IQAComponents

Teaching Writing: A Summary, by Holly Andersen

The following points represent what I believe to be the main "Components of Effective Writing Instruction" as outlined by the articles we read.

Students Want to Read and Write…So Let Them It seems that because we are a ‘test driven’ society we have the tendency to teach to the tests. Most articles pointed out that students really do want to read and write, but the desire to fill in bubbles and write papers surrounding ‘state mandated’ topics takes away this desire. The articles I read for Group #2, especially the Letter to Stacie points out how influential a teacher who allows students to authentically express themselves in writen form can be to a child while under that teachers care…and beyond.

Express Yourself, Respect Yourself If we operate from the basic premise that human beings really do want to express themselves, then we must find ways of not only facilitating this expression but embracing it. Each of us has a unique worldview brought about by many threads woven together: experience, gender, religious orientation, family life, culture, soci-economic status, ability level, genetics, etc. Understanding that through written expression we can allow students the ability to gain a greater respect for themselves and for other was an important message in each of the articles I read.  Children get more involved if they have an interest in the subject. When the child is able to express themselves their imagination will soar. The child also has the ability to just write; they do not feel that what they are writing is wrong. They think of something that interests them and start to write. The students need to be able to feel free in their writing, they need to be able to sit and write, then after they write one draft, they should work to make it even better. So each time they produce their work, they know it's their best work.  A technique that is good to use to help promote this idea is to encourage students to write for a certain amount of time instead of a certin amount of pages. This allows for students to write for a purpose and not to be done.

An Individual, a Community Each article focused on allowing students to reflect on their own world view to promote literacy. When we write about what really matters to us as individuals, and we model this behavior for our students, we encourage classroom community. As teachers if we have student’s work together to develop stories, ideas, plays, music, etc., they have no choice but to be part of a collective creative whole. It is important to nurture both the individual and the participant in a well functioning society. We cannot have a well functioning society if we do not have understanding for what is meaningful to us and to others.  When the child is able to write about what they want to they can write forever. Children love to tell stories, wether it would be where they went this summer, or their favorite food. It gives them the chance to just write and we can look at the skills the child may need help. It is sometimes hard for a child to write a paper about something that they may not have any interest in.  As an individual in a classroom, there may be other responsiblities besides writing about their own world experience. There is also a responsiblity towards other students and their texts. Through constructive criticism and brainstorming, peers can help shape and motivate other peers in their writings. A community is created with in a classroom, when students feel comfortable with their peers and teacher. This can be achieved if the teacher allows opportunities where students can share experiences, troubles, and triumphs among eachother. This will help students to better understand eachother and appreciate others lives.

It Means Big To Me Meaning was a central theme to the articles. The manner in which meaning is derived comes from allowing students a safe and nurturing environment to work in. Teachers should model behavior for students that help them to see that each of us is meaningful. Futhermore, we each have unique ways of defining what is meaningful. In other words, just because I don’t particularly find skateboarding to be a religious experience, my student might. When my student turns in a paper about skateboarding and how it relates to her world view I need to take notice of its real meaning. When she writes about falling down after trying a 50-50 grind then getting back up even when her knees (and ego) were badly bruised, how she gets tormented for dressing like a boy and wishes people could understand her better, or how the only time she is really happy is when she catches ‘great air’ off the half-pipe…I know it means big. While I have never ridden a skateboard, I have had all those same feelings. They are big and meaningful. The wonderful thing about teaching writing is that you get to see what means big to your students and this helps all of us to figure out what means big to us and to the world we live in.

Working With Peers  In the articles the idea was in many of them that children learn better while working with others. Many children when they begin to write will turn to others for ideas. They will also correct eachother if they see that someone is not doing what they were asked. This help children in many ways. One way is that a child learns form another child; Another way is that the other child learns from teaching another. This also shows children cooperative learning, they have expectaions of themselves that they have for their peers. They learn to communicate more effectively and to be respectful.

Bold textDiscussion and Brainstorming Children learn a lot about reading and writing from brainstorming and discussing with other peers. In one of the articles a teacher put a picture of a bear up for the children to write about. They discussed the photo/image and began to write a paper.