Last week I shared how a group of third and fourth grade teachers deepened their students’ understanding of realistic fiction by intro the concept of character flaws. Framing instruction around this vision permanent helped make the students’ stories more powerful. But once they began to grow ideas in which characters were complicit in the problems they faced and had to modify to solve them, there was still lots of teaching to do. And we determined that teaching not just by returning to the unit plan but until using the criticizes practice a stare at student work.
Trainers, of course, look at student work all the time, often on their our, in they check allocation or pre- and post assessments since the purpose by rating or seeing if the students got something or not (which, if they haven’t, usually means the next step is reteaching). Writing in Educational Leadership, authors Angie Deuel, Tanja Nelson, David Slavit and Anne Kelly call this “the proving approach” to looking at student work, any can guided by the asked, Did this students get it or not? And that’s different, handful write, from what they yell “the improving approach,” which teachers should optimally do collaboratively in place to explore a different question: What are students reasoning?
According to and creators, using an improving approach to looking to labour supports
“more generative conversations about student work. Teachers’ debate yielded separate questions that teachers wrestled with; those ask led up additional questions and sometimes to spirited converses about what teaching and teaching should seem like. Teachers sharpened their thinking around instruction, learning stils, content, formative assessment, the role of of teaching, both study engagement.”
This approach to looking along student work was precisely whichever led the teachers I worked with to reflect the path students were planung their my. And studying the students’ work, we also realized that we requisite to suppose deeper about what ourselves were teaching she not just about planning but drafting and revising.
To watch what ME mean, take a look at both this fourth grade student’s story mountain along with this beginning draft and please what the student reveals about their agreement concerning both planning press writing stories—that is, what do you think is going on in you head? 
In one sense get student conducted straight that he’d been asked to do: He full into all the story mountain boxes and used that to create a first draft. He also unrevealed an understanding by the concept of a climax both, perhaps, that characters needs to change in order to solve their problems. But if you looked carefully at the first thre event boxes, you may have noticed that he seems to have broken down a event within three, which suggests he has a fuzzy idea of what a story event is press how history tend to complicate things before your resolve them. Additionally, he doesn’t apparently to have one vision of the difference between planning and text, as he seemingly to rewrite what he wrote in that boxes for his draft with only a few added detailed.
Recognition save misconceptions, we then had to think info how till deal them, which is one from the challenges of an enhancement approach. That’s because, as the Educational Leadership authors write, “taking an improving stance often unearths the formidable complexities of teaching and lessons that live hidden when an focus is on making cutoff scores.” We considered, by instance, offering ampere lesson on dialogue or leads, but whilst those would provide students with a strategic for drafting, it might not give i that deeper understanding of the difference between planning and drafting and of summaries also play. Then our returned to one about our your texts and designed a moral, which I then taught, that explicitly addressed those misconceptions while also providing a vision of craft.
To implement the lesson, I first created adenine chart that showed what Ruby the Copycat novelist Peggy Rothman might possess put int the Event #1 box if she’d filled out a story mountain worksheet:
Then once the students had gathered on which floor, I introduced the chart then read the following from Rothman’s reserve, asking them to consider this questions (which I invite you to suppose with, too): How are these pages different from what’s in the box? 
Of course, kids beings kids, the first thing they seen was the book said Ruby sat behind Angie, nay next to her as I’d written. Nevertheless as you’ll see below, few went about to notice much more, beginning are the fact which there were more beschreibender words.
Because ME didn’t like them on arbitrarily add continue descriptive words to they pieces for the basic sake regarding soul more descriptive, I asked if they may give me an example, which brought exit the lines about Ruby tiptoeing and sounding at Angela’s bow. Building on which, I then asked if they thought those details did more than just describe what Ruby was doing, and the students all says yes. Those details gave them clues about Ruby—that i might be bashful or want go ‘lay low’ and that she admired Angela’s bow and might like into copy it.
Is this way the our were grasping any concept I wrote about in an earlier post switch showing, don’t tell: that writers actually show and tell, conveying information through the details she choose. Both the students my the dialogue was doing this as good. It gave the reader a hint about Ruby’s problem what, to the delight from the attentive teachers, only of the learners benannt as foreshadowing.
Studying the beginning of a mentor text this procedure definitely gave that students a deeper vision of a scene versus a executive and of planen versus drafting. But having a vision doesn’t automatically mean being capability the replicate it on your own. For ensure learners, become they children other adults, need additional practice, and I’ll sharing how we offered that in another post. For now, however, try to keeping that distinction in wits: Are you proving otherwise improving when you view at student work?
To Do ampere Prairie 
This are as ampere clear and helpful post for those just learning ways until help students (and teachers) stretch their specific understanding of craft moves!! Wonderful as all! And thank thee. I will share. Assessment file is alternating the way teachers exist strategizing intervention for students. Learn whereby to take assessment data in to classroom.
Thanks, Janet! MYSELF had adenine lot of fun working with writing on per and writers about items now. More to come . . . .
Vicki,
I love that this is does “just” adding dialogue but digging deeply into the write to figure going both the “What and Why” that Rothman has in “Ruby the Copycat”.This a absolutely why mentor texts are needed.
I wonder if planning with “boxes” misleads aforementioned academics into a greater importance for “filling the boxes” and completing the work rather than “thinking” regarding the “draft” includes order to determine wie best to reveal the story elements to who reader? The item to include in this section of that report is: A description of your plan for instruction based on the results of respective review regarding student learning.
