Katie's Statement of Inquiry and Research Reflection

As I prepare to enter my sixth year of teaching, I find myself at a crucial moment in my career. In the flurry of my first years as a novice teacher, I was excited to try new techniques, reflect on my practice, and revise when necessary. I was enthusiastic, passionate, and somewhat surprised to find so much joy and fulfillment in a room filled with middle schoolers. I finished my first years exhausted, but satisfied. Of course, there was still room for improvement, but I felt good about the work I was doing. I felt proud.

I owe much of this success to my adoption of the reading and writing workshop model as the driving philosophy behind my instruction. Following closely in the footsteps of Nancie Atwell, my students and I participated in a structured workshop that included the daily practice of reading and writing, with student choice being at the center of my instruction. I encouraged autonomy whenever possible, including allowing my students to choose the books they wanted to read and the topics they wanted to write about. My students were excited about reading and writing and I felt proud of the authentic experiences we were having together.

Unfortunately, the school I moved to at the start of my fourth year of teaching did not value student, or teacher, autonomy in the same way that I did. All 6^th grade language arts teachers were required to adhere to a strict curriculum that detailed each assessment and even the daily activities of the classroom. Bound by these obligations to my CT, I found myself struggling to fit in the practices I knew to be the most effective. Independent reading and authentic writing were pushed aside for menial SOL review. When I tried to talk to my colleagues about using the workshop model as the basic structure for our classes, I was told we had to stay focused on the curriculum and didn’t have time to think about that. To say that this was frustrating is an understatement. I was quickly losing my zeal for teaching and felt that everything I worked for, everything I knew to be effective and meaningful for students, everything I valued as a teacher was not valued by my colleagues. I was leaving school each day feeling defeated rather than fulfilled. I was no longer proud of the work I was doing. Although I wasn’t ready to leave teaching altogether, I knew I needed a change. For a multitude of reasons, I also knew this couldn’t happen at my current school so I started to pursue positions teaching high school instead, hoping that a new environment and context would help me find that passion again.

When I first received news that I was being offered a job at one of the top performing high schools in the county, I was ecstatic. The school has a good reputation and I felt honored to be accepted into their community. I also felt a little intimidated. I knew what worked as a middle school teacher, but I was suddenly less sure that the daily structure I used before would translate to a high school setting. I knew that I valued building time into each class for independent reading and writing, but I wasn’t sure how that would fit with the obligations of my new curriculum, which included teaching whole class novels, something I had completely done away with in my middle school class. As my last year of middle school teaching came to an end, the anticipation of starting to teach high school became more daunting and I was suddenly feeling very unprepared and unsure of what to expect. Any confidence I still had leftover from my earlier success was quickly dwindling.

When I learned that we would be given time to read and research as part of our NVWP ISI experience, I knew I wanted to focus on the structure of reading and writing workshop at the high school level. It was something I was already planning to think about over the summer and being given the time to read and develop some plans truly felt like a gift. These were the questions I hoped to have answered:

• What does reading and writing workshop look like in the high school setting?
• What might be similar or different from the middle school workshop?
• How can class time be structured to support independent reading and writing?
• What genres will we study and engage with as writers?
• How do these genres support the reading curriculum or tie to the literature we read together as class?
• Do students choose their own topics for writing?
• How does allowing students freedom or choice help prepare them for college writing assignments?

Obviously, this is a hefty list of questions to consider, especially because none of them have clear-cut answers. Thankfully, I already knew some of the books I wanted to revisit for my research. I had some exposure earlier in my career to the work of Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle, and was lucky enough to attend conferences by each of them. At the time, their work was inspiring, but a little overwhelming, especially because I felt that it pertained mostly to the high school setting. Now, it seemed crucial that I go back to their work and consider how I might try adopting some of their philosophies and structures in my own classroom. During my research I considered the following texts:

• Book Love by Penny Kittle
• Write Beside Them by Penny Kittle
• Readicide by Kelly Gallagher
• Teaching Adolescent Writers by Kelly Gallagher
• Deeper Reading by Kelly Gallagher

Sticking to the work of these two teacher leaders helped me focus my study without becoming too overwhelmed. Although there are other names I’ve learned of that I definitely want to check out in the future—the work of Katie Wood Ray is at the top of my list—I felt that my familiarity with Gallagher and Kittle was the best place to start. I also love that they both reference Nancie Atwell, whose work inspired my own workshop in the past.

