Teaching Writing in the Age of AI: Focused Revision Strategies for the Classroom

By The Daring English Teacher

If you’ve ever felt like you were two steps behind your students when it came to technology, please know that you are not alone. In today’s ever-changing world, teachers are finding that they must adapt and adjust to technological advances, particularly when it comes to AI in the classroom, especially when it comes to teaching and assigning writing and essays.

I’ve changed how I teach, assign, and practice classroom writing more since the end of 2022 (when ChatGPT was released) than I had in my 15 years of teaching before that. ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence models have forced educators to rethink how we do almost everything in the classroom.

A couple of school years ago, I switched from writing essays in Google Docs to only having in-class writing assignments in a lockdown browser. I start with paragraphs at the beginning of the year, and slowly, we work our way up to teaching and assigning complete essays. And while that works and helps me stay a half a step ahead of students on the technology front, it isn’t entirely conducive to the natural writing process, particularly with essay revisions.

One of the best ways for students to grow as writers is by revisiting their older work and revising it. Revision helps students see that writing is a process and that there is always room for improvement. Additionally, students develop as writers when they learn to revise their work in meaningful ways. So, this school year, I tried something new for writing revisions, and I am thrilled with the results.

Focused Writing Revisions 

One mistake I am definitely guilty of making is assigning too big of a writing task for my students before they are ready for it. And oftentimes, assigning essay or paragraph revisions falls in the same category—it is just too much for students to handle. When we tell our students to revise their essays, that task can be quite overwhelming. So many students will wonder where to even start.

Instead, providing students with a focused revision assignment is more beneficial because, rather than focusing on the entire essay, students concentrate their efforts on small, select revisions that truly make a difference. Additionally, these types of revision activities also stick with students for future writing!

Before assigning a revision activity, I teach my students focused writing lessons. One of my favorite ways to help students improve as writers is to learn how to write stronger commentary sentences. My Writing Spotlight: Commentary Writing lesson is a great starting point to help students graduate from “This quote shows…” to more advanced writing styles.

In addition to teaching the lessons in my Writing Spotlight lesson series, I also like to teach my students about parallel structure and sentence structure.

After spending a couple of days teaching my students a focused writing lesson, I had my students go back and revise a paragraph they had written earlier in the year. And honestly, the older the writing assignment is, the better, because your students have grown so much since their older writing assignments. I created this revision activity and printed it double-sided for students. You can grab a PDF version of this revision activity for free right here! You can also receive an editable Google Doc version that you can customize to your assignments here!

Sign up here to receive an editable version of this activity!

Avoid the Entire Piece

Another reason this revision activity was so beneficial is that I didn’t require students to revise everything. They only revised three sentences: the thesis statement, an evidence sentence, and a commentary sentence. Additionally, I also wanted my students to write an additional commentary sentence to help them see how additional analysis can strengthen their writing.

On the paper, students wrote their original sentences, and then right next to them, I had them write their revised sentences. This helped the students see the improvement side by side!

Add in Reflection

For this revision activity, I wanted to get them thinking about the how and why behind their revisions to encourage them to actively think about their writing. I also had them explain why they made the revisions they did, how the revisions improved their writing, and what they will focus on in the future.

Self-revision isn't the only way to conduct revisions in class, though. Another great way to help students grow as writers is to complete peer revisions in class. When I facilitate peer editing in my classroom, I like to alternate between using a peer editing checklist and peer editing stations.

Overall, this revision assignment was a huge success in my class. Not only did I see significant improvement, but I also observed my students pausing to take a moment and really think about and reflect on their writing. After all, isn't that what we are aiming for as teachers?

Additional Resources:

The Future of ChatGPT and AI in the ELA Classroom by Tracee Orman

Teaching Thinking and Writing in the Age of AI by Room 213

Tips for a Successful Parent/Teacher Conference

 

By Tracee Orman

I remember my very first parent/teacher conferences. I was so nervous. All of the high school teachers were lined up in the cafeteria at lunch tables and parents rotated from teacher to teacher in 10-minute intervals. I had 167 students that year and one was my superintendent's son. 😅 While it was nerve-racking and overwhelming, I survived and learned many lessons from the experience that I'd love to share with you.

