Guiding Question:
- In Because Writing Matters, Nagin starts by asserting that "writing is a complex activity: more than just a skill or talent, it is a means of inquiry and expression for learning in all grades and disciplines." How does this view affect the way we might approach our teaching? Why is writing so complex and what challenges does it pose on our schools?
Do not let my questions limit your discussion. They are meant to be just suggestions that might help start a conversation.
I am so glad you brought in this quote by Nagin: "writing is a complex activity: more than just a skill or talent, it is a means of inquiry and expression for learning in all grades and disciplines." I too was looking at this quote, and I wrote a note in my text about it. Writing is terribly, terribly complex.
ReplyDeleteIn my college preparatory writing class, it is so much more obvious. They are trying harder than my high school students (probably because they pay for it!), and I am thus able to see so many more oddities. The UAA PRPE students were placed there because they did not earn a high enough Accuplacer or SAT/ACT score to be able to go into ENGL 111. In their minds, they have been labeled “bad writers.” I often start the semester with a literacy autobiography and then a descriptive paragraph. In both instances, the students demonstrate that they have so much to say, and many of them are capable of saying it in such a poetic and visual way. These two assignments usually allow me to pinpoint their grammar deficits. Many are actually very good writers; they simply never got the rules of punctuation and grammar, and their organization is usually pretty rough. But, I would not classify them as “bad writers.” Then we start reading some texts that are college level and challenging for many of them. As soon as I assign them an essay that requires incorporation of a reading instead of personal experience, their writing falls apart. Often, students who I could understand are writing sentences that make no sense whatsoever. These essays are assigned to give the students a chance to respond to a text, and due to their writing, it appears that they either did not do an adequate job of reading the text or they really did not understand what they read. Often though, that is not the case at all. They read it, they understood it, and then they tried to write about it. It was stage three in the process where they fell apart.
It is important to remember that just because a kid can write a fantastic short story, it does not mean that they can write a research report in history or science. It is so important for us to expose them to many, many different types of writing for different content areas.
Janel, thank you for sharing such interesting comments. I know that the Common Core standards (at least concerning the primary grades) try to focus on different types of writing. For example, narrative, informational, and how-to books. I feel some comfort knowing that my three year-old daughter may be exposed to different types of writing.
DeleteWhen I was younger, I was more of a math and science student. I somehow missed being taught the rules of grammar and punctuation. Perhaps, this is why I love teaching writing so very much? I am always learning how to become a better writer (even teaching grade 1 students). I often wonder what I would be like as a writer, if I would have been brought up in a Writing Workshop format? Quite frankly, I do not remember writing very often in the primary grades. I do remember writing one report about the heart.
I believe that students are fortunate that the teaching of literacy has evolved over the past 30 years. I couldn't agree with you more in regard to students being able to write multiple types of writing in diverse content areas.
So many of my students (and their parents) regret bitterly never having been taught the rules of grammar and punctuation. Back in the days of sentence diagramming, I used to look forward to grammar lessons. I was good at it! I would eagerly get out my ruler and draw the nice, straight lines. I would diagram all of the utterly uninspired sentences that my gray Warriner's grammar book asked me to diagram. I would get "A's" on every paper and pass every test with flying colors. But I didn't really understand how syntax works. I had no clue that language was a living thing.
DeleteI didn't really get it until I started studying foreign languages. Then I finally saw that words, arranged in different ways, are powerfully magical. I am a Latin teacher, and one of my great joys is being there when a student, struggling to translate a line of Caesar, finally sees that the choices he made in writing--for example his use of the ablative absolute in this particular sentence--reflects a detached, stoic, utterly rational personality. Propaganda? Certainly. Caesar made conscious choices in diction, syntax, and organization that were calculated to make the reader see him, the writer, in a particular way.
In my English classes, I like to have students read short 50-100 word excerpts from memoirs, essays, or speeches and ask them about the personality of the speaker. What kind of person is he? What is his purpose? What audience is he imagining? Then I like to have students use the excerpt as a model and write a short piece for the same purpose.
Glenn Wright
Glenn, I find myself really enjoying your "virtual classroom tour". Whether you realize it or not, many of your entries are like a little window into your classroom - and I find it one I would like to be a part of. One of the biggest compliments I receive is when my colleagues say "I'd like to be in your class when .... ". So - Glenn, I want to be in your class :-)
DeleteThanks so much for your encouragement, Deborah!
