Carol Romines

September
1. Describe your approach to composition.

We try to write in journals at least 2 times a week and try to do a 4 square lesson once a week. The lesson takes several days.
2. How often do your students attempt to write each week?

We try to write either in journals or 4 square 4 times a week but it is often 3 times.
3. How have you integrated technology into instruction in the past?
I have used information from the Write On lessons in class. I particularly like the sentences for adjectives and adverbs.

4. What do you hope to gain from participation in this project?
I hope to gain some ideas on how to make writing more interesting and not as much of a chore for me. I need direction and this project should give me some.

October

1. Describe your class’ positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month. My class enjoyed using the 4 Square model especially when we used the TV screen. They thought that was the greatest thing ever. The students listened much better than when I used the overhead. When we used this model they are able to organize their thought so much better.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why? We began doing the 4+1 last week. We have taken several 4 Squares to publication so they could see how to indent and form a paragraph. Most of the class mastered using the 4 square model and were ready for more of a challenge.

3. Have you experienced any problems through your participation in this project this past month? Describe. I have not experienced any problems other than the huge amount of time it takes to write up lesson plans for the sub.

4. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? I have none.

November

1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month. One experience was having you come to class to do the Virtual Field trip and the writing lesson. They were happy to do the 4 square that day. When we are journal writing now a few are organizing their thoughts in a 4 square. The students are now making sure their sentences don’t begin the same and I have only 1 student with I-itis.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why? We are doing 4 Square +1 now. They were ready for more details and some are asking to put more details.

3. Discuss the Virtual Field Trip experience. I had trouble with the internet the days that I planned to do one. It would lock up in the middle so I wouldn’t do it that day. When we finally got to do one, they weren’t exactly delighted. We did the Virtual Field trip on Jefferson County. We had to discuss the Civil War, which they enjoyed, because not many even knew any thing about the war. The day we did the trip we had several major interruptions which further complicated things. By the time we finished most of the class was bored and lost. I planned to review the next day but they were working on the server.

4. What problems are your students encountering? I can’t think of any problems the students are having with the 4 Square +1.

5. What problems are you experiencing? Finding time is still a major problem.

6. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? If I could get notes on the Virtual Field trips it would be helpful to me because I can’t always remember what you said in class (remember I am old).

December
 

1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month. When we are doing a 4 Square the students are able to organize their thoughts better and this is carrying over to their journal writing. When they had to write 4 of their character traits for a bulletin board some did a 4 square +1 on their own.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method this month? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why? Most are still on 4Square + 1 and are mastering it. A few students have asked to write more details (4+3) and I “let” them after I explained how to do it.

3. Discuss the Sentence Stretcher experience. We had a good time with this. Most were able to do them independently but a few were lost because of writing the longer sentences and having to think. When we do our spelling sentences now I remind them to use the sentence stretcher idea and make better sentences. It has really improved some of their work.

4. Were you able to complete a Colonial America writing activity? Discuss the success/problems. We were able to complete the activity and they remember quite a lot of the things covered. Occasionally something will come up in class and the students refer to what they learned.

5. Were you able to successfully download a file from the Write On site this month? Tell about any problems you encountered.

I downloaded all the sentence stretchers that we could into a file and will use them when I get a few minutes here and there.

6. What problems are your students encountering with their participation in this project? The students are not having any problems. They enjoy finding out what new torture I have learned and are usually excited about trying out new things before the other 3rd grade classes.

7. What problems are you experiencing? I have no problems other than sometimes finding time to go over the new things on the web and time to do them in class.

8. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? Having Connie come to our class more. They loved her.

February
 

1. Describe positive experience(s) with Four Square writing this past month. I have found that when the students are asked to write in their journals some want to do a 4 square to get their thoughts organized. The students are trying to organize before they start writing.

2. How far did your students get with the Four Square method this month? (4 Square, 4 Square to paper, 4+1, 4+3) Why? Most students are doing 4 + 1 but a few are doing 4+3. The students doing 4+1 are having trouble understanding that details are not just another sentence but a sentence that should be on topic. The ones doing 4+3 are the students who always want to do more and say more.

