#6thchat is used to chat, collaborate, and grow with other sixth grade educators from around the globe. Each session we discuss a topic voted on by #6thchat participants. It's a great way to help grow your PLN and share ideas with others.
Welcome to #6thchat! Our new format begins tonight...a faster pace and done by 6:40! We'll have 6 questions released every 6 minutes beginning at 9:05! Please introduce yourself! I'm Kristin and will moderate tonight's chat! I teach ELA and SS in Lansing, MI.
Hello #6thchat, Jess here from Iowa. I teach Literacy - finishing up a snow day and refreshing the delay list to see if we'll get a 2-hour delay tomorrow.
A1) Students seem to get most excited about having opportunities to use their imagination or tell their own stories about their own lives. Having a personal connection with their writing seems to keep them jazzed about their writing. #6thchat
A1: I think Ss get excited about writing when you give them choices with their writing and you build an environment where they feel comfortable to share. #6thchat
Opinion and persuasive writing. Ss feel a sense of creativity that is set in a defined structure. (But reading sources is not on their happy to-do list.) #6thchat
A1: Ss get most excited to write about topics they are interested in. When the idea is something that is relevant to them, they are willing to explore their writing much more. #6thchat
My 6th graders seem to feel intimidated by creating whole stories (that don't stroll down Tangential Way). Doing *everything* from imagination runs counter to the visual spoon-fed world they live in. Opinion-writing offers a creative outlet but specific, clearer goals. #6thchat
A2) a--Our writing curriculum is a wading pool...not deep enough for students to really learn how to swim. b--our writing curriculum is tied to Reading Street & it lacks...everything. Our ELA PLN continues to discuss ways to create authentic writing opportunities for Ss #6thchat
A2: I don't teach writing anymore, but my old curriculum was very light on writing instruction. It focused on one writing sample at end of quarter and had some lessons for it (but we never really did them...)
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A2: My writing curriculum is like a 4-month-old. There are time it is very messy and there are lots of screaming, but it can be very lovely to look at and hold. #6thchat
A2: I think my students feelings run from absolutely love it (I had 20 of them do NaNoWriMo as an after school club) to scared to death to try putting their thoughts on the page. #6thChat
A1: In my experience, my Ss always get the most excited about Narrative Writing. They love the creativity, word choice, and craziness that narratives can bring. #6thChat
Our curriculum is like an industrial dump truck. SO MUCH to load up that it needs everything oversized - especially time. *I* always feel overwhelmed. I try to keep that off their shoulders, but don't do a great job at that. #6thchat#teacherfail
A3) I find that more time at the front end of writing helps Ss get excited; we use play-doh, legos, post-it notes, postcards, and other hands on items to help students brainstorm or explore ideas. Here is a pic of my Ss using hands-on parts in a writing assignment. #6thchat
A3: To inspire students for creative writing, one activity I used to do was giving them a set of images and having them pick their favorite one and use it as the guide to their writing. Tell the story of the image, before, during, after. They would be odd photos too
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A3: I wouldn't say I do a good job of this, but one thing I've done is sentence challenges. They write a sentence with certain guidelines (like include an animal) and then I read a bunch of them out loud and point out word choice or sentence fluency that I love. #6thchat
A3: I always work on getting the buy-in by providing an engaging or fun story/activity that ties into what will be written. Sometimes a song or quick story will do the trick. #6thchat
A3) I try to do Quick Writes with my students most days. We use prompts from Colby Sharp's book "The Creativity Project." I highly recommend that book if you've never heard of it! It has open-ended creative prompts that inspire imagination. #6thchat
I try to play with language to demystify it. I am legend for awful puns & #dadjokes. And read. Read a little of everything. Selections from everywhere - esp read-alouds over their lexiles. Let them see how authors play with images and language. Let them try w/o penalty #6thchat
This idea sounds so cool. How much time do you give? I never thought of this and feel like I would have a hard time fitting it in, but if it saved time in the end... #6thchat
A4) My biggest challenge is quality time for writing conferencing. I never feel like I have enough time. I am looking into giving Ss feedback w/small videos...some specific to a Ss, and then another bank of skill-specific writing tips. Any other ideas from folks here at #6thchat
A4: One of the biggest challenges I have as a teacher of writing is Ss going through and reading all of my feedback. They just want to see the letter grade. #6thchat
A4: My biggest challenge is adequate conferencing. I never seem to make enough time or I have a bad habit of sitting too long with certain students. #6thChat
Restraint on my part when grading and while giving feedback. SO MUCH to look at, but they really need me to be focused on 1 or 2 areas to improve.
I've been asking THEM "What do you want me to look at?" That helps me stay focused and reveals their self-assessed needs
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A4.2 - The VASTLY different levels of skill that they come in with. In the same room I might have someone who writes two sentences with no punctuation and someone else who writes two pages with dialogue and both think they are done with their mini-memoir. #6thChat
A4: Finding time to provide individual time to work with students on their writing and hoping that the feedback I provide them is enough to motivate and not frustrate. #6thchat
He's one of my favorites. I've done editing of his submitted, pre-editor touched "Harvest Moon" poem that he shared in a conference. When Ss make the edits that a prof editor makes, they are on cloud 9 with pride!
