Teaching in the Inner City

During instruction, we always begin our pre-writing process with lots of discussion, class discussion, group discussions, and think-pair-shares. This allows every student to formulate and take ownership of ideas.

Next, I model a Circle Map that would help us put our knowledge in context. We generate a group Circle Map, then students create individual Circle Maps.

Here my student J created two circle maps to help him answer the prompt.

Write a friendly letter to a friend persuading him/her to earn and save money. Tell why it is wise to earn and save money.

Student J is categorized as a proficient student, using standardized testing methods. In my class, he is the highest achieving of my boys. Diligent, ambitious, and enthusiastic.

Remember that the pre-write and the samples that you see were created under a test environment. But, a lot of instruction took place before the writing assessment. We never used the exact same prompt, but we wrote and wrote and wrote.

J, and most of my students, generated two Circle Maps because clearly the prompt asked for two things, earning money and saving money. The students already had started planning their main ideas.