092310JF01 National Writing Project Anthology- 9-22-2010

8/17/2019 092310JF01 National Writing Project Anthology- 9-22-2010

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National Writing Project

Invitational Summer Institute

at FGCU -2


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Dr. Lois Christensen: Summer ISI - NWP at FGCU Director

Response Leaders: Bambi Fischer, Mena Granatino, and Karen Torres

Teacher Consultant / Response Leader: Stacey Elmeer

Left to Right: Peggy, Rachel, and Helen. Laura,

Whitney, and Caren. Zoogoers on a boat

afloat. Gil’s shoes since she would not let us

take her picture. Irene and Bambi (who we

were unable to see on our group picture.)

Eleanor and Lois. Karen and Alessia and

Laurie. Mena and Stacey and green spider on

pink flower at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.


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Research Questions:

Jeff Bowditch: Which content-area writing strategies are most effective in

improving students writing and improving learning in the content area?

I had a big task – how was I going to improve student performance and coveras much content as possible while at the same time, improve student‘s writing

skills? The task seemed daunting but while at the National Writing Project

workshop I found many answers to that question and I also found out that I

was already doing many things in my classroom to promote subject-area

learning and writing.

I had already been involved in preparing the students for a history fair project

by guiding them through such steps as introducing theme and topic, discussing primary vs. secondary

sources, creating a bibliography, and creating a thesis statement. These steps involved the students in not

only learning the mechanics of writing but also in an in-depth exploration of a topic in history.

At the National Writing Project, I learned that differentiated instruction does indeed help students be

successful in content-area learning but can also help with student‘s writing. Differentiated instruction

builds trust, ensures fit in instruction, gives students a voice in their learning, and allows them to develop

an awareness of how they learn. Differentiated instruction reaches out to all learners regardless of their

learning styles and abilities.

I also found out that ―Thinking Maps‖ as a learning tool can be very effective in using writing to improve

a student‘s content learning. This strategy allows teachers to take questions from the text and tests and

move students to the thinking process by using various thinking maps such as: defining in context,

describing qualities, comparing and contrasting, classifying, and sequencing. This allows students to use

writing to organize information and promote critical thinking.

Another powerful step in effective content- area writing was through the use of visual imagery. Writing

can be facilitated through the use of art or photography because many students find that it can actually

motivate them to write and bring out their aesthetic sensibilities. In the past, students have been asked to

write something first and then create some type of illustration for their writing. By reversing this process

students are usually more creative in their writing and they display better sensory detail and metaphoric

language while at the same time, developing a greater understanding of the content studied.

In summary, I found out at the National Writing Project that knowledge and thinking must go hand in

hand and that reading and writing must be essential to quality learning in any discipline. Whether or not I

am in a Social Studies class or a Science class, I still have to be working in a similar way that a historianor scientist would: reading and analyzing data, classifying, recording results, and writing reports. These

are all real-life tasks that students will be faced with one day in their jobs and careers. By integrating

content-area learning with writing, we can help prepare them for this.


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Works Cited

Andrzejczak, Nancy; Trainin, Guy; Poldberg, Moniquu. (2005). "From Image to Text: Using Images in

the Writing Process". International Journal of Education & the Arts , 1-16.

McConachie, Stephanie; Hall, Megan; Resnick, Lauren; Ravi, Anita; Bill, Victoria; Bintz, Jody; Taylor,

Joseph;. (2006). "Task, Text, and Literacy for All Subjects". Educational Leadership , 8-14.

Tomlinson, C. (2008). "The Goals of Differentiation". Educational Leadership , 26-30.

Kathryn Calcaterra: The purpose of my essay is to refer to research that

verifies my proposition that poetry enhances the teaching of the Fab 5

(phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension).

It is a comprehensive medium that fosters reading skills in our children.

As parents we read to our children long before they participate in a

structured learning environment. Children who are exposed to stories,

nursery rhymes or poems develop an awareness of phonemes as young as

three or four years old. Dr. Seuss books are an excellent source for word

play with ending sounds. Books with a lot of alliteration or alphabet books

offer beginning sound practice. It is also important to talk to children and

explain and model sounds and words that sound the same.

Poems are also an excellent model for onset and rime. Children may highlight or write the words

that belong within word families in a poem. Given a particular word family, students may write down as

many words that fit the pattern. If a child can manipulate sounds, either orally or in a written form, they

increase the likelihood of being a successful reader.

Poetry is a natural vehicle to increase fluency. Children often request to hear their favorite poems

read more than once. These repeated readings are an invaluable tool to increase fluency. Teachers may

choose to write one line of poetry on individual sentence strips to practice phrase reading. The poem

may be read in parts, boys/girls, different sides of the room, etc. Students may then opt to perform their

poem to another class or even make auditory recordings of themselves.

