Interview Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hUF8xw7Bx9cO2jIrsjXHjw1u-6NzH78C/view?usp=sharing

Interview Reflection: Below (After Transcript)

Interviewer:      Hi Jayden, thank you for doing this interview today. Alright so what grade are you in?

Participant:         Third Grade

Interviewer:      Thank you, Alright. So what types of writing do you do in your 3^rd grade classroom?

Participant:         Cursive

Interviewer:       Aright, you do cursive. What other types of writing?

Participant:         Hmm. Paragraphs

Interviewer:      And What do your paragraphs consist of?

Participant:       Things that are going on in the season or around me

Interviewer:      Ok, so things that are going on in the season or around you. Do you like doing paragraphs?

Participant:         Yes

Interviewer:      Okay,     could you maybe read one of your paragraphs for me. Pick your favorite paragraph.

Participant:         Okay

Interviewer:      You can start reading now

Participant:         Dead leaves. The leaves started to change the season. This very season is colder than spring. When the leaves hit the ground, they begin to look ugly. The trees start to lose their chlorophyll. Then the tree has no leaves.

Interviewer:      Thank you, I enjoyed that. Did you like writing that?

Participant:         Yes

Interviewer:      I see you did a picture with it to. What was your thought behind the picture?

Participant:         Hmm

Interviewer:      Because it looks really nice

Participant:         The seasonal types of leaves

Interviewer:      I like it.

Participant:         The seasonal types of leaves. The leaves changing colors and the trees losing their chlorophyll.

Interviewer:      I see that’s there’s a lot of meaning behind the picture. I like it. So, how have your past teachers helped you with writing? So, teachers you had before this one. Like, what kind of assignments did you do in your first and second grade class? Did those consist of paragraphs as well?

Participant:         No… Yea first grade did

Interviewer:      First grade?

Participant:         Yes.

Interviewer:      So, what did you do in second grade?

Participant:         Um.

Interviewer:      If you don’t remember is fine.

Participant:         We didn’t actually do anything. Like we didn’t do actually do any paragraphs

Interviewer:      Ok, so how can your… well how does your teacher now help you improve your writing? Have you every sat down with your teacher and done um teacher and student conferences. Where you talking about your writing?

Participant:         No.

Interviewer:      Okay, what are somethings you would like your teacher and future teachers to do when helping you improve your writing?

Participant:         Umm…. umm.

Interviewer:      What is something you would like to gain from writing? Like nothing else you want to learn?

Participant:         No.

Interviewer:      No?

Participant:         No.

Interviewer:      Do you have any suggestions as to writing assignments you would possible like to do in the future or are you fine with doing paragraphs?

Participant:         Yes

Interviewer:       Okay well, Thank you very much.

Reflection:
As I reflected on this interview one standard comes to mind. Writing is a tool for thinking. I think of this standard because of Jayden’s writing experience. For Jayden’s writing I can tell that he thinks and focus on his ideas that he wants to get across before writing them down. “The notion that writing is a medium for thought is important in several ways and suggests a number of important uses for writing: to solve problems, to identify issues, to construct questions, to reconsider something one had already figured out, to try out a half-baked idea”( National Council of Teachers of English). Its important for students to first generates ideas before jumping right into writing.

As a future teacher, I believe that writing is a powerful tool for thinking and understanding the process of writing. As a future teacher, I’m going to use narrative, journals, and written reflections to help my students better their thought and writing process. Jayden work sample stands as an example of this standard and why it is so important. Writing as a tool of thinking help students questioning and discovering new things. For example, Jayden discovers that trees start to lose their chlorophyll. Regardless of age, ability, or writing experience, writing can always be used as a tool for thinking an expression ideas.

Writing is a process, this is a statement we all know. There are many different steps in the writing process. The writing process involves a lot of small details that play a big process in the overall products.” It is important for a writer to work through each of the steps in order to ensure that he has produced a polished, complete piece”(Calvert Education). Its important for students to develop a good writing process in order for them to the desired finished product. “Students should become comfortable with pre-writing techniques, multiple strategies for developing and organizing a message, a variety of strategies for revising and editing, and methods for preparing products for public audiences and for deadlines” (National Councils of Teachers of English). Down below is a chart of the writing process that can be used as a handout or a poster to help students with their writing.