Here are some essential tips, I believe, for running a successful parent/teacher conference:

1. Be Over-Prepared

Don't just be prepared, be over-prepared! Have access to the following before conferences start:

    • Students' grades: Have either online access or preferably a print-out with a breakdown of each assignment score that the parent can take with them. Parents want to see that their child is making progress. It also gives them an opportunity to ask questions about individual scores and missing assignments, if any. If a student has not turned in an assignment or it's late, it's a perfect opportunity to point it out and go over your late work policy (if you have one).

    • Writing samples: I prefer to have shorter writing responses to share with parents because there isn't much time for them to read more lengthy essays. 

One of my absolute favorite writing samples I love to assign students right before conferences is a letter home. In their letter, they should tell their parent(s)/guardian(s) how they are doing, what their favorite things about school and our class specifically, and how they are doing in class. It puts the responsibility and ownership for their current grade on THEM. If they have any incompletes, zeroes, or less-than-stellar grades in the gradebook, now is their time to explain to their parents/guardians WHY. I have found when students do this, they do actually come to a self-realization about their performance in class. I've even had students confess that they talk too much and maybe they shouldn't sit next to their best friend. I allow the parent/guardian to keep the letter. If you wish to see how I structured this, download this assignment here FREE:

Other writing samples I like to include for parents to browse are journal entry responses or responses to many other writing prompts. The point is to have a variety of responses so the parent can not only learn something about their child, but also see how they write. 

    • Reading diagnostic and/or benchmark score: If you haven't given your students a reading diagnostic test yet, now is the time. You'll want to be able to share with parents where they fall, the areas they need to improve, and the steps you're going to take to get there. I have packs for each grade level and the answer sheets show which areas students need to improve based on their incorrect answers. 

    • Reading fluency score: If your school has an RTI program, chances are the facilitator will have reading fluency scores for each student. If not, it's not a bad idea to have this data for both yourself and parents. I have pre-made reading fluency assessments and rubrics you can find here. You can repeat the fluency assessment periodically throughout the year to track improvement.

    • List of books, plays, short stories, poems, and non-fiction materials: Have a list of every single thing your students will read this year available. This is to protect yourself from any challenges, but also to be 100% transparent with parents/guardians. Also let them know that that list is subject to change as you try to incorporate relevant materials you think your students would like. This is a perfect time to explain why you read and teach certain materials and give them the opportunity to ask questions about it. I have found when I was teaching The Hunger Games and had some parents ask about the violence in it, I took that opportunity to explain that it's very similar to how Shakespeare used violence in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and even Romeo and Juliet to convey how wrong it is. 

    • Copy of your syllabus: Whether it is online or in print, it's a great idea to have a copy of this available for parents so they know your unit/plan outline, your grading/attendance/behavior policies, and your contact information.

    • Other examples of student work: Daily work, bell ringers, homework; these can all be used to show a student's progress. 

2. Be Organized

One of the biggest mistakes I made in my first PT conference was not having all the student samples organized alphabetically and grouped together. I spent half my time searching for each student's work and with over 100 parents coming though, it was a nightmare. Here are some ways you can get organized before conferences:

    • Organize student work by name and class period: It will be much easier to find a student when your stack is organized alphabetically. Better yet, if you know ahead of time what order parents are coming (i.e. if they schedule a set time), have everything organized in order of appointment. 

    • Have a clean desk area and classroom: If you have conferences in your classroom, make sure your desk area is cleaned/clear and any surrounding area is uncluttered. Believe me, I am a type B teacher, and this is always a struggle for me. I have a tendency to have stacks upon stacks. But for conferences, I always try to have my area presentable. Just don't open a cupboard or the closet doors! 😆

    • Have a desk clock or watch handy so you can stay on track: Even going over time in one conference make you get off track the rest of the day/night. Apologize to the parents, but let them know when time is almost up and then when time is up. Tell them you are more than happy to schedule another meeting after school, if needed.