Vocabulary and comprehension are closely linked. Since the meaning of poetry is conveyed

through concise and exact word choice, it is an excellent way to teach vocabulary without the daunting

collection of unknown words. It naturally follows that once a student has a grasp of phonemes, phonics

the vocabulary of our language, fluency and comprehension will be attainable.

Since I teach struggling learners in elementary grades, poetry is a viable vehicle to help the

reading experience be not only successful but enjoyable. It is my hope that this enjoyment leads to a

lifetime of reading all genres.


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Works cited:

.

Wasik, Barbara A. "Phonemic Awareness and Young Children | Childhood Education

Spring 2001. Web. 13 July 2001.

.

Weaver, Constance. "Phonics in Whole Language Classrooms." Indiana University. May 1994. Web

13 July 2010. .

Ali Conant:

"Changing school practices is bridging the new with the old rather than

creating a revolution." (O'Brien, 2005)

Wil l util izing a variety of digital media to scaff old the instruction of

diverse learner' s improve their wri ting skil ls? Wil l util izing a vari ety

of digital media motivate students to improve their wri ting ski ll s?

The technology revolution is one that is hard to hide from no matter

what profession you are in. Multimedia, digital media, media literacy,

and visual literacy; are all becoming a part of our common vocabulary as educational leaders.

My interest lies within the benefits of digital media as it pertains to academic achievement for

learners in our classrooms, especially the diverse learner. My beginning hypothesis is digital

media is a strong motivator for students and therefore when utilized correctly, the motivation can be turned into a strong academic environment which will lead the learner to a richer, more

personal learning experience with their writing and overall literacy skills.

New technologies are often blamed for the "dumbing-down" of new generations, but is

that really true? Today, young people are writing far more than any generation before them...and

to specific audiences. Socializing is done mostly via writing and technology. It's almost hard to

remember how big a paradigm shift this is. Before the Internet came along, most Americans

wrote very little. Of course there was an occasional report in school or a thank you note for a gift

received, but nothing to the amount of text experienced today.

Reading and writing have changed as new technologies have entered our lives. You can

see the change probably most visibly in the new literacy's that are required on the Internet. There

are new literacy skills that are required for identifying important questions. There are new

reading skills required for searching for information. There are new literacy skills required for

critically evaluating information. There are new literacy skills that are required for synthesizing

very disparate pieces of information that you pick up in your journey on the Internet. And finally,

there are important new literacy skills that are required for communicating with e-mail

technologies, instant-messaging technologies, or other technologies for communication.


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The education sector has appropriated computer technology to serve teaching and

learning across the disciplines. And, as advances in technology have developed, so has the

rationale for incorporating this medium into daily instructional streams matured. For example, in

the earliest days of computers in education, machines were viewed as instructional delivery

systems whereby a given body of knowledge could be transmitted to students by virtue of its

being on a screen and allowing some rudimentary forms of "interaction". Computers were

generally conceived as teaching machines that would take on responsibility for training particular

skills and content thoroughly and uniformly. They represented, after all, examples of "high

technology"; a concept still at the core of our understanding of the relationship between humans

and machines.

More recently, however, the computer is being viewed more as an integral part of socio-

collaborative learning activity and less as a means by which knowledge and skills are transferred

to learners (Chiquito, Meskill and Renjilian-Burgy, 1996; Johnson, 1985; Meskill & Swan, 1996;

Snyder & Palmer, 1986). One discipline in which these shifts in perception concerning the role

of computers in the teaching and learning process have been particularly distinct is in the field oflanguage learning. Once considered an ideally "patient partner" with which learners of another

language could endlessly drill and practice until mastery occurred, the computer is now more

widely viewed as a tool through and around which socio-collaborative language learning can

take place. This shift in thinking directly parallels shifts in our understandings about the best

route to learning language in general, and empowering linguistic minorities in particular.

As educators we are aware that engaged learners are effective learners. The importance

of student engagement and motivation in successful learning is well documented. Intrinsically

motivated students tend to persist longer, work harder, actively apply strategies, and retain key

information more consistently (Guthrie, McGough, et al., 1996). Here is where multimedia has a

strong edge.Multimedia resources are a great way for teachers to anchor instruction and provide

students with essential background information that can provide a foundation for the topic at

hand. Similarly, multimedia resources engage students and provide them with another means to

understand the ideas and concepts presented. Today‘s youth respond very positively to

multimedia. For students with special needs, having the visual support can make a big difference

in more deeply understanding and learning the classroom material. Having multiple ways of

representing information through multimedia resources is essential in today‘s classrooms to meet

the needs of diverse learners.

When discussing the merging of media literacy's with the field of second language and

literacy acquisition, ideally we would see interaction with electronic texts as task-based and

socio-collaboratively oriented in lieu of seeing students drilled in isolation from the rich context

of school life.

