Completed:Writer's Workshop For Students With Diverse Needs
"Hello! I am a second grade classroom teacher in urban Illinois. The majority of students in my classroom are identified as English Language Learners and speak a variety of languages at home including Spanish, Polish and Urdu. Our classroom also includes many students with special needs. In all, I...
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"Hello! I am a second grade classroom teacher in urban Illinois. The majority of students in my classroom are identified as English Language Learners and speak a variety of languages at home including Spanish, Polish and Urdu. Our classroom also includes many students with special needs. In all, I have about 30 students in my classroom that form a diverse and tight community!
Most of my students speak English as their second language. While their oral language skills may seem fluent, most have a more difficult time with writing. To encourage writing I have try to make writing as relevant to the real world and as engaging as possible.
In 2nd grade this year we will be writing friendly letters to pen pals, biographies of a family member, poetry, publishing a monthly class newsletter and writing our first research paper!
To accomplish all of this we hold a daily Writer's Workshop, in which the students each work at their own pace through the stages of the writing process: pre-writing, first draft, peer editing, revising, conferencing with me and publishing.
To make writing even more enjoyable for my students, I would love to have some writing "tools" for our Writer's Workshop! My students peer edit each others' drafts and colored pens in blue, purple and green (not red!) would make editing marks easier for the students to see.
The students favorite part of the writing process is publishing! While we type our classroom newsletter, most of their writing is handwritten and the students love to publish on "fancy" paper with pre-printed borders and decorations. I have also asked for several packs of lined paper so that the students can free-write or choose to illustrate their writing and the construction paper can be folded and stapled around lined paper for the students to be able to "publish" their own books. Finally, I encourage my students to be responsible and appreciate their classroom supplies so I have asked for folders to help them keep their writing organized!
Having these writing tools will make writing more engaging and exciting for my students, and the more they are engaged, the more they are learning! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my proposal!
My writers workshop needs colored pens, pencils, "fancy" paper, construction paper, lined paper, personal journals and folders.
The cost of this proposal is $298, which includes shipping for any materials requested and fulfillment ."
Mrs. W. sent this note after the project was fully funded:
Oct 5, 2008
Dear Amy Derby, Ms. Fey, Tamra and Anonymous Donors,
Wow! Thank you so very much for your generous donation to my classroom! I really appreciate you funding my proposal for supplies for my students to use during our daily Writer's Workshop.
The supplies include materials such as pens, pencils, lined paper, journals, writing folders and materials for publishing their finished writing pieces such as lined paper with room for illustrations and "fancy" stationary letterhead!
We are already six weeks into our school year and my students, even though almost half of them are still considered English Language Learners, love Writer's Workshop! We have already written acrostic name poems, intro paragraphs about ourselves and sealed them into a 2nd grade time capsule, invitations to the principal for a classroom project and illustrated descriptions of organisms for science.
The materials you have provided will help keep them motivated and writing! This week we are going to be writing our first letters to our pen pals in Texas and I know they will be ecstatic to have fancy paper to write on very soon.
Thank you so much for your kind and generous donation! It is crucial to education that students are engaged with and excited about what they are learning. Thank you for helping to engage my students with writing.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Kari
On Nov 25, 2008, Mrs. W. followed this note with student letters sent via mail to the donor who completed this project, and to donors who gave $100 or more.
"Hi Guys!
I hope you have fun with your writers' workshop! I love to write, and I love fancy paper and fun pens! You are so lucky to have a special teacher like Mrs. W.
SF"
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Ryan G. (associate)
on Jul 24, 2008