    • Have a sign-in sheet for parents: You will want to have a record of your meetings for future reference, so use a sign-in sheet when they arrive. It can simply include the student's name (since names do not always match), parent/guardian's name(s), and the date and time of meeting. This is helpful especially if you have walk-in appointments who did not sign-up in advance. Also, keep it in a file so you can go back and see who you met with. If you need a free printable, you can download one here:

   

3. Be Positive

Parents/Guardians love to hear something positive about their child. Make sure to compliment the student, preferably at the beginning of the conference. Begin with telling the parent/guardian you enjoy having their student in class. Then be more specific. I know in secondary when we have multiple sections and see 100+ students per day, it is hard to get to know everyone by the time conferences roll around. But if you know in advance which parents are coming in, make an effort to have a positive affirmation about that student. It can be as simple as the following:

    • "I appreciate how [student's name] is willing to speak up in class and answer questions."

    • "I'm impressed with [student's name] love for reading/writing/public speaking/etc."

    • "[Student's name] has a great work ethic and always turns his/her work in on time."

    • "[Student's name] gets along with his/her classmates and works well in groups."

    • "I appreciate how prepared [student's name] is for class every day."

The more specific you can be, the better. This is why getting to know your students at the beginning of the year is essential. If you haven't been able to, it's never too late to do some getting-to-know-you activities. They aren't just for the beginning of the year.

4. Ask Questions

Don't feel like YOU have to do all the talking. You can ask parents questions, especially if you are struggling to make a connection with a student or you feel like the student is struggling in class. Some questions you can ask:

    • "Does he/she seem to like school or my class? Does he/she ever talk about it at home?"

    • "What can I do to help him/her feel more comfortable in class?"

    • "What strategies have worked in the past to encourage positive behavior?"

    • "What kind of books does he/she like to read?"

    • "What topics is he/she interested in?"

5. Have a Plan for Struggling Students

Offer up opportunities for tutoring, intervention, help with make-up work, etc. You can also direct parents to online resources that may be available to your district. Try to offer positive encouragement and a plan for parents so they leave the meeting feeling encouraged.

6. Take Care of Yourself

Make sure to stay hydrated with water both leading up to and during conferences. Get up and stretch in between meetings, if possible. If you have a short break, try to take a quick walk around the building (or outside if it's nice outside to get some fresh air). It's easy to stay seated the entire time but so important to keep your blood flowing with movement. Hopefully your administration builds in meal times and bathroom breaks for you, but if not, do not feel badly if you have to excuse yourself. Most people will understand if you need a short break.

I hope these tips help you have the best experience with parent/teacher conferences. Feel free to check out our Instagram posts and share your thoughts with us!

How to Teach Grammar With Daily Bell-Ringers

By: Presto Plans

Let's face it ... grammar lessons have a bit of a reputation. Students perceived the unit to be dry and boring, and the large number of different grammar topics can feel overwhelming to tackle all at once. 

Over the years, I've found an effective approach to teaching grammar in middle and high school ELA. Rather than offer a standalone grammar unit, I now prefer to integrate grammar instruction in a bite-sized daily routine to be used throughout the year. After all, ELA is a marathon, not a sprint! I find a slow-and-steady strategy gives much-needed structure to my day and provides students with more consistent opportunities to practice and refine their grammar skills.

If you're wondering how to shake up your own approach to teaching grammar, here's how I incorporate daily grammar bell-ringers in middle or high school ELA!

Program Overview:

With a grammar bell-ringer routine, each week is themed around a central skill or grammar concept (such as capitalization). Students begin by exploring the concept. Then, throughout the week, they practice and apply their new skills through bite-sized tasks and activities. Grammar bell-ringers are designed to take only 5 to 10 minutes a day, which makes them a perfect warm-up for the rest of your class!

I like to prepare all my materials for the week at once - that way, I'm ready for a smooth start! Each week has a dedicated student handout that keeps learners focused and engaged!

TIP: If you keep your students' grammar bell-ringer work in a dedicated folder in the classroom, you can quickly do periodic spot-checks. This helps you see if they have mastered each concept, or if you need to go back for further review.