Technology offers special promise for ELL students because it allows them to learn at

their own pace in a non-threatening environment, gives students flexibility and choice (Scoter &

Boss, 2002). Supporting literacy and language skills in the first language provides a base for


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successful literacy development in the second language (Snow,Burns,& Griffen, 1998). Many

ELL learners have rich stories to tell about their family heritage and/or stories of their families‘

immigration to our country and can easily be tied to our social studies curriculum with the

correct mode of instruction. Technology's that support this type of a project could be tape

recorders, video cameras, and word processors. Allowing the students to connect their culture

with their new culture will promote a strong correlation between desire and motivation to make

sense of their "new" language.

A common but misguided response to struggling students is to continue to reteach the

same lower level skills over and over again, with the hope they will eventually "get it." This

repetition of lower level skills is less likely to hold a students' attention, motivate them to learn,

or enable them to transfer academic gains across subject matter. Therefore, little improvement

will be seen in overall performance (Anderson, et al., 1984; Garcia, 2000).

According to Clements (1993), a better approach is to engage students in activities that

capture their interest and use these experiences as the basis for speaking, writing, and reading

activities. The effectiveness of computer learning (digital media) depends critically on thequality of the software, the amount of time children work with the software, and the way in

which it is used (1994).

When students engage with technology to produce media — videos, PowerPoint

presentations, and other products — they often are challenged to be original by the technology

itself. Much of the creative software that is most accessible to young media producers

comes loaded with content such as still images, animation, sound, music, and so forth. Add to

this the urge that many young people feel to be imitative and mix in the ease of digital sampling

and copying. The result is that students find challenges to become creative, but with the

embedded motivation factor, they will stick with it and accomplish their goals. Critical thinking

skills are engaged.Creative production software, such as iMovie, MovieMaker and GarageBand, can be

manipulated with increasing sophistication and originality with practice. As students become

more adept with production technology, many will gravitate and all can be urged toward

incorporating original content, such as their own digital photos and videos, poems, scripts, lyrics,

artwork, and music — all of which will move them further along the creativity continuum toward

originality and greater satisfaction with their endeavors.

Children's literacy activities involving computers prior to and outside of school are

typically more frequent, richer, and more meaningful than are such activities they encounter

when they enter elementary school. Clearly this contrast between in-school and out-of-school

experiences with the new literacy's only works when such digitally-rich out of school encounters

when computers are available to children.

One might see a larger problem on the horizon...with the multimedia influences on

the changes in literacy that are here to stay, how do we close the achievement (accessibility)

gap? It is disheartening knowing there are students who don't have access to computers, video

games, etc. outside the school and their unfortunate situation can be enough to keep them from


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reaching their true potential. There has always been a divide of those that have and those that

have "not," but in the same breathe it feels as though something can be done.

Instructionally we as educators need to start from a basic comfort level with media

literacy and its' application to our instruction, as we learn to be critically literate ourselves in the

multimedia era. Like everything else, we can‘t as teachers do for children what we cannot first

do ourselves (Hoffman J. &., 2009, p. 46). It is certainly time to restructure professional

development for new teachers and more experienced teachers. We do have our work cut out for

us!

When will the curriculum catch up to the needs of the students? Aren't we already

behind? When will the educators be willing to open their hearts and minds to a new way of

teaching? I love the idea of using video type games to teach my students, simulations and more.

In today's classroom it does take a lot to keep the students interested and motivated, however I

believe that digital media is a great way to merge academics in a motivating and successful way.

Balance is the key. A combination of media based literacy with paper-pencil creations will open

many writing and overall literacy doors for the learners of today and open doors for the diverselearners we all embrace.

I'm in this profession for my students and I will do whatever it takes to stay up with the

changing needs of my students. Though at the end of this paper it seems I have more questions

than when I started; I get very excited when I think of all the possibilities.

References

Anderson, R.C., Hiebert, E.H., Scott, J.A., & Wilkinson, I.A.G. (1984). Becoming a nation of

readers: The report of the Commission on Reading. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois,

Center for the Study of Reading.Chiquito, A. Meskill, C. and Renjilian-Burgy, J. (in press) Multiple, Mixed, Malleable Media. in

Bush, M. (Ed.) Technology-Enhanced Language Learning. Lincolnwood, IL: National

Textbook.

Clements, D.H. (1994). The uniqueness of the computer as a learning tool: Insights from

research and practice. In J.L. Wright & D.D. Shade (Eds.), Young children: Active

learners in a technological age (pp. 31 – 49). Washington, DC: National Association for

the Education of Young Children.

Clements, D.H., & Nastasi, B.K. (1993). Electronic media and early childhood education. In B.

Spodek (Ed.), Handbook of research on the education of young children (pp. 251 – 275).

