April 22, 2006

Dear Rock'n Write Coordinators,

I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts and ideas about this fabulous program. First of all, I have been a language arts teacher for over 25 years and know the ups and downs of teaching to the curriculum. With the onset of state standards a few years ago, time for extracurricular projects in the classroom has dwindled immensely. Your program, however, lends itself quite effectively to the incorporation of standards and piquing the interest of the students!

Music, I feel, has a much needed presence in the classroom as it plays such a huge role in the students' lives. I try to incorporate music into my lesson plans daily, whether it is a story or background music for writing. In this way, the students are often exposed to a variety of music they might not otherwise choose on their own. Towards the end of the year, once we are "past testing," I often do a unit on poetry/songs. I have a packet of "songs" written out as poems (minus the authors/groups). In the midst of these songs, I throw in a few real poems by Whitman or Browning. We read and discuss them all as works of poetry. We talk about figurative language, voice, style, mood, theme, etc. I ask the students to choose their "top 5" and then I play the "poems" in their "song" version! This always proves to be very interesting and entertaining, both for the students and me, as "rockers" will find they have chosen a country western song and vice-versa. Often times, they discover that they knew the song but didn't recognize it in this format.

When I first received notice of the Rock'n Write program, I was truly excited as I felt that FINALLY someone was trying to develop curriculum that would hold the students' interest yet correspond with the state standards. I have three 7th grade Honors language arts classes and one 7th grade LINC language arts class. The LINC program consists of students who are at BASIC in state testing in language arts but need extra time and work to become proficient. I am piloting this program this year and it seems to be working quite effectively. Rock'n Write was just the ticket for ALL of my classes!

At our school, the language arts department is in year three of a technology grant that gave us 36 laptop computers to be infused into our curriculum. Every third week my class has the laptops for one week and we are expected to work them into whatever we are working on at that time. I waited until I knew the computers were coming to me and on the Friday before, I introduced the Rock'n Write program using my computer and a monitor. We reviewed the website, looked at the rules, and discussed what my expectations would be. On the following Monday, we reviewed the first songwriter, listened to her song, and discussed what elements make up a memorable song. The students then began to compose directly onto the computer using the Word program, which by this point in the year, they are very proficient at doing. We reviewed a different songwriter on your site each day, and the students discussed which ones they liked and why. Each time, themes of the songs were discussed and students were expected to then begin composing a song with a "like" theme. Over the following week, they were to finish writing a minimum of two songs.

The students LOVED doing this! Some even had melodies made up to accompany their words! I was so impressed with their diligence and attention to details in this assignment. Many students turned in more than two songs. Some came in before school or at lunch to proudly show me their finished product! There was genuine excitement about learning! This program gave each and every student a chance for their inner voice to be heard, recognized, and praised. It was unique and captured their creative sides! Thank you, Rock'n Write, for tying to reach students in a way that excites them!

A few suggestions for next year: Have a link on your website to access lesson plans that other educators have used with your program. Try to have a few established artists come on board and use their lyrics as well. Send out letters, certificates, or buttons to ALL students who participate so as to honor them in some small way. Have representatives from your company speak at different schools or create a video/DVD to send to participating teachers introducing them to your program.

Above all, GREAT JOB! We are glad that you are out there helping us and thank you for all you do and have done!

Sincerely,

Maureen Harter
Bernal Intermediate School
6610 San Ignacio Avenue
San Jose, California 95119

Date: July 2, 2007
To:  Rock’n Write Administrators
From: Mrs. Christine Roehler
8th Grade Language Arts
Bogle Junior High School
1600 W. Queen Creek Road
Chandler, AZ 85248


Re: Rock’n Write Contest

I was so glad that I chose to have my 8th grade students be a part of the Rock’n Write contest.  Every one of my students participated in this writing activity and they have enjoyed it immensely.  I arranged to have my students begin this process of writing song lyrics and essays for this contest at the close of our Poetry unit.  It fit nicely into the curriculum as an interesting, motivating and culminating activity.

I could profile so many students for this evaluation.  Many students found this assignment as a vehicle to express their worries, dreams and victories.  I chose these six students based merely on how they responded in a positive way and in a manner that moved them forward toward success.

Lauren gravitated to this assignment immediately.  She may not have written the winning piece, but she provided the fuel to extend this project well outside the boundaries of our school grounds.  Once the class began the assignment, Lauren offered to see if her uncle, a local radio personality, could come by to provide encouragement to the class.  I thought he might be able to share with us what kinds of lyrics caught the attention of the station.  The visit turned out to be a huge event.  The DJ brought his partner to our school and our class, and as a result, composed a song together.  This song was featured on Tim and Willy’s radio program the following day.

The other experiences with this contest were not nearly as dramatic, but nonetheless, the impact of this assignment was felt by a number of my students in many significant ways.  For example, Gabi is another strong writer.  Every genre the class has been exposed to this year she has mastered!  Gabi simply enjoys writing!  Never before has she recognized her ability to write as a skill that she possesses!  Each time she finishes a writing project, I am amazed at her ability to convey her ideas in such a rich, expressive manner.  (To tell you the truth, she is too!)  Gabi’s piece related to America’s role in the war in Iraq and is very thought provoking and cleverly done.

Travis is a pretty average writer.  He gets his work in, tries hard and is very dependable.  This student found the topics for writing these essays appealing.  The idea he wrote about concerned a boy that was the subject of gossip.  The boy was seen as a potential shoplifter.  I could tell that Travis was very confident in his writing and was pleased with the way the piece turned out.

Angelica has had a tough school year.  She just hasn’t connected with the purpose of school and how her efforts could translate into greater success.  Angelica was reluctant to get involved in the Rock’n Write project.  I had to get after her to complete her piece.  Once she did complete it, she was pleased that the message of her immigration from Mexico was revealed.  Her father then came with her for the parent/teacher conference.  This was the first time they had attended.  Her father noticed a positive change in Angelica.  Her dream of becoming a nurse is coming closer to reality now that she is participating in school.

Of all my students, Carlos, by far, spent the most time after school working with me on his commercial jingle.  Although Carlos’ first language is Spanish, he is pretty close to being at grade level in his speaking and comprehension of English.  Carlos doesn’t lack a desire to improve his skills; he has more determination to succeed than many people I know.  Tutoring Carlos was an enjoyable time.  It was fun hearing him work on making his rhyme fit to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”  Neither one of us are the best at keeping a tune!  Carlos enjoys my Language Arts class quite a bit.  He even stayed after school on his own to see if he could lend me a hand in preparing for our Rock’n Write writer’s reception.    

I was surprised to see Sarah create such a personal piece.  Her song lyrics hit right to the point by addressing the insecurities and awkwardness of the teen years.  Sarah is a special education student that suffers from some emotional issues that impede her learning.  She is extremely quiet and so very shy.  Her piece reaches out to all that take the time to read it.  I am certain she is speaking of her own insecurities.  Sarah might be revealing her silent observations as she looks on from the sidelines.

I am glad to have had the opportunity to share my observations with you.  I could have easily picked students at random to speak about.  So many of my students were very engaged in this writing contest.  Thank you for giving my class the platform to share their expressive side.