I know you’re busy and overworked and counting down the days until Thanksgiving Break, so this will be short and sweet.
Last week I wrote about taking time to model. My husband is a principal, and he tells me (on the regular) that modeling is the one thing he thinks teachers cannot afford to bypass. The days are jam-packed, and modeling is an easy aspect of instruction to cut short. So, we brainstormed a list of three helpful tips to make your teacher model both successful and sustainable.
1) Your prompts will change but your writing format should not. I use a simple writing format which has three parts — Identify It! Prove It! Bring It Back Around! Save time by sticking to a consistent structure so you don’t have a dozen outlines or 17 graphic organizers to teach and reteach your kiddos.
2) Don’t feel bad about hogging the stage. Modeling small chunks of writing for weeks and weeks before giving students the freedom to write an entire, formal piece on their own IS OKAY! Consider this: model writing (using a consistent format) 7-10 times, scaffold your instruction so your model turns into whole-class guided practice, and then allow your students to create their own final, beautiful writing piece. Sure they can practice informally in between your models, but don’t feel bad taking the time to include multiple teacher models.
3) As you scaffold your instruction and feel ready to move from teacher model to whole-class guided practice, try this: stop mid sentence, ask, “what should I write next?” and wait. Instruct your students to turn and discuss. Draw sticks or use a discussion method that will allow students to share what they think you should write next. Abruptly stopping a model and pushing your students to think and participate will increase engagement and effectiveness.
Keep on keeping on, everyone. :)
Joy & cheer,
Lindsay