I'm not the most reliable blogger these days and I was thinking of that yesterday while teaching my 5th grade class. I'm trying to reinforce publishing/typing skills in Microsoft Word. I had asked students to write about their recent fall break and I took the opportunity to model the quality of writing I wanted and wrote about my Starbucks trip.
As I typed my paragraph on the SMART board via my wireless keyboard, the students were a bit shocked at my typing speed and how I was talking to them while typing. I began thinking of why I'd went to Starbucks in the first place: to unwind, to drink coffee, to read, and to catch up on some work. I chose Starbucks because I like the atmosphere, the noise, and the people watching.
While the students were writing, I began to notice how engaged the students were. They were determined to create a quality piece after seeing my writing. Should students see me as a writer? Then I felt like a slacker because I honestly I can't remember the last time I wrote an essay or paper. Sure, I send email all day long and I created handouts for our professional learning day just last week. But I feel like the students should see their teachers as a writer too.
So, on that note I'm planning to blog more about the things I'm doing in my technology classroom. To give myself an accountability check.
In light of all this, I found a new website and app that I'm eager to use with my students. It's called Coffitivity, http://coffitivity.com/. It streams coffee shop style background noise to help people focus. I think my students would love hearing this and it might help me to stress less about their talking while they write.
Another app I learned of from a sweet 3rd grader teacher at our school professional learning day is Story Wizard. It's 99 cents but I'll watch to see if it becomes free. This app generates journal topics for students. I thought it would be a fun way to do a quick write with students.
Do you think it's important for your students to see you as a writer?
Would sharing your (the teacher's) writing with students make writing more authentic for them?
No comments:
Post a Comment