Literacy Journal Week 5

Writing Essentials Chapter 4:

Regie Routman's "optimal learning model" (Writing Essentials: Raising Expectations and Results While Simplifying Teaching, p. 70) reminds me a great deal of the direct instruction model, to which we have been introduced in our instructional design class.

Phase One in the direct instruction model (DIM) occurs when the teacher provides the objectives and establishes the set. I would say that this phase is implicit in the optimal learning model (OLM).

Phase Two in DIM requires that the teacher demonstrate the targeted knowledge or skill. In the OLM, the teacher begins with a demonstration of the targeted writing skill or process.

Phase Three of DIM is characterized by students engaging in guided practice. This occurs in the third phase of the OLM, but an intermediate phase of shared demonstration is inserted between the teacher demonstration and guided practice.

Phase Four of DIM occurs when the teacher checks for understanding and provides feedback. Again, I believe this is implicit in the OLM and would occur during the guided practice phase.

Phase Five of DIM is when the students engaged in extended practice and extend their skills/knowledge. This corresponds to the fourth and final phase of OLM, characterized as independent practice.

Both models essentially begin with a demonstration by the teacher, and progress through levels of increasing responsibility on the part of the learner. Both culminate in independent practice. Teaching of the targeted skill/knowledge/process is explicit in both models.


Writing Essentials Chapter 5:

Routman views "shared writing" as an essential part of the process of teaching writing. It fits into the shared demonstration phase of the optimal learning model. In other words, shared writing would typically be utilized after the teacher has demonstrated the targeted skill or process, but before guided practice occurs.

Simply put, shared writing is a technique in which teacher and students work together to compose a piece of writing. The teacher holds the pen, and guides the children's ideas, word choice, organization and conventions, but the children supply the ideas and participate fully in the process, including perhaps choosing the topic, composing an opening, selecting "just right" words, making organizational choices, and so on.

In one of her weeklong residencies, Routman worked with a first grade class on fiction writing. As part of the process, she used shared writing to lead the class in composing a fictional story, eventually titled The Magic Book. The creation of the book was truly shared writing because the class worked together, led by Routman, to create something that embodied their shared vision. The language, ideas and organization were at a higher level than would have been possible for each student working individually to achieve. The students' participation in this shared writing activity helped to prepare them for the guided practice that would follow.

Shared writing means more than a teacher simply acting as class scribe. In the example above, Routman used questions and suggestions to push the students to greater sophistication in their story-writing. To encourage the development of conversation-writing skills, she asks, "Okay, so when the kids see this shining cover what do they say? Conversation makes a story more interesting." The kids respond with several suggestions. Later, when a student suggests in simple language that "All the kids looked at the book," Routman replies with, "That's fine. Does anyone have another way to say that." She then siezes upon another child's use of the word "gathered": "I love that word gathered." In doing so, she is helping the students learn to search for "just right" words.

She models for them further strategies that writers use, including rereading what has been written to see whether it makes sense, editing out parts that don't fit, asking what should come next, looking at classroom charts for reference, using proper conventions, and more.

As a student, I cannot recall my teachers using shared writing, but went through school a long time ago! However, I have evidence of shared writing in many classrooms I have visited, particularly those in primary grades. Many primary teachers seem to commonly use the large, lined charts to write stories, lists, poems, and more with their classes. I cannot specifically recall having seen shared writing in an intermediate classroom.