Writes!

As many of you are already aware, this week students took their FCAT Writes exam. As a Language Arts teacher, this day is very important to me and my students. My students have been working very hard the past few months in order to prepare for this day. One of the things that excites me the most is the strategies they used to write their essays. I attended a training called "Write for the Future," which I highly recommend to anyone! The elementary school version is Write from the Beginning. I believe the trainers will be back in Orlando in May if you are interested. The training focuses on three important concepts of how students learn: colors, chunking, and a common visual language. As such, the techniques learned for planning and writing an essay are based on this. The colors and thinking maps the students use to plan their essays are amazing, and what is even more wonderful is that all students, regardless of level, ability, background, etc. are able to use these tools to successfully write essays! One of the things I loved the most was hearing students say they didn't have enough time to plan! Most students usually have no idea how to plan or what to write on their planning sheet, so this was so refreshing to hear...yes, they are actually planning! I am sure they did great, and I am looking forward to seeing the results!