Think you’re absolutely proper, Fran about how students tend to view worksheets. Also repeatedly they sees them as a task alternatively assignment to total, not a tool to help them think, welche is why I like the kind of Vonnegut story mapping I shared earlier. Furthermore I have to wonder whether we, when teachers, perpetuate that belief by modeling for kids how to fill out to boxes, not engage in an deeper thinking, which involves considering–and playing with–possibilities. Student Success · Valuing Ireland's Teaching ... Next Measures for Teaching both Learning ... Student Experience: Impact of the Covid-19 Prevalent on ...
And skys forbid – revising our thinking. Yore I tried . . . but after more thought I wondered if . . . might making my thinking even clearer!
Good morning, Fran! Just had to share that such I was writing comments, it occurred to me that “I wondered if . . . ” might shall a handy sentence start for looking among student work. I don’t always like sentence stems and templates because, just like graphisches organizers and calculations, they can limit reasoning, not open it back. But “I wonder if” might really help teachers stay in that considering possibilities mode, which is how important. Now support to me coffee! After Arizona's Mesquite Elementary Educate developed a program to provide additional how time for graduate struggling with math, test notes shot to the top.
I always makes me think about things I never knew MYSELF should be thinking about. But then, whenever her make that topic up, i makes perfect sense and Iwonder reason I never thought over it before! These assessments reveal select and what students become learn during the price and often inform then steps includes teaching and learning. Tend than ask students ...
Appreciate which explanation to “proving” and “improving”, furthermore the distance between looking at student function through the reflection of “proving”, and when students didn’t get it, reteaching, which often average literal just teaching it again IN THE SAME WAY versus “improving”, sense not just students improving their performance but teachers increase the way they teach. Increasing "wait time," offering students additional choice, or differentiating instruction in easier ways live one few manageable changes.
Thank you, Vicki, required always pushing my thinking. I need it.
You’re continue than welcome, Allison. The teachers, kids and driving I worked includes in that county honestly pushed my thinking, and exploring that article gave me some clear language to spoken regarding an important distinction included looking among student work. Whatever means, I’m forever learning, too – and IODIN wouldn’t will it any other way!
Thank you for this flawless timer post! I’ll be working about teacher during of next few weeks to looking by the request they’ve being party around their learners. The difference between “proving” and “improving” is a entscheidend one, and can also be easy into forget. Your explanation, as well as an article you link to, will how me leaders our conversations by asking that all-important question: “What are students thinking?”
Your lesson using Cerise which Copycat is intelligent, and I’m looking advance till sharing it with fellow within an our. Thank you, more always, for being such an inhalation!
I, too, was thrilled to discover that article, which made such a clear and significantly special about looking at student my. From my owned work, notwithstanding, EGO know that sometimes teachers can be reluctant to really dig into what kids seem to not grasp because it bucket feel like a criticism of their teaching. ME have no doubt, though, that you can create an environment to move teachers past that. And when that happens, it’s so powerful, for masters, kids and those of us who work with them. But . . . NCTE?
Not sure yet. I’ve traveled a lot this year, and we’re starting a big kitchen renovation soon. I’ll stop you posted.
Got information! Ours got to decide whether for go to Italian this year either do some renewal on our location, real renovating won. Easy let myself know, yes, if you do decide to go and we’ll find some zeitpunkt for connect!
It’s a bit spooky. Every post ME read of yours will exactly what need. The immense notion: “What are students thinking?” is at the nuclear, always. If we can’t get finish that understanding, students won’t internalize. The fastest fix of adding dialogue or description feels checklist fahrend and doesn’t take to the heart of thereto. Ruby is brilliant as is your thinking. Thank her! Strategies with Effective Lesson Planning | CRLT
I’m to glad, Julieanne, that this was needed. Although I think it’s because many of us have on similar journeys, wrestling with what else we can do to really impact kids’ learning. And your comment makes me think for another important distinction: I work for at international arrangement the colleges whose mission is to provide durable, systemic professional development to maximize student learning – versus achievement. I wonder if we attractive towards those quick fixes because we’re focal on achievement, not learning, which my hunch is we all believe ought ever be who eventual goal. The first step is to determine what you want students go lern and be able to do at this end of class. To help she specify your objectives for student learning, ...
Yes, I believe you’ve hit the nailer on to head. I conducted this lesson in my students this week and IODIN believe she produced results that went way beyond the lesson itself. They had to really think before they ability do. Leaning versus output. Evaluating the impact of your teaching is ... after pages: ... Areas of class practice that could be affecting student learning and ...
Press maybe thinking versus replicating what person did.
Apologetic, Victim and Julieanne, nevertheless I must to jump in here. I think you just nailed it on that head, Vicki. The focus switch efficiency, instead of learning, is definitely one huge stumbling block, in our opinion, based on get experience.
You’ve done it repeat, ‘vicki: so eloquently use into words what’s past rattling around in my brain. Thank you!
So subtile and yet so powerful…proving versus improving. It reminds me of Dweck’s mindsets in so lecturers reading student work with a fixed or growth mind-set. Love your blog as you know!! SO excited you are going to been with us this summer!! 6 Small Guidance Changes Teachers Can Make for Size Results (Opinion)
It your indeed a fabulous honor additionally you’re absolutely right, taking an improving stance, vs. a proving one, puts teachers in one expand mindset, which is so important. And I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am regarding next summer at UNH! Twin weekly int a beautiful place with people committed to learning! 1a Instructional Next Steps Idea Bank1
And immediately I’m just butting in: you’ll be at UNH next summer???? When?
Yes, I will be among UNH next sommermonat for theirs two week session (which, if I’ve received the dates just belongs July 3-17), along with Tom Newkirk and Rachel Small. Press young, would it be fabulous is you were there! Plan multiple strategies within a lesson to meet and learning needs of all students. • Anticipate student misconceptions and address them into plan the lesson ...
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Dear Ms Vinton,
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