Working On Writing

My "Triple Threat"

A rubric that shows the child's baseline level (black circle), and their goal (green box).

When I score a piece of writing, I copy this rubric and circle the level that they obtained 

in the assignment with a colored marker.

So when any assignment is scored, the child can see where they were (black circle),

where they should be (gray box), and where they are now (colored circle).

I just got back from a wonderful workshop sponsored by my school.  The training was a continuation on our work with professional learning groups (PLGs).  We had complained that we had too little time to really delve into the PLG process that was new to us during the school year.  Although we have a common planning time of 45 minutes, most of the protocols we were given were designed for 60 minutes or more.  There was a little bit of extra money in our Race to the Top grant, so we used it to work out some unresolved dilemmas using the PLG format.
Our grade level team discussed Writing.  Both this year and next, budget cuts have forced us to make do with less paraprofessional support.  Paraprofessionals are assigned, not to classrooms or teachers, but to individuals or groups of students.  So if none of your students had a goal in a certain subject area, such as Science or Social Studies, you would not have a paraprofessional support during that time.  We felt this most impacted our instruction in the area of Writing.  It is very rare for any fourth grader in our school to have an IEP goal in Writing because very little writing is done in grades K-3, due to Reading First.   Yet many of our learning disabled, language disabled, and ADHD students struggle with the writing demands of fourth grade.  In our PLG we discussed methods to refine our instruction in the Writing Workshop to meet the needs of these students, who often need a lot of our time, and yet be fair to other students.  To boil down the essence of our discussion, we came up with ways to target our instruction based on goals, increase the amount of differentiation, and empower our writers with a growth mind-set.
And thus my latest TpT product was born!  I have worked long and hard the part week on this massive 25-page resource for writing.  It is designed for grades 3-8 and draws on the work of Gail Boushey and Joan Moser ("The Sisters", authors of The Daily Five and The CAFE Book) and the work of Lucy Calkins (known for her Units of Study) but it is my own "take" on the work of these fine master teachers.  Just some of the things it contains are:
- a detailed, 12-page Launching Guide for the Writing Workshop.  All of your instruction for the first seven days is included.  You don't have to plan anything.  The first seven days are the most important so that you set the tone and standards for the year.
- creative activities like Writing collages, and editing necklaces

- my favorite forms (with instructions) for assessment and data tracking in Writing, including:
          - a kid-friendly, baseball-themed Writing rubric

          - my best selling 6 Traits Goal Tracker and Individual Conferring Form
          - 6 Trait Super Grouper Form (for creating small groups based on assessment data
          -  a letter to parents on how to read their child's assessment rubric
The best part is that this product is ON SALE right now for HALF OFF!  That's right, followers!  If you purchase this product before July 11th you get the sale price.  Buy it on July 11th and it goes back to the regular (but still a bargain) price.  So why not treat yourself today?
By the way, I'm not done creating new products this summer. by a long shot.  Right now I'm working on a daily multi-digit numbers and operations review called "4 in 5".  There will eventually be a third, fourth, and fifth grade version.  Right now I'm working on the fourth grade version.  Click here for a sneak peek!

Common Core is Coming... and I'm Ready!

     Never fear, the Common Core is here!  The internet is fairly exploding with resources for the Common Core State Standards or CCSS.  Here are a few of my favorite resources:
Number One:  A FREEBIE!   
     If you are required to teach from a basal, then you need to check out the Basal Alignment Project on Edmodo.  The group is free to join.  This dedicated group from New York has taken most of the basal series in grades 3-5 and rewritten the lessons to alignment them with the goals of the Common Core.  There are also videos to watch about the shift in expectations, and scaffolded writing assignments that go with the basal text.  The best part is that it's free, but joining the group also gives you a chance to expand your personal learning network to include other like-minded teachers.  There is also an Anthology Alignment Project (AAP) for grades 6-10 on Edmodo.  The "secret" password to join is:  pkx4sp
Number Two:  Teacher-created materials   
     Teachers are already creating materials for the Common Core.  Teacher's Pay Teachers is a great site to get some of the best.  My favorites are one page sheets that cover a single standard (typically in Math).  I have purchased several of these and they are in a binder waiting to be used for review, homework, centers, or to combine several and make a CCSS-alinged unit assessment.  Easy peasy!  Some of my favorites are:

• Grade Four Data Tracking Notebook
• Common Core Math Assessments
• Standards-Based Assessment

Number Three: This summers BIG purchase (but SOOO worth it)!
     For months I have been debating with myself about making this purchase.  I totally blew the budget out of the water.  Because of this I will (reluctantly) have to have my students buy their own school supplies this year.  I hate to do this because of the burden it places on many families in my school that can't afford to do that.  But for a long time I have felt like my Writing instruction wasn't up to snuff.  In fact, Writing is usually the last subject I plan... because I don't look forward to teaching it.  With the changeover to the Common Core, I felt I had an opportunity to really revive my Writing program.  After a year of research, which included polling some of my virtual "teacher heroes", I decided to purchase Lucy Calkins' Units of Study.  Although expensive (I purchased through the publisher which was the cheapest option) the kit that I got was impressive for the price.  There is a book about how to set up a writing workshop, a book about troubleshooting common problems, a book of writing samples from various grade levels, a cd of forms and rubrics, and four entire units.  Everything is done for you, down to exactly what to say during your mini-lessons. I can't tell you how excited I am to try this next year.  I'm thrilled that everything is all planned out for me.

What are YOUR major finds and purchases to teach the Common Core?  Have you created anything you want to share? Leave me a comment below!