"Pressured by a demand for higher scores...we understandably succumb to the latest program or newest method." p. 4
Typed right from the book, this statement speaks for itself.
"Although teaching writing well is a complex art, we have made it far more difficult than it needs to be." p. 5
I've always wanted writing to be simple, but with all the direction of the latest program we get bogged down trying to teach all the traits in isolation.
As a shared belief on writing, "Quality is more important than quantity." p. 9
I remember a few years ago while rating writing, the question arose as to why our papers were so short. For one, we typed in size 12 font double spaced with one inch margins and one to two sentences could easily fit on a line. I have always told the kids that writing is like a mini skirt; long enough to cover the subject but short enough to create interest. I have never told my students how long their writing must be in length. We might build a certain number of paragraphs in an informative report but never the exact length. I really felt like my kids didn't get a fair shake because their length was questioned before the grading even began.
12 Writing Essentials for All Grades: The audience may be the writer themselves.
I've always worried about finding an authentic audience and was glad to see that they can write for themselves. Yes!!! That sounds kind of silly, doesn't it?
"Teaching writing by focusing on the parts- spending weeks teaching sentence fluency or transitions or voice, ...is not how writers work." p 15
In the beginning of our 6 trait model, I tried to teach the traits in isolation but it just didn't seem natural. After fighting with the correct way for a number of years I now teach the traits by looking at what real authors in real books do to make their writing better. It's easier in mini lessons after the kids have a lot of writing to look at and compare with what they've done in the past.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
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3 comments:
"How long does this have to be?" I hear that everyday. Your comments make me think aobut this question in ways I have not before. Is this the students I should be focusing on more closely because this is probably the student that is struggling with the process.
Jera,
I always enjoy sharing "What Do Authors Do?" in our basal reading book with the class. They are able to actually see what authors go through to get writing they are happy with. Of course, in the story, the authors have to delete parts of the story, rewrite it and then continue editing. I think they enjoy seeing this happen so they know they're not the only ones who sometimes struggle with writing.
I love the quote about making writing too difficult. Writing has never been my favorite thing to teach, but it is because of the missing enjoyment. I believe the students can feel it when you are not enjoying yourself, and they shut down. If we could just teach writing for the enjoyment of it and not because a state test is approaching, I believe kids would enjoy writing sooo much more! (I'm sure that has been obvious to some before now, but it just struck me)
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