Emily Branigan

ENG 315WI
March 13, 2018

Seeing Classroom Notes

Building an Insider View of the Classroom Community

What characteristics of writing workshop do you observe?

During the student’s one-hour allotment for writer’s workshop, the students begin by joining
together on the carpet to participate in a discussion or activity led by their teacher. After the
discussion/activity, the students are able to work on their writing independently or with a partner
(depending on the day) wherever they would like to within the classroom. Initially, the teacher
floats around the room to check on students, then she sits at her desk in the back of the classroom
for students to conference with her as needed.

What ‘best practices’ in teaching writing do you observe?

While teaching grammar and mechanics, the teacher encourages students to come up with their
own examples, versus the teacher explicitly teaching them how to use certain mechanics. For
example, to teach students how to “show” a story versus “telling” a story, she had students share
snippets of their personal narratives. One student shared “I walked through the snow and got
stuck.” The teacher asked, “How can you spice it up?” As a class, they came up with the
following: “I trekked through the deep, wet snow. My feet sank in, and they stuck like concrete.”
She also encourages students to self-revise their own papers before brining them to the teacher
for help.

How much time is designated for writing?

One hour.

How many students are in the classroom? How is seating arranged?

There are approximately 24 students in the classroom. The desks are arranged in groups of 4.
During writing, students have the opportunity to stay at their desks or to sit on the floor on the
carpet or on bean bags.

What can you say about the tone of writing time?

The tone of writing time is very relaxed, yet the students are very engaged and independent.

Organizing a Rich Environment for Learning

If the class is currently working together on a type of writing, what is it? What can you tell about
the guidelines and expectations of the assignment?
The students are working on personal narratives. They are free to write on topics of their choice.
They are working on indenting their paragraphs, using punctuation, and “showing” their stories
by using vivid details and descriptors.

How engaged are students during their writing time? How meaningful do writing tasks seem to
the students?

The students are very engaged during their writing time. Writing seems to be very meaningful to
students. They understand that they are free to express themselves in their own voices during
their writing time.

What opportunities do students have to learn through talk?

They learn through talk during the discussions and activities they have with their teacher prior to
independent writing time each day during writer’s workshop.

Understanding How Language & Literacy Develop

What do you notice about students’ relationships and interactions with each other?

Overall, the students interact very well with each other. They tend to give positive feedback
about each other’s papers. Occasionally, there will be indifference or arguments about the “right
way” to write. This is when me or the teacher steps in to resolve it. However, students are
generally well-behaved and engaged with each other’s pieces.

Based on your observations, what do the students already know how to do with language? What
are their strengths?

The students know how to structure words in sentences in ways that make sense.

What “errors” in using language in general have you observed? How do those errors actually
reflect students’ developing understandings about language and how it works?

Some of the students tend to use slang such as “I don’t got no pencil” or “I don’t have no idea.”
This tells me that these students may struggle with the concept of double-negatives.

Personal and Socio-culture Influences

What are the demographics of the school?

West side of Mt. Pleasant. There is a large Native American population on this side of town.

What do you know about students’ interests, passions, talents, activities, or hobbies outside of
school?
From what I know, the students enjoy sleepovers at friend’s houses, baseball, camping, baking,
and taking care of animals.

What do you know about students’ families and cultural backgrounds?

The classroom is a melting pot. There are students who are Native American, Asian, Latino, and
White. There are many students who have mixed families. Some of the students’ have single
parents or live with their grandparents.

What “errors” in using language in general have you observed children make? How might these
“errors” be because of cultural differences?

I think that the slang some of the students use is a result of the language that their families use at
home. I am not sure if any of my students are English Language Learners.