Feedback on Speeches

Giving feedback to students on their writing is a very tricky endeavor. You want to help them improve, but you also don't want to criticize them to a point of causing their writing paralysis. Writing requires confidence, but not hubris. I try my best to keep this in mind when providing them with edits.. However, some students cannot handle any constructive criticism. The goal with them is to gain their trust and open their hearts so that they can learn without feeling like feedback is an attack on their self worth.

I find that feedback is least tolerated by students when the genre is creative writing; unless, the entire course is focused on creative writing. Students are most eager to receive feedback on a speech because they will be reciting it in front of their peers. They want to put their best foot forward. 

Below are links to four students' speeches. The students are diverse and English may not be their first or second language. Their grades last semester range from C to A. All four of the students received some type of individual, in-person feedback either during class or after class after receiving comments on their rough draft. Student 4 was asked to rewrite his speech during a conference; I prefer to tell a student to that in person, rather than in the comments section. 

This is their sixth piece of formal writing this school year. They are 10th graders.  Rough drafts were uploaded to Turnitin. I included three very successful final drafts and one improved, but less successful one. 

Student 1 Rough Draft

Student 1 Final Draft

Student 2 Rough Draft

Student 2 Final Draft 

Student 3 Rough Draft

Student 3 Final Draft 

Student 4 Rough Draft

Student 4 Final Draft  

Giving them what they need

Teachers are trained to create units, to set learning outcomes, and to follow the objectives of a curriculum. There is a perceived and sometimes mandated rush to cover topics. What I am finding is that sometimes though, I’m sacrificing depth for breadth and when I do, no one is benefitting, specifically not the students.

This is something I fret about, but it was confirmed recently when a student wrote on an evaluation that, “sometimes the teacher cuts a discussion short just to get to the next topic.”

Students write all sorts of comments on evaluations. Some I take to heart and some I take with a grain of salt. But this, along with my own professional inventory, I really took to heart.

For example, right now my students are working on their speeches for the school’s annual speech contest. I wanted to cut this unit very short. My excuse was that speech writing was covered in 9^th grade and will be covered again in 11^th and 12^th grades.  I wanted them to write their speeches, get comments from me, practice, and deliver.

However, they wanted more. They requested guided brainstorming and time to revise. Some asked to conference with me. They used and desired time for peer feedback and practice. Some students were ahead of others and hoped to spend their time on practicing vs. revising.

So, I listened and gave them the time.

The first question I asked at the beginning of my English classes today was what do you need so that you can successfully deliver a speech during the next class?

They were a bit surprised by the question. It's not a typical question asked by a teacher to a student. We usually tell t hem what they "need." However, it didn't take long for them to communicate their exact needs. 

Was every student on task all of the time? No, they never are, but are you ever on task for 80 minutes?  But I did my best to monitor their progress and ask questions to get them back on track. 

So as I find myself stressing out over the fact that my lesson plans from last year show that we were already reading Macbeth and that this year we are “behind,” I will remind myself that there really is no such thing as behind. I am not teaching for the state. There is no 10^th Grade English test that my students have to pass.   I have some autonomy in determining the pace. For this, I feel very fortunate and so are my students.

…..

Postscript: Their speeches were great and much improved from the first to the second drafts. It was time well spent.

Teaching Students Study Skills

When I completed my teaching certification in 2001 and was hired by a school to teach history, I was excited to try out all that I learned from the amazing professors at my university. However, what I found is that although many of their techniques and philosophies could be employed successfully in the classroom, some basic skills still needed to be taught in a rudimentary, perhaps old-fashioned manner.

One of the skills most lacking is how to prepare for a test. Many students simply do not know how to study, and while my role is to engage them in the material, I also embrace teaching student study skills that they can use across the curriculum. This is especially true teaching ELL students.

During the first semester of the course, I model different ways to prepare for quizzes and tests. Second semester, I ask them to choose among the models I've demonstrated and use the one that works for them.

One skills that students needed to be taught is how to use both their notes and class and textbook to study. Even with all of the technology we employ, including posting lessons and notes online, often times the students don't remember or bother to look at them. Or if we are using many different types of resources, they don't know how to organize them to prepare for a test.

Here are two techniques I have used thus far in ELL History.

The first is to create a chart and take the terms that the students learned from two sections and contextualize them (not just define) using their textbook and what we covered in class. The last column is a place for them to ask clarifying questions.

Using Google Docs, after they have completed most of the review sheet, I can then get them feedback as to what they are still missing. For example, if they didn't include anything about pyramids, I would write, "Remember the pyramid game that we played? What were the lessons that we learned from that?"

For the test that will be given next week, I've created a chart for them to fill out that compares empires.

In summary, while we can't learn the information for them, we can teach them how to study so that they can succeed to the best of their abilities.