DeleteGlenn
I think that writing is important. I am a Spanish teacher and in the past two years, I completely changed my methodology and philosophy of teaching a foreign language. My first year students are writing better than anything first year students have written in the past. The reason: I quit doing grammar. Shock. I teach the students how to say things correctly and out it comes. I do not believe in studying intense grammar until way way later, like in college perhaps. My job is to help students to communicate in another language. Thus I look at writing as a form of communication. Do I need to know what an indirect object pronoun is to construct a beautiful and meaningful piece of writing? Most definitely not.
DeleteAhhh, but then there is the question of fluency. If the speaker is fluent, should they then start on diagramming? I am still going to say with a no. The reason I am staying anti-diagram is because I really think that we can teach punctuation without cramming in grammar. I understand that punctuation is grammar in and of itself and it is really important to learn so that we do not suffer from run-on sentences that are fragmented nor fragmented sentences that are run-on but then again that is an oxy moron, oh my word I think I am running out of breath. (deep breath in and long sigh out)
My point in this is that even though I am never sure what the difference between a conjunction and a preposition, I can write, for the most part, correctly. I do not think the old ways of sentence diagramming is necessary. I think that practice is. One week we work only on adjective agreement, the next week we work on subject verb agreement, and so-on. With this approach young writers don't get overwhelmed with perfecting too much at once, they also don't get a paper with a boat load of red marks, and the teacher doesn't have to nitpick; we all win.
I agree with Janel. It is very important teach all types of writing at the elementary level, and to repeat often the types of writing over the course of the school year. Many students need repetition, repetition. Elementary level instruction forms the base in all subject areas. It allows for more successful learning at the middle and high school levels.
DeleteAs a response to "Unknown" (Glenn?): Actually, for me it is easiest to teach the mechanics of writing because I am a logical, step-by-step, thinker (but, I might be changing as I get older...). The creative aspect to a written piece is more difficult for me to teach. I must remind myself that students do not have as many life experiences as I do. So, it is very important to model and reveal some other information that they might not have in order to write about a certain topic. I read many primary level books to them, to give them other ways to think about certain topics, to give them background information from various viewpoints.
DeleteWriting is complex. While reading last night I was struck how much a student needs to do to create a piece of writing. Many teachers at our school have complained about the level of writing they receive from teacher interns. I try to explain that writing is not always taught in teacher intern programs. This was mentioned in Because Writing Matters. Writing in the content areas and for many different purposes needs to become common place.
ReplyDeleteOn p.2 there is a quote by Mike Rose. It emphasizes the idea that this is the first time in history we have expected so many people to write at such an advanced level. I had not reflected upon the fact that until recently in history we have expected all people to read, write, and excel at all academic areas. This may explain why we are struggling.
Brittany - I'm so glad you mentioned the amount of writing instruction we received a students. I have a BA in English and an MA in Teaching. It has been clear from the beginning that I will be teaching English. YET!!!!...I did not have one single class on teaching writing. I had only one class on how to teach grammar (only grammar, not writing). This is shocking for many. Though I graduated from UAA and we are all quick to claim that UAA is "not a real school," many others who graduated with a degree in English and teaching, also did not receive any kind of education in the how-to's of writing. How can we possibly expect our teachers to teach writing when they have taken few, if any, classes in teaching writing? Worse, look at how few continuing education classes are offered in writing. I can find a class about classroom management at the drop of the hat, but a class in teaching writing in rare and difficult to find, which is why I signed up for this class the minute I saw it. Nagin says that we need to offer more professional development classes to ALL faculty for teaching writing, and I agree whole heartedly. Rather than have administration demand that we come up with a school-wide writing goal (which we have been asked to do for the last 2 years), how about teaching the teachers what an appropriate writing goal would look like and how to implement it?
DeleteJanel, Thanks for sharing your experiences. I think the many goals that are created each year start to get overwhelming. The focus is on so many different changes at once. I think your idea of teaching the teachers how to create goals and how to implement them in their classrooms is much better than a mandated goal.
DeleteEncouraging teachers to become writers is also mentioned in the text. I think this class is a great opportunity to encourage us to write for different purposes. How can we become better teachers of writing without being writers ourselves?
What a great discussion, Brittany and Janel. The idea that we create our goals presupposes that we know what the most effective practices are in teaching writing. Without good professional development, that just is not always the case. I appreciate this discussion. Unfortunately, at all levels we must work with mandated goals, many of which we do not create. Sometimes we can't change the system, but we can change how we reach those goals.
