Indicators for Success: Reading Journals

1.     What is the focus of your inquiry and why is this important to you?

I am focusing on clarity of student writing in response to literature. One of the big shifts in 2^nd grade is from talking about what you read to writing about it. Students need to be able to both write a cohesive retell and respond to questions that require them to think beyond the text (What was the author’s message?). Students’ writing about their independent reading tends to have big parts missing and so I want to figure out what scaffolds I need to put in place to help them write more clearly.

2.     At the end of the year what is the learning goal that you would like your focal students to reach?

I would like my focal students to be able to write a five point summary of a book they read at their independent level and answer (in at least two complete sentences) the question: what is the author’s message?

3.     What classroom data are you planning to use for your routine data source to see how students are (or are not) progressing towards this goal?

I am going to use their language arts journals. In their journals, they are writing responses approximately twice a week to the books they read. Currently, they respond to three prompts: What happened? (This is a beginning, middle, end summary), Reading Connection (They make a text to self connection and explain it), My favorite part (they explain their favorite part and draw a picture). While I am looking for them to ultimately be able to explain the author’s message and to write a five point summary, I am thinking that they need to start somewhere simpler. The “What happened?” graphic organizer will soon be replaced with a five point summary organizer (once each student masters the “What happened?”, they will get a new organizer). And, hopefully, the “My favorite part” and “Reading connection” organizers are helping them think about books beyond the text as a step towards author’s message.

4.     What would indicate if a student was successful? What were you hoping to see?

Indicators of success:

1.     Written in complete sentences.

2.     Includes proper names of characters.

3.     Summary is written in correct sequence.

5. After talking with your small group, what are you thinking now about what success would look like for your students on your routine data source? What specific indicators of success have you decided on? What are your next steps in your inquiry?

I am going to focus only on summary writing. I want to be clear about my indicators for success being focused on clarity in writing, not elements of a good summary. I am still researching how to help students write more clearly and the sample writing I am looking for clarity within is summaries (of books read at their independent levels). My next step is to look at their summaries over the course of a month (about 2 per week) and see what (if any) new indicators I need to add. I also want to add in a component of orally telling a partner a summary before writing it down into their summary writing.

Think Sheet 11-19-13

Think Sheet for Determining a Learning Goal and Refining Routine Data Source

1. What is the focus of your inquiry as you are thinking about it now and why does this matter to you?

My focus is on clarity in writing as it pertains to both conventions and craft. We have switched from narrative writing (true, personal stories) to informational writing (lab reports about science). We're using Lucy Calkins' writing units which focus more on craft than on the conventions my 2nd graders need. This inquiry matters to me because writing is a vital form of communication. I want my students to feel like they can use writing to communicate--like they aren't barred by the conventions. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to focus on because "writing" is too broad. It has to be a focus that can be a thread through different types of writing (next, is opinion). 

2. What is the student learning goal embedded in your inquiry?

The learning goal is for students to be able to clearly communicate their ideas through writing. 

3. Think back to your student conversation. We encourage you to write specific notes about your individual student.

a) What happened in your conversation? What did your student say?

Here are three conversations I had: 

AZ.:

What do you enjoy about writing?

I enjoy about writing because writing about what happened in our life and I like because you can tell real things and things that are something not real.

What do you not enjoy about writing?

I don’t like about it when…is there anything you don’t like?…shrugs.

When do you use writing?

I use writing when it is time for writing and when the teacher or mom or whoever we do writing. That’s all.

Do you use writing outside of school? How?

No. Sometimes. When I do my homework.

Why do we write?

Because writing is good so you could be a good author.

CB:

What do you enjoy about writing?

I enjoy about writing because you write about yourself or science.

What do you not enjoy about writing?

I do not like about writing because you write for a long time it hurts your hand.

When do you use writing?

I use writing for write about science or things.

Do you use writing outside of school? How?

No.

Why do we write?

Because it’s important to write (why?) because you need to write about science or much things.

OG:

What do you enjoy about writing?

You can get all your thoughts into a paper.

What do you not enjoy about writing?

Kinda tires your hand a little.

When do you use writing?

When I want to write to somebody.

Do you use writing outside of school? How?

Yeah. By writing letters to my sister.

Why do we write?

To help you spell better.

One thing I noticed is that two out of three students didn't talk about writing outside of school (or really, writing time) at all. If I focus only on AZ (one of my higher writers), it seems he sees writing as something that is done either in school or for school. He sees and understands writing as both to make up stories and to write about "real things." When I hear him say that we write so that we can become good authors, it seems that he has internalized the "teacher spiel" that students are authors too and we can write like the authors of our favorite books. I don't seem him articulating that writing is a way for him to communicate thoughts and ideas (which is my goal--is that a realistic goal for 2nd grade?).

After the small group conversation:

I'm thinking that I want to move away from using drafted writing as my data source. If the question is around how to help kids write more clearly, then perhaps the focus could be on responding to reading during reading workshop. The data source would be their reading response journals and the question would be: can students respond clearly through writing to the books that they read independently? 

Another idea: start interactive journals with students  (also used as data source) and ask the question: How do interactive journals help students write more clearly? If this were my question, then I'd have to figure out how I am going to measure success--it can't just be in their interactive journals, I would have to somehow look at it across multiple writing sources and track something specific. For example, I would need to clearly define what "writing clearly" means in 2nd grade. 

I am torn between these two ideas. I'm not exactly sure how to move forward.

What I'm Thinking Now 10-19-13

After talking with your small group, and with your appointment partners, what are you thinking now about your inquiry (this can be about your routine data source, your focal student conversation, next steps, or something else that is on your mind about your inquiry).

I'm thinking that my next steps are:

1. Choose the rest of my focal students (three total)

2. Record my focal students responding orally to response questions prior to doing any writing (while the rest of the class speaks to a writing partner).

3. Compare their oral answers to their written answers.

I am still unsure of my exact question. I want to figure out how to use our current writing curriculum (Lucy Calkins') to help them make their writing clearer while still supporting the development of their understanding of language conventions. I want to understand when they understand the craft moves they are trying out and when they are just cobbling together the ideas they see me model. My data source will be their drafted writing. I'm not sure if there's a certain part of the writing process that I want to focus on (there's heavy focus on revising in Calkins...).