Literacy Now

What is the most difficult component of the writing workshop for young writers?

Take a second. Consider your response.

In my experience, the revision stage is the toughest part.

Maturing writers need a tremendous amount of time to brainstorm, develop, and draft ideas. Under the time constraints of pacing schedules and scripted programs, even 40 minutes per writing session seems insufficient. Revision is then relegated to a single lesson, implicitly reinforcing what students have already habitualized: write a draft, add some ideas, consider it final.

Let's face it—revision is tedious, even defeating. To say “Take your writing to the next level” can be very ambiguous for young writers. Ultimately, I find myself wondering where the line is between writers' dependency and self-efficacy within the revision process.

When I ask my students what they think about the revision process, here's what they tell me:

• I've already done my best work—why do I have to change it?
• My drafts are so bad I have to revise everything, which feels like I have to do it over again.
• Just tell me what I need to fix.
• Revision makes me feel bad for the things I didn't do the first time.

Then, of course, there is always the instance when I realize that writers haven't made a single revision despite all the work I put into telling them what (and how) to revise.

To turn the responsibility of revision over to maturing writers, I consider the writing process and how revision is a process itself, one with its own distinct and individualized functions.

First, I show students examples of my own revisions and model how to revise a paragraph in a 10-minute session. They watch as I evaluate the sentence fluency, word choice, and often the organization of “live” pieces. (“Live” pieces are writings I am currently working on.) I model reorganization of sentences and paragraphs to show how to eliminate redundancy. I demonstrate that revision is “done in parts, leading to the whole” by showing drafts in multiple points of revision.

The intent behind this practice is to model and establish personal experimentation within the revision process.

The act of revision is like grouping loose puzzle pieces. Many first drafts represent a chaos of ideas. When we revise, we are trying to define the vision that those ideas become. The chaos of ideas can be cumbersome, especially if a student is new to revision or inexperienced.

The true art of revision is fostered within the writing conference where the teacher and the student collaborate on the next draft. By breaking apart paragraphs and reorganizing sentences, the student has turned a rough draft into a piece of art that demonstrates an investment in writing. At the end of a conference, reflect on the editing changes and how they enhance the writing.

Time must be invested in modeling and experimenting with revision because students’ writing in general and revision improve with time and deliberation. Revision, then, becomes more than a procedural step on a checklist; it is about fulfillment of a vision and a personal investment in writing and becoming a writer.

Justin Stygles is a fifth-grade teacher at Guy E. Rowe Elementary school in Norway, ME. He has taught for 13 years at the intermediate level and in various summer program settings.

Although most people associate a residency with learning in the medical field, I shared the value of a literacy residency in last week’s post. Here is my day-by-day plan of a four-day residency.

Day 1: The literacy leader teaches and the participants observe

Pre-residency meet-up

• The literacy leader should explain her role and the purpose of the residency, using some of the information from Part 1. She should also share the plan for the week and each participant’s role in this experience.
• Participants choose an intention for the residency as a study focus, such as integration, feedback, transfer, or independence, and share with the group.

During the residency

• The literacy leader teaches the entire residency block, keeping in mind the participants’ learning goals and adding comments to explain what she is teaching, why, and how.

Debriefing the residency

• Participants should gather and discuss the residency based on the focuses that they chose.
• The literacy leader should prepare for the second day of the residency during which participants will take over part of the teaching.

Day 2: The literacy leader teaches whole-group structures and the participants teach in small-group structures

Pre-residency meet-up

• The literacy leader shares the planned whole-group instruction and asks participants to revisit their intention of study for the residency.
• Participants, in pairs, decide who will take on which part of the small-group teaching. For instance, one participant may take on the “research” and “teach” part of the conference while another will take on the “coaching” and “link” of the conference.

During the residency

• The literacy leader demonstrates whole-group teaching, which might include the minilesson, read-aloud, shared reading, or writing experience.
• Pairs of participants work with students, holding conferences and small-group sessions and offering feedback to one another.

Debriefing the residency

• Participants should gather and discuss the residency in terms of the focus that they chose.
• The literacy leader should prepare for the third day of the residency where participants will take over other parts of the teaching, including whole-group instruction.

Day 3: The paired participants teach “their class” and the literacy leader gives feedback

Pre-residency meet-up

• Participant pairs decide on the parts each is responsible for teaching and tie up any loose ends before moving into the residency.

During the residency

• Participants, in pairs, will teach a part of the class. To clarify, if there are four teachers that are part of the residency, split the class in half. Each pair of teachers will have their own “class” that they teach from beginning to end (minilesson, conference, shared reading, etc.).
• The literacy leader jots down feedback to share with the pairs during the debriefing.

Debriefing the residency

• The literacy leader shares the feedback with participants by passing along what she noted.
• Participants should prepare for the final day of the residency during which each will teach individually. The literacy leader makes a schedule like the example shown.