New York, NY: Macmillan.

Garcia, G.N. (2000, September). Lessons from research: What is the length of time it takes

limited English proficient students to acquire English and succeed in an all-English

classroom? (Issue Brief 5). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual

Education.

Guthrie, J.T., McGough, K., Bennett, L., & Rice, M.E. (1996). Concept-oriented reading


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instruction: An integrated curriculum to develop motivations and strategies for reading.

In L. Baker, P. Afflerbach, & D. Reinking (Eds.), Developing engaged readers in school

and home communities (pp. 165-190). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Hoffman, J. &. (2009). Changing literacies for changing times: an historical perspective on the

furture of reading research, public policy, and classroom practices. New York:

Routledge.

Johnson, D. (1985) Using computers to promote the development of English as a second

language: A report to the Carnegie Corporation.

Meskill, C. & Swan, K. (1996) Tools for Supporting Response-Based Literature Teaching and

Learning: A Pilot Study of the Beats Albany, NY: National Research Center on Literature

Teaching and Learning.

O‘Brien, D. & Bouchereau Bauer, E. (2005). New literacies and the institution of old learning.

Reading Research Quarterly. Vol.40, No. 1 p.120-131.

Scoter & Boss, J. S. (2002). Learners, language, and technology: making connections tha support

literacy. Northwest Regional Educational Library .Snow, C.E., Burns, M.S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young

children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Snyder, T. and Palmer, J. (1986) In search of the most amazing thing: Children, education, and

computers. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Marge Cox

Research Question – Has technology impacted writing?

Today’s American society revolves around technology. I use it, I love it (exceptwhen it doesn’t work like I want it to) and I’m sure it has affected how I write.

However, could I find any research that spoke to the importance of technology to

writing? Fortunately, I did find several websites that dealt with the issue of

technology and writing.

Starting with what I see as the positives, technology definitely makes it easier to

write. Software such as Inspiration/Kidspiration and Thinking Maps help writers

organize their thoughts. My generation can remember the nightmare of spending hours recopying or retyping a

paper. Today’s writers have a delete key that makes changes a dream to do. Word processing software allows for

easy drafting and editing.

Today’s youth have spent their lifetimes, playing video games. They are a wired generation. The 21

st

centurytechnology of computers and phones draw them into writing. They consistently use a keyboard and feel very

comfortable using one to write. They may not always recognize their texts, emails, and instant messaging as

writing, but they are definitely a form of written communication.

So what are the roadblocks to technology and writing? Michigan State University does an excellent job of listing

concerns and then solutions to them. As I looked at the list, they were from the adult point of view about fear of

teaching with technology, not from students not wanting to write with technology. I really believe we can adapt


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the line from the old movie Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come” to “if you teach, they will learn it.”

Today’s students have always lived in a world of technology and they expect to communicate through it.

For teachers who feel unprepared to teach with technology, a visit to The Writing Site could be just the ticket to

start them on a technology trip. A list of possible technology options makes it an easy connection between what a

specific school provides and ways to use it in a classroom. EdTech Teacher identifies ideas for teaching English andHistory using technology.

So, has technology impacted writing? Yes. It provides ease of use and many youth use it to communicate with

their peers. They may write in non-conventional ways, but they write often. As adult teachers, let’s embrace the

technology and help our students build the bridge from our view of traditional writing to twenty-first century

writing. For example, we can include blogs and wikis as appropriate communication tools in our classes. Our

school uses the Destiny Library Manager Destiny Quest system for our elementary students to login and write to

their friends about books they are reading and what they are writing. This gives them technology writing

experience at an early age in a safe environment. For twenty-first century students, technology tools have

impacted their writing and their expectation to use them to write. Twenty-first century teachers to need honor

that experience.

Sources Cited

EdTech Teacher. (Retrieved 2010, July 10).

http://edtechteacher.org/

Landmark College for Research and Training. (Retrieved 2010, July 10).

(http://www.landmark.edu/institute/assistive_technology/writing_technology.html

Michigan State University Writing in Digital Environments (Retrieved 2010, July 10).

http://www.technorhetoric.net/10.1/coverweb/wide/kairos2.html

National Writing Project Technology Liasons Network (Retrieved 2010, July 10).

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/programs/tln

Pew Research Center Publications. (Retrieved 2010, July 10).