           

In working through these texts and discussing ideas with other TCs and presenters during the ISI, I believe I have started to find answers to these questions. While there is no way to fully express everything that I gleaned from my reading and experiences this summer, I do believe I’m finally getting a clearer picture of what my reading and writing workshop will look like in the high school setting. These are my biggest takeaways:

What does reading and writing workshop look like in the high school setting?

According to Penny Kittle, a successful workshop relies on the following conditions:

• Time – Students have scheduled time to read and write independently each class period to help them create healthy habits
• Choice – Students have a choice in the books they read and the topics/genres they select for writing to encourage authentic engagement
• Response – Teachers plan for individual conferences to provide support and feedback based on student need
• Vision – Students analyze the craft of writing to help more carefully craft their own and are presented with a wide range of possibilities for reading
• Expectations – Teachers provide deadlines and closely monitor progress to develop students’ stamina
• Challenge – Students monitor their own reading and writing growth through regular goal setting and reflection

It was encouraging for me to see that the philosophy behind her reading and writing workshop was very similar to what I had already been doing in my classroom. This confirmed that a similar structure is not only possible in the high school setting, but absolutely necessary. It also affirmed my belief in student autonomy and its importance in meaningful learning experiences. I also love having this concise explanation to fall back on in case I ever need to explain or justify my approach.

What might be similar or different from the middle school workshop?

Based on what I know about the high school curriculum at my new school, the biggest difference will be the addition of reading whole class novels. While I was initially opposed to this, my research has led me to believe that there is a way to make this engaging for students. While these texts may not be students’ first choice, there is value in studying works of literature that are more challenging. Most importantly, Gallagher points out that this type of reading is only one part of the reading workshop. He suggests the following balance of reading in the classroom:

• Independent Reading – 50% - This includes reading texts that help students increase challenge, set and meet goals, and reflect on their reading
• Mentor Texts – 25% - This includes annotating texts in a specific genre to help students better write in that genre
• Literature Study – 25% - This includes whole class or small group novel study

Thinking about this balance made me feel a little better. I can participate in the curriculum my school has established without abandoning other types of reading completely. This gives me some guidelines for determining how much time to spend on each novel. Gallagher also offers some great strategies for engaging students with these texts and helping them through the challenge.

How can class time be structured to support independent reading and writing?

This was the most frustrating and enlightening part of my study. I was determined to find an exact structure that would allow me to plan each block down to the minute. Kittle offers some suggestions for allocating time in a class period, but I was frustrated to see that her two books contradicted each other slightly. The breakdown of a typical class period was different in each of her books! While I found this to be initially frustrating, it eventually helped me to see that there is no perfect structure. It is impossible to plan each minute of every class period and have them all look the same because the needs of the class change on a daily basis. Although I plan on having a typical schedule that each block follows, I now realize that this needs to be fluid and flexible. To start the year, I plan to follow this basic template and adjust when necessary:

• Book talk led by teacher, student, or guest
• Time for independent reading and conferring
• Notebook Work/Quick writes
• Read and write in response to poetry or other text
• Journaling or response to a prompt
• Mini lesson
• Practice reading strategies with difficult short text
• Sentence study and imitation
• Mentor text study and response
• Independent writing/novel study
• Craft writing and confer, or
• Write about/discuss a whole-class text
• Closure/share out

I know that there will be times when notebook work may need to be cut if students need more time for writing or a mini lesson might end up taking longer than I originally thought. I plan to be flexible depending on the unit we are in and the objectives of that specific class period. At this point, I imagine that each novel study will lead into a correlating writing project. While the focus of our independent time may be on unpacking a challenging text, the notebook work time could be used to brainstorm ideas for the upcoming project. Lauren Jensen suggested a staggered approach: a natural flow in focus from reading to writing rather than the two being completely independent of each other. No matter the focus of the unit, this structure guarantees that students will be actively engaged in reading and writing every day, which is something I feel strongly about.

What genres will we study and engage with as writers?

