Today I read about a fantastic idea for tracking students during the writing process. One of the exemplar posts from my Writing Part 1 course talked about this, and I think it's a fantastic idea. Here is an exerpt:
"I have a “pencil chart” that is shaped like a pencil and has different coloured boxes that
represent the different stages in the writing process (brainstorming, planner, free write,
revision, peer conference, revision, teacher conference, revision, publishing, complete)
and the kids each have a magnet with their name on it. They move their name onto the
box that represents the stage in the writing process they are at. Being on rotary, I find
this especially helpful so that I know where everyone in each class is at (each class has
it’s own pencil), who needs to meet with me, who is ready for the next step, and who is
falling behind."
I would love to create a pencil tracker and student magnets that would go with the pencil. Using a tracker like this would allow for more flexibility for students. Not everyone would have to be at the same point - students could move ahead, move back, etc. based on their needs. This visual representation would help the teacher to group students (if necessary) for mini-lessons, or simply to keep track of what everyone needs to do. It would also help students to determine their own next steps. For example, if students peer conference after completing their first revision, then they would be able to check the pencil chart and do this independently.
Thinking ahead, I checked Scholar's Choice's website to see if they had any large decorative pencils that could be adapted to show these steps. I couldn't find anything, but I did find a few decoratives that could be used to spruce up the classroom AND track students!
Busy Bees Bulletin Board Set
Big Tree Bulletin Board Set
Shooting Stars Bulletin Board Set
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