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/808/writing-technology-and-teens

The Writing Site. (Retrieved 2010, July 10).

http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/technology/

http://edtechteacher.org/http://edtechteacher.org/http://www.landmark.edu/institute/assistive_technology/writing_technology.htmlhttp://www.landmark.edu/institute/assistive_technology/writing_technology.htmlhttp://www.landmark.edu/institute/assistive_technology/writing_technology.htmlhttp://www.technorhetoric.net/10.1/coverweb/wide/kairos2.htmlhttp://www.technorhetoric.net/10.1/coverweb/wide/kairos2.htmlhttp://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/programs/tlnhttp://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/programs/tlnhttp://pewresearch.org/pubs/808/writing-technology-and-teenshttp://pewresearch.org/pubs/808/writing-technology-and-teenshttp://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/technology/http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/technology/http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/technology/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/808/writing-technology-and-teenshttp://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/programs/tlnhttp://www.technorhetoric.net/10.1/coverweb/wide/kairos2.htmlhttp://www.landmark.edu/institute/assistive_technology/writing_technology.htmlhttp://edtechteacher.org/


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Carmen Davis : How can technology help writing in the elementary

school?

Technology plays an important role in student learning in the

classrooms of today. There are many effective ways technology can

be used. The most successful programs are where implementation

was recognized and supported by the administration and teachers

alike. The programs teachers showed most interest were greatly

acknowledged and supported by students.

Educators today are tasked with learning about computer-assisted programs or web-based

programs before their students in order to guide them successfully. They need to learn the

basics of the varied types of technologies being utilized and must be able to integrate them into

classroom practice for student use. Cooperative, project-based and interdisciplinary work can

also be integrated as tools students may use throughout the school day.

When students use technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others,

they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information

transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is actively making choices

about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information. Technology allows

many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices, and

executing skills than is typical in teacher-led lessons. Consequently, when technology is

used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the

position of defining their goals, making design decisions, and evaluating their progress.

Teachers who are more willing to explore new solutions with their students, teachers who

become better at judging what types of solutions are most likely to work with individual

students, and then for schools to be better at being true "learning communities," to improve

the sharing of success stories within buildings, districts, and states. Technology is not "the

solution," but it can be a vital part of your toolbox.

Students clearly take pride in being able to use the same computer-based tools

employed by professionals. As one teacher expressed it, "Students gain a sense of

empowerment from learning to control the computer and to use it in ways they associate with the

real world." Technology is valued within our culture. It is something that costs money

and that bestows the power to add value. By giving students technology tools, we are

implicitly giving weight to their school activities. Students are very sensitive to this

message that they, and their work, are important.


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Students, even at the elementary school level, are able to acquire an impressive level of

skill with a broad range of computer software. Although the specific software tools in

use will likely change before these students enter the world of work, the students

acquire a basic understanding of how various classes of computer tools behave and a

confidence about being able to learn to use new tools that will support their learning ofnew software applications. Students were able to handle more complex assignments and

do more with higher-order skills because of the supports and capabilities provided by

technology.

They also do more stylistic things in terms of how the paper looks, and if there is

something they want to emphasize, they'll change the font . . . they're looking at the

words they're writing in a different way. They're not just thinking about writing a

sentence, they're doing that, but they are also thinking about, "This is a really important

word" or "This is something I want to stand out." And they're thinking in another

completely different way about their audience. --Elementary school teacher

While most teachers were positive about the design consciousness that technology

fosters, a potential downside was also noted by a few teachers. It is possible for students

to get so caught up in issues such as type font or audio clips that they pay less attention

to the substantive content of their product. We observed one computer lab within which

several students with a research paper assignment spent the entire period coloring and

editing the computer graphics for the covers of their as-yet-unwritten reports, pixel by

pixel. Teachers are developing strategies to make sure that students do not get

distracted by some of the more enticing but less substantive features of technology, for

example, by limiting the number of fonts and font sizes available to their students.

With PowerPoint, Prezi, Rosetta Stone, microphones, streaming videos, Microsoft

Word, and more, educators need to get on-board since students are motivated and

mostly love technology. With all the technology available to readers, non-readers, ELL,

ESE, gifted, and in essence all students, “gadgets and gizmos” are here for learning and

writing, now and forever.


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Works Cited

"Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students." U.S. Department of Education. Web. 16 July 2010.

.

"How to Use Technology in the Classroom: Teaching Technology to Elementary Students and Beyond."

Teaching & Technology . Web. 16 July 2001.

.

Technology Integration. Web. 16 July 2010. . Welcome to TechNewsWorld . Web.

16 July 2010. .

Helen Davis: What does effect ive grammar instruct ion

look l ike? What percentage of class t ime shou ld i t

consume?

As an English major in college, I was shocked to find

very little class time devoted to grammar instruction in spite of

my professor’s insistence that the conventions be mastered.

How could we be expected to know something we were not

being explicitly taught? This experience contrasted sharply

with my high school English classes. Sometimes whole class

periods were spent on grammar workbooks, but the lessons were often forgotten as

soon as they were mastered. Now that I am a teacher, there is a constant nagging

question in my mind. I ask myself, “What about grammar? How do I teach it effectively?”I know my students need to learn how to navigate the conventions and rules of the

English language to be taken seriously as writers, but practice workbooks are the only

way I have been shown how to teach it, and practice workbooks just do not seem to be

a catalyst for deep understanding or prolonged application.

