Actually, until we "caught on" how to teach
taking-the-state-writing-assessment, our kids did horrifically! And the
better writers they were, it seemed, the worse they did . . . because of the
timed element.
Hi, Beverly,
At times it does indeed seem like a 'double edged' sword: we
teach craft, and they become so proficient as writers, pausing to
elaborate, using lovely language, etc., and then there's that 45 minute
prompt.? It's hard to marry the two.? For a while, teachers taught to
the test, so that more children had a shot at 'hitting goal.'? The
excellent writers did well, because they had been taught the pacing and
key elements, and the developing writers also did well.?? As teachers
became more comfortable as teachers of writing, incorporated
literature, developed a deeper understanding of craft, and took the
risk of teaching units of study like poetry, memoir, keeping a writer's
notebook, (Calkins, Fletcher, etc.), they found that devoting two units of
study to strategies to incorporate the qualities of great
writing into a 45 minute prompt - worked.? It was a leap of faith,
but it worked.? And the best part (but don't tell NCLB people this!)
the kids really learned to love writing because now it had depth and
variety.
Hope this helps.
m.
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