their writing. Since I have started using writer workshop in my classroom, students have started to really understand that one draft of writing is rarely enough. Using writer workshop with poetry is a good way to start the school year. The smaller pieces help students focus better and allow them to get through the entire process several times before moving onto more extensive pieces later in the year.
Journal Writing
Journal writing has also been recently introduced to the students in New Haven. All of my students are required to have writing journals which we keep in the classroom. It is divided into four sections: "Seeds" for brainstorming, "Nurturing" for the expansion of ideas, "Craft" for rules and reminders on writing, and "Response to Literature" where students respond to what is being read in class. I also keep a journal of my own and when students are writing I try to join them. Periodically I will write comments in their journal as I keep track of the progress they are making on their writing.
Learning to View Art
Students in New Haven are fortunate to have several excellent museums and galleries to choose from right in the city. One museum we regularly visit is the Yale Center for British Art. This museum holds the largest collection of British art outside of Great Britain. Artists from the 16th Century on are represented in the museum, which includes fine examples of a variety of work from a large spectrum of British artists. Both permanent and changing exhibitions combined with lectures, gallery talks, tours, films and concerts make the museum one of the focal points of education in the New Haven area.
The museum works closely with area schools and for several years has welcomed Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School students to the center. Students are led through the museums by teachers and docents and are encouraged to examine and interpret the art. While the Yale Center for British Art is the starting point of my unit, any museum or gallery will do just fine for the start of the unit. Students need to go somewhere to learn to view art correctly
One of my main objectives when we visit an art museum is to get the students to understand what is expected of them in the museum (behaviorally). Some of my students have never been to a museum, so part of the learning here concerns the museum atmosphere. Students need to know to keep their voices down. They need to know that the artwork and the walls are not to be touched. They are given a brief overview of the museum, what is on which floor, who is in charge, who the security guards are and why they are there. They need to know that gum chewing and eating or drinking are absolutely out of the question. Sometimes they are introduced to the director or curator of the museum and they are welcomed. Students are only gradually learning to be a good audience and all of these ideas and concepts need to be introduced to them before they even begin to look at artwork. Once they understand the rules and what is expected of them, students sit in front of the work, observe quietly for a minute and then are asked to share their feelings on the work. I ask probing questions to get the students to share their thoughts: what do you see? What makes you say that? Does anyone see anything else? What else do you see? What is this? What do you think this is? Why? Does anyone else see that? Does anyone else see anything different? All the students' comments are welcomed and encouraged. No answer is wrong and no answer or interpretation is any better or worse than any other. Students are learning, not only to observe and notice things about the artwork, but to also respect each other's opinions and listen to other ideas. Every time students are introduced to artwork in this unit as a class, their first encounter with the artwork looks much like what was described above. If I am unable to make trips to the museum, I use the lesson above on posters and slides in the classroom. The same rules apply and the same respect for each other's thoughts and ideas should continue.
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