As a participation in the 2010 National Writing Project Summer Institute at Florida

Gulf Coast University, I set out to answer this question. The first resource I investigated

was Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson. From reading sections of the book, I

reached a conclusion. Effective grammar instruction looks and sounds like rich

literature, but it does not sound like instructions from a grammar workbook. Grammarworksheets and error laden sentence corrections do not give children enough time to

synthesize and apply learning. Instead of overloading students, teachers should find

examples in literature or student writing to display one or two grammar or punctuation

issues. Using text as a model for grammar and punctuation serves as an important

spring board for discovering rules about grammar or incorporating the strategy into

writing (Anderson, 2005). Grammar instruction should be embedded in rich literature


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because every time a child hears, reads, or speaks language information is added into a

linguistic pool. Once inside the linguistic pool, students later fish it out to synthesize into

speaking and writing. Therefore, exposing students to rich examples from literature can

help perfect grammar, spelling, and punctuation instruction (Anderson, 2005).

Students will not necessarily glean all of the spelling, grammar, and punctuationconventions on their own, so grammar instruction should compose a small percentage

of an English class. Five to ten minutes a day is sufficient time to provide students with

an example, a non-example, or a group of examples for grammar instruction. Bruce

Morgan and Deb Odom, authors of Writing through the Tween Years, echo the research

of Anderson. Morgan and Odom support the notion of chunking grammar instruction

into meaningful blocks. They offer a student centered suggestion for teaching grammar

and punctuation. Small groups are formed based on student interest, choice, and need.

In small groups, students become experts on a certain piece of punctuation or rule. For

the next two weeks, students research examples of the rule in print, write examples,

and create non-examples. Ten to twenty minutes a day were allotted to this research,

and student writing benefited from this project (Morgan & Odom, 2005).

Through the research of Anderson, Morgan, and Odom, my opinion of the

necessity of explicit grammar instruction has been reinforced while the notion of the

almighty grammar workbook has been deconstructed. Grammar instruction should be

explicit, singularly centered, and embedded in literature and student writing. When

these practices are followed, learning has time to seep into student minds and

materialize in student writing.

References:

Anderson, J. (2005). Mechanically inclined . Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

Morgan, B. & Odom, D. (2005). Writing through the tween years. Maine: Stenhouse

Publishers

Stacey Elmeer: Will the inclusion of creative writing activities help my

students become better at literary analysis?

As a graduate student in creative writing at the University of Arizona, Iwas assigned novels to read and study. Unlike a typical English Literature

student, my job as a student of creative writing was to figure out how the

novel was put together, to examine the unique structure of the piece and

to learn from it. I remember reading Margurite Duras’s The Lover, and

drawing a visual map on the board of the narrative structure of the piece

for my fellow classmates. As a wanna be writer, that instruction was


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invaluable to me. I did not often directly steal other writer’s structures when I wrote, but it was very

exciting for me to witness alternative patterns of organization. As a high school student I had only ever

been encouraged to write in essay form, and as an undergraduate English major, I rarely looked at how a

work was put together when it came to analysis. Typically, I focused on comprehension, content,

symbolism, irony, and other worthy subjects. Rarely did I consider the organization of the wonderful

content. It may be that at the time, I did not care about the organization because I considered myself a

reader, not a writer. Once I switched hats, and discovered I wanted to write, I began to pay closer

attention to how the parts made a whole.

As a teacher of literature and composition, I am constantly insisting that my students pay attention to

how pieces are put together. When they read, I want them to read like writers, and when they write, I

want them to write like readers. My initial research question was simple as far as I was concerned. “If I

have my students write creatively, will that enhance their analytical skills when they read?” Since it was

what I needed to pay closer attention to what others had written, I felt it might help my students also.

This year, my students wrote several creative writing assignments. Many of these were indirectly based

on the methods of organization that certain writers we were reading in class used. Other methods had

been established over time – the sonnet, the sestina, the villanelle, etc. I thought that if I gave them

more ways of organizing information, alternatives to the traditional essay, maybe they would learn

about multiple structures and discover the link between structure and meaning. Often times, to get

them focused on diction and imagery, I would ask them to focus on haikus, something they considered

beneath them and easy simply due to the length. One of my students, who had already written a college

essay, was asked to write a six word autobiography for the college of his choice. He threw himself into

this unique challenge with the focus and clarity necessary to pick six, arresting words. What he ended up

writing was much more thought provoking than the essay he sent in to this same school, “ Pied Piper.

