#1. There are many diverse, engaging writing activities and techniques that students should be exposed to outside of a five-paragraph expository essay.
In ECI 520, I was able to study a number of different writing activities and assignments I can engage in with my students outside of the five-paragraph essay. Kirby, Kirby, and Liner (2004) discuss how to create a classroom culture of writing in their book Inside Out: Strategies for Teaching Writing. Their book provided many useful tips on how to teach everything from journal to poetry to reaching an audience in a persuasive text. Two huge takeaways I had from their book is that all students have a writing voice they need to develop, and teachers should serve as encouraging coaches (Kirby et al, p. 76, 4) . Ultimately, students are in the drivers' seat in a writing lesson; we teachers are there just to coach and guide from the passenger side.
My course project in ECI 520 was to create a multi-genre paper. Never have I DREADED and LOVED a project so much! I created my multi-genre paper on a topic that was very interesting to me: the Japanese Animation. I have never been so stretched out of my comfort zone, but I absolutely loved my project and the experience in the end: Jie Ling's Multigenre Project
In ECI 550, our studies of Howard Gardner and his book, Five Minds for the Future, encouraged me to think about how I differentiate writing experiences for my students as well as pushed me to think about how I assess students and sometimes confine them to a box with my writing assignments. This course urged me to use a variety of approaches to assess students and to get them creating in addition to writing. Students have a lot to showcase and practice outside of expository writing, and it is up to me to create a classroom space where students are able to create art, music, and other writing forms to share their learning. These practices are key in engaging students in writing.
In ECI 520, I was able to study a number of different writing activities and assignments I can engage in with my students outside of the five-paragraph essay. Kirby, Kirby, and Liner (2004) discuss how to create a classroom culture of writing in their book Inside Out: Strategies for Teaching Writing. Their book provided many useful tips on how to teach everything from journal to poetry to reaching an audience in a persuasive text. Two huge takeaways I had from their book is that all students have a writing voice they need to develop, and teachers should serve as encouraging coaches (Kirby et al, p. 76, 4) . Ultimately, students are in the drivers' seat in a writing lesson; we teachers are there just to coach and guide from the passenger side.
My course project in ECI 520 was to create a multi-genre paper. Never have I DREADED and LOVED a project so much! I created my multi-genre paper on a topic that was very interesting to me: the Japanese Animation. I have never been so stretched out of my comfort zone, but I absolutely loved my project and the experience in the end: Jie Ling's Multigenre Project
In ECI 550, our studies of Howard Gardner and his book, Five Minds for the Future, encouraged me to think about how I differentiate writing experiences for my students as well as pushed me to think about how I assess students and sometimes confine them to a box with my writing assignments. This course urged me to use a variety of approaches to assess students and to get them creating in addition to writing. Students have a lot to showcase and practice outside of expository writing, and it is up to me to create a classroom space where students are able to create art, music, and other writing forms to share their learning. These practices are key in engaging students in writing.
#2. Teachers should allow space for informal writing practice to build writing fluency and comfort.
Keep Journals (JieLing's Weekly Journal) Kirby et al (2004) state the following in their book: "We suggest that when you begin teaching writing to a new group of students, you declare a moratorium on concerns about rigidly defined forms and structures of writing. Emphasize fluency." (Kirby et al, 2004, p. 6). Response Letter between students and teachers In the book Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice (Beers, Probst, and Rief, 2007), which I read in my Teaching Literature for Young Adults class, Harvey Daniels recommends teacher-student letter-writing as a way to build relationships with students but also get them practicing their writing. He speaks on the value of dialogue journals and teacher-student notes: "This simple adult-child correspondence allows the teacher to model good writing, to create a just-right text for each child to read, to see and assess each students' writing skills, and to get to know the student personally-- a highly productive use of a few minutes." (p. 127-128). Daniels recommends simply asking students to write letters to you, telling them about their lives and what is going on with them personally. |
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#3. Responding students' writing with P-Q-S
PRAISE: What interests you and gets your attention? QUESTION: What questions do you have that the piece doesn't answer? STRENGTHEN: What suggestion(s) would you offer for strengthening the piece? Adequate feedback is tricky, but essential. "Evaluation and grading of writing are often topics that teachers agonize over." (Romano) Creativity is perhaps the most confusing aspect of student writing to grade. Clear expectations will help; if the teacher lays out everything the writing should entail, it will also help them with the grading. In ECI 520, The Teaching of Composition, students learn how to give effective feedback. Feedback is critical to the improvement and engagement of student writing. If a student does not receive adequate feedback, they will lose the desire to write while P-Q-S will help encourage them to write even more. |
This an example of giving student feedback using PQS. The student is praised for an interesting point-of-view. Questioning demonstrates what the readers need to know. The teacher also gives the student feedback for strengthening the journal entry.
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