#2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. We chat every Tuesday night at 8 pm EST using #2ndaryELA. We'd love for you to join us!
Hi everyone. I'm Christina, The Daring English Teacher. I write a blog of the same name. I'm joining via scheduler, but will be back later to chat! https://t.co/T8wKOWC9Jh#2ndaryELA
A1: My biggest challenge has been working with students who struggle to understand/memorize the process/structure. These are mainly student with limited English and/or special needs. #2ndaryELA
My biggest struggle with teaching essay writing is definitely helping students get to the point where they self-edit. So many of them just want to be DONE after handing in their essays! #2ndaryela
A2: I help students plan their essays by spending time on the essay outline. I have them outline the topic sentences, quotes, and thesis statement. https://t.co/2jlk2tUKeq#2ndaryELA
A2: I use a mneomic system that I created myself to help students remember the structure. I even made the lessons into secret agent videos! :) #2ndaryELA
Im also trying the @TheCrashCourse strategy of brain dump 1st, then begin the outline. It’s a bit unorthodox for us structure people but the kids need to figure out what they know #2ndaryELA
A3: Short stories and whole-class novels for literary analysis, compare/contrast, etc. Various articles and sources for argumentative and informational writing. #2ndaryELA
A3: For text-base essays, I make sure to use a variety of readings to help students broaden their scope of writing: short stories, novels, poetry, nonfiction, etc. #2ndaryELA
Great point - when their brains work differently than ours (I'm all about structure!) we have to encourage them to use the strategies that work best for them. #2ndaryELA
A4: I give feedback by using a rubric and writing comments at the end of each essay. I point out what the student did well, and give them an actionable step to improve writing. I also encourage full-credit revisions after the final. https://t.co/0Js5RxfcSI#2ndaryELA
A4: I try to give feedback as the essay is being written if at all possible. OR - I grade just one section at a time so I can give quality feedback on a section at a time. #2ndaryELA
A4: I require essay to be typed in Google Docs so I can easily read them. I look for specific items to grade and include the rubric up front, so student know what is most important for the particular type of writing. #2ndaryELA
I don’t have many students, so I do 1:1 conferences on their almost final drafts. I show them their potential grade if it’s left as is. I also encourage 2-3 areas of meaningful revisions #2ndaryELA
I don’t have many students, so I do 1:1 conferences on their almost final drafts. I show them their potential grade if it’s left as is. I also encourage 2-3 areas of meaningful revisions #2ndaryELA
I see each class for 5 hour long periods each week. We focus on one novel per quarter - and I incorporated standards based learning with each novel! It is a bit of a time juggle - but I map each year (at a glance) in the summertime! #2ndaryELA
A4: I have a rubric I made up for each type of essay and I add comments. They can make revisions for more points. At the beginning I usually focus on 1 or 2 concepts then move up, until I can check a whole essay for all concepts. #2ndaryELA
A5: Do collaborative brainstorming with your class before outlining the essay. This makes sure all Ss have content to write about, which is important for EL Ss and Ss with IEPs. It makes the essay writing process less daunting for them. https://t.co/XIz1IsSUi0#2ndaryELA
I’m starting my student teaching in a 7th/8th grade and we have short classes as well! I’m struggling with finding “think” time as well. I feel like sometimes I have to rush their process. #2ndaryela
A4: I use rubrics/ conference with each student when handing back the graded essay. I give a graphic organizer to complete: areas where they were successful and where they need improvement for next time... that way they keep it for the next round! #2ndaryela
Always tricky to get them excited about reading outside the classroom - I try to bring an independent reading book to class each week (from the library) and encourage (sometimes beg) a student to check it out... usually one or two come back raving! #2ndaryELA
A5: Peer editing with specific task cards is my favorite tool. I give students who have difficulty with thesis statements the task of locating the thesis in other papers. It works well! #2ndaryELA
Q5: I've learned that it is super important to let your students TAKE THEIR TIME! A rushed essay is rarely a polished essay - and some students will need some extra time to really nail it. #2ndaryela
A5: I use Alice Keeler's "pull the paragraph" and Doctopus/Goobric combo for grading essays on Google Classroom. I love the speech to text feature. You can also leave students a voice recording, which is faster for me! #2ndaryELA
Meet me on Twitter tonight at 8 pm EST. That's just a few minutes from now!
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