What comes to your mind when you
hear “writing”? Are you imagining
being back in school where your teacher writes a prompt on the board and you
answer in a daily journal? Maybe a
series of worksheets your teacher created to help you learn punctuation, nouns,
synonyms, and capitalization? Or perhaps it's a set of grade specific questions
that have already been pre-planned out for the entire school year.
Writing is supposed to be FUN…yes, that’s right, fun. Yes, there has to be
some instruction and ground laying procedures to help guide learners though
this process, but writing is a way to let your thoughts or opinions come to
life. You can invent any character you
want on paper, and the plot of your story is only limited to your
imagination. Writing can let the word
know where you stand on certain issues.
Writing can be as simple as a Thank-You card, letting someone know you
appreciated a gift, or to express your daily events on the social media
(Twitter, Facebook, Wibbly)
There is no prescribed curriculum
when it comes to teaching writing.
Everybody learns differently and at a different rate.
In our writing class there isn’t a
designated series of yearly prompts to follow.
Learners have a choice in choosing the area that is interesting to
them. Although, at times, I might see a
fun assignment (shhh…yes fun) and the class all agrees that everybody should
write on the topic-especially when there is some type of art involved J
What it looks like:
You probably won’t find learners
completing a piece of writing in a single sitting. You will find
students taking some of their writing all the way through the writing process
over days or even weeks, depending on the topic or the rigidity of the issue.
You won’t find children limited to
writing only the words they can spell.
Jotting down their thoughts and having a flow is what I’m asking of
them. Can you imagine if I stopped each
student after a misspelled word and immediately had him or her look it up in
the dictionary for accuracy? My kids would be more concerned about spelling the
words correctly for me, and their original ideas would be stifled. The moment would be gone. I want the ideas and thoughts out on paper…we
can go back and correct the spelling. (Believe
me, I am a BIG fan of spellcheck! Just ask the 6th grade teachers I used to work with.) Remember this is a writing assignment, not a
spelling exam.
In my class I pick what to teach
based on my students current needs. My lessons are not all mapped out before
the year begins…although that would be nice; it’s just not feasible
The Writing Process:
We focus on the process, and then there is a bigger impact on the journey.
The end result is important, but the true learning takes place during
the process. In my opinion, valuable instruction in
essay writing takes place over days or even weeks.
Pre-writing: Writers decide on a topic and brainstorm ideas. I give them a
choice if they want to work in groups for brainstorming or by themselves. However
each student is responsible for turning in an essay.
Drafting: Writers write sentences and
paragraphs, reread what they’ve written, and get suggestions from others.
Revising: Writers rearrange words or sentences, add or delete, replace
words, and make sure their writing is fluent.
Editing: Writers correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. (This
is where we adjust the spelling…not
during the pre-writing process).
Publishing/Sharing: Writers create a final copy of their work and share it.
