Richard's Fourth Grade Classroom:

Integrating a Mid-Tech Tool into Interactive Writing

Richard, a fourth grade teacher, was concerned about how to help his students "unpack" their ideas into separate paragraphs. He wanted each paragraph to be about a different idea. During a STAR Cycle team meeting, his colleagues recommended that he use an interactive or shared writing activity. More specifically, they suggested that he use one student’s work as a model for group editing. Soon after the team meeting, Richard decided to implement the strategy using an overhead projector.

Back in his classroom, Richard selected the work of the student who exhibited the most difficulty in creating paragraphs. In a recent writing assignment, this student’s essay had been one long paragraph with five big ideas jumbled together. The text begged to be divided into five separate paragraphs. Richard asked the student if he would mind having his essay used as a stimulus for group editing. The student agreed, saying he "felt fine about it" (especially because he expected to get a finished product out of the experience). Richard decided to correct the spelling errors before showing the paper to the class because he wanted the class to focus on the content, not the spelling.

Richard reproduced the student’s writing and displayed it on a large monitor. He gathered all the students together in the front of the room. After they had a chance to read the draft, Richard recalled that he "asked the class to identify where they saw the author’s thoughts changing." He said that they could use this shift in ideas as a marker for another paragraph. He began by asking, "Where do the new paragraphs start?" He then made notations on the overhead.

After 15 minutes of brainstorming, the students returned to revising their own drafts. After using this strategy again during another writing session, coupled with other strategies aimed at promoting paragraph structure (e.g., using sticky notes), Richard found that his students were showing marked improvement. "They pretty much have mastered the concept of paragraphing," he told his team at the next month’s meeting.

Top

Home · About STAR Tech · Leadership · Using Technology · Resources · Help