DeleteSondra, Thanks for your perspective. I'll try to remember to think about what I can change versus what we cannot.
DeleteAs a fairly new teacher I must admit I don't remember any of those writing classes. I know I struggling teaching it to my students. This is a big reason why I thought this class was not only important for me but for my students. I have always loved writing, but know I am not the greatest when it comes grammar. I try and write with my students as much as I can to show them that even adults make mistakes and we to have to work at becoming better.
DeleteWhat caught my eye was Brittany's comment, "how can we become better without being writers ourselves" In my opinion we can't. We need to understand how to write for different purposes and once we are able to do so I feel we will be great examples/models for children.
Brittany,if you read my post below, you will notice that I was struck by the same quote. I feel overwhelmed by this idea also. We are fighting a daily battle against the flow of history. The current political climate regarding public education only serves to underscore this idea.
DeleteI agree as a student intern I was not provided a very good class on how to teach writing, nor the magnitude of complexities it has. I feel within the last couple years my teaching has greatly improved in this area now that I have seen teh importance. As a newer teacher I wish we were provided more workshops of classes in this area. I love giving my students goals, letting them set their own and achieving them!!!
DeleteBrittany,
Delete"How can we become better teachers of writing without being writers ourselves?"
Excellent! How many times have I gone to a conference and been asked to do something I've assigned to my students and I've complained?!?! More times than should be allowed. I think this idea of being writers ourselves applies to so many disciplines - many art, science, social studies teachers practice their craft, but I would venture to guess few English/Language Arts teachers do. I know I didn't. Some of it I would chalk up to time. When we have to then evaluate and assess so many pieces of writing, it's hard to do the work ourselves. I'm thinking of those of you in high schools with upwards of 30+students! But doing so can create a sense of empathy and oneness with our students.
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ReplyDeleteAs a new teacher, I find Nagin's thoughts on writing a heads up. The comments previously made also are true in that there really is no preparation for future teachers in the area of writing. I am in my first year and I am taking a writing class because I feel that I am not in a position to be able to give my students the instruction I feel I need to be able to give. I am looking for information and assistance to make sure that I am able to guide them and encourage them to write with confidence in any content area. I am looking forward to reading further and trying different ideas in our writing.
ReplyDeleteChris, I also feel unequal to the task. However, this text is helping me find focus in developing ideas. I hope we can share creative ideas about writing across the curriculum. I also hope to mine these discussions for just such ideas.
DeleteI am also a first year teacher, and have been struggling with teaching writing all year. I know how to write, and feel comfortable with my skills. Yet trying to explain to every student (each with various needs, abilities and skill levels) how to write, how to edit their writing and how to become good writers is a task at which I often feel completely inadequate. Sometime I read their writing and know it’s just okay, but I can’t explain in logical terms to them how to make it better, even though that’s what they need. I hope to learn methodical, specific tools to teach my students for all types of writing.
DeleteEven back in the dark ages when I went to college, I received no instruction in the teaching of writing. We did not even talk about writing as a process, let alone a number of process possibilities. I did a very dismal job of teaching writing those first years as a teacher. That is why I became so excited about the writing consortium and the NWP model of teachers teaching other teachers and sharing their successful practices. The goal of this class is to introduce you to resources and research while you are sharing what you know with others. Like Chris says, she can apply it as she encounters it. There are clearly master teachers in this class who can also help others.
ReplyDeleteLast year one teacher wrote something along the lines that she was glad to get the opportunity now to learn now; only after she started teaching, did she realize how much she did not know. I think that is a bit true of all of us. Still, much more could be done at the undergraduate level.
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ReplyDeleteNagin's "Introduction" gives an overview of how writing has been taught throughout the last century. I find it amusing that the "critical challenge" of writing instruction in American schools has been around at least since 1874. I'm quite sure that Cicero and St. Thomas Aquinas deplored the lack of writing skills in their students.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found striking in Nagin's summary of the history of writing instruction is the sense of desperation, which has led to many conflicting philosophies and approaches in writing instruction. The "Back to Basics" movement was completely at odds with the "Whole Language," "Bay Area Writing Project," and "NWP" approaches. This squabbling among the grownups couldn't help but produce a large amount of cognitive dissonance among students, who might have Mrs. Armstrong as a freshman ("What you need is usage and drills! You have been coddled into believing that anything you say is worthwhile, even if it is organizationally and grammatically atrocious!") and Mr. Van Driesen as a sophomore ("Don't listen to that idiot Mrs. Armstrong. You all have wonderful things to say. Let's read some models and let our imaginations soar! Creative spelling is fine with me."). I started teaching in 1974, the year before "Why Johnny Can't Write" appeared in Newsweek magazine. I went through high school in the Bay Area, and many of my high school teachers were active in the Bay Area Writing Project, which evolved into the NWP. When I began teaching, students were expected to diagram sentences. In short order we were bombarded with transformational grammar, whole language, BAWP, back-to-basics, ebonics, and Paideia. No wonder my students were confused!
