Kathena Siegel Homework #15 11/7/2011 Responding to Student Writing Only way to help improve is to have honest encouragement

t and to support students Good writing teachers have a positive mind-set Say I will look for the good. I will go with anticipation to my students writings Be personal and specific. Let the writer know that the story has some kind of personal connection with you Forget about grading the work and focus more on responding Do not make a list of what was wrong. It is more effective to point out strong and positive elements Comment with things like I like this because Rejoice over the good! Never lie to students The teacher should never be the only audience. This teaches children to write according to what the teacher prefers and hinders writing creatively and confidently Teachers responses are always important to students which is why they need to comment positively Students are in need of caring and knowledgeable responses Writers need attention, encouragement and support. This means seeing potential and learning about the student Strong verbs, vivid detail, inventions, ironies, oppositions, and voice are all important skills to praise Help students identify and categorize the criteria for good writing As students gain confidence, the role as a responder changes. Support is offered to the writer and responses become phrased as questions When writers become more advanced, the role changes once again to that of a critic As a critic, one must argue fine points of diction, ask for a more consistent point of view, and challenge the reader to rework areas of confusion Criticism must work to improve the piece, not punish the writer Do not give up if writers become discouraged at first. Keep encouraging them and they will improve

Building good writer-responder relationships

Looking for the good

Teachers Responses

Helpful Responses

Students as Responders

Conclusions

Ask students to talk about each others work Tell them to point out the good first and then begin asking harder questions Writers should take notes and be accepting of suggestions Be positive and helpful If something is unclear, just ask the writer for clarification Have students share out loud, utilizing the suggestions and comments that other students gave It is important to have variation in response modes and strategies to keep students interested Continue to encourage to not be lazy with their responses and offer useful criticism. Teachers need to look at the quality and structure of these responses Spend time evaluating student responses as a whole class, talk about what kind of responses are helpful, and challenge them to read closely and ask good questions of the writer When all of these components come together, significant improvement will be evident