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A5) Write more. A lot. Often. I use @PearDeck to intro our weekly reading skills, vocabulary & strategies. A side benefit from this: Ss are writing frequently & sharing writing w/one another immediately to discuss. They are writing more, and the quality is better! #6thchat
A5: Looking for answers here! If I had endless time to conference with each one I could ask clarifying questions, prod them to add more. Without that, I don't know that I have a lot of great strategies. #6thChat
A5 - Quick writes are great for writing fluency - getting them more comfortable writing their thinking. Most early finishers just don't want to explain themselves, or don't want to write, or are frustrated with the physical effort of writing. #6thchat
I put the timer on for 5 minutes. They explore in silence, write ideas, & then they have 3-4 min. to share ideas in small groups. It can be as big or as little as you want, but it saves so much time as they don't sit there saying they have no ideas. #6thchat
A5.2: We're about to try a peer revising and editing checklist with the stronger writing students. I am eager to see if it helps with some of those "I'm done" moments as if their peers are honest they will find parts that aren't very clear yet. #6thchat
A5 - I think we adults often forget how much energy it takes to actually sit down and write a page or two in pencil. (It's not a bad idea to try it some time.) Some kids just don't want to do the physical work of writing. #6thchat
Great scene in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when the main character has his college class describe a building. A student struggles. The prof says: describe the floor. Then, the window. Then, a single brick. Sometime focusing SMALL helps. "What did I miss?" #6thchat
Yes, we've just started differentiated checklists to address this and I think it will be helpful. We're in the early stages though so not much data yet. #6thchat
A5: One of the things I like to do is when I give Ss time to write in class, we also have stretch breaks and screen breaks. I force Ss to get up from their computers and do some exercises. Then, have them do face-to-face conversations with classmates. #6thchat
A5 - I think kids often consider "writing" to be handwriting - especially younger kids like 6th graders. "Typing" is something else to many kids this age, and they don't think of this when you say "writing." #6thchat
A5 - I think most kids who don't want to write a longer, more complex piece just need to find a topic where they have some expertise. I've had wonderfully complex conversations (and some writing) about video games. They grasp nuance in Fortnite. . . #6thchat
A6) Do allow Ss to explore their writing voices w/o correcting every error...look at the writing holistically. Do not teach the 5 paragraph essay or that every paragraph must have 5 sentences. Allow Ss to write w/o counting words, sentences & paragraphs! #6thchat
@dmaj627 and I use this. We'll introduce a "big idea" such as why do some people desire to explore distant lands or harsh places, etc. Ask Ss to respond in writing, and then answers can be shared. Their vocab factory invites kids to draw and write sentences w/new vocab. #6thchat
A6) Writing teachers should write as much as they are asking their students to write. When my students were writing a memoir, I was writing a memoir. It helped me think about what Ss needed to know in order to write it. #6thchat
A5) #6thchat I have had a lot of success with quick writes. I have used a song, a poem, topic of hair & others. SS write for 10 min. Underline their favorite line they wrote & they pair up & share.
A6: Instead of leaving feedback that says, "Don't start a sentence like you have here." Direct the feedback to the students and ask them, "What are some other ways you could start sentences?" This gives them more ownership of their writing. #6thchat
A6: DO - praise students for letting their voice come through in their writing and point out when you see(hear) it. DON'T - stress about all of the little things that you haven't taught them yet - even adults use the wrong your (all the time!). #6thChat
I think you are very right here. For some Ss, their fine motor skills are so poor that they forget what they are writing as they concentrate on the action of writing itself. #6thchat
A6 - This is a hard one - I have a tough time with "don't do that," because I don't know your students, and I assume that you are the professional who knows best what they will respond to. But I'll try. #6thchat
A6: Do - Allow Ss to get ideas on paper without worrying about conventions, grammar and punctuation right away. That can be edited.
Don't - provide a word/sentence count on writing. Make it more about the content than the length. #6thchat
Thank you for participating in #6thchat tonight! Use the extra time tonight for time with family or reading a good book, or writing in your journal...or even sleep! Have a great night!
A6 - If you want kids to write more, or come up with more ideas during drafting, tell them, "Please include one crazy or bad idea," or "Please write at least one bad joke." They can choose their best answers or revise later, and this often unblocks kids. #6thchat
Great chat tonight, @mrskochheiser! I'm not primarily a writing teacher, but all subjects need to have focus on writing. Learned quite a bit from the whole #6thchat crew!
Thanks and see y'all next week!
Have to go prep a mini for 5th grade on how to write an intro paragraph for an opinion piece. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences, #6thchat
A6 - Models are huge. Share your own, share student work, especially if the kids are present. Share middle-of-the-road work, too, and make it anonymous. That's really helpful. Try to avoid empty, vague praise. (There's a don't.) #6thchat
