Ch. 12: Make Every Minute Count
When it comes to writing instruction it is important to make the best use of the time you have. The time that we have to teach at school is precious and every minute counts. Regie recommends teaching what’s important and teaching in a way that students value the instruction and the opportunities they have to write and to learn. Students should have plenty of time to write freely for creativity and to develop fluency. They should also be challenged and meet expectations while setting goals for themselves.
I’ve learned that a great way to make your instructional time count is to make sure students feel they are in a safe environment where they can be themselves and take appropriate risks. My positive classroom climate is one of the first things my principal comments on when he observes me. It is usually very obvious that my students feel comfortable around me and in my classroom. I think that I’m very good at relating to my students at a professional and personal level. It is clear that I am their teacher, but I also share appropriate information with them about my personal life, including my likes/dislikes and stories about my family and things that have happened in my life. My students also feel like they can share their stories with me. It’s nice to know that we can communicate with each other comfortably and I’ve learned that communicating in this way can really help teaching and learning come much easier and be a richer experience. It also helps me know when my students are struggling and in what areas they may need help, as well as when they are excelling and it is time for celebration.
To help students understand what good writers do, Regie Routman recommends developing a list with students by discussing, writing, and posting ideas about good writers. I’d like to try this with my students next year to get them thinking about what makes a good writer and what they can do to make the best use of their writing time. This list might include things like- thinking about writing, rereading, writing for a reader, getting feedback, striving for accuracy, revising/editing, getting your message across, etc. I think if students know what they are aiming for during writing time they will be more likely to set goals and make the best use of their time. I’ve never really had a list like this for students to refer to before and I think that developing it together (with my students) could be beneficial as students would hopefully want to follow their own guidelines to good writing.
I am one of those teachers who spend 12 hours a day at school…almost every day. Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m doing there so late! A lot of the time I am there making SMART notebook pages for lessons, planning for the next day, or grading papers. Regie recommends asking yourself if what you are doing after school so long is REALLY worth your time and is really benefiting student learning. I’d have to say that some of the things I do really are worth it and really do benefit my students, but some things that I do after school seem to take so much time and don’t really pay off in the end. For example, sometimes I spend time writing up a sample paper for my students to see before they write something similar. This is a waste of time because students need to watch me as I write that example and observe my thinking and writing throughout the process. I also grade way too many papers. My coworkers have told me that for a while and Regie also makes it sound like you can spend too much time grading when it’s not really necessary. I worry a lot about having several grades in the grade book, but I’ve learned that especially with writing it’s more important to conference with students and give feedback without pen on paper. Students also need time to practice before they are evaluated- instead of being graded constantly.
Regie explains that most students do not even read written comments or suggestions on paper. This is so true! I’ve seen so many students throw papers away or just put them into their mailbox for parents to see without even looking at them. If they’re not going to look at my comments and read them, I am obviously wasting my time writing them on their paper. They are more likely to internalize what I’ve talked to them about and the feedback that I’ve given them verbally in a conference. I still need to read my students’ writing and give them feedback, but I think I may need to reconsider the way I do this.
This book gives some good advice about ways to save time and make the most out of writing instruction. One thing I need to do is focus on writing in the classroom EVERY day and in multiple subject areas. I’d also like to put writing instruction closer to the beginning of the day so it doesn’t get skipped over if I run out of time in the afternoon. Integrating test prep and basic skills into context is a good way to reduce test anxiety and make learning more meaningful for students. Raising expectations of your students and having good classroom management is also very important for using time wisely. With better classroom management and higher expectations you can anticipate better spelling, handwriting, and overall effort from your students.
I think my favorite part of this chapter was when I read that teachers need to live their lives! Sometimes during the school year I feel like I don’t have a life. I’ve seriously considered bringing a cot into my classroom so I can just sleep there at night! Okay…maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I really feel like I spend more hours at school than I do at home. Regie makes me feel like I don’t have to keep working like that. If I can learn to be an excellent teacher of writing by following her advice, I can make the most out of the students’ learning time and my teaching time so we can all have more free time to do what we want after school and “live our lives”!
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