Monday Mastery:

On Mondays, students begin to master the grammar skill for the week. I like to briefly introduce each concept directly with a quick, two-slide presentation. Directly teaching students about the relevant grammar rules and reviewing clear examples of each concept sets them up with the foundation for the rest of the week!

From here, I find students benefit from a bit of practice time. After you finish the lesson, students can spend a few minutes creating personal examples of each grammar concept and reviewing their notes. They can refer back to their examples and notes as they complete the rest of the weekly activities!

Tuesday Task:

For Tuesday's activity, students apply the weekly grammar concept in context by completing short, skill-based tasks. These tasks can include identifying errors, choosing the correct form, or rewriting sentences. 

For example, when focusing on capitalization, I might provide students with several sentences where names, proper nouns, or sentence beginnings are not capitalized and have them correct the errors. To wrap up, students can review their work with a peer or check their responses during a class discussion.

Wednesday Writing:

I notice that sometimes, middle and high school students are able to identify and correct grammar issues in provided examples, but this learning does not always transfer to their own writing. This is why I like to provide an authentic, intentional opportunity for students to focus on grammar as part of the writing process.

On Wednesdays, students deepen their understanding of the week's targeted grammar concept. Quality writing prompts allow students to express their own voice, extend their writing skills, share creative ideas, and allow them to practice new concepts in a structured and low-stakes way.

Thursday Team-Up:

One of my favorite tricks to teach grammar in middle school ELA is to incorporate opportunities for play into each week's task. I especially recommend allowing students to apply the week's concept through a game or collaborative activity! For the Thursday Team-Up, students work together in pairs or small groups to complete an escape room-style puzzle, centered on the week's grammar topic.

Each challenge is set up to reinforce students' understanding of the week's targeted grammar skill. Working together, they must identify grammar errors related to the weekly concept hidden within the challenges. Once the challenge has been completed correctly, a mystery code is revealed that will help them “escape!"

Friday Fix-Up:

As the week wraps up, I like to incorporate one final learning activity to help students focus on their grammar learning. During the Friday Fix-Up, students read a high-interest paragraph and reinforce their

learning by identifying and correcting errors related to their weekly grammar topic. 

Imagine your students reading about:

• Intriguing laws from around the world, while identifying the correct use of to, too, and two

• Changes in the ways people have listened to music throughout history, while fixing comma splice errors

• The processes involved in making chocolate, while converting passive voice to active voice

This final activity helps solidify students' grammar skills in a real-world context and allows them one more opportunity to practice before moving on to a new concept next week!

Over the course of the week, students will have implemented their skills in increasingly challenging ways, so that by Friday, students are able to synthesize what they have learned and demonstrate their understanding.

Ready to try out grammar bell-ringers in your ELA classroom? Learn more about the full-year program by clicking here!

For more great ELA skill-building activities, check out these tips and resources from my friends at the Secondary English Coffee Shop!

5 Authentic Ways to Teach Grammar by Room 213

Sentence Combining Bell-Ringers by The Daring English Teacher

Grammar Mistakes Flip Book by The Classroom Sparrow

No Prep Grammar Usage Visual Aids by Tracee Orman

Build relationships with your students ALL year

 

New teachers are repeatedly told that it's essential to establish strong relationships with their students, and I am one of the voices contributing to the chorus. This is because I know relationships are the foundation on which you will build your ability to manage and engage your students. Building that foundation deserves time and effort. It also requires cultivation all year long, not just at the beginning. But HOW do you do that? What exactly can you do to create a strong climate and to build relationships with your students all year, not just in the first days of class? I'm going to give you the why first, and then a whole bunch of strategies for the how.

Time spent on relationship-building is never a waste

Recently, I read a post in a Facebook group where a new teacher was asking how much time to spend on getting-to-know-you activities. I was shocked, I must say, at how many teachers jumped in, calling them a waste of time. Others stated that they didn't do them because they wanted students to know from the beginning that their class was rigorous. 

I have to disagree with both of these reasons. Getting-to-know-you activities are not a waste of time, and they do not indicate that your class will be "slack." In fact, they are an essential tool for classroom management.

