Reflections on Ray

                  I feel that distractions can be an ongoing challenge for students.  I know this from personal experience that it is easy to get distracted.  I tend to get distracted easily, especially when I am writing.   I agree that good writing workshop management can help limit these distractions for our students.  I can relate many of the ideas of managing distractions to the first grade class that I am placed in.  I feel that one of the best keys to minimizing distractions is for the teacher to have a strong presence in the classroom. This presence should involve constant interaction with the students and not the teacher simply sitting behind their desk.  I fortunately have the opportunity of observing a teacher that displays what Ray talks about.  My first grade teacher spends the entire writing workshop going around to student’s desk and conferencing with them.  This really helps the children stay on task and also shows them that she values the work that they are doing.  It is also great that in our classroom there is typically a paraprofessional in the room during writing time that also goes around the room conferencing and asking questions to students about their writing.  The teacher has set strong expectations on the students and the children know that it is not an option to do nothing.  I feel that the teacher’s interactions really help manage distractions. 

                I also agree that using the classroom space fully can help minimize distractions and make the writing process more enjoyable.  I think that the entire classroom should be utilized.  In the first grade classroom that I am in the teacher does have the students come gather on the carpet for the focus lesson but then for writing time they all must return to their assigned desks to write.  This seems to work well for the students but I really like the idea of allowing children to decide where they would like to write.  I think giving students a freedom of space could help with distractions, especially for children who get distracted easily.  I also think that it is alright to allow children to discuss their writing with others during writing workshop.  The only downfall to this is that some children have a really hard time concentrating when there is a lot of noise.  I am kind of one of these students!  Despite that I still do not feel that teachers should make writing time a no talking time.  I might just have a hard time concentrating because when I was a child there was no talking allowed while we were writing!  After reading about this I am still a little confused on how to balance the noise in the class.  I really like the idea of having a few designated quiet zones for writing but I don’t see how this would work if you have a small classroom.  I wish I knew some other ideas to help students who are distracted easily while at the same time allowing students to discuss their writing. 

                In regards to transitions during writing workshop I think these are critical for having a smooth writing workshop.  I think the main way to accomplish having smooth transitions is to set expectations and a routine for the students from the beginning of the school year.  I think smooth transitions are vital to have throughout the school day.  I feel that my first grade teacher is excellent at transitions because the children know what is expected of them.  Once the children have returned to their desk for their writing time the teacher will always tell them when they need to start wrapping up their work.  Instead of yelling for all of the students to stop she rings a bell and says melt and the students know exactly what to do.  The teacher also does an excellent job of having all kinds of writing tools available for the students to access easily.  The only thing she does somewhat different than the book describes is she always hands out a certain type of paper she wants the students to write in or they just write in their writer’s notebook.  She does not give them any choice in regards to what they will write on.  I like the idea of giving them choices. 

                Writing workshop is structured and organized but teachers should not control it all.  I agree that writing workshop kits can be dangerous.  I think it is important to give students the freedom to have choices about writing workshop and that not all students are going to be doing the same things.  I strongly believe in giving students choices about the content of their writing but I also feel they may need a little guidance.  I think students should be allowed to write about what they want to but at the same time it may be hard for some students to come up with their own ideas, especially if they are use to always being assigned what topic to write about.  This is where I think teachers should use some of their focus lesson time to help students brainstorm possible ideas and development techniques but ultimately let it be the students decision what to write about.  Overall I feel that incorporating Ray’s advice and modifying it to fit your individual student’s needs can really help create an effective writing workshop experience.