1. Date and Reflection

I like the order the material is presented in and the strategies to help kids learn it. This will fit perfectly into the beginning of my year in language arts.

I started Fundamentals in Sentence Writing Strategy in June while at the Summer Institute in Montana and I finished today, July 18th. I find the information and the curriculum a must-have for younger grades and for intervention and I look forward to the reamaing Fundamental curriculum. 

The class I have this year are missing some of the basic writing skills.  I started at the beginning Of Fundamentals with them. They are now writing complete sentences and basic paragraphs. I will definitely start next year teaching Fundamentals with my students.

Jocelyn Washburn, presenter

The strategies are great to help our students grow in their writing by providing the foundational components of writing.  Love the strategies!

The introductory videos to the strategies helped me to understand the basics of the SIM.  The idea of critical proficiency in order to be a literate individual was something I agreed with.  That mastery of the fundamental skills would lead to sentence fluency which would lead to good writing was a logical progression.  I see the value of investing the time, effort and energy at the sentence level.  Writing is a process AND a product.  Starting with the simple sentences is the beginning of the process.

As I went through the modules, I could see the 3 design elements embedded in the lessons:  scaffolded approach, instructional sequence, and leading the students through the cognitive process.  This design was elaborated further.  To best promote mastery of the content, content enhancement routines are used in each of the 11 lessons.  Planning and leading, increase performance, explaining text, topic and details, teaching concepts, and higher order thinking and reasoning.  

I did the pretest with my class.  Oh goodness.  I was surprised at the amount of instruction and practice that we will need.  I was so excited to start.  I have not done the written contract - I am planning on doing that next week.  But I did start Lesson 1.  Initially, I thought we would do a lesson a day.  No.  I watched the videos and thought a lesson a week.  Then I pre-tested my kids and tried lesson 1 -  I think we will quickly break into ability groupings.  But I can see how every student can improve and grow to mastery writing a simple sentence.  

The one little statement on page 8 was the BEST take away - the 3 statement rule.  The day I read that, was the day I implemented it.  Engagement is up.  If I learn nothing more, that was worth the time!  But, I've already learned so much more!

December 6, 2017

Completed @ ETSU

Back in 1991, I had taken sentence writing and taught it to my middle school students. I was excited to see the Fundamentals of Sentence Writing started with more basic sentence type. This change will help students that lack the  basics to be able to become more proficient before advancing to Proficiency in Sentence Writing. I really liked the change. For students with disabilities, this structure helps them become writers.

I was excited after the professional development and will be co-teaching this in a 6th grade strategy class this coming fall.

I met with Susan to review the Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy for my professional learning. The strategy seems very applicable for students who understand basic sentence writing and need further development with adding details to sentences and understanding how to add those details.