Rookie  Romeo

New Teacher:  a tech-savvy, highly social but inexperienced teacher

• Teaching Experience: 1 year

• Classroom management skill: medium

• Quality of writing instruction: medium

Profile

• 5th grade teacher

• Idealistic

• Enthusiastic

• Caring

• Self-doubting

Attitudes

• Plays by the rules

• Writing is important

• Needs support

• High expectations about students’ technical ability

Goals

• Prepare her students for their assessment tests and the next grade

• Not let her students down

• Build effective, differentiated curriculum

• Keep his job

Quotes

“I’d love to know how to teach editing. It’s intuitive for me, but not for my students. I teach the conventions and mechanics, but my students have difficulty applying what they’ve learned to their own writing.”

“[I like to] grade together with colleagues, that helps a lot.”

“[Reading all 12 Lucy Calkins books] was what I was supposed to do over summer break, but I didn’t."

Jaded Janice

Experienced Teacher: competent but overwhelmed- trying to cram in all the instruction she knows her students need

• Teaching experience: 10 years

• Classroom management skills: high

• Quality of writing instruction: medium

Profile

• 3rd grade teacher

• 10-year veteran

• Pragmatist

• Caring

• Scattered

Attitudes

• A bit jaded by the constantly changing “standards”

• Reading & math are more important than writing

Goals

• Prepare students for high-stakes tests, especially math & reading

• Juggle in writing instruction when possible

• Get through the school year

Quotes

“There are so many Common Core standards to cover. It’s double the work.”

“I spend so much time teaching how to write that my students don’t have much time left for actual writing.”

“I get why they have all this stuff [pointing to page in the teacher guide], but it’s just too much.”

“It would be nice [to have a guide with] the steps. Here are the major things, how you teach it, how you organize it, what a typical lesson looks like, what a conference looks like, as a model.”

Esther Expert

Master Teacher: a master at orchestrating instruction and engaging each of her students

• Teaching experience: 15 years

• Classroom management skills: high

• Quality of writing instruction: high

Profile

• 4th grade teacher

• Committed

• Organized

• Prepared

• Talented teacher

Attitudes

• Writing is important

• Students’ work should be celebrated

• Mistakes are an opportunity to learn

Goals

• Foster student writing community

• Prepare them for college and career writing tasks

• Coach and challenge her students to write expressively

Quotes

“This [binder] is just what I’ve compiled over the years. There’s no great comprehensive writing program. I’ve had to piecemeal it together.”

“You have to take the child that you get and bring them to the next level. One kids’ next level is going to be totally different than another kids’ next level.”

“We probably write a complete essay composition once a month. I incorporate writing into content teaching (social studies and science). They’re writing something daily.”

#1 Teacher Need Statement

I am a caring and diligent 3rd-7th grade teacher, who is trying to teach standards-based writing

but it takes a lot of time and effort to prepare and deliver effective instruction

because there is no one resource that is easy-to-use and comprehensive

which makes me feel uncertain and overwhelmed

#2 Teacher Need Statement

I am a caring and diligent 3rd-7th grade teacher, who is trying to coach my student writers

but providing individualized constructive feedback takes a lot of time

because writing suggestions demands a lot of thought and careful phrasing

 which makes me feel daunted

Ryan Resistant

The Struggling Writing Student: unclear, not very responsive

• Writing competence: low

• Writing engagement: low

Profile

• 4th grade student

• Poor reader

Attitudes

• Distracted

• Unengaged

Goals

TBD

Quotes

None

Lou Learner

Engaged But Struggling Writing Student: motivated student but not a strong writer

• Writing competence: medium

• Writing engagement: medium

Profile

• 4th grade student

• Likes math more than ELA

• Loves Minecraft

Attitudes

• Self-critical

• Expects help from teacher

Goals

• Do well in school

• Wants to be a game developer

Quotes

“I’m not smart like him because I’m not as fast as him.”

“I’m not interested in writing about the topic that my teacher assigned to the class.”

“My hand hurts [from writing].”

“Typing is hard.”

Molly Motivated

Competent and Engaged Writing Student: motivated writer and strong reader

• writing competence: high

• writing engagement: high

Profile

• 5th grade student

• Enjoys school

• Creative

• Sensitive

• Diligent

Attitudes

• Respects authority

• Will use our product if the teacher asks her to use it

Goals

• Do well in school

• Learn

• Find creative/expressive outlets (latent)

Quotes

“Writing allows you to express yourself and think about things. Narrative is like creating your own world. Informational is like looking into the real world.”

“Planning is hard because it's hard to come up with the [ideas].”

“You think you’re done. But then the teacher looks at it and says, “Add more punctuation,” but you can’t see where to add it.”

#1 Student Problem Statement

I am a competent reader and conscientious 3rd–7th grade student, who is trying to think of something to write about

but I'm not good at brainstorming alone

because I haven't internalized the steps/strategies

which makes me feel stumped and unsupported

#2 Student Need Statement

I am a competent reader and conscientious 3rd–7th grade student, who is trying to research a topic

but identifying important ideas is hard

because I haven't internalized or been taught the steps/strategies

which makes me feel overwhelmed, perplexed and unsure