Nagin says, ". . .writing is a complex activity; more than just a skill or talent, it is a means of inquiry and expression for learning in all grades and disciplines." To me, this says that we should approach our students as apprentices. They need to feel that what they are putting so much effort into will eventually result in a meaningful portfolio of good writing, and that when they become journeymen, they can go off independently and write in any situation and for any purpose or audience they might wish to. Nagin also quotes William Zinsser: ". . .writing is, finally, a craft with its own set of tools, which are words."
Glenn Wright
I love your analogy of apprentices and journeymen. Many of my students bemoan their "terrible" writing skills. Often, I have to remind them that I am not expecting perfection from them, and they should not expect it of themselves. They are in a learning environment to learn, and they can't learn if they don't feel safe to try and possibly fail in a place where it is safe to do so. When they get out into the "real world" as journeymen, they certainly will not feel safe to fail in a writing project. Though many teachers do not agree with me, I allow my students to rewrite anything they want, without penalty. Many do not take me up on that, but many are motivated to try and write something that they would not otherwise attempt. I believe they do that because they know that safety net is there for them. They have been told they are failures for so long that they have bought into the rubbish that they were sold. There is nothing like seeing a kid go for it with a weight of failure lifted from their shoulders.
DeleteIn Chapter 1, I read this: "If writing is challenging, teaching it is all the more so." So true! The teacher has to know more and be able to do more than the students. Then he/she has to be able to articulate what the possibilities are and be able to think and speak critically about writing so that the students can understand the skills and be able to start making their own choices about their writing. Being a writer is proprietary--you have to create it and own it. That's true for students as well. That's why writing workshop is where it's at for young students in particular. Caring about the topic has a lot to do with how good the writing will be, and whether the writer will care enough to reread, revise, revisit and rewrite. One of the biggies for me in the classroom is the TIME that is needed for students to have the thinking time, writing practice and the revising time. I've actually starting letting go of some of the reading emphasis and planning for more time in writing. Many of my students have an increase in reading ability when they are spending more time in the writing arena
ReplyDeleteDawn,
DeleteI agree TIME seems to be a big thing for me. I don't think I have been giving enough time to think, practice, then go back to revising. I think it's a great idea to build more time in for writing. I have been doing the same but trying to build it in places that I wasn't very strong at. So lately we have been trying to write different pieces for social studies and science projects. I feel like my kids struggle with these kinds of writing assignments.
The first thing I thought about when I started reading into the introduction was could I remember my own writing classes through out my educational career? In short the answer is no. I have always enjoyed writing but have never been the greatest at it, which is probably why I don't write very often. So how is I can educate students on how to be good writers when the curriculum to teach is very weak and I was never shown the proper ways? This is a huge reason why I am taking this class.
ReplyDeleteI think that in order for our students to become these writers that we all want them to be, we as educators have to practice writing with them and showing them how to be able to do more than write a short story.
As I read everyones comments on the chapter I kept saying out loud, "oh yes, I totally agree!" or "wow I didn't think of it that way". What I like about online classes (especially a writing one) is that we have to write all of our thoughts. I know I am 10x's more likely to remember something if I read it, rather that sitting in a classroom and possibly being distracted. I want to complement everyone who has responded and say thanks for helping me see things I may have not seen.
While rereading the introduction to Because Writing Matters, I was drawn to the historical perspective of writing and literacy in general. Nagin quotes Mike Rose “Ours is the first society…to expect so many to perform these very sophisticated literacy activities.” He is referring to the task of writing here, but this could apply to all academic pursuits. While not a new idea to me, this quote does serve as a reminder that teachers face a daunting task in attempting to encourage the development of a class room full of proficient writers.
