The last few weeks we have been working on Biographies in grade 6 and Historical Fiction in grade 5. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the writing process is never done in isolation. Please refer to the post from Friday January 30th that goes into detail about the work that has gone into preparing them to write their Biographies and Historical Fiction narratives.You will also see the anchor charts that we use to show them their success criteria for the assignment.
Today I would like to discuss the difference between guiding versus assisting a student with written work. The first thing parents should know is that we don't allow students to edit and revise their written work at home, especially if it will be a piece that will be assessed.
Once a piece of writing is in the first draft stage we have the students print it out and edit the piece with a peer. Peer editing is a skill that we teach early on in the year. In addition to that, we have anchor charts that explain the peer editing process step by step. There is also an editing check list that the students complete together and attach to their rough copy. The student then goes back and makes the appropriate corrections to their work. Once that is done they bring their work to me and we read it together, at that point, I make suggestions based on how well their work matches the success criteria. After that conference, the students are directed to compare their work to the success criteria and consider the suggestions that we discussed. This is what we mean by
guiding the student through the process.
In the end, it is their responsibility to take the suggestions, compare their work to the success criteria and make the appropriate changes. If they don't do that successfully then that informs my assessment. It means the student has difficulty revising their work based on established criteria. This process would be totally subverted if the student receives editing and revising
assistance at home. I know we all want our children to be successful and we do everything we can to guide, assist and support our children's growth as readers and writers. If you would like to help them with their writing, might I suggest, looking at the Anchor chart for a particular assignment and then having students start a different story at home. For example, if the student is working on an Historical Fiction about WWII, then have them create another story that has to do with Pioneers. Use the success criteria, and assist them editing, revising and wherever else you think they could benefit from your guidance. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call and set up time for us to talk. For those of you that may be interested in this topic I am including a link below to an article that does a good job in explaining the difference between guiding and assisting. The terms used may be different but the point is the same. The article is meant for teachers but may help parents understand how the process of gradually releasing responsibility from the teacher to the student takes place.
SCAFFOLDING V.S. RESCUING
The students are working on their culminating, hands on activities, for their science units. The grade 6 students are putting the principles of flight to the test by creating their own flying machine. The grade 5 students are creating their own energy efficient home that puts into practice all the elements of renewable and non-renewable energy sources. They also will have to include modern technological advances that make it possible to conserve energy. Motion sensitive light switches, solar panels , energy efficient windows and appliances are just a few ideas of the items that they might want to include in their design.