Water Diviner. Thirsty. Hungry.” His essay worked just fine. It was honest and earnest but his six wordautobiography was him. Now, before I have any of my students write and share their college essays, I

will ask them to write a six word autobiography first. Maybe the research question truly is, “Will

allowing my students to write in multiple forms enhance their analytical skills?” The answer to this

question seems obvious.

Of course a student is going to be better at analyzing a sestina once he knows how it works and how it is

put together. Having students write sonnets will teach them the importance of the resolution or resolve

coded in the last two lines. Furthermore, stumbling upon unique novels that involve memory and

shatter time lines, and teaching students the patterns inherent even in these seemingly “random” works

will increase their ability to analyze and recognize and comprehend multiple authors.

Allowing students to write creatively does something else too, however. It gives them a chance to write

about some of their own ideas and philosophies. Too often, when we ask students to write essays, we

focus on the intent of the published author. We remove the student from the paper. We tell them never

to use “I” when they write. Though I am not an avid fan of reader response theory, if one of our goals as

teachers is to get students to become life-long readers, thinkers, and writers then we need to show


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students that their ideas count. Allowing students to use multiple forms to voice their ideas will give

them more chances to participate as writers and readers.

When I return to school this fall, I will take my GENRE list with me and consider the varieties of products

we can produce other than essays. I will remember what Grant Wiggins said about real audiences and

purpose in his article, “Real-World Writing: Making Purpose and Audience Matter” and try to makeevery one of my assignments matter to a particular audience. I will avoid the trap of thinking “Since the

state test uses writing prompts that have no real audience and purpose, I should mimic the format to

best prepare my students for the test.” I will use RAFTS where I change the roles, audiences, formats,

and topics for students so that they can move beyond the drudgery of predictable writing formats. I will

also make new products (synthesis) by combining two old ones such as dreams with a traditional

resume format. I am ready to embrace these methods now that I have research that backs their practice

as effective.

What I found to be most exciting after this particular National Writing Project Summer Institute was

that I might even be able to increase my own skills at reading comprehension if I take something that is

in a traditional text book form, like science or history information, and I put it into a poetic form. If I

have to reassemble the facts into a song that makes use of a pattern, I (who cannot remember anything)

may actually be able to memorize the Preamble just like School House Rock taught me way back when I

was six or seven years old.

When a student writes, when he or she has to take that original information and turn it into another

form, be it commercial, play, fairy tale, movie, or poem, that information has been recorded in his or her

mind and owned and reorganized for public or peer (we hope) review. Of course we all want our

students to write the best essays, but in order for them to do this, they need to be allowed to

experiment with different forms. It may be less difficult for a student to focus on imagery and diction in

a poem than it is for them to focus on these things in an essay, but if that student writes enough poetry,

he will be aware of imagery and diction when he does write an essay. Furthermore, if a student is aware

of imagery and diction when he reads a poem, he may learn to look for patterns in these and join the

conversation of excellent writers and readers before and after him.

Jackie Greene: Will including more written response, genre choice and

professional written response groups in literacy courses make pre-service

teachers more confident writers?

Perspectives or theoretical framework.

Current research into reading and writing indicates that to teach

effectively, teachers themselves must be avid readers and writers

(Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Bowie, 1996; Bridge & Helbert, 1985; Glenn,

2007). However, studies into reading and writing habits of pre-service and

practicing teachers indicate that a culture of a literacy exists among a large

portion of pre-service and practicing teachers and that a large number do not think of themselves as good


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readers or confident writers (Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Bowie, 1996; Dreher, 2003; Mour, 1997).

Teacher training institutions continue to be challenged to create programs to develop teachers who not

only understand the complexities of the literacy process but who enthusiastically embrace reading and

writing as powerful elements in their own lives (American Federation of Teachers, 1999; Draper, 1997;

Snow, Burns & Griffin, 2005). In an effort to meet these challenges, I have ventured beyond the textbook

and embedded components, such as reader response and professional literacy circles, into undergraduateand graduate literacy courses to encourage pre-service and practicing teachers to engage with a variety of

texts in meaningful ways.

One of these strategies is the use of “traveling response journal bags” to motivate reading and

writing as constructive processes where pre-service and practicing teachers have been given the

opportunity to share unique reactions to self-selected texts and react in writing to the thinking of others

in deep and reflective ways. Another strategy I have employed is to embed Writing to Learn strategies

into course content to motivate positive interaction with the adopted course readings. The third and

most creative aspect has been the inclusion of giving my students a choice of alternatives to the

traditional FEAP Course Reflection paper. In the past, these papers followed the traditional research

paper format; but, I soon realized that with a little “tweaking” the student could possibly use the samepaper for each course and the formulaic nature of the assignment led to instructor fatigue in the grading

process as all papers sounded the same.

