Baby Steps

So many things we do in life, are learned in bits and pieces. Nothing is ever learned in one bite or swallow. I have re-learned many things in this writing class that I learned in the '80's when I took my teacher preparation classes. I also challenged myself to write personally, something I have not done before. It made me aware of the assignments my students meet each day, as we challenge them in areas that they may not feel comfortable. In my teacher preparation classes in Reading and Literature, we were taught to read and think both critically and creatively. I never learned to write effectively. I learned many techniques for teaching reading and writing, but after long periods of time, they became stagnant in my mind. This class reawakened my sleeping spirit.

Baby steps: The students that I work with are like me in a way. They have been taught things in the past but for reasons similar to or different to mine, (it doesn't really matter why) they are unable to use them in their classroom or lives and this causes them to be behind academically.

My student's can learn things in baby steps. I need to go slow enough and take them along in baby steps, so as not to scare them, not allow them to fall too hard, and to give them the confidence to try again the next day. This is the way I would like to teach- using these new ideas and reinstating some of my previously learned techniques. I am ready to forge ahead and try to inspire the uninspired students I encounter daily.

The following lessons that were presented this summer were inspiration to me and I look forward to trying them this coming year with my fourth and fifth grade special education students.

1) Describing Details of a Physical Object: Students love textures, especially special education students. They love the kinesthetic experiences. Having students feel a shell, and then write a line or word to describe it in a group setting would be fun and develop their ability to describe using details.

2) Adding Details for Colorful Sentences: This would be a nice follow -up from the previous activity. Students are given a noun, then add a verb, and then label the parts of the sentence. They then pass it around the group, adding adjectives and adverbs. It was fun and interactive.

3) Sentence Combining: Bill Strong had many wonderful activities for teaching students how to combine sentences using "kernel sentences." This would be especially useful for my students who do not have the ability to go from a single sentence to a more complex sentence without using "run ons."

4) Graphic Structure for Fantasy Adventure: This activity uses a wonderful visual graphic model, which would be highly structured and would guide my students using a model of writing a fantasy. They need the structure and this was very clear and organized and could work either in a group setting or with individual students.

5) Strategies for Poetry at all Levels: Using some of Ingrid Wendt's resources would allow students to explore and have fun with language in a non-threatening way. I am interested in reading to my students some of her recommended books: Talking to the Sun (art and poems translated from many languages, plus it has cultural exposure, an extra nice bonus), and Beauty of the Beast, a Jack Polosky book that triggers kids and adults imaginations.

6) Inspiration Program: I will certainly use this tool when helping students pre-write their papers for their animal reports and the big oceanography unit they do in the spring. It was so visual and simple to use, and I am sure they could have fun being creative at the same time as being productive.

Baby Steps: We have many time constraints as educators, combined with the many student's absences, and just the day-to-day interferences students and teachers have. If I approach the writing process as a series of baby steps, that, when at the end of the year is measurable and progressive, then I have made a difference in a small part of the lives of these kids.