Issues to consider
Whether we are bringing a new and exciting challenge like NaNoWriMo to our students or working out of a textbook, we teachers know that we need to look ahead in anticipation of problems that our students might encounter. Our best days in the classroom happen when we plan carefully so that all students can be successful.
Here are some issues to consider based on my NaNo experiences with 8th graders:
Here are some issues to consider based on my NaNo experiences with 8th graders:
- They need lots of time to think about, brainstorm, plan, percolate and get excited about the novels they will write. Each year I have tried to start the planning work earlier than the previous year, and now I've found that it's best to start right away, as soon as the school year begins. There is plenty of curriculum from the YWP to keep your students busy, and the work they do planning their novels can support reading and literary analysis standards as well.
- Whatever program your students will be using for their novels (we use Google Docs), take the time to get them familiar and comfortable with it. That way they will be ready to write without getting distracted by a new program.
- Decide how you will handle electronic communication between students during class. Will you let them share documents so they can give each other feedback? What if they use the comment feature to chat off-topic during class? Don't assume they will write uninterrupted all period. Make your expectations clear early on.
- Assessment: how does one assess and grade a project like this? If you give your students a rubric at the start of the project, and take time to tie your mini-lessons to specific aspects of the rubric, your students will learn to work towards effective writing as they draft. Asking them to pull short passages from their writing that demonstrate their development as a writer is a great way to provide mini-assessments throughout the project. Check out this rubric from the Young Writers Program for grades 6-12.
- Rather than waiting until their novels are complete, I assess excerpts that they choose to share with me. At various times during the process, I ask students to read through their novels and find excerpts that demonstrate certain aspects of narrative writing. They copy / paste their excerpts into a new document (or post them on their blogs) and write a paragraph explaining what made their excerpt effective. Students can share excerpts that demonstrate effective writing of setting, conflict, dialogue, development of character, resolution of conflict, etc. These shorter, revised pieces of writing are similar to the kinds of writing I used to have them do. This time they just happen to come from a much longer draft. Here are some more tips for assessing students during NaNoWriMo.
