Welcome!
This is your EMWP Summer Institute Book Group blog. You are asked to post at least once a week before and during the Institute. Your group leader will post additional assignments and post topics. Check back often. If you have any questions or concerns contact your leader, Angela - angela.k.knight@gmail.com.
Prompt #1 - Why did you choose this book to read this summer?
I attended Jim Vopat's session at MRA a few years ago. He took us through the process of setting up our circle, choosing our topic, drafting, and holding our first writing circle meeting. I bought his book, took the idea back to my school, and set up a 5th/6th class in writing circles for the last few weeks of school. I should be embarrassed to say that I still have not read the book. It seemed to be a good choice for the middle level teachers in our group this summer, so now I will have to read it. I can't wait!
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ReplyDeleteDid you ever start the car and come back into the house to look for your keys? Well, apparently many of the teachers at my middle school have this feeling when running writer's workshops. They have trouble keeping students on track and engaged. They struggle with classroom management because of these issues. I have used literature circles when I conference one-on-one with students, but the idea of writing circles makes much more sense to me. I'm hoping it will be the missing link to writing in my classroom and, once I make this strategy my own, I can sell it to the other ELA teachers at RMS.
DeleteI have had classroom management challenges when trying out writing workshops, too. Most of the students I had this year needed me to be like a helicopter while they wrote, hovering over their shoulder so that every time they were tempted to wander the room or start a conversation about a YouTube video they saw last night, I was there to redirect them.
DeleteI'm with you in hoping that writing circles will be the way to make workshops work for me next year.
I was looking for strategies to give my students more ownership of their writing in a way that works. In the past when I've said "You can write whatever you want!" I usually get a chorus of cheers, followed by lots of "Um, Mrs. Smith...I don't know what to write."
ReplyDeleteI chose Writing Circles as my book for this summer because it seems like a way to give students a structure to choose what to write that will help them find their own ideas without interference from me.
I'm also excited about how much sharing of writing the students get to do with writing circles. I have one writing class this year where all of the students want to share everything they write, but we don't always have the time and the whole-class audience usually doesn't stay interested for more than a few students. I think the writing circles will be a great way to get all kids involved in sharing their writing without them losing interest or becoming inattentive.
Overall, I'm very excited about the possibilities this book will open up for me and my students!