Tuesday, February 3, 2015

When To Hold 'Em and When to Fold 'Em?


As a writing interventionist, I see my students for 20 minutes a week. For some students, intervention happens every other week. It's kind of maddening but it can't be helped because of the way the school schedule is structured. 

One of the challenges of this schedule is the time spent on a piece of writing. I'm finding that working on an essay might not be the best use of my time with these students, only because it takes many, many weeks to finish a standard 5 paragraph essay. Right now, two of my students are working on persuasive essays. We are looking at elaboration strategies and how can they be used to develop ideas and organize an essay. Trouble is, we've been writing these pieces for so long, it is starting to feel tiresome, stagnant and boring! We ran out of steam awhile ago but I feel compelled to follow through and finish the piece. 

So, the question is: should I stop working on these pieces with the students? And if I do that, how do I close it out or explain why we are leaving the pieces incomplete?

I do know this: I need to rethink what kinds of writing I can realistically accomplish with my students in the limited time that I have, without dragging it out forever. Paragraphs are great writing practice but when a student needs to work on organization, a paragraph won't suffice. Time to get creative! 

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10 comments:

  1. That's a frustrating dilemma! I feel like quitting would be okay. Writing isn't supposed to be tiresome, stagnant, and boring! Maybe that's the lesson they need to learn! I hope you find a solution that works for you and the kids.

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    1. Dana, I think you're right. I will explain to them why we are moving on from the piece. Good writing lesson in itself!

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  2. How old are your students? Even at my age, I don't think I could stay focused on one piece of writing with a two week break in between each meeting. What a frustrating set up! I wonder if the student could have the expectation of naming what he/she needs to work on? It sure seems as if they should have a more achievable goal every two weeks.

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    1. They are in middle school. We have goals set but I think we could make them more specific. Thanks for the idea!

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  3. Sometimes, all you get to "finish" is that one part of the process you really want them to be able to walk away feeling they can do. Our kids get sick of working on one thing forever...who wouldn't, right?

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    1. Good point, Tara. I'm not even sure we've finished that one part of the process so I'll have to get hyperfocused on it with a new piece of writing.

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  4. We abandon books when they don't meet our needs, why not abandon a piece of writing that has become tiresome, stagnant, and boring? Have you thought about focusing on parts of a piece of writing, like a great beginning or ending and using a few mentor texts. Perhaps some short stories or poetry? I think because you have a tricky schedule you have earned the right to bend the rules a little and allow your student to write "outside of the box" so to speak. I'm sure you'll find the right path.
    Val

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    1. Val, I do need to collect more mentor texts and yes, I should bend the rules a little!!

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  5. I'm chiming in on the quit votes. And, I think you might try some "flash-drafts" -- some very quickly sketched in the air and fast written "essays." (They don't have to be 5 paragraphs to hold thinking).
    I would also think that in 20 minutes once a week -- if the students aren't going to work on the piece on their own or in class time -- that you might get more bang for your minute (badly mixed metaphor) to try some sentence level composing. Based on models from great lines in literature.
    I have to do reading and writing in intervention, but usually get 30-45 minutes daily. Wow, and I thought my time was cramped. How do you do it?? Hope this comment was helpful.

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    1. Very helpful comment!! Flash drafts and sentence composing is a great idea.

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