ReplyDeleteDaunting task aside, I find myself drawn to the ideas put forth in this text. I especially value the emphasis placed on writing as a tool for learning across the curriculum areas. Learning to write as way to improve learning, makes so much sense to me. I endeavor each year to pursue this goal. I understand and appreciate the efforts put forth by the authors and the National Writing Project. I also find solace and encouragement in their advocacy for writing instruction in public education, and the importance they place on written communication skills throughout our lives.
I adore the original quote from E.B White, “the best writing is rewriting”. My grade 1 students just completed a Writers’ Workshop project in regard to realistic fiction. They were asked to write three writing pieces in three days. They did not need to finish each piece but write a new piece each day. On the fourth day they were asked to pick one writing piece to revise. Once they picked their piece, they needed to complete a graphic organizer (basically a piece of paper broken up into four rectangles). In each rectangle the students were asked to sketch their story. During this process, students were working on sequencing as well. For example, first this happened, then this, then this, and finally this happened. Upon completion of the students’ graphic organizer the students were asked to rewrite their writing piece.
ReplyDeleteYou would have thought I had just told the students that Santa didn’t exist. The majority of my students could not understand how I could possibly ask them to rewrite their writing piece based on their graphic organizer. Students would tell me, “I just wrote my piece.” I literally had a writing conference with one boy for over 40 minutes in regard to this process (I was fortunate to have had a roving sub in my room at the time).
Luckily, the students had just completed an oral storytelling unit. During this unit we learned that telling a story a second or third time always made their story better. Talking about our oral storytelling unit and how retelling our story made our story better helped the boy understand the reasoning behind rewriting his story.
It just never occurred to me that revising would be such an incredibly difficult concept for my students. I may put E.B. White’s quote up in my room.
Jennifer, I adore the quote "you would have thought I had just told them Santa didn't exist"! I can feel your pain at this, but your storytelling unit is brilliant. It's a great way to explain how all writing is a story - and we have to learn and practice to tell our stories the best way we can. (Makes me think I should have rewritten this comment ;-)
DeleteDeborah,
DeleteThank you for your comments. I LOVE teaching the oral storytelling unit. The students work on listening, speaking, and viewing skills. They tally how many movements, sounds, and expressions each student makes in a storytelling. This why they knew that every time we retell a story it's always better.
Happy writing AND revising!!
In the intro to Because Writing Matters, provided a little outline of how writing used to be taught, and an emphases on the need for change in how writing is taught today, as well as, how students need to write more across all areas of the curriculum. It stated that “writing is central to success in and out of school”, in which I agree 100 percent. Writing is key in our new era of how information is exchanged especially in the area of technology. Nagin said, “writing is a complex activity; more than just a skill or talent, it is a means of inquiry and expression for learning in a grades and disciplines”, saying that writing is used in so many ways of communicati0n and transporting information. Students need to be engaged and provided practice in ways that are meaningful. Chapter 1 is where it touched on providing students a diverse assortment of writing practices to meet the needs and abilities of all students. I believe to have great writers students need to be taught to think outside the box, to be able to discuss topics and ideas, and to also be taught how to problem solve. Providing think time and discussion time with topics is a great start to creating thought and hearing others opinions. Students have to care about what they are writing to be able to relate and make their writing thoughtful. Students then have the ambition to reread, revise and edit their own work.
ReplyDelete"Students have to care about what they are writing to be able to relate and make their writing thoughtful"
DeleteI couldn't have said it better myself. If they aren't vested or interested in the topic or assignment, it's like pulling teeth to get students to produce work. Finding the balance between allowing students to write about topics of their choice and becoming adaptable writers, that can write to a prompt, is a challenge!
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ReplyDeletePosted by Sherrilyn: Hurray for editors, or there would be a lot less published. Barnes and Noble could downsize if it weren’t for proofreaders. Its nice when students come prepared to learn to write in school. But a large population of students at my school are not proficient or are bilingual. In fourth grade that means they are still struggling with the mechanics of writing a sentence that even makes sense. In our reading block on Mondays when the vocabulary is introduced, I have the students use the words in a sentence. I find a lot of backwards expression of ideas, or garbled thoughts. I stick a post-it note to their paper with the sentence I believe they are trying to express so they can erase their paper and copy it. I allow them to copy the sentence out of the HM vocabulary reader if they really need to. I use the same method for the spelling packets., They use the spelling words in a sentence. Due to the lack of quality and the fact that we don’t have enough time to write our own sentences on the board, I include a copy of the sentences they are tested on at the end so they can copy them if need be. Otherwise they are so far off the mark of what the words mean when they attempt to write.