Day 4: Each participant teaches a portion of the residency

Pre-residency meet-up

• The literacy leader should set the tone for celebration Here’s some wording I use: What a week it has been! So much learning time together feels decadent and sort of like “teaching camp.” As we plan our last day together, our bigger purpose is to share our teaching gifts with one another by each taking on a part of the instruction. Think of this as a time to try out some new learning and an opportunity for the rest of us to soak up your greatness. When we do, a little piece of your teaching talent will be carried within each of us every day.

• The literacy leader should share the feedback method. Each participant will write a note to the others about what she or he admires about another participant’s teaching. Here’s an example of one participant’s feedback.

During the residency

• Participants teach while others observe and jot down feedback.

Debriefing the residency

• Participants share the notes with one another and take one final moment to share what they have learned throughout the week.
• Participants write a note to the students to share their gratitude for the chance to learn in their classrooms.

Teachers have described residencies as transformative. A residency holds incredible power for teacher-learners who are looking for the next step in professional learning, are eager to integrate all they know about literacy instruction, and are looking to grow a community of teachers who learn from one another.

Patty McGee is a literacy consultant whose passion and vision is to create learning environments where teachers and students discover their true potential and power. She is the author of Feedback That Moves Writers Forward: How to Escape Correcting Mode to Transform Student Writing (Corwin 2017). Patty’s favorite moments are when groups of teachers are working collaboratively with students in the classroom.

We most often picture residency programs to happen within the medical field, but this learning design is gaining ground in the education world. I define a residency in the education world to be  professional learning that takes place across a number of consecutive days within one classroom with a small group of teachers. It goes beyond the one-shot demonstrations that are often part of embedded professional learning and also takes coaching to an elevated level of collaboration. Residencies answer the question that I most often hear: How do I fit this all in?  

Why hold a residency?

Literacy learning, as we know, is multifaceted and complex, and it requires a deep knowledge of many intricate instructional approaches. A residency allows for the practice of the many components of balanced literacy as responsive choices based on student readiness. Most professional learning experiences in literacy are very often about only one of the components, such as the reading workshop. We teach and experience the parts and pieces of reading workshops—mini-lessons, eyes-on-text time, conferences, small-group instruction, guided reading, and so on. We often explore, deeply over time, the what and the why of workshop instruction. In other words, we share strategies and units to focus on, and we learn the research that supports a workshop approach. But a reading workshop is a pliable, flexible, student-centered approach that has no specific road map. And so, the residency concept supports teachers in making instructional choices to consider the big, looming question of when—when do I pull a strategy group? When do I teach this particular strategy? When do I hold conferences?

How do you plan for a residency?

As you prepare for a residency, here is what you will need in place:

1. A concentrated time of at least an hour, though preferably an entire literacy block if possible
2. A group of teachers who understand the purpose of the residency and the intended outcomes and have had at least some background in balanced literacy
3. Current unit plans with goals and other materials that are used for instruction
4. Scheduled time to meet to plan and debrief before and after the classroom residency time
5. One person who will act as the literacy leader of the residency—usually a literacy coach, consultant, or teacher leader

How is a residency designed?

Think of the residency in the same gradual release model that you use in classroom instruction. Design the days using this concept, handing over the responsibility for teaching more and more to the participants.

Next week’s post will give you a day-by-day plan of how a residency can be designed based on the gradual release of responsibility model. Aside from it being high-impact professional learning, it is also so much fun!

Patty McGee is a literacy consultant whose passion and vision is to create learning environments where teachers and students discover their true potential and power. She is the author of Feedback That Moves Writers Forward: How to Escape Correcting Mode to Transform Student Writing (Corwin 2017). Patty’s favorite moments are when groups of teachers are working collaboratively with students in the classroom.

This is too long to sit.
When will I ever use this in real life?
Can you just hurry up and give us the information so we can leave? All this "turn and talk" is annoying.
I have to be here TWO HOURS?
Just so you know, I have permission to leave a few minutes early.
Can I just have a copy of the PowerPoint? I'll read it later.

These sound like comments someone might expect to hear from students about to earn a detention. Unfortunately, these are all statements made by teachers during professional development sessions.

Teachers are often frustrated by these trainings, and sometimes understandably so, but they are no more frustrated than those trying to provide practical and engaging professional development for all attendees.

Providing professional development is darn tough. Challenging. If you think differentiating for a class of 35 students is tough, put 150 adults in a room and try to meet their needs. No matter the topic, no matter who determined it was necessary, no matter how it is presented, a large number of attendees will be unhappy.

Planning of professional development is similar to planning for classroom lessons: It seems like the more information there is to provide, the shorter the span of time allotted, and the less effective the time spent enmeshed in the learning becomes.

