Graphic Organizers Are the Devil

After participating in Sarah's demo on graphic organizers I feel like I am Bobby Bouche's mother in The Waterboy when she calls everything the devil. Graphic organizers are the devil. This is hardly this first time in SI when one of my previous teaching practices has been called into question. I look back over my two years picking out moments where I did exactly the things we criticize. However, I believe that's the point of SI.

I remember last year when Lil, Lacy, Sally, and Steve hosted a week long course for teachers about writing. This was my first experience with the Writing Project. That week changed how I set up my classroom last year. I introduced daybooks for the first time! My year went more smoothly, but I still felt like I had more to learn.

During SI this year, I have had so many aha moments that I can't even begin to count the number. All of the older teachers at my school told me that in your third year of teaching, everything starts to click. I believe that process has already started. I keep learning things on a daily basis that answer questions I have been asking for years. Somehow the other teachers had it figured out, but couldn't tell me how to create that same sort of writing atmosphere in my classroom. I'm so excited to take what I've learned and apply it to units and share with other teachers at my school. Here is my most recently inspired idea based off of our discussions about removing outlines from the writing process:

Step 1: Expose students to different forms of brainstorming. I plan to show students a variety of brainstorming techniques and encourage them to try one out that seems interesting to them. I want students to try to use a technique that seems natural to them.
Step 2: Create order! Based on previous assessments on multiple intelligences (most of our students are aware of these by 8th grade), I will group students based on different ideas on how to create order from a brainstorming. Groups might include strategies like circle and move an idea, highlight and rewrite, cut and paste, or using manipulatives to represent parts of the paper. Groups could then share what worked for them about the techniques and what didn't work for them.
Step 3: Rewrite/Create a strong first draft
Step 4: This might be the point where I introduce a required rubric or give students a list of things that need to be included in that genre of paper. Students need to compare their draft to the list and revise. They could use some of Cindy's strategies for revision if they are stuck.
Step 5: Write your final draft. This would be the place for a discussion/conference about editing and expectations for turn-in.