3. Discuss the Goof’s activity. We did not get to this activity.

4. What improvements are you seeing in your students through participation in this project? One improvement I have seen is in editing and correcting grammar mistakes. I think this is because we have used the Miss Take’s Challenge quite often and they are getting better at picking out errors.

5. What is the biggest hurdle you have experienced in composition instruction with your students? Finding time and coming up with topics that are good for 4+1 have been my biggest hurdles. With TCAP testing coming up there isn’t a lot of time for writing.

6. What activity through Write On has been most beneficial to your students? The Miss Take’s Challenge has been wonderful and the students love to do it. The sentence stretchers have helped them to see that their sentences need to be jazzed up and this is carrying over to other subjects.

7. What suggestions would you have for making this project more beneficial to you and your students? I can’t think of any except maybe having Connie come to the classroom more-they loved her visit.

March
 

1. Describe your class’ experience with Four Square writing this past month. The class did not go any further with the Four Square than 4+1 because of TCAP preparation. Some are beginning to moan about having to do it.

2. Did your students participate in a science cross curriculum writing activity? If so, describe its successes/weaknesses. The class did the Magnets and Electricity writing activity and really enjoyed it. There were things that were above their level but most were easy to explain and understand. This gave me the opportunity to cover magnets without using a book and because it was on the TV the students didn’t realize that they were working. When we were done they wanted to learn more so several checked out books about magnets and used magnets at home.

3. Other than time restraints, what is your biggest problem in composition instruction? I still have some trouble coming up with topics that are good for 4 Square + 1.

4. What positive effects can you see in your students through the participation in the Four Square method of composition? Students are able to organize their thought better and get them down on paper that way. Before they would just write and the paragraphs didn’t always make sense.

5. Have you been able to share experiences or activities addressed through this project with any other educators? What was the result? Each month I share what we cover with the other third grade teachers. One has done many of the things I have shown her that my class has done. Last month we found out about the online testing and I have shown the 3-5th grade teachers and most have done them with their class in computer lab.

6. What changes will you make in your approach to composition in the upcoming school year? Next year I will start using the Writing Across the Curriculum science lessons earlier. They are very beneficial. I will also use the Miss Take’s Challenge more. I start with the Four Square on the first week of school and since most have had it in second grade I will probably be able to go to 4 + 1 sooner.

May

This project address the following Tennessee Master Plan Goal: State of the art technology will be used to improve curriculum. Tennessee Report Card Performance Indicators Competency (Composition Skills) How do you feel this project moved toward the goal of improving student composition skills?

This program was very helpful in making me move toward improving composition skills by giving me an opportunity to learn more to take back into the classroom and learning how to use the technology in the room.

List ways your participation in this project has positively affected the writing skills of the students in your classroom.

Some of the best projects are Miss Take' Challenge and Sentence Stretchers. By using the Miss Take's Challenge the students are better at editing and finding mistakes. The Sentence Stretchers has helped them develop their sentences into more than just the usual 4 word boring sentence. The class has gone farther than previous classes with the 4-Square method because to this project. They enjoy having me use the computer to do the writing and as a result want to write more. The Writing Acroos Curriculum was vital during TCAP preparation. Students could not wait to see what new activity I learned in class.

How did your participation in this project positively affect your instructional strategies?

I was able to use so many of the projects to enhance my teaching. Finding time to teach many of the Social Studies and Science objectives has been difficult but with the PowerPoint presentations I was able to teach the objectives quickly and easily and work in writing at the same time.

How has your approach to writing composition changed through your participation in this project from that of previous years?

I am now doing more writing activities than previous years. I had a tendency to start out strong and then lose interest along the way but this project has given me so many ideas to use that I had the class working until the end of the year.

What other curriculum areas would you like to see implemented in a professional development technology integration project?

I can't think of any.