A Trail of Evidence Some kids hear us talking about their growth, but they can't visualize it. Hearing it is one thing, seeing it is another. Teachers proclaim how important the process is, but displaying finished pieces of student work, or grading an assignment emphasizes product. This can give struggling students mixed messages about what we value. Instead, to emphasize the process, we should also try to publically share evidence of students' progress and celebrate effort. For example: ⢠Use "look-fors." When responding to student writing, I often suggest that students use "look-fors"ânotes that direct the reader's attention to intentional moves a student has made in their writing ("I would like you to notice that I used sensory words to describe my setting and dialogue to develop my character"). Such notes help make the invisible process that went into creating the writing more visible to everyone, including the writer herself. Rather than comparing one student's writing to another's, the audienceâincluding the studentâcan appreciate the learning that the writer accomplished to create the piece. ⢠Showcase process. I recommend posting drafts, mark-ups, edits, and revisions alongside the finished piece of work to spotlight using the writing process. This celebrates the âmessiness' of writing that often discourages our underachieving students, many of whom believe that good writers don't need to revise, but just know what they want a piece to say. ⢠Make it count. One of the simplest ways to show growth is to measure and track volume. If we're working on writing stamina, I might ask students to count up the number of words written in a set number of minutes and track their progress over time. Tracking some measure can help build fluency for reading sight words, automaticity for math facts, or other skills in which students' fluency impacts their stamina. ⢠Reflect with portfolios. Student portfolios can create a tangible learning history for students if students revisit and reflect on the portfolio with a growth mindset goal. For example, students can showcase pieces of work on a bulletin board labeled "I Used to ___, Now I ___." They can spotlight areas of growth in their thinking and learning, backed up by tangible evidence.
Paula Bourque âBuilding Stamina for Struggling Readers and Writersâ
