Blog Post Assignment #4: A Series of Decisions I Make Each Day

I pulled some really great how-to's from this chapter that I can start applying to my teaching immediately. And in my effort to teach like Kittle, I've buckled down and started writing. Kittle writes of her struggle trying to find time to write each day and the excuses she finds to procrastinate - so relatable. But her emphasis on writing so that you can teach kids to write in a genuine way really struck a chord with me, so I've been making an effort to write consistently. I need to figure out my own writing process and flow before (and while) I can ask my students to do the same. In this chapter, Kittle mentioned that she always takes the time to teach through her thinking in whatever genre they're working on from her first thoughts, placeholders or "I don't knows," and even full drafts. While she only usually only does this for one of the five lessons in the week, I think its so important for the kids to see her process to learn how to access their own process.

I loved what Kittle wrote about tailoring her approach to the kids in front of her. I recognize the need to "tune instruction" to meet the needs and skills of the kids in my class, and I hope that through experience I'll be able to do this effectively. I can see this reflected in her handouts to the kids and parents, the emphasis on book talks, the value she puts on sustained silent reading and in giving kids a choice in what they want to read and write.

I'm not teaching in a classroom yet, but I can definitely start giving the kind of feedback that Kittle talks about (notes in the students' journals, second revision verbal feedback, etc.) I've always given feedback, but the way that Kittle does it really makes me think about better ways to work with writers. Her approach is focused on the students' needs, not what I think (or, more honestly, standardized test essay graders think) their writing should be. She writes: "I work hard to listen, encourage and direct my teaching toward something that will help this writer at this moment in time."  I need to focus more on listening to what my students need from me and how they think I can help them.