ReplyDeleteSherrilyn,
DeleteI enjoyed your posting. It's interesting to me to read about a grade 4 class (I teach grade 1). I appreciate that you use sticky notes for your students. I have been taught never to write on student work and to always use sticky notes when students need to revise. :)
Today I'd like to focus on a a couple of sections of Chapter 1 on page 11 to 13. I reread this a couple of times because there was a good discussion of what students need in order to develop and improve as writers. Several main ideas stood out:
ReplyDelete#1 Writing improves when students write often and across the curriculum. My classroom is definitely weak in this area. We are writing more often, but we need to write in various areas of the curriculum.
#2 Writing longer answers to questions helps improve reading comprehension. I have already written in a previous post that I am taking some of our reading time and giving more time to writing assignments. I am noticing that students seem to improve in their reading ability as we do this. I am looking forward to looking at the spring reading assessments to see what the results are.
#3 There is a section that comments on the diverse range of abilities within a classroom. That's for sure! Some students can spell and have good mechanics. Others are terrible with those things but have good ideas. Some are organized and some are all over the place. Usually I have a couple of students that read at a first grade level in my third grade class, but they can have great ideas. They just really struggle getting it on paper. In the same class, I may have students that can read and comprehend sixth or seventh grade material. They are usually better at writing, but they still can have a lot of writing challenges. There can be high and low students that have boring stories and I can't hear their voice.
Lastly, there was an idea that I thought was interesting. There was an explanation about how student writers are challenged with ever more difficult writing tasks and as the demand becomes more complex, errors emerge that weren't seen previously in the easier tasks. These errors can be taken as sliding back, when, in fact, they are a sign of growth. "Error marks the place where education begins." A new idea for me to ponder as a teacher of writing...
Dawn,
DeleteI like how you broke your ideas down into sections. I especially find your last idea in regard to errors and how they are a sign of growth refreshing.
# 3 really hits it on the head, the range of students is amazing. Making it so all students in your classroom have a point of access to the lesson and can be successful in their own way is the great challenge.
DeleteHere goes stream of consciousness at it worst!
ReplyDeleteI am overwhelmed. Since 1874 there has been concern about the state of writing in America, and we still can’t seem to get it right – at least according to the legislation imposed on us. I wonder, do we want rounded citizens who have a broad education in many areas, or ones who can read and write and do math – all according to some nationally mandated standard formula? I feel like I want to be my own little “Lorax” and speak for all these students who have scripted reading programs and EveryDay Math – whose teachers rightfully bemoan the lack of time to work on what is enlightening and enjoyable and engaging.
I have to agree with the authors of “Because Writing Matters” when they say that writers need a reason to write. I’ve seen it all my classes, from Kindergarten to 12th – learning must be relevant! Writing is complex and takes some serious left/right brain communication, and one must have a purpose, an audience, for there to be meaning. For without purpose and meaning and an audience, writing is a fruitless task that is done simply as a chore to be crossed off the list of homework assignments. What I can take away from this reading is the idea of “writing workshops”. I used to do this when I was in the classroom – it reminds me of the epiphany I had a few years ago. When I was teaching “English” or “Language Arts” I had some kind of inane guilt or need to justify the idea that I just wanted a day for my students to read. That’s it, just read. I couldn’t somehow justify it – I couldn’t stand the idea that that’s “all” we were doing. Then I realized – well, if they can “do math” or “do science” in those classes – which is just practice in math and science – why couldn’t I?? Reading is good practice for reading! So, I started “reading” in English. If I were in the classroom again, I would do like many of you – practicing writing!
In my little reading class I have a very prescribed or scripted program. We get two questions a day to which we have to write an answer. And one day a week we have a writing day. In even this little bit of practice in a reading class I have seen improvement in most of the students. I thought it was spot on when the authors wrote “students show varying strengths and favor diverse forms”. In the reading program, the students are asked to write anything from a recipe to a story to a letter to a descriptive. What I think this has done is reached students at different levels and different interests. I am very lucky, too, as I only have 16 students. I can’t imagine managing the larger class sizes I know we have in the district.
Deborah, how soon can you start writing your "little Lorax" book? I have a daughter who is three. You go girl!