This is mostly yet to be determined. I’m not sure if my future colleagues have already established genres for each unit or not. However, I am coming away from the ISI with a lot of ideas of what I would like to do if given the choice. I’m very interested in incorporating authentic writing whenever possible, which is why Amy Carroll’s presentation on op-ed persuasive writing stood out as something I would like to try with my own students. I also want to try the profile writing that Lauren Jensen helped us experience. That seems to be a powerful way of combining genres as an end of year culmination piece. Gallagher and Kittle both offer tons of options and suggestions in their books. I plan to return to these texts once I have more information about my curriculum. 

How do these genres support the reading curriculum or tie to the literature we read together as class?

This was a question that weighed heavily on mind throughout my research. I want there to be some kind of correlation or connection between the texts we read and the writing projects we engage in without the writing depending completely on the text. While I see some value in rewriting scenes of Romeo and Juliet to fit a modern context, I don’t want that to be the only type of writing my students do. I want them to experience a variety of genres while also offering them choice. Most of my thinking on this topic came from my conversations with other TCs. They suggested establishing some essential questions that could link the text to the bigger writing project. For example, in studying Romeo and Juliet have students think about longstanding conflicts and the possibility of them ever being resolved. This could very easily translate into a research project that allows students the opportunity to explore real conflicts that have occurred or continue to occur around the world. This is the kind of connection I feel is necessary to give purpose to our reading and writing. At this point, my biggest challenge will be establishing the essential questions or themes that will link the reading and writing while also determining which genres fit most naturally with each text. This is obviously something I do not have the answer to at this point, but plan to investigate in the future.

Do students choose their own topics for writing?

This is something I feel very strongly about. Thankfully, Kittle and Gallagher tend to agree with me! However, I have been rethinking what it means to give students choice in terms of their own writing topics. In the past, I have given them complete free reign to choose anything they wanted. I now see this is one extreme end of the spectrum. On the other end is providing students with a specific prompt or topic that they must use in their writing. I’m now thinking that there may be some middle ground. In many of the demonstration lessons we heard about teachers providing students with an angle and then allowing students to choose their topic within those parameters. For example, Diane Myers had all of her students choose some kind of disability to study for their multi-genre research project. The students were able to choose whatever disability they wanted, but there was a common thread connecting all of their projects. Lauren Jensen also talked about this when discussing her work with profiles. Every student had to interview someone who had been affected by war in some way. She called this the “angle” and that term really resonated with me. The angle could point students in a certain direction, but still allow them some freedom to determine their exact path. This seems to be the best of both worlds: still allowing student autonomy, yet strategically connecting their work to a bigger theme. I’m very excited to try this in my own classroom.

How does allowing students freedom or choice help prepare them for college writing assignments?

This was something I really had never considered as a middle school teacher. My job was always to help them for “the future,” but as a high school teacher that future is a little more concrete. I was initially concerned that the practices I established in my English classroom would be too different from what students would experience in a college course, therefore not preparing them for what they would need to be successful. I was worried that unless I was teaching them specifically how to write a literary essay, they would be completely lost when asked to complete them later on. Now I see that my job is not to teach them the product, but rather the process. It truly does not matter what genre we are studying because the goal is not to have them master any specific genre. The goal is provide students the skills to study and master any genre they choose. Through consistent practice examining mentor texts, students will become more comfortable noticing conventions and techniques in any genre and will be able to apply them to their own writing. This is probably the most relevant skill I can teach my students to help prepare them for the future. Gallagher and Kittle are both huge proponents of using mentor texts to help students understand genre and writer’s craft. Their texts offer tons of resources to use for a multitude of genres along with different strategies for unpacking these mentor texts. I also liked hearing that so many of the TCs at the ISI used this strategy. While I’m hesitant to use the term “best practice,” it does seem to be the general consensus that this method is most authentic and helpful for students regardless of their age or level.

I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to research and discuss what a reading and writing workshop can look like at the high school level. Before coming to the ISI, I was feeling nervous about my transition to a new school and had lost a lot of confidence in myself as a teacher. I was letting my negative experiences overshadow what I originally loved about teaching. Taking the time to learn and reflect on what I want my classroom to look like has given me a fresh outlook on what the future may bring. It was reassuring to see that many of the workshop structures I’ve used in the past coincide with practices used by other teacher leaders. This confirmed that I am definitely on the right track. But it also encouraged me to rethink how I might continue to tweak and improve my instruction to better fit my context and the needs of my students. I’m finally feeling recharged and excited again to get back into the classroom. This was the push I needed to launch me into the next phase of my career.