The reality is that, just like students, teachers need time to process and to discuss new learning and information. They need the opportunity to collaborate and to discuss ways to incorporate the new learning into the framework of the old. In these days of shrinking professional development budgets, time to process and to collaborate becomes a tough sell. Time is money, after all.

Honestly, those assigned to provide professional development in your school or district do not sit for weeks beforehand planning ways for their session to be unengaging and useless. Much of the time, the professional development they provide has been requested by particular teachers themselves and arduously planned. It's just really tough to do it well.

We all must occasionally engage in professional development that is tedious but legally required. Sometimes the intended messages are designed to protect those in the room. Sometimes they represent new research or information that will be helpful to those teaching content. Sometimes they are required for relicensure.

Providing the right professional development at the right time is difficult when teachers constantly have so much to learn. Things are changing quickly. As soon as you really understand how your computer system works, someone will come in with a new operating system. As soon as you've perfected the ability to ask high-level questions, someone will tell you to incorporate inquiry groups. Or book clubs. Or Socratic seminars.

All these are great professional development opportunities, but they take time to learn to use effectively. Successful implementation of these wonderful ideas can't take place after a 30-minute seminar.

My response is to put yourself out there. If you don't like the PD provided, start lobbying for choice. Start asking to help prioritize the list of needs teachers have. Ask about the long-term plan for professional development. Talk to teacher leaders in your building. It may mean having to admit there are things you don't know.

Most important, if you have some good ideas, share them with colleagues. Teachers need teachers to support them, and there is no one better than you to do it.

Julie Scullen is a former member of the ILA Board of Directors and also served as president of the Minnesota Reading Association and Minnesota Secondary Reading Interest Council. She taught most of her career in secondary reading intervention classrooms and now serves as Teaching and Learning Specialist for Secondary Reading in Anoka-Hennepin schools in Minnesota, working with teachers of all content areas to foster literacy achievement. She teaches graduate courses at Hamline University in St. Paul in literacy leadership and coaching, disciplinary literacy, critical literacy, and reading assessment and evaluation.

You've probably seen the meme "I wish I could earn professional development points for Pinterest." Pinterest, a photo-sharing website, has become a popular site for teachers to collect images, or "pins," that help them plan, organize, and explore a variety of topics of interest from classroom decor to reading strategies.

As a reading specialist and instructional coach at an elementary school, I use research-based strategies when planning lessons with teachers. However, many times, teachers will share pins they have found on Pinterest. As an instructional coach, one challenge I have encountered is how to balance research-based instruction with attractive and eye-catching pins. I understand the visual benefits of Pinterest, but I also feel the urgency, especially when working with struggling readers, that reading instruction must meet the student's needs.

Over the past four years, I've spent hundreds of hours on Pinterest looking at pins and creating literacy boards, and I have learned that not all pins are equal when searching for effective literacy ideas to support instruction. When working with teachers, you can determine the effectiveness of a pin by asking the following questions:

• What is my learning target?
• How does this pin support the standard or learning target being taught?
• How does this pin help to differentiate instruction?

Not all pins are created equal. I look for pictures of real classrooms with ideas and research-based strategies being implemented. Because many pins are linked to classroom blogs, there are numerous pictures of resources in action. One of the teachers I work with explained to me that "Pinterest is a good way to share ideas that others may not have known about." Topic areas that yield numerous high-quality pins include the following:

• Anchor charts
• Reading comprehension strategies
• Mentor texts

Pinterest provides helpful visuals for teachers when they are creating anchor charts. Printing the pin and using it when creating anchor charts with students is very easy. Even if you are not artistic, you can find many examples of anchor charts that use graphics or brightly colored text to help students anchor their thinking.

Searching for research-based reading comprehension strategies that I'm already using in the classroom has yielded high-quality pins. For example, I use Jan Richardson's The Next Step in Guided Reading to organize lessons, and Pinterest features numerous pins with lesson plan layouts and prompts from this book. In addition, I've been able to find and download visual prompts for her method of teaching sight words.

Pinterest offers many resources when I'm trying to find children's literature that is connected to standards. From mentor texts in writing to mentor texts based on comprehension strategies, there is an abundance of ideas focused around children's literature. Standards that use mentor texts that have high-quality pins include the following:

• Making predictions
• Summarizing
• Determining cause and effect
• Theme

In addition, Pinterest has helped me find children's books for teaching phonemic awareness and phonics skills.

Pinterest is a popular forum for teachers to learn about new ideas and strategies for their classrooms. Remember, however, that although Pinterest can help enhance and support both standards being taught and research-based strategies, it does not replace good teaching.

Bridget Stegman is an instructional coach for the Topeka Public Schools in Kansas. Her teaching experience includes K–5 special education and literacy intervention.