The need to go synchronous in the classroom has made teaching the writing process very difficult. Truly, it has made it nearly impossible. The one-on-one writing conference is gone (even in the classroom because of the need to be 6 feet away from each other), and the writing feedback relies solely on comments on a Google document, which my students either skim or don’t read (they are in sixth grade). We are writing in Room 101, but it is NOTHING like we write in a normal school year.
As we struggle through the writing process and all of the obstacles that remote teaching creates, reading has not taken a back seat. The students are becoming active readers in front of my eyes (some over the screen:). They are reading some awesome books (from different perspectives) in literature circles and the discussions are WONDERFUL. They are capital “wonderful” because they are happening over Zoom. They are reading short stories with each other and discussing the story plot, figurative language, and the subtle inferences that some of the stories contain. They are talking about literature. And again, they are doing it over Zoom.
Like anything, the more you do something, the better you get at it. When I pop into a breakout room, I hear the kids talking back and forth about the stories and working together to complete short comprehension assignments that are a follow-up to the reading. They are becoming more comfortable with each literature circle and each short story reading with a friend. Unlike writing, reading is manageable over Zoom because you can do mini-lessons on active reading strategies that the kids can use while reading. It’s easier to give feedback on individual assessment of reading comprehension (shorter and more direct comments than provided on writing pieces). With this constant practice since September, they have the confidence to read on their own, which is much more difficult with writing (for sixth graders, and I’d even write any grade level – writing is not easy).
As I search for the silver lining, I look to the growth of my students as readers. With the possibility of many students returning to the classroom soon, I look forward to ending the year with lots of writing practice. They may not be as well prepared as writers as the students that came before them, but I am hopeful that their reading skills will provide them with the confidence to take chances with their writing next year.
Fueled by Inspiration and Ideas 
I love this silver lining! Writing in the current state of our school is so incredibly hard, but I am encouraged by your success with reading. There’s still time for me to give it another shot, maybe from a different angle!
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As a high school English teacher currently in a hybrid model with half at home and half in front of me, I have had to adapt in ways that have brought me to the brink of exhaustion. Individual Google Meets, repeatedly over the course of two weeks, giving feedback, both oral and written, synchronous and asynchronous – so, this post is one that I appreciate. And I noticed these lines:
“With this constant practice since September, they have the confidence to read on their own, which is much more difficult with writing (for sixth graders, and I’d even write any grade level – writing is not easy).
As I search for the silver lining, I look to the growth of my students as readers.”
The silver lining is that the reading will support the writing. Your students are lucky to have you.
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My class of 7th-graders are not readers except for one line soul, yet today they asked me what novel we were reading next. We have listened to two while reading along, and they love it. I will take all I can get this year!
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