Sharing Quickly and Efficiently

Do you regularly have your students share their writing with each other? Experience has shown me time and time again that students learn from each other's work. I can drone on in front of them for days about adding punctuation to a sentence, yet there's not a period to be found. But once one child "accidently" demonstrates the skill and I "notice" that in front of the class, many are adding periods the next day. Sharing equals powerful results.

Managing the sharing used to seem daunting and kept me from making it an integral part of our day. Having everyone share at once was painful; too much time and behavior management required. Having just a few children share left many of the students with sad faces because it wasn't their day. There had to be a better way. Once I began using the structure of Daily 5, I figured out how to make sharing work for everyone. Step one: divide the number of students in class by the number of rotations. That's the magic number of students that can sign up to do work on writing during each rotation. In other words, limit the number of students writing at one time. Step two: the children who just completed work on writing during the previous rotation will be the ones to share during mini-lesson time. Having three rotations gives you three share times. It makes it easier for everyone to get a turn.

The ticket to making this work is...you only need an audience of one for a writer to begin sharing their journal. If you wait until everyone has joined you sitting quietly at the rug, you'll never make it through. Usually, my writers are racing to the "share chair" to be the first to sit. Someone is always there ready and waiting even before I sit down. We get started as soon as one classmate plops down on the rug and turns their eyes in the direction of the share chair. This also creates a sense of urgency for others to hurry up and get to the line...they are missing out!

I also have a "waiting spot." This imaginary spot is on the floor close to the share chair. As soon as the "sharer" is done, the next person can jump up and be in place in seconds. During the switch, I'll call on someone else to move to the "waiting spot."

In addition, I always hold the child's journal for them while they talk. If a child hands me a closed journal, I can usually turn to the current page much faster than they can. I'm also more conscientious about holding the journal so everyone can see it; a skill most children don't have. We don't waste time on "I can't see." It's also easier for me to teach from and control the pace if the journal is in my hand. Believe me, I keep it quick and lively.

I know having an entire class share daily seems like an overwhelming task but the benefits are more than worthwhile. Journal sharing helps us get to know each other, what we are interested in and what's happening in our lives. It's a daily assessment that shows me where the children are on their writing journey. It also helps make students accountable to do their best because they know soon, everyone will be watching.

In any system, including Daily 5, sometimes a little tweak will give a huge payoff. Getting started sharing immediately, within thirty to sixty seconds of the end of your rotation, can buy you a few precious minutes. We can all use a few extra minutes!