Student Letters

As I'm reading the letters my students wrote me in response, I'm recording each individual students strengths and weaknesses, but mostly focusing on where they are deficient. This inventory will direct my lesson planning over the next unit. I plan to introduce code-switching this week, and begin mechanics instruction with a lesson on homophones. We'll make a list of homophones (and other commonly confused words) and keep these in the "Wonderful Words" section of our binders. Some of the most comonly confused have been "then" and "than" and "your" and "you're."

Many of my students have also requested group work in their letters. As I continued to read an idea struck me: I want to organize a differentiated mechanics lesson, so that students are heterogeneously grouped in regards to their mechanics skills. That is, Kobe* who's demonstrates knowledge of apostrophe use but doesn't write in complete sentences could work with Destinie who isn't using apostrophes, but uses commas and periods appropriately. I would assign one to teach the other their respective strengths. I'm not sure it would work in partners though, so what I think I'll do is have students lead small groups and then remix for each skill. I'll be sure to have every student in the role of student-teacher at some point. A lot of work on the front end for me, but I think it will be worth it.

In addition to being informative, many of the letters are moving and inspirational. Here's my favorite letter so far; an honest critique of writing instruction from a student's perspective. (I'm including it unedited.)

Dear Mrs Yost:

Waz up, as you already know my name is D'ajawna. Im a pretty laid back, happy go lucky person. I'm not saying I dont care for school because I do. I want to be something in life. I'm just saying I want to make excellent grades and get out of school. And just have fun doing it.

I also like reading and writing just as much as you. I really love urban books and a selected few. I just like how some books are so detailed you can see it in your mind. Also I think writing is in my blood because my mother is a poet and a really good one. So I think me growing up and seeing her passion for writing inspired me to become a great writer just like her, but I get writers block ALOT, and thats what slows me down.

I remember when I was in fifth grade I had wrote a poem called My Mother's Daughter but my teacher edited it as she would say, and she cut out real heartspoken words and she basically ruined my poem, so when I read it over it didn't even look like my poem. I didn't want to write anything else for her class.

D'ajawna Larson

*All the names of my students are changed to protect their privacy.