DeleteTwo quotes from chapter 1 really defined, this conundrum of writing for me. “Even the most accomplished writers say that writing is challenging, most notably because there is so much uncertainty in the process of doing it.” Okay, great, so if professional writers find writing challenging, how do I make it accessible for my students? The quote that followed this one, gave me a sense of hope on this journey of writing, “ The more complex the subject or task, the more disorderly and unpredictable the journey can be.” Writing can be extremely complex and utterly simple at times, but we learn from the process and hopefully will have a product to show for our learning.
ReplyDeleteI think the first hurdle that we have to cross in writing instruction, is making it meaningful and useful for students, and they have to buy into it. I find anytime that I can get students to understand that this is in fact a skill you will need for life, they get more excited about it. Writing across the curriculum, seems to be a catch phrase that I hear all the time, but it has merit and is just one way that I can get students to buy into writing. For example during a math lesson, when they are given and open response question, I have to remind them “I can’t read your minds! You have to tell me what your thinking and doing with your words” Getting them to give me responses more than a “I just figured it out” is a challenge but once they make that leap, it becomes easier and more natural for them to convey mathematical thinking, through writing.
The second most challenging thing about writing instruction, is to get students thinking creatively and expressively. Then turning these thoughts into writing. Taking risks and putting yourself out there is scary. The next biggest challenge in writing and writing instruction are the benchmarks by which it is assessed, or scored. Six Traits is standard practice, but getting students to understand how their writing is being assessed using these traits can be tricky. I find grading writing fall and spring writing assessments one of the most challenging things as an instructor. They aren’t like grading math or spelling test, where they either got it right or they didn’t. Writing assessment is subjective practice. We try to keep it fair by using rubrics and the like, but it will still be a judgement call of the person reading it and that is why writing will always have an element of uncertainty to it.
Lydia Wood—on the complexity and uncertainty of writing
DeleteSome of the complexity comes from so many things to consider. Who is the writing for? How much writing is enough? How do I know if it is any good? Who decides if it is good? Where should I start? How far should I go? How much of me should I reveal? What sources can I trust? Will my skill or writing have a chance if my expressed opinion is unpopular? Who wouldn’t be uncertain with all of that in mind!
A student may decide not to take the risk at all. They may decide they can only risk a stilted correctness and not even attempt expressing meaning that matters to them. I’m feeling a little of that in this class, because I want to be well thought of, and I don’t know my audience (you) personally.
As a teacher of 3rd graders, I’m challenged to hook my students so that they feel an excitement about writing and forget that it is for an assignment or for any evaluation. If I can only get them to want to write, to feel a need to write and edit.
One thing that is working is the class newspaper club and publishing company. I offer to “buy” their stories and publish them. They can “sell” their published stories to other classrooms or individuals. Third graders love to perform, so they will edit and rewrite if that is required for me to set up an audience for them. I offer them Fame and Fortune and usually they go for it. I don’t know what would work for older students. They could be a harder sell.
Nagin quotes E.B. White at the start of Chapter One, "The best writing is rewriting," and Jacques Barzun, "Read and revise, reread and revise. . .keep reading and revising until your text seems adequate to your thought." All of us who teach writing know that getting students to revise is often like pulling teeth. He goes on to explain that because students have diverse abilities and instructional needs, and because students must master diverse writing tasks to develop competence, educators must develop multiple strategies for teaching writing.
ReplyDeleteIn my own experience as a student, I recall submitting a first draft, having it marked up for mechanics and perhaps a few prescriptive and peremptory comments on organization, but only rarely being asked questions about the decisions I had made as a writer.
I like the idea that we need to let students write poorly in early drafts, but we need to use varied strategies in helping them to refine their work, getting them to think hard about their purposes, audiences, subject, and tone. Using peer editing as well as providing teacher input is one way to vary the instruction, although I must confess that I have had scant success in managing peer editing groups--especially with higher ability students.
I also like to use a “learning log” or “commonplace book” for pre-writing. Ideally students would polish self-selected material from this journal for inclusion in a personal portfolio.
I'm looking forward to Nagin's discussion of the strategies of teaching writing in future chapters.
Glenn Wright
I as well remember receiving my work back in high school with red marks slung across the paper. I would go back and correct the marks and often find myself frustrated and rarely learning from those red marks. Never was I asked either on why I wrote it, or about my thoughts. I agree that all students need a diverse experience in the areas of writing. All people are different in this area, and with varied strategies in helping students would get their minds processing adequate ways in which to edit their work.I as well find a high success in peer editing groups, even with my first graders.
