A few years ago our district worked with the Vermont Writing Collaborative to work on Writing for Understanding. I really latched on to their process for writing. The one part of the process that I struggled with the most at first was the oral rehearsal. I didn't understand or see the importance in saying what you were about to write. After working with the collaborative for a couple of years and attending their week long course each summer I learned to use oral rehearsal effectively as a way for students to review where there thoughts came from and where they are going.
Right now in my class I am working with students on responses to literature. I and they have found it super helpful to verbalize their responses before going off to write them. Amy P. and I played a game with them last week called Team Complete. They had to respond to a basic question in a complete sentence (i.e. My favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla) in order to join Team Complete. The active engagement part of my mini-lessons often include speaking and what I call "thinking out loud". Speaking and listening standards are just about standing up in front of the class and "presenting" something. Speaking and listening standards can be addressed in every content area and in many simple, subtle ways.
Hi Kristina--I like how you are using oral rehearsal as a way for students to think out loud about where they are going in writing. I think this would be beneficial too, as they work to revise writing as well. I'm not sure what grade level you teach, but I could definitely see the benefit in applying this practice to upper grades during the writing process. I ask students when we individually confer to read their writing aloud to me; I've noticed with my group, it's hard for them to see their mistakes because they often say what they mean, not necessarily what is written down. It can be a painstaking process for 8th and 9th graders who aren't used to this, but it's truly beneficial. And if they are beginning this practice in the younger grades, they hopefully could implement the strategy independently as they grow as writers.
ReplyDeleteKristina, I love the idea of turning complete sentences into a game and joining a team. I think my fifth graders would benefit from something like that. Sometimes (even though I try not to!), I assume that my students come in with certain skills, such as restating the question in their answer, when really, they could all use the practice. I like Sarah's ideas about using oral rehearsal to revise writing pieces. I think that could be really helpful.
ReplyDeleteI found last year, in math, that for some students it was tricky to get what was in the brain onto paper, in terms of explaining their thinking. What I started doing was I would be their scribe. They would orally dictate their thoughts and I would write down what they were thinking. It proved to be greatly beneficial for those students and from you writing about it, I think it's a great idea for students to orally produce their thoughts first before they write it down. This can help with their comprehension to see if the ordering of their words makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI love the game, Kristina! What a great way to get kids involved. I agree-having kids talk to each other before they write makes a world of difference. It really helps them generate ideas and prime their brains for the writing task. I call it "writing in the air".
ReplyDeleteKristina,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your experience with the writing collaborative, and it is a great reminder that students need the time to think, say, write and read. Sometimes its easy to get caught up in the moment and skip the important steps of giving children the time to think about talk about the content.