ASSIGNMENT TWO: WRITTEN REFLECTION–Section One- The Essential Writing Life Chapters 1-3
BRIEFLY reflect on the following comments written below from Chapters 1-3 and any additional thoughts that you have after reading these chapters.
Chapter 1: Simplify the Teaching of Writing• Simplify our teaching
• Becoming more knowledgeable about teaching writing
• Examine your beliefs
Regie gets to the heart of her book Writing Essentials with this quote on the final page of Chapter One: “By reducing the clutter in our teaching lives-the over-planning, the unnecessary activities, the paper load, all the ‘stuff’ that takes our time and energy and does little to improve teaching and learning-we bring joy back into our work and the world of our students.” Many of us work very hard and spend many hours complicating our teaching lives. In this book Regie will help you simplify your teaching life for your benefit and that of your students.
One of the frustrations that teachers encounter regularly is the ever changing “latest and best” writing programs that districts or states force on them and their students. With this revolving cycle of programs, teachers are spending too much time learning how to use the program rather than becoming better writing teachers. Regie explains that in the districts where students are the best writers, they are writing for real purposes and audiences and publishing their writing; teachers are not using prescribed writing programs.
Look at Appendix A (page A-2.) Examine your beliefs about writing by reading the statements about the writing process and marking true or false in your book. (Go ahead and write in your book, it’s OK! You can even use a pencil and mark very lightly if you want to.) We found this activity very enlightening. Let us know what you think after you complete the activity.
In your reflection for Section One, please include your thoughts about the following questions or statements:
• Regie demonstrates how to use the Optimal Learning Model (shown on the front cover and page 11) throughout the book. Consider how the Optimal Learning Model fits into your own instruction.
• As you think about how to teach writing so that all students can become successful, effective and joyful writers, reflect on how you presently teach the “12 Writing Essentials” (as described on pages 13-14 in the text) during your daily writing instruction. As we continue to read through Regie’s book, hopefully you will begin to see how you might make changes in your instruction to better incorporate these “12 Writing Essentials.”
Chapter 2: Start With Celebration
• Make sure writing is meaningful not just correct
• Use stories as springboards and ensure that ALL students hear stories
• Write in front of your students and connect home and school
The title of Chapter Two simply states, “Start with Celebration,” and that’s exactly what we need to do for our students. The celebration of all students’ writing needs to be put into the forefront and be made our first teaching goal. Celebrations should happen school-wide, within our classrooms and with students individually. As children begin to see themselves as successful writers, they will take more risks in their writing and in turn will become better writers who enjoy the writing process.
Another key point that Regie highlights in this chapter is to “make sure writing is meaningful, not just correct!” Students need to understand that writing is “enjoyable and for a real purpose and audience.” She also reminds us “that teaching skills in isolation does not make student writers; neither does teaching to the test. And breaking writing into bits and pieces robs children of the joy of writing.”
Regie suggests using stories as a springboard for teaching and learning. Hearing and telling stories builds our students’ oral language skills and these stories are “an entryway into reading and writing.” Only when students are reading and writing real stories can they connect the “skills” based learning to their reading and writing!
Please include your thoughts about the following questions or statements in your written reflection of Section One:
• Regie explains how important celebrating student writing is. How do you celebrate student writing in your classroom? How might you add more celebration of student writing to your day/year?
• Consider what changes you could make in your writing instruction to make writing more meaningful and purposeful for your students.
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ReplyDeleteRegarding Regie’s “12 Writing Essentials,” just yesterday I revisited writing for a specific reader with one of my students. I work with individual students in various schools and grades, but realized they could still write to one another. I was as if I had lit a fire under Minh yesterday when he was asked if he would consider writing to another boy about the sinking of the Titanic, a topic about which he is more or less an expert.
Another of Regie’s 12 Essentials which I am trying to better teach is composing satisfying endings, working with students to tie up their piece with a line that acknowledges the reader, perhaps by connecting emotionally. For example, with guidance Minh closed with, “ This was a terrible disaster and 1,517 people died.”
Minh’s recent joy in writing observed here stemmed from the task’s being meaningful to him. I love Regie’s “whole-to-part-to-whole” framework. The only editing that we did at the end was changing some verb tenses (common struggle with ESL students), “so that your reader will better understand.”
The springboard I use for writing is nonfictional texts and newspaper articles based on individual students’ interests. I usually have about 50 books checked out at any time. We read together,
then write. Finished pieces are published and celebration seems to take care of itself. We have fun!
When thinking about how my students and I celebrate writing in our classroom, I realize that we celebrate it more informally. Usually these celebrations occur when students are working on independent writing during a literacy center. I have 10-minute breaks between a few reading groups and am able to walk around and support students. I often go to the students that are writing rather than at word work or computers. This is my chance to focus on individuals and their writing successes. Often I celebrate with the individual student, or share what we are celebrating with others at the table, hoping that the celebration will inspire other writers. I do feel though that I need to do this more often while the entire class is working on writing. Often during literacy centers I have a few students out of the room with other specialists, and they miss out on particular ideas and skills that we celebrate. I would like to celebrate more with the whole class, which I have done prior to adopting our newest reading program. One change I could make would be to incorporate this celebration on Friday mornings. My students “clean out” their writing folders every Friday. They look on their “stop” side and turn 1 piece of writing in to me for a written compliment, and the rest go home. I could choose various pieces and share positive thoughts about individual writing pieces. This whole class celebration will benefit the entire class, and possibly inspire other writers as well.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading chapters 1 and 2 I found myself noting several changes that I could incorporate to make writing more meaningful in my classroom. I read aloud often to my first graders. While I am reading aloud, discussions surrounding characters and events often take place. Or if the story is non-fiction my students will state facts they know about the particular subject in which we are reading. I would like to be more explicit and have my students focus more on what the authors and illustrators do. For example, we might discuss why the illustrator shows a particular expression on a character’s face. I also like Regie’s suggestion of including the student authors in this activity. This would be a great addition because we have the author in our class and we can discuss specific comments with him or her. Finally, I would like my students to think about whom they are writing for, and encourage them to write for a specific reader when they write. I believe that knowing that their writing will have a reader will encourage them to put more effort into their thoughts and ideas. I am looking forward to trying some of these ideas out next week!
Jean, your last sentence says it all. "We have fun!" This is what is/has been missing for so many teachers and students. Writing should be something fun and something the students want to do. Later, you will see that we mention writing for an audience as one of the biggest changes in our writing program that had positive results. And, I LOVE that you are using texts and articles with your students. Reading and writing are so closely connected that it's important for teachers to explicitly make this connection for students.
ReplyDeleteLeslie, that's wonderful that you are already informally celebrating students writing and using it as an opportunity to help others learn and grow. Both types of celebrations are important. (Usually, we hear the reverse…that teachers celebrate whole class and want to focus more on the informal. :))
Yes, knowing who their audience is (and what their purpose is for writing) def. increases their efforts and the quality of their work. Glad you have found some new ideas to try out with your students.