DeleteI agree with Nagin on this particular issue. I teach writing to 9th, 10th, and 11th graders and one of my biggest challenges is teaching them that when they write, they should be learning about their topic. I find some students who approach writing as so formulaic that they are unable to inquire about the topic on which they are writing. I also have students whose writing is naturally beautiful and eloquent, yet they cannot hone their organizational skills enough to produce an effective argument.
ReplyDeleteThis careful balance reminds me of a constant question my classmates and I had during our teacher preparation program: is teaching an art, a science, or both? I believe teaching is a fine balance between the two, much is writing.
Rachel
After reading the first chapter in our text I was reminded about the year we were supposed to incorporate writing into all of our curricula at my school. This was an esoteric notion as most of us werer like, "huh, how do we do that?" We were not given any training at all so it really was pretty meaningless.
ReplyDeleteI can only speak from my experience, but my experience is that there is the need for our educational system to be revamped, but there is little money put aside for meaningful teacher trainings. I am not just talking about a one day inservive, I am talking about classes like this that provoke thought and discourse. I also feel like many teachers are jaded because they are tired of defending their jobs to people that complain. These are the same people that complain about "socialism" but they do not want to pay for their children to go to school; they want free daycare.
Wow, look at where that took me, on a little rant.
Rant on! You are so right about the frequent lack of meaningful teacher trainings about what we are expected to do. Money is key. Even release time to gather, plan and discuss could be helpful. Things to not change magically!
DeleteKim
DeleteBecause Writing Matters: Intro/Chapter 1
I agree with the statement that writing is something of a silent R. Writing can be very challenging to teach and to learn. Most teachers may not feel comfortable with teaching writing, the assessment of great writing can be very subjective. On pg. 15, it indicates that writing involves complex thinking and problem solving, how many elementary teachers truly know how to assess that?
Why do teachers seem to look at mechanics first and, at times, creativity second? Perhaps, because it is easier to grade the mechanics of writing?
As I read through other chapters of this book, it seems to emphasize how important it is to teach writing across all content areas. This is not a difficult concept, nor a difficult concept to implement, for those of us teachers who are whole language based instructors.
In chapter two, I certainly agree with the statement that how writers create and develop is related to how they read and write. On pg. 17, it indicates that the public wants writing to be taught early, in many areas, before high school. I agree: it is very important to teach reading and writing together in the earliest grade levels, especially. I taught Kindergarten for three years. My students knew how to read and write by the time they left Kindergarten. I taught reading, writing, and math together, everyday. I am a whole language based teacher, by training.
In chapter one, I agree with the quote, "'read and revise, reread and revise.'" I would often write a personal letter, by hand, three to four times, before I sent it out via ground mail (of course, this was when I was younger, before Internet). I was taught that your words, your thoughts reflect on you as a person. Make them count, make them excellent! We need to model excellent writing; but, how many teachers see themselves as excellent writers and feel confident about teaching writing? I believe I am a great writer and, eventually, I have come to believe that I am very good at teaching writing. But, there is always more to learn regarding teaching writing, especially in this age of 21st Century technological requirements. Writers are always learning to write and how to best teach it!
On pg. 12, it is important to realize that a teacher needs to give enough time to a student to create a written piece.
I must remind myself of this fact. Because, I have become a quick, creative writer, I assume that my students can do the same (after modeling, of course). I must remind myself that it took much practice over many, many years for me to create a fairly good piece of writing within a short amount of time. Even now, I need extra time to process, gather my thoughts in my mind, before I begin to write it down.
On pg. 13, I was reminded that students need diverse writing tasks in order to be ready for higher levels of education. So, it is very important for elementary education teachers to teach all types of writing, and teach it well (with much repetition). On pg. 16, I like the comment about the importance of, and need for, teachers who can write and are enthusiastic about it. Students will invest in writing, if they know the teacher is writing with them (as a whole group), or sees the teacher writing as well.
I love the ending to Chapter 1: everyone can write! Every teacher must believe that. Otherwise, teaching writing will be frustrating for the teacher; and, learning will be frustrating for the student.
In my former life, I was a 7th grade language arts teacher in mobile, Alabama. Writing was assessed at the 4th, 7th and 10th grade. My school was 6-8. This meant, in determining writing proficiency(aka test scores), for the entire building, it all boiled down to me and one other 7th grade language arts teacher. Talk about pressure. It would have been fabulous if there had been more of a school wide effort to improve writing. The introduction addresses this issue and I couldn't agree more on the importance of making this a priority for schools.
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