First, let's distinguish between icebreakers and getting-to-know-you activities. Icebreakers are often overused at staff meetings and PD sessions and are, let's be honest, the bane of an introvert's existence. If you want to use icebreakers - short activities that usually require students to stand, move, and talk to people they don't know well - keep those to a minimum and then move on to activities that help you get to know your students and to build a classroom community.

Why? When a student feels like you see them, when they know you actually care, they are less likely to act up in class and are more likely to engage. It's that simple. It does not mean they will always be perfectly behaved and the best students you've ever had, but a climate where everyone feels comfortable and welcome makes a big difference.

And that takes some time - time that is well spent and not wasted.

Climate Building at the First of the Year

First, learn your students' names quickly and use them often. This way, you can spark a sense of connection right away. Be at the door before and after class, so you can be ready to welcome your students into your world. This is the perfect time to get to know your students as people by talking to them about things unrelated to your course. Make this a practice all year, not just in the early days.

Once through that door, my first days of school activities serve a triple purpose: they introduce the course, build the climate for our class, and begin to review ELA skills.

Some teachers want to dive into content right away because they don't feel like they have time to waste. They also want students to know that theirs is a rigorous class. However, getting-to-know-you exercises and rigor are not mutually exclusive - especially if you start teaching content while you use them. 

For example, both of these beginning-of-the-year activities focus on climate building AND reviewing important ELA skills: Creating the Story of Our Class and an Introductions and Conclusions activity. Each one allowed me to start teaching while still getting to know my students.

Give Students a Voice in Setting the Climate

One of the first things I did with my students was to have a big discussion about what we wanted the climate of our class to be like - and I showed them right from the beginning that I wanted to give them some voice and choice during our time together. To do this, we worked together to set the expectations for the class. During this activity, students began to develop the skills they need to collaborate and share ideas, something they will be expected to do throughout the school year.  You get more details about that process here.

I also put the focus on expectations, not rules. This puts a more positive spin on behavior, especially if you model and reinforce the expectations that were set. And, when you can frame your reinforcement of these expectations positively, students react better because you are also building your relationship with them. This is a practice that you can use all year, not just at the beginning.

Build relationships all year:

Cultivating your relationships with your students is not just a task for the first days of school; in fact, it will pay dividends if you build relationships with your students all year. Here are some strategies you can use (click here to grab more details)

✱ Make it a regular habit to be at the door, greeting your students. Not only is this a friendly practice, but it is also the perfect time to have any private chats you might need to have with particular students.

✱ Pick three–five students a day that you will make a special effort to have a chat with. The chats don’t have to be long; it could just be a quick question on their way in the door. The point is that you are deliberate in making sure you spend a little time with each student. These should be positive in nature, rather than the discussions you may need to have about behavior or missing assignments.

✱ Share yourself and build in opportunities for times when students can share themselves too. Writing prompts, journals, etc, are excellent vehicles for this.

✱ Sit in on small group discussions and act as a participant. You're there to be part of the discussion, not to just listen in. This can be a powerful way to get to know them and model good discussion practices while you're there.

✱ Use your feedback to make a connection with your students. For example, if they are writing a narrative about when their first pet died, you can write a note that validates their feelings –oh, that must have been so hard – or that connects it to your own experience - I’ll never forget how I felt when my dog died.

✱  Ask them to help you solve problems. For example, if the class has been too noisy, or there's been too much phone use, put it to them: how can we solve this problem? Building a classroom code of conduct together can be very powerful for building climate and managing behaviour (Get ideas for this here and here).

✱ Admit when you "fail"; apologize when you need to. Both of these things model good human behavior to your students and help them see you as a person who wants to connect with them.

✱ Lighten up when you need to. Have a sense of humor. If they say something funny, take a minute to laugh, as long as it's not inappropriate. Take some time off for fun - you'll be able to make up that time if your students know when it's time to focus.

👉🏻 If you'd like to get more details about how you can build relationships with your students all year, click here for the download.

