The student work samples and testimonials below illustrate how our work in designing and implementing the literacy wheel has affect student learning and teaching practices
Dialectic Journalling
Teacher Testimonial:I've always done writing conferences, but I'm going to structure them around the mini-lessons from now on. I'll continue with beginning with the thesis and writing the intro first. But as I teach supporting paragraph, I'm going to conference with ALL students about the intro as the kids are working on the 1st supporting paragraph. I'm going to grade each paragraph separately to begin with. I'm going to have to add a few days on to my timeline, but I think it will be worth it. I already have kids write their papers on Google Docs, but I'm going to have them share them with me and add comments to the side.
Found Poem for Reading Comprehension:
Teacher Testimonial: I have increased the number of nonfiction/challenging sources I have used in my classes. I have at least one nonfiction a week now. I am keeping texts short(ish) to help students focus. This has help my students in that they are getting stronger at identifying main ideas and supporting details. They are annotating better and are doing better at discussing the ideas in the texts. Including the first-draft reads of the articles has increased participation because all students get the background whether or not they are on track in class. I have been really pleased with how the inclusion of more nonfiction has actually deepened mine and my students' understanding of our core texts. I used to see nonfiction as a hassle, but since the workshop I see that it actually can give students ways to think more deeply about the text at hand.