Jose was a first grader, the youngest English language learner in my class. I can still remember his messy hair and quiet yawns. He seemed to like school, but it was too early to tell. He arrived to my classroom as the snow started covering benches and the playground.
Every day after our yoga stretch when I announced that we would start writing workshop, Jose’s face changed completely. Some days his facial expressions seemed to say, “Here we go again.” Sometimes his dislike for writing would creep up on me in the middle of our workshop through subtle nonverbal cues. After several days, I recognized the pattern. I became alert. I started looking for signs.
One moment Jose would be working on his illustrations. From a distance, it looked like he was having a great time. The next minute, I saw Jose’s frustration as he tried to make the dinosaur spikes bigger and better. It seemed like an insignificant moment, but for him, this was a turning point. Two things could happen next: Jose would either calm down after some reassurance and encouragement, or he would burst into tears.
Scene number two was a more frequent event. Jose’s association with writing workshop time was a negative one, and I was the only person who could change that for him. We all have students who get frustrated during a specific time during the day. For Jose, this time was writing workshop.
As Robert Krauss wrote in Leo the Late Bloomer, sometimes the best thing you can do is watch for signs of blooming. I knew the signs of fatigue and discouragement with Jose. Here are some small steps that I made to change those signs.
- Right before I started my minilesson, I’d whisper in Jose’s ears that I had a great book I wanted to share with him. It gave him something exciting to think about, instead of building up anxiety or anger during my minilesson time.
- After my minilesson, Jose would be the first child I’d meet with for a conference. Sometimes, the first thing I would say to him when we met was “I thought of you and your writing when I saw this book…” or, “Let me tell you about the amazing work you’re doing here…” or, “Look how you have…”
I wanted him to know that I care about him as a young writer in my class. I needed to also hook him with the love of writing. I knew it would take some time and consistency from me.
- I enjoy writing postcards to the young writers in my class. Jose was no exception. Many times, the first thing that Jose would see when he opened his writing folder was a note from me celebrating his accomplishments as a writer. At the beginning, it was challenging to give him written feedback because he fought writing workshop and didn’t produce much work. But slowly, a new writer was born and I found more and more things to celebrate with those notes.
- I provided Jose with excellent writing partners. These two friends were in charge of keeping each other accountable. At the beginning of our block, they’d ask each other about their writing plans. Jose loved his writing partners.
- I met with Jose’s mom to discuss his nightly routine. I needed her support and collaboration in making sure Jose went to bed earlier. The communication was crucial.
- Jose never really enjoyed sharing in front of the whole group. I respect that. Luckily he did enjoy sharing his work in partnerships.
I understand that students like Jose take a lot of energy and time. There were days when I feared I would lose the momentum in writing workshop because there would be tears that would need attention. At other times I knew I had several students I needed to touch base with right away, and it was a challenge to meet their needs and still be there for Jose. However, at the end of the day what matters the most is to ignite a passion for learning in our students—even if this means a lot of one-on-one time, a lot of ups and downs, and constant reinforcement.
I looked at Jose’s writing at the end of the year and I read his words carefully. This was a moment in my teaching life that I wanted to capture and frame. He wrote, “My favorite thing about ESL is writing stories.” We made it. Thank you, Robert Krauss… You were right. Sometimes the best thing we can do is watch for signs of blooming.
