Administrators' Experiences
Darcy McAfee,
Instructional Coach at Tennessee School for the Deaf
The students made a lot of improvement. It made me happy that the kids were really involved, and it just kept getting better. When I look at their writing samples from the beginning of the year until now, I was just impressed with how different they were.
Sarah McGaughey,
Elementary Principal at Marie Philip School,
The Learning Center for the Deaf in Massachusetts
Six years ago, I was involved in teaching SIWI. I noticed there was substantial benefit for our bilingual students. SIWI uses what’s called a “language zone” which encourages our students to express their thoughts in their first language. Also, SIWI includes visual supports and an interactive process where students become motivated. They are always motivated to present their writing to their audience. Now more than half of our upper elementary teachers are involved in SIWI.
Teachers' Experiences
Suzanne Lippy,
Elementary Teacher at Marie Philip School,
The Learning Center for the Deaf in Massachusetts
During my own instruction before SIWI, I always felt like there was a gap between teaching how to use language and writing. SIWI bridges that gap and makes it possible for students to be more confident in their writing. Group writing makes it possible for all kids to experience success in writing and pride in their contribution to the piece. I have been amazed at the gains in confidence, retention of English patterns and independent writing improvements in students who are language deprived.
Kendra Grosso,
Elementary Teacher
Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut
I went from nothingness to kids that are excited about writing, and they feel confident. In all my years of teaching and struggling to figure out how to get kids to write, I don’t know why I never thought of this before. I guess I would have thought it was cheating, with everybody working together, but that’s how you learn.
Deanna Glasser,
Teacher
Kentucky School for the Deaf
I’ve been teaching for 25 years. It’s the best thing that’s happened to me as a teacher– it fits with what I do. I already believed in your philosophy, but it gave me a structure. I had elements of it before, but it helped me assess what I was doing. The kids were excited about it and it was successful.
Elizabeth Smith,
Teacher at John Beck Elementary in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
My student just wrote this sentence behind me! Wow! Last year the student could not form a sentence. They could not put down one word. They had a terrible time with writing. Since SIWI, they have really improved. I am amazed every day to see their progress. I’m happy I joined SIWI. It changed things for me.
Kelli Williams,
Speech Language Pathologist
Shelby County Schools in Tennessee
I feel like I’m meeting the needs of the students more than I ever have in the past.
I love using SIWI. I am a speech-language pathologist working in an oral/aural program so in addition to written language goals, my SIWI sessions focus on articulation, expressive syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. SIWI helps me integrate all these areas in authentic activities that promotes carryover and independence. I have seen dramatic progress in all areas for most of my students. I love how I can target individual as well as group goals in the same session. I love watching my students take risks and get support from their peers. No one ever complains of being bored in SIWI.
Krista Phelps-Elliott,
Teacher at Altamonte Elementary in Altamonte Springs, Florida
My kids took their FPMA (Florida Performance Measurment Assessment for Writing) today and for the FIRST time EVER my students knew exactly what to do…finding evidence, making their plan, etc. from two sources that are provided to them. They are confident with what they are doing and have a GOOD ATTITUDE about the whole procedure. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this grant!!!!!
Suzanne Lippy,
Elementary Teacher at Marie Philip School,
The Learning Center for the Deaf in Massachusetts
I have noticed an increase in confidence while independently writing. One of my students refused to write during independent writing time. He is writing…with increasing confidence. It is exciting to see the expanded growth in language, reading and writing in my classroom across the board! I am so grateful I was trained in this unique way of guiding writing.
I use SIWI in my classroom because it’s the best tool I’ve ever used to foster collaboration, motivation, and improved writing skills among my students. I also use SIWI because of the cyclical element. Students learn to write the same way as adults write—write, reread, edit/revise, repeat instead of writing an entire composition, edit it when finished, and then rewrite it.
SIWI has done so much for my students. I have used SIWI with students who are reading and writing two or more grades below level, and it is amazing to see how much they enjoy writing after just a few weeks. I have also used SIWI with students who are on grade level. These students love to set goals for themselves and work to improve their writing. SIWI not only improves students’ writing skills, but also improves their reading skills.
SIWI has changed how I view writing and how I teach it to my students. It’s an amazing tool that allows students at different academic levels to work collaboratively on a writing composition.
Kendra Grosso,
Elementary Teacher
Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut
I think this is the best thing I have ever had in my classroom.
Deanna Glasser,
Teacher
Kentucky School for the Deaf
Implementation of SIWI has greatly improved my students’ achievement in language and writing. Students that previously were only able to write in abstract concepts and simple sentences are now able to write in complex sentence structures. SIWI has changed the way I teach writing forever!
Camille Benson,
Upper School Teacher
Tennessee School for the Deaf
SIWI allows students to express their ideas and thoughts, and then translate to English. That is great! SIWI strategies are clear, simple, and students benefit a great deal.
Camille Benson,
Upper School Teacher
Tennessee School for the Deaf
SIWI has enabled my students to achieve success in ways they never thought possible. Students at our residential school come from all over the state with a wide variety of educational placements so their experience with writing is diverse. SIWI has allowed them to finally identify that their language, ASL, is of value and unique, along with English. By validating their bilingual abilities, students’ self-esteem improves, their excitement to express their ideas increases, and their willingness to participate soars. The students with whom I’ve seen the most success have been those who traditionally are considered low-language learners. Within SIWI’s process, the translation step has been the most significant with that population of students, and they discover that they do have excellent ideas and thoughts to add. SIWI has revolutionized how I approach my Social Studies class for the better!
Students' Experiences
Sixth Grade Student
Writing is easier with ASL & English being separate.
Sixth Grade Student
My writing has improved since leaving public school because the teachers would just tell us to write without any support. Now, we have a writing process that supports our stories and our English.
Seventh Grade Student
In Social Studies and Language Arts, our writing styles are different but we still use the same process. In Language Arts, we tend to write paragraphs and essays. In Social Studies, we might write timelines, captions to pictures, essays, or short stories. Before, writing was really hard and now it feels very easy.
Sixth Grade Student
I improved my writing skills with SIWI because now I know ASL & English are different languages.
Seventh Grade Student
I have really learned how to write. I remember when came to middle school in sixth grade, my written English wasn’t very good, but now look at my writing—it’s good! …I feel like an author. I love to write.
Third Grade Student
I prefer [writing] with others. It helps me a lot.