Student Writing Survey

Room 39, Grade 5

Margaret R. Dunn
ITE 314

Classroom Demographics
On Wednesday September 25th the 5th graders in Mrs. Denniss 5th
grade class completed a game survey.
The survey was conducted through the game 4 Corners, and 19
students participated.
Rm. 39, Ms. Denniss room, is an inclusion classroom. There are 22
students in total. Within this 22 there are 7 SPED Students, from low
functioning to high.
The 5th grade teachers come up with their own curricula, thus there
are four major writing pieces performed throughout the year, as well
as small integrated writing assignments.
There are no special writing programs, but I do see the students
using writing programs on the classroom computers.
Barbers Point does not use grades for writing they use a 4-1 system:
ME- Meets with Excellence
MP- Meets Proficiency
DP- Developing Proficiency
WB- Well Below Proficiency

Survey Tool PPT. 4 Corners

Conducting Survey
During the Survey the students were asked to stand in the
middle of the room, and go to the corner color that best
applied to them for each question asked.
I asked two questions for each category including:
-how students feel about writing
what the class enjoys writing about
- what students think are the best
approaches to help them learn
- what students perceive as their work style

Attitude towards Writing

I like writing stories
When I think about writing I feel

Attitude
I like writing stories:
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

4
yes I love to

It depends on
the topic

I do it
because I
have to

I do not like
writing

Attitude
When I think about writing I feel:
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

4
Excited

6
2
Anxious or
Nervous

1
Mad

I do not feel
anyting when I
think about
writing

Attitude
Analysis

Implementation

In this section I wanted to find out

how the 5th grade students felt
about writing.
Only one of the top students said
they loved to write stories, while
eight said it depended on what they
were writing about.
Almost a third of the Students only
write because they are forced to in
school. Many of the SPED students
were in this group
Only 20% of the class is excited
when it comes to writing. Many
others feel nothing at all.

It is sad to see how many children

think of writing as a task or a chore. I
want to create a lesson that is
informational, but also valuable to
the 5th grade students.
I want to pick a topic that will get
their attention and help them to
create meaningful writing pieces.
I want them to become more
excited or enthusiastic towards
writing, and realize it is part of our
everyday lives to be able to write
well.

Student Writing Interests

What would you like to write about Ms. Dennis asked you to
write 1 page?
Do you ever write at home in your free time?

Writing Interests
What would you like to write about if Ms. Dennis
asked you to write a page or two
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

1
Friends
and/or Famly

A Past
Experience

Something
you made up
(ex. A fairy
tale or
fantasy)

A Hobby of
yours

Writing Interests
Do you ever write at home in your free time?
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

7
4

Writing Interests
Analysis

Implementation

When asked the question what the

students liked to write about, I was
surprised that more than a third of
the class likes to write about things
theyve made up, fiction or
fantasies.
6 students like writing about loved
ones, and 5 like to write about
hobbies of theirs.
Over of the class does some sort
of informal writing at home through
text, journal, etc

I was really expecting more students

would like to write about things that
have happened in their real lives,
rather than a fiction story. I now
realize that is what makes writing
fun for kids, when they get t be
really silly and creative.
I will remember this when coming
up with my lesson plan on teaching
writing.
I was glad to see that most of the
class does writing at home, even if it
is on the phone or computer
because the more practice the
better.

Learning Style
What Environment do you write best in?
Do you ever have a hard time thinking about what to write?

Learning Style
What environment do you write best in?
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

9
2
When it is
quiet

When it is
noisy

4
I like to listen
to music while
writing

4
I do not care
about noise
when I write

Learning Style
Do you ever have a hard time thinking about what to
write?
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

8
5

Always

3
Sometimes

3
If I brainstorm I never have
it makes it a
trouble
lot easier
thinking about
what to write

Learning Style
Analysis

Implementation

Most students get their best

writing done when it is quiet,
while only two like it noisy.
20% of the class likes to listen to
music when they write, while
20% dont really care what
environment or probably just
dislike writing no matter what.
3/4 of the class says
brainstorming is beneficial to
their writing process
5 out of the 19 students there
that day always have a hard time
thinking about what they want to
write

For starters, because most students

work better in a quiet environment,
I will make sure that rule is
implemented during my writing
lesson. Unless I say otherwise.
It is also apparent that
brainstorming is proven to help the
students in their writing process. I
will make sure to either include this
in my lesson.

Work Habits
What helps you the most when brainstorming before you
write?
Do you like to share your writing with others?

Work Habits
What helps you the most when brainstorming
before you write?
20
15
10
5

4
0

0
Making a Web Writing a list

Seeing
Examples

Talking with a
classmate

Work Habits
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

6
2

I love to share Its okay as long I only share if I I really dislike

my writing as I dont have
have to
sharing me
to read it out
writing
loud

Work Habits
Analysis

Implementation

9 out of the 19 students prefer to

make a web when they are
brainstorming before they write
There were no students that said
seeing examples helped their
writing.
It was interesting to see that 7
Students love to share their
writing while 6 Students strongly
dislike sharing their writing.
Talking with a classmate also
helped 6 students when thinking
about what to write.

The web style of brainstorming is

the most popular and helpful for
students. I will make sure in the
future to have my students always
brainstorm
After seeing the results about
sharing what you have written, I will
not have my students share what
they have written with the whole
class.
I may however, have the students
read what they have written with a
partner in order to boost their
confidence in sharing their writing
pieces.

Conclusion
This survey helped me to gain a better understanding of my
students writing styles, likes, and needs.
While our class has not actually started their first big writing
unit, I feel I will now know how to help all students gain more
confidence in their writing, and know which topics will really
spark their interest.
I am also very excited to work with my mentor in planning my
lesson, because she really stresses that in order to get kids to
write meaningful papers the topic muse be engaging and
creative.
Through this survey and my MTs knowledge, I will now be
able to plan a solid writing lesson for my 5th grade class.