If you'd like some ready-to-use and engaging resources for relationship building, check these out:

Setting Classroom Norms Stations

The Story of Our Class

Teaching Resilience

 

Get more community-building ideas from

The Daring English Teacher

Presto Plans

Mrs Orman

Using Diagnostic Reading Assessments in the ELA Classroom

Using Diagnostic Reading Assessments in the ELA Classroom

By Tracee Orman

I spent over 20 years in the ELA classroom and I have a confession to make...I did not start using diagnostic reading tests until I was forced to after teaching for 15+ years. 😳 

To be honest, I never really saw the need to use them. Usually the teacher from the previous year provided me with information about the students and test scores, so I didn’t even think of a pre-test or diagnostic exam to start the year. But once I started using them, I found so many benefits and wondered why it took me so long. Diagnostic tests are great for:

✅ establishing a baseline of strengths and weaknesses for each student

✅ identifying learning gaps

✅ lesson planning and targeting instruction to the areas your students need it the most

✅ placing students with appropriate groups/partners

✅ collecting data to show student growth (which is the reason I was forced to use them for my teacher evaluation)

and most importantly,

✅ improving your students’ reading skills.

One problem I did have with the district-provided (aka textbook publisher) tests is that they were incredibly long and did not completely align with our standards. I honestly hated taking an entire class period (or more) for the exam. In addition, their scores weren’t entered into the grade book, so after awhile I truly wondered if my students were even trying on them.

I developed these shorter, more succinct exams in which each question is clearly aligned with a reading standard (and identified on the answer sheet). The tests are each 20 questions and the reading passages are short. You won’t have to give up an entire class period and you will get targeted results upon grading.

So when and how should you use them?

If you’ve already started school, no worries--it’s never too late to give a diagnostic exam! While ideally you’d give it before any instruction, you can administer it in between units or anytime. 

1️⃣ Give your first test early in the year (not the first day and maybe not even the first week--try to establish a rapport with your students first). This will establish your benchmark for students. You will be able to tell for which skills (whether it’s determining a theme, inferring, evaluating the impact of word choice, distinguishing fact/opinion, etc.) your students may need additional instruction. If your students all scored extremely well on the first test, you may need to level up a grade. Give them a second test at the higher grade level and use that for your benchmark.

Do NOT count this as a grade. If you must enter something in the grade book, give your students a completion grade (meaning, 100% if they completed it). However, you should keep track of their score for your records so you know when you give the next one if they have improved or not. I love using my student data trackers (you can get them in either Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel formats). You input the score and it will track whether students are improving or not on the next assessment.

2️⃣ Once you establish a baseline, you can use the information you collected from the diagnostic test to cater to your students’ needs. If you noticed several students missed the same question that assessed a certain standard, you should plan to reteach or cover that skill in your instruction. Being able to target your instruction more precisely is one of the reasons I wish I had started using diagnostic tests much sooner.

3️⃣ Throughout the school year (midterms, end of the quarter, etc.), have students take additional reading exams. They should be the same level as the diagnostic tests because you want to try to show improvement from the beginning of the year. Remember, these are benchmarks for data purposes and should NOT be graded exams. To incentivize it for students, you can give a completion grade.

If you are using the data tracker, it will automatically tell you if your students showed improvement, stayed the same, or declined. All of this information is helpful in targeting your instruction or identifying any students who may need more one-on-one help or services. Having this data was especially helpful for my students with IEPs (individual educational program). Our special education teachers were able to use the data to assist in writing their IEPs for each student. 

4️⃣ Use the data you collect at parent/teacher conferences. It helps to show parents where their child started the year and where they currently are. It can help reassure them that their child is learning.

5️⃣ Use the data for your own feedback: in which areas might you be lacking? Which skills have your students mastered and therefore no longer need to keep teaching it? You can customize your instruction accordingly based on your students’ results.

6️⃣ Use the reading assessments leading up to standardized tests to pinpoint areas your students may be struggling.

I could go on about the benefits of the assessments but I also want to state that they should be used in moderation. I firmly believe in allowing creativity and critical-thinking to thrive in your classroom but there are times when it is necessary to use these types of assessments.

My friend Bonnie from Presto Plans also offers some great reading passages for practice here:

Reading Comprehension Passages

Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a great school year!

-Tracee