Writing can be composed and produced through different modes and technology. As a future teacher, it is important for me to use different modes to teach my students. Writing should also be taught in a traditional way of essays. Students need to be fluid in different writing modes. “Effective writing is a vital component of students’ literacy achievement, and writing is a critical communication tool for students to convey thoughts and opinions, describe ideas and events, and analyze information” (Dept of Education). Teaching students to writing in different modes help them improve their writing, be able to convey thoughts in opinions through different modes and creates life-long skills that they need for the future. The nature of writing is always changing, so should our teaching instructions. Different modes of writing include: short stories, videos, newsletters, brochures, websites, blogs, etc. According to the National Councils of Teachers of English “increased access to various modalities and technologies has created opportunities for students with a wide range of abilities, backgrounds, and languages to compose with more independence and agency”. Lesson plans of how teachers can use different modes to teach are down below.

Teacher: Sherae Mcrae Grade: TBD School: Longwood University		Essential Learning Target(s):   ·        Students will: ·        Understand how to write blogs ·        Express their opinion in a blog entry ·        Assess other students’ blog entries
Date: TBD
Subject: Writing Topic: Blog		Essential Question(s):   •What is a blog? •What information should be included? • What it is it used for?
Virginia State Standard(s):   Writing: 5.7 The student will write for a variety of purposes: to describe, to inform, to entertain, to explain, and to persuade
Lesson Procedures:   ·        Ask students if they have heard of a blog. ·        Explain what a blog is. ·        Discuss rules for blogging. Add any more rules to the Blogging Rules list that your class determines. ·        Show examples of educational blogs, such as those on Scholastic News Online. ·        Choose a blog to join in the discussion. ·        Allow time for the students to type their blog entries. ·        If time allows, have the students respond to another student’s blog entry.
Materials:   ·        Blogging Rules ·        Scholastic News Online Blogs	Assessments:   How well did the students understand the blog-writing process? How interested were the students in the discussion topics? What technical problems arose?.		Notes:

 

Teacher: Sherae Mcrae Grade: TBD School: Longwood University		Essential Learning Target(s):   ·        Students will have developed questioning and predicting skills as well as the following: ·        Developing receptiveness to language, reading, listening and understanding ·        Writing, spelling, grammar, drafting, revising and editing ·        Developing imagination, confidence in using oral language and creative skills ·        Use of dictionaries and thesauruses to extend and develop vocabulary and spelling ·
Date: TBD
Subject: Writing Topic: Newsletter		Essential Question(s):   •What are the important features of newsletter? •What information should be included? •What are the steps to create a  newsletter?
Virginia State Standard(s):   Writing: 5.7 The student will write for a variety of purposes: to describe, to inform, to entertain, to explain, and to persuade 5.8 The student will edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and paragraphing Research: 5.9 The student will find, evaluate, and select appropriate resources for a research product.
Lesson Procedures:   •Ask the students to look at newspapers and other newsletters for ideas of layout. •Highlight how the newspaper is structured: e.g. “lead” story, use of full banner headlines, language of headlines, placement of photographs and captions, audience of the newspaper, are the stories interesting, are the stories opinion pieces or factual etc. •Ask the students to create a list of topics around what they wish to write about in their newsletter. •Give the students Reporting Tips (if they are using an interview in their newsletter) •Encourage the students to gather information for their articles and to follow the reporting checklist • Organize the students into groups to create a series of newsletters •Once Newsletter a completed they will be complied into a class magazine. This magazine can then be share with other classes and grades.
Materials:   ·        Paper ·        Color pencils ·        Pencils ·        Comic Template ·        Samples of  Newsletters ·        Reporting Tips Sheet	Assessments:   Use completed newsletter to measure writing skills.		Notes:   Lesson Plan found and modified from: