Annotated Bibliography--Group D

Set 1
 * Bomer and Lamon, "Positioning in a Primary Writing Workshop: Joint Action in the Discursive Production of Writing Subjects."

Research in the teaching of English Volume 38, November 4, May 2004 pg. 420-466
 * Reviewed by Ellie Heiman; Interaction of identity and social relationships in reading and writing workshops in 1st grade

This article was written after a year-song study conducted at an elementary school in a small city in the U.S. The school was composed of working class to middle class students. The students observed were in a 1st-2nd-split classroom. There was a large population of children living in poverty, and this is what led Bomer and Lamon to examine positioning in this environment, where they tended to be socially more vulnerable. Their analysis proposed that social and emotional dimensions may affect intellectual growth and that educators need to understand these complexities that are present in the classroom, and how they shape a students’ literacy and learning.

The purpose of this article is to develop a theory about interactions that contribute to the ways that young children begin to form themselves as well as others, and form dispositions and identities with respect to activities that are presented. Growth comes from what kind of students are being developed not just what type of skills they are acquiring.

The paper covers “Conceptual Framework”, which includes “Talk in Writing Workshops”, and the “Positioning Theory”. It also provides a section on “Methods”, which describes the setting and its participants, and data analysis. The other section of the paper discusses the “Analytic Categories for Positioning”. These categories consist of reflexive and interactive positioning, text function, positioning genres, storylines, and discursive resources.

Positioning is one of the main concepts within this paper and refers to a person assuming a position, while assigning one simultaneously. This structure sets up a situation where students act in certain ways, either being dominant or submissive. It is, the who that can do that, who can say and do certain things, and who can make certain claims to an identity. Positions are like stock characters. These characters are part of a storyline. The storyline creates a relationship between self, other and text. This article lists many self-positions, as well as other positions. An example is “inept person”, “lonely child” and “mother”. Other position examples are, “ playmate”, “one to please” and “pest”. Examples of text functions are: “ work focus”, “null” and “gift”. The storyline examples are: “boss and worker”, “setting up audience” and “stepping in to protect”.

Two students were watched, analyzed, videoed and extensive notes were taken daily. They were also I might add students that were from Reading Recovery classes, and lacked the advanced skills in literacy.

I felt this article was long and wordy. I understood the concept, but thought that it was not really a proper situation for accurate analysis. The students were very young, already had language difficulties and there were only two that they watched and wrote about. The writing workshop was also not a typical situation. It was an every day thing, and the students basically picked whomever they wanted to and sat and chatted while they wrote. This in any classroom would set up a situation for social interactions and the positioning that they discussed. I had a hard time staying focused on this reading, and a much harder time summarizing such a long and wordy text. I understand that positioning happens throughout our society, in school and out. As an educator, all we can do is try and conduct a classroom environment that does not lend to students positioning themselves, as well as others. We need to be alert to situations. Who the children become, is as important as what they learn, I will agree with that. Literacy can be taught without students making each other conscious of their gender, social status or disabilities.


 * Bintz and Dillard, "Seeing Writing Instruction Differently: Lessons with Lasting Impressions."

Language Art, vol.82 No. 2, November 2004, pg. 110-119
 * Reviewed by Ellie Heiman

The theme and goal of this article is to see differently. It is told through the voice of Jill Dillard. The social practices set forth by a teacher influences how students acquire particular kinds of literacy skills. Jill looks critically and reflectively at how different kinds of social practices have influenced her 3rd grade student’s writing. Jill takes a practitioners stance on her teaching methods, and by seeing differently, asks questions about the art of teaching writing. She provides three different social practices, shares samples of each practice from her student’s writings, and talks about what sense she has obtained through reading these samples. Her experience throughout this process has ultimately changed her view and has made lasting impressions.

The first social practice that Jill implemented was to teach reading through writing, by using what she already knew and experienced. She chose a picture to show the students to stimulate a story. They then brainstormed, and found words that could be used, listing them on the board. The second social practice consisted of having her students write about a subject that they were learning about, and had acquired some knowledge of. It was about William Shakespeare, his period of time, food, festivities and clothing worn. The third social practice Jill used was a combination of sharing personal experiences, her own from childhood, and that of the students. Students shared their experiences with each other, than wrote about them.

Jill realized that by choosing a topic to write about, and providing vocabulary, the students were not engaged. Their writing reflected this. If she modeled writing techniques, the students wrote grammatically correct, but the writing lacked a voice or structure. When Jill shared her experience as a child, and then allowed an open forum for the children to share their experiences, the writing flowed. Jill saw the power and potential of the student’s voice. She discovered that when a student writes about things that matter to them, they write with interest and enthusiasm. This provides a place for the students to see themselves, ask questions and take interest in one another. If students write about personal experiences from childhood memories, the writing sounds like them. If it hasn’t happened, then there is really nothing to write about. The students also tend to write good stories. In contrast, if the subject is meaningless or lacks purpose, this writing does not contain substance, voice or structure. The development of a young writer’s voice provides a place to say what they really want to, and what others really want to hear. They will then read it over and over again. There is a congruency between reading and writing.

I remember working with some 5th graders a few years back. They all had similar difficulties in both reading and writing, so attended a RSP class. I normally worked with the 3rd and 4th graders, but on this day I had them. They were reading about the Titanic from a text, along with having worksheets to fill in. Many of the vocabulary words were difficult, and I remember trying to explain “wreckage”. These students were not engaged and frustrated. After class that day I went to the library and checked out all the books about the Titanic. I brought them to school the next day, laying them on a table. I let them know that they were there to browse through at their leisure, which turned out to be recess and their free times. They discussed the pictures, and took an interest in the topic. When we again got together to discuss our subject they were ready with many questions. I took the opportunity to bring in old rusty items that could have been in a ship, and could still be lying on the bottom of the ocean, such as parts of a metal lamp, an old doll, silverware and a comb. The students began sharing experiences they had with toys, dolls and trucks that were discarded, broken or lost. They understood what wreckage meant. They then realized too that there were children on board of the Titanic; from some of the wreckage they saw in the pictures. Children just like them with dolls and trucks. When then wrote, and they had many ideas and stories about which they shared. It was the last time that I got to teach the 5th graders however. My teacher did not like that we were having fun. Our voices were excited and happy, which must have meant we were not learning. I had a hard time with working as an aid, and having to always keep it so quiet, so stale, and mundane. Learning can be fun and should be. Whatever can inspire reading and writing is always the best choice. I really liked this article.


 * Blake, "Fruit of the Devil: Writing and English Language Learners."

Language Arts, Vol. 78, NO. 5, May 2001

Reviewed by Ellie Heiman

In this article the author points out how traditionally in our schools, literacy has excluded students who are culturally and ethnically different. These teachings can be very “ value laden” and representative of the majority ( white, middle class students). Students from a summer school program, who are from migrant families attend school where they have attentive and creative teachers. Blake uses these student’s writing to show that these students who have once been silenced, can use the tools of a process approach to writing, similar to the writers workshop that Burns discusses in his article. Blake provides samples from her students to illustrate four major points in her article. The first is that given the opportunity students who are English Language Learners can use the tools of process writing. They can use them to creat texts. The students give meaning and value to their writing by using topics that they know about and that affect their lives. Process writing in a classroom, uses student’s writings, peer dialogue, brainstorming, sharing, and revising. This includes the students that had once been silent in the past. They were also able to meet some of the state and national guidelines through this process. When I was reading this article it reminded me of what Jill Dillard was talking about in her article, that if the students find their voice by writing about something they have experienced and know about, then they are inspired to write.


 * Burns, "Being "Social": Expanding Our View of Social Interaction in Writing Workshops."

Reviewed by Ellie Heiman Language Arts, Vol. 78, No. 5, May 2001 pg. 458-466

In this article, Terry Burns discusses ways to encourage student social interactions through several different strategies. There are two main approaches in this article, one that students can work socially, yet independently, and students learn while working together in social contexts. He feels by encouraging social interaction that does not fit the norm, of current visions of being social, that we find other ways for students to interact socially. They can choose a way that best fits them.

Terry provides a layout of different strategies that he uses in his workshops. These are strategies that do not limit students, but promote students’ ownership and more control over their own writing. The strategies are split into several groups. The first is “Dialogue with Friends”. This provides an arena for students to share their stories with their friends and at the same time students solicit help from friends. This spurs an interest in each other’s stories and to some extent some identifying with characters from the story. Students use this social talking to refine and reshape thoughts and ideas to compose

Another strategy is the “Casual Dialogue with Friends”. This type of social dialogue is not directly related to the writer’s story. It however does keep the lines of communication open. Story ideas may still be developing in the minds of the students while they are casually talking. It provides a break from writing for the students. Once they discuss their lives, they can then resume writing. Casual dialogue inspires writing and has a legitimate place in a workshop. The next form of social interaction is “ Private Dialogue with Self”. The student that wants to write alone, to have full ownership of their story inspires this. The dialogue is between ones self, talking about ideas and stories. The writer though alone, pulls from others through past experiences and interaction. There is a place for this social interaction is the workshop. Some students prefer this mode of writing. The other “Private Dialogue with Third Person”, is also a dialogue that does not have active participants in a conversation, but rather ideas that have come from the third party “he”, “she”, or “other people”. It forms from ideas that were generated from past conversations or from listening to others talk. An example would be a word that was used in another context. This word may stimulate a thought, and then form a story. The last social interaction Jerry uses is the “ Internalized Dialogue”. External processes can become internalized tools. These are used to regulate thought and behaviors that are internal. This type of dialogue uses higher cognitive development. There are two types of internal dialogue. The first is when a student anticipates what a friend would like in a story or what a friend might suggest for the story. This is called anticipating collaboration. The second type is recalling past conversations. The student can draw from these conversations, visualize the experience, play a scenario in their head and then write about it.

Children need to learn how to participate in social interaction and compose different strategies to discover their own ways of being social while writing. I think it is important not to stifle a child because we pressure them into writing and sharing their work publicly. Some students do better then others. I think providing these strategies to the students, and then allowing them to find ones that suit them is great. They even make variations. It is good for students to talk and give feedback, but students do acquire social stimulation through other people in many forms. I personally have never liked sharing my writing with classmates. I especially do not like critiquing their work. I do not feel it is my place, nor do I have the ability. If I were the teacher, than I would find a criteria that I would follow, and I would know my students. I think teachers should be sensitive to different types of students with different needs. Writing is what it is about. It is good to find an avenue for each to express themselves safely and without too many restrictions. It should be their choice to share.

Set 2
 * Dyson, "On Reframing Children’s Words: The Perils, Promises, and Pleasures of Writing Children."

Reviewed by Wendy McMartin:

"On Reframing Children's Words: The Perils, Promises, and Pleasures of Writing Children." by Anne Haas Dyson of UC Berkeley. Included in the journal "Research in the Teaching of English", Vol. 34, February 2000, pgs. 352-367

This article is a talk given by Ms. Dyson at the 1999 NCTE Conference in Denver upon receiving the Alan C. Purves Award which is presented to the "Research in the Teaching of English" article judged "most likely to have an impact on the practice of others." Her winning article, "Coach Bombay's Kids" is referenced in this speech.

The main idea of Ms. Dyson's speech is that children should be encouraged to draw from their experiences from home or from popular culture in their writing. She maintains that children learn within contextual experiences and when taken out of their home environments into so-called academic environments there is somewhat of a disconnect. I appreciated this quote from her article: "Children do not only build on what they know; they build with it, reconfiguring, rearranging, rearticulating, and collaboratively constructing new contexts for action."

The author drew from previous research experiments in which she studied children from low-class environments, or children who may considered slower learners in school. She included a few specific narratives of the children at play with each other.

I thought the author had some great ideas. I believe it should be important to treat each child as an individual and that everyone learns based on their own ideas and upbringing. I also don't think that every child should be molded to fit into a specific mold. However, I also see the importance of having standards in education which I don't think she really touched on in this article.

Some of her ideas are much like the Gee article on video games and how children can learn from them. The connection to the other articles we've read is that everything is learned in "context". I think that is one of the valuable lessons I will take away from this class.


 * Dressel, "About Writing: A Letter to Stacie."
 * Reviewed by Wendy McMartin

"About Writing: A Letter to Stacie." by Janice Hartwick Dressel, a professor of English Education and Children's Literature in the Department of English Language and Literature at Central Michigan University. This article is from "Language Arts", Vol. 82 No. 2, November 2004, pages 95-99.

The author expresses her ideas about teaching children to write through a letter to her granddaughter. She writes what Grandma hopes her granddaughter will experience in classrooms in her future.

Ms. Dressel starts by pointing out things to Stacies that she already knows even at 18 months old. She writes of the child's love of books and being read to,and how she is beginning to hold a pencil and color with crayons. She also writes of how Stacie has so much support at home and people who love her and care about her and want her to live a successful, satisfying life doing things that interest her and are meaningful to her.

Through this letter Ms. Dressel reflects on ways that children are being taught today and how she feels certain pedagogy methods require change. For example, teaching skills and conventions required to pass achievement tests rather than encouraging creativity and imagination and risk-taking in writing.

This is a very thought-provoking piece on why teaching writing is so important for children. Her method of imposing her thoughts on us about her grandchild helps us to put her ideas into a personal context. We all want our children at home and as classroom teachers to get the most out of life.

It is evident that Professor Dressel is passionate about the importance of writing as a child and that by writing one can make a difference in the world.

I didn't particularly enjoy writing as a child because it was always a chore. I suppose if I felt that I was free to express myself my way and not have to worry so much about "how" I was writing, I may have felt differently. I believe that with maturity that mechanics come and as teachers we can make a difference in students' lives by just letting them be free to write. It's great for children to get what is inside their heads onto paper. Everyone can learn from a child and most importantly the child can learn about himself through writing.


 * Graves, "What I’ve Learned from Teachers of Writing."
 * Reviewed by Wendy McMartin

"What I've Learned from Teachers of Writing." by Donald Graves, a retired Professor Emeritus from the University of New Hampshire. This article is from the journal "Language Arts," vol. 82 No. 2, November 200 4 pgs. 88 - 94.

This article is an adaption from the preface of the twentieth anniversary edition printing of "Writing: Teachers and Children at Work.", a book written by Graves in 1983 based on research he has done on children's writing. He notes some of the changes in teaching writing that have taken place within the last 20 years. He also points out some of the problems he has faced with his original printing of the book. He includes the fundamentals in the teaching of writing that he believes have not changed. He also includes a listing of what he believes "first-rate teachers" do in teaching writing.

I think this piece is very informative and teachers could benefit greatly from reading it. I would like to quote from the article something that really popped out at me. "Most of the writing I encourage in (Writing) is personal narrative. I still believe that for most children, this is the easiest way to begin.  The writer has much more control when telling her own stories.  Of course, there is more to writing than personal narrative:  writing is, after all, a medium for learning to think." I never really thought of it that way. It's true that when we write we are really forced to think. And by sharing our work with others and looking at their point of view we learn how to form our own thoughts and opinions. Cool.


 * Heffernan and Lewison, "Social Narrative Writing: (Re)Constructing Kid Culture in the Writer’s Workshop."
 * Reviewed by Wendy McMartin

"Social Narrative Writing: (Re)Constructing Kid Culture in the Writer's Workshop." by Lee Heffernan, a third grade teacher at Childs Elementary School in Indiana, and Mitzi Lewison, an associate professor of language education at Indiana University. This article is from the journal "Language Arts," vol. 80 No. 6, July 2003 pgs. 435 - 443.

In this article the authors address the concept of teaching writing through using the "social narrative." The article begins with the some of the frustrations of students' writings Lee was faced with in her third grade classes, especially in regards to fiction writings. The children seemed to only relate writing to fictional TV shows and popular movies. Lee decided to change this in her classroom by teaching them the "personal narrative." This was a little improvement but after a few more years she kept hearing the same stories over and over and was still frustrated. She had been doing some research on the issue of writing pedagogy and decided to change things up in her classroom once again by helping the students think about what they were writing and what that writing would mean to others.

By reading a set of picture books to her students she opened up communication among them by way of class discussions, small-group discussions, notebook writing, and notebook sharing. They discussed the issues brought about by the picture books and allowed the students to think about how the issues applied to their lives. Changing the students into critics seemed to improve their writings and gave their writings more meaning. They analyzed such themes as teasing, bullying, different cultures; issues that matter to third graders. They came to call this type of writing "social narrative". The authors state these social narratives as "...tools for constructing and analyzing shared social worlds."

I think the authors have brought about some very good ideas to the classroom. This is a great way to get kids to open up and at the same time gain some important writing skills.

Set 3 Reviewed by Julie Ruff


 * Kress, "Genre and the Changing Contexts for English Language Arts." Vol. 76, NO. 6, July 1999, pgs. 461-469.
 * In this article, Gunther Kress talks about reforming the curriculum systems that are in place around the world from focussing mainly on literacy to focussing on language, literacy, and communication. This reform is currently taking place in South Africa.  Gunther maintains that English and language arts is different in England, South Africa, Australia, etc.  He proposes that change should come in the form of teaching genres.  This is out-come based education and can be modified to fit diverse cultures.  The "out-comes" are based on the questions "what is it we want the young who are now in our schools to be able to do; what is it we want them to be; what is it they will need to be able to do; who will they need to be in order to live productively in their societies in 10, 15,20 years from now?"  Kress says that genres are used to distinguish between types of literature, so they can also be used to help the student understand how they fit into the world around them.

Genres in school curriculum can be as predictable as in literature. They can represent aspects of society in which they were written. This transforms writing from an individual act to a societal act performed by an individual. This means that power has replaced desire as the dominant characteristic of writing. He explained the differences in prohibition genre and procedural genre. Prohibition is rules that offer what is not allowed as acceptable behavior. Procedural is an order that things should be achieved. The difference in these genres are two socially expected behaviors. He also talked about report genre, which would include his article.

Kress has an updated approach to old curriculum. For teaching to be effective over time it has to change to accomodate societal changes. Kress is accomplishing this by directly relating English and language arts curriculum to societal changes. This is much like the thinking of Gee in "Why Are Video Games Good for Learning?" He used the idea of video games as a metaphor for different learning techniques in society. I think that these two approaches to old theories will help teachers connect with students in the 21st century. It is just as important for teachers to connect with students on a social level as it is to teach them the curriculum. Students will not learn if they feel the teacher is too disconnected from them and they will respect the teacher more and, therefore, try harder in the class if they feel a connection.

Jasinski-Schneider, "No Blood, Guns, or Gays Allowed!: The Silencing of the Elementary Writer." Language Arts. Vol. 78, No. 5, May 2001, Pg 415-425.
 * Reviewed by Julie Ruff


 * In this article, Jasinski-Schneider researches the reaction of teachers to student writing on uncomfortable subjects. Many teachers wanted the students to bring their own life into their writing and then critisized them for the subject matter and the language used.  In some cases where students wrote a story and chose students to act it out in class, the author was able to gain social status among class members for having the higher social status students do the acting.  The author could manipulate the actions of the higher status students.  Some teachers felt that by questioning a student's goals in writing or subject matter was coercion.  It would somehow bias the student's writing.  "Advocates of critical pedagogy ask teachers to support AND question student expression" (416).

The author interviewed teachers and asked when they taught writing were there any topics that were "off limits" or "taboo" like violence, racism, gay feelings or gay parents, religion and sex? The researcher would ask questions that started "Have you ever had students write about....?  What the author found out is that many teachers are unsure how to handle certain topics.  Many would refer to their administration for help or guidance counselors or other teachers for help.  Some teachers did writing workshops that lasted 10-15 minutes on writing strategies followed by independent writing in a journal.  This exercise concluded with sharing the students' writings.

On taboo subjects some teachers gave the students free reign while other teachers put limitations on the subject matter that they felt was inappropriate. Students would comply with the request of the teacher. Several teachers, however, felt that they should not censor the student's writing. Personal beliefs of the teacher can affect the writing instruction that the teacher gives and Jasinski-Schneider feels that writing should be the student's decision to make.

This was a hard article to read because I tried to put myself in each of the teacher's shoes. The questions that the author was asking were very difficult and I don't think that any answer would be seen by all the parties involved as being correct. As a teacher there are several parties that you must answer to--the students, the parents, the administration, and the teacher's own consciencious. I think as long as the teacher operates along their moral and legal guidelines they are doing fine. I think there are times when writing can be open and possibly taboo subjects will intervene. I think it probably happens more in middle and high school. However, I think the teacher should know her students well enough to know if they are growing up in a violent neighborhood or situation, the teacher should not be shocked by violence in the writing. If a student is withdrawn or angry they may have some kind of abuse in their lives. I think journal writing is important and should be uncensored. I think there are plenty of other times a teacher can offer comments, but journal writing is almost sacred in the fact that there should be an outlet for students to express opinion and emotion without being judged or criticized.

Jester, "Remaining Seated: Lessons Learned by Writing." Voices From the Middle. Vol. 11, Number 2, Dec. 2003, pg. 13-15.
 * Reviewed by Julie Ruff
 * The author starts this article by acknowledging that writing is hard, but it's one of the most important things a teacher can teach her students. Teachers should also be writers.  This will allow them to grow, as a writer, with practice.  Also by writing teachers can understand the anxiety that students go through when trying to create papers.  "I feel your pain approach" deals with tellilng a student to omit something in their work.   By doing this, the teacher is telling students to be open to changing the direction in their writing.

This approach is more of a "do as I do" approach. By teachers writing also, they will be more connected to the process that they are teaching their students. I think this approach is good to an extent because it keeps the teacher in touch with the process that one must go through to write a good paper. However, I think that teachers should also be able to step back and approach a piece from an unemotional level. Sure the student has put a lot of hard work into the piece, but as a teacher, the student will not become a better writer without guidance. I think if you are too much on the level of the writer and not a teacher it is harder to be critical of another person's creation. A teacher, by definition, is the critic. Either a student has achieved what they intended or they did not.


 * Wood Ray, "Why Cauley Writes Well: A Close Look at What a Difference Good Teaching Can Make." Language Arts. Vol. 82. No. 2. Nov. 2004, pg 100-109.
 * In this article Wood ray uses a teacher he calls "Lisa" as an example for teaching writers. Lisa is a first grade teacher and her technique stresses that good writers are developed by many different teachers over the student's career, not just one teacher.

Before a student cares about how to write, they must care about the topic of the writing. Once a topic is chosen, a teacher must teach about time in writing. Writing takes time to develop. It is time for writing not a writing task. Students also need to feel like they are not just writing, but making something with their writing.

Wood Ray also says that children should talk about their writing before they begin. Why and how questions about writing helps students "become more articulate and more intentional in their work" and over time they will need to discuss their writing with others. Also, a cear writing vision is different depending on its intention (i.e. journal, picture book, website, etc.).

A type of writing the teacher was working on was wow nonfiction which gives the reader facts about the topic, but also tries to engage the reader and make him or her think ( like a feature article in a magazine). "Writers write well when they have a clear vision of the kind of thing they are trying to make with the writing."

Genre and formate are the important factors when writing. Genre has to do with the writer's purpose for writing. Format is where this type of writing would occur in the world (picture book, magazine, newspaper, or website).

Reading with a sense of immediacy gives the reader an idea of what kind of writing is appropriate. Writers mimic other writers style. Therefore, younger writers need to be read to and discuss the text with the class to demonstrate how they could apply the style to their own writing.

Students should make their own decisions about writing because that is part of the process. They just have to develop strategies, techniques, and understandings from which they can make decisions. This is why a teacher should develop writers not just teach the specifics of writing. To test for understanding, the teacher looks for evidence that the students are using elements of his or her teaching and asks questions about it.

They author has a good concept of teaching. I am a believer in using "real-life" examples anytime you are teaching a subject. If a student is learning how to do multiplication, the teacher should use an example of buying six candy bars, for instance. When teaching writing, a teacher should use examples of other's writing to demonstrate genres, style, format, etc. I also agree with Wood Ray's idea that one teacher is not going to teach a student how to write. Writing is a process, as well as, developing a writer. Writers also grow and change as they become more experienced and knowledgeable. When a student understands the process of writing it can spill over into other subjects. The student can realize that math, science, and music to give some examples are also processes. They build upon previous lessons or experiences also. I think Wood Ray is not just describing a good teaching style for writing, but teaching in general. Set 4
 * Larson and Maier, "Co-Authoring Classroom Texts: Shifting Participant Roles in Writing Activity."
 * One of the most important elements of teaching practices that I read in this paper is that a classroom should be a “literacy learning ADVENTURE.” As Brandt and Gee suggest, the learning environment is vital in the learning process.  When students are given a “rich social, linguistic, and literate context”, they develop extensive writing skills.

In such an environment, I realize that students need to learn together, with the teacher. When the teacher models her own authorship, the students pick up on her processes and begin using them in their own writing. The co-authorship idea that Maier uses is extremely successful. It gives the students a sense of ownership. I think the Author’s Tea supports this ownership. The teacher is telling the student that they are “ an equally valued member of the classroom”. When a teacher constantly models, as in topic selection, they build community. By allowing the students to co-author a story, the teacher shows that she values the students’ knowledge and capabilities.

When students are able to take on the various roles such as author, co-author and overhearer, their learning capabilities are extended. By shifting roles, students gain more knowledge.

I think that it is important to have the amount of books that Maier has in her classroom. This shows the students that she thinks reading is important. She models this by reading to the class.

I also like the idea of having a “brightly decorated” room. The children are proud to have their writing and artwork displayed. It further supports the concept of community.

Maier’s reading program further enhanced literacy by having 4 components.

Maier also used reflective teaching to guide her on her lesson planning. Instead of just going through the district process, she would incorporate mini-lessons to teach and enhance. When appropriate, she would intersperse IRE instruction.

I like the idea of using indirect teaching. When the teacher takes the time to instruct a student so that others can also learn, the students become overhearers. This is when literacy is developed.

One thing I learned from this paper is that I need to let errors go until a piece is finished. I tend to want to correct all of the spelling and grammar along the way. When I do this, my daughter gets frustrated. Now I realize that I need to start with a positive comment about the text and let her finish her thought process before correcting her. I will also incorporate the “read to three then me” rule in my classroom some day. This further enhances the learning community.

The writer did a thorough study in order to present her findings. There were some literacy narrative techniques used along with observations, video tapes, interviews, field notes, and research which provided for a good study. --Lisa Webb


 * Reviewed by Lisa Webb

Tensing Up: Moving From Fluency to Flair. “The Quarterly” Summer 2001. Pages 2-7.

Suzanne Linebarger wanted to help students become great writers. She has developed her coaching ideas throughout her teaching career. She has not only created fluent writers but also those who write with flair. She has done this by having her students write “for a variety of purposes and audiences”. This teaches students that writing can be used in many different ways. She also gives the students a time frame in which to complete a writing assignment instead of telling them how many words or pages to write. Suzanne has high expectations for her students, which further motivates them. This is only successful because she has created the successful environment. When students share their writing with others they are also more motivated.

Suzanne Linebarger wanted to figure out how to teach students to go from confident writers to “really good writers”. She used her own experience in the classroom to develop what she calls “writing with flair”. She states that teachers need to coach their students so that they become great writers. Throughout the years she has been improving her coaching techniques and has figured out how to teach students how to write more than just the facts. Suzanne has also been involved with the Northern California Writing Project, which she used her knowledge and experience to teach other teachers how to improve their students’ scores on writing assessments. In using her coaching techniques, Suzanne has helped classes experience improved scores on their writing assessments.

I can only with that I had met up with Suzanne when I was in 3rd grade. Her idea to “interact with information instead of regurgitating it” is precisely what students need to learn at an early age. Her idea of using tension and surprise makes it easier for students to write at a higher level. Two of my children experienced a 3rd grade teacher of this sort. They were encouraged to write using what she called “colorful language”. I can see that she was using Suzanne’s coaching ideas. There was a lot of writing in this classroom to the extent that the students were learning to write with flair, not just fluency. I would like all teachers to read this paper and begin coaching to see if they could improve their students’ writing scores. I will begin using the tension and surprise techniques in my own writing…it is never too late to learn! --Lisa Webb


 * Rowe, Fitch, and Bass, "Power, Identity, and Instructional Stance in Writers’ Workshop."

Reviewed by Lisa Webb


 * Language Arts. Power, Identity, and Instructional Stance in Writers’ Workshop. Vol. 78, No. 5, May 2001, pp. 426-434.

Rowe, Fitch, and Bass discuss how power and identity are crucial aspects of the classroom culture and how these stances affect a student’s literacy learning. A first grade classroom was observed during a year-long study that included a teacher researcher and two university-based researchers. They documented 133 school days through daily field observations, participant observation, field notes, audiotapes, videotapes, interviews with the teacher, samples of writing, exit interviews with all students and a parent questionnaire.

The observations show that children are positioned in the classroom according to their power and identity in the classroom and in their official world. The study shows how students and teachers bring in the experience from their official communities to the classroom and use them to participate in the literacy learning experience.

The students in this classroom were involved in a Writers’ Workshop where they could share their reading and writing. The teacher gave the students informal and formal opportunities to share during this workshop. Through this, the teacher could see the different social relationships in the classroom setting and how this affected how individual learning took place. Children were given specific roles in the classroom depending on their social role outside of the classroom. When the researchers looked at the student’s literacy learning capabilities through this “sociocultural lens” they were able to see why they behaved as they did.

Now that educators understand that children’s literacy abilities are dependent on their cultural position in the classroom, they can begin develop ways for teachers to enable students to use more diverse options for literacy development. --Lisa Webb


 * Wood Ray, "Exploring Inquiry as a Teaching Stance in the Writing Workshop."
 * Reviewed by Lisa Webb

Language Arts. Exploring Inquiry as a Teaching Stance in the Writing Workshop, Vol. 83 No.3, January 2006, pp.238-247.

Katie Ray was the consultant to a group of literacy coaches and teachers who studied curriculum and writing instruction. This group completed a one-year study. Katie believes in an inquiry stance type of instruction. The students use inquiry to develop their learning experience. They learn how to write by reading other writer’s pieces. This way the curriculum is developed along the way; it is not the starting point.

The students in this classroom spent 5 weeks reading and rereading sample texts to learn how to write one on their own. They took notes and talked among themselves in order to fully understand how writing is crafted. They learned to use questioning and humor in their writing. They also learned how to incorporate statistics, quotes, etc. In doing this, the students became excited about what they would end up writing. The teacher worked with the students along the way and expanded her knowledge in the mean time.

Katie explains the alternatives to the inquiry stance. Teachers often give a generic definition to the students and ask them to give their opinion. Another alternative is the use of quality, real-world examples of writing but the teacher uses solely modeling. The other is to study well-written texts in the classroom. Teachers often incorporate all three methods but Katie believes the most important element is the use of inquiry.

This study believes that you teach writing at two levels. You teach them the genre but also the “habit of mind” that writers use. In other words, students first learn how to read like writers; to learn how things are written. It is only then that they can incorporate these techniques in their own writing. If the instructor does all the teaching, the students to not learn to notice the text for themselves. It is only through an inquiry stance that students learn to “read and think like writers”.

Through the use of inquiry, students have a more expansive knowledge base to integrate in their writing. The students use their new knowledge to begin writing making their own decisions on where the piece will go. This creates a vision for writers. By using an extensive amount of text instead of just modeling, teachers give their students the gift of vision.

The more students read, the better they will be able to write. When students learn how to “learn” about writing, they will be able to write in any context. --Lisa Webb