I am early in the research process, but results from this one semester are pushing me forward to

continue these techniques. I was struck by the depth of content knowledge apparent in my student‟s

analysis of their reading and writing buddy. Each of my student‟s is assigned a struggling kindergartener

or first grade student, my literacy students provide tutoring for nine weeks. They plan sessions based on

the needs of their assigned student and as a culminating project they must do an analysis of this student‟s

strengths and weaknesses. Their analysis from spring semester was of much higher quality than other

semesters and included clear indications of deep literacy content knowledge and application. These

education students were the first group to be exposed to Write to Learn and traveling professional book journals. They made clear reference to their readings and research in their analysis which added depth to

their work and understanding of reading difficulties.

Approximately one third of my students chose to create an alternative FEAP reflection, at the

beginning of the semester all students were reluctant to do “sign on for the creative alternative.” Most

expressed a lack of confidence in their ability to write, especially their ability to write creatively. The

options were open and as the semester continued some became more confident and began to enjoy the

writing to learn strategies in which they participated. In the end, nine out of twenty-four students

submitted alternative FEAP reflections. I have included them in a separate submission to this paper; but

let me say, I was quite enthralled to read them. They show confidence, a new respect for multiple genres

of writing and an ability to take risks. Each of these students communicated their “joy” at having choiceand expressed their intent to use these strategies in their own classrooms. My hope is that this research

will encourage participants to join the reading and writing club for “you can not teach wha t you do not

know.” Becoming a teacher who writes is essential to promoting writing in one‟s classrooms, to become a

teacher who writes means that you model exposing a private part of your mind and soul to your students

and give them the freedom and confidence to share their minds and souls with you.


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Sarah Gregory: How can I get my first graders to elaborate upon

their writing on their own?

This question is why I came to the National Writing Project, where was my

simple answer? Surly there was one thing I could do and magically these children

would want to write, in fact they would love it so much they would complete their

ideas and use interesting detail. Too bad the answer I found was not so simple.

As we were writing I noticed the pieces I enjoyed writing were just

naturally better, filled with voice and purpose. It must be the same for my students.

If they like what they are writing about they should become more involved in the

process and therefore produce a better result. Why hadn’t I thought of such a simple thing? Well, I had, but

pleasing 19 completely different people is a difficult task. It goes back to choice and fun. Even when I presented

my demo, giving my classmates the choice of writing type allowed for much more creative and engaging pieces.

They also had a blast creating germs from paper scraps and googly eyes; yes these are adults we are talking about.

They all wrote about their germs and followed my objectives but the results ranged from report like pieces to silly

stories to poetry. It was an eye opening experience because this group became so involved in the workshop I was

amazed. Guess a little choice and fun go a long way.

I decided to read Teaching Young Writer’s to Elaborate by Megan S. Sloan as a formal research

component. I learned a few new modeling techniques and helpful hints, like using fiction literature to show good

elaboration, using questions to discover, and how sensory detail could add to any piece. Mostly I learned yet again

how important choice is. Sloan says, “Teaching students to discover topics that are personally relevant is very

important. Children write better if they know and love what they write about.” Wow I thought, yet again choice

rears its ugly head. The thought of giving 19 first graders more choice in their writing is a scary concept. My mind

immediately flashes to chaos, almost like the adults of our classroom got when the paintbrushes came out. People

everywhere, talking, paint flying, pure creative chaos. I needed a way to incorporate choice without things getting

out of control. How could I do this, and still meet school and state standards?

As the demo lessons flashed through my mind I immediately thought of Jackie Green’s presentation on

using writing as a discovery tool. She mentioned different genres of writing from ABC books, advertisements,

R.A.F.T.s, poems, narratives…ECT. In fact it seemed like the list would never end. It gave me an idea; I could

choose a few different forms and allow my students to have a choice of presentation. That shouldn’t be too crazy,

and they are all working with the content I need them too.

Another idea I had stemmed from Ali Conant’s presentation on wordless books. We did an activity where

we zoomed out on a picture, starting by recording a small section of detail and slowly describing more as wezoomed out to the entire picture. First graders love to talk about their lives and getting them involved through a

personal artifact is a great hook. Not only has that, but the zooming out allows students to focus on finding rich

detail in the smallest spaces. This is a great idea to introduce elaboration and using adjectives in our writing.

I guess my answer is best found through my fellow teachers. As I was learning new techniques and ideas,

I was thinking how my students would enjoy writing with these experiences, something new and different. I know

that I need to keep growing as a professional and keep writing. It’s so easy to forget how much fun writing can be


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when we have to worry about hitting all the standards and styles and even getting first graders ready for the FCAT.

I need to remember William Glasser’s ideas of every person’s basic needs. Every person needs to feel love,

belonging, fun, freedom, and power. When my student’s have all of these puzzle pieces they will be free to

experience real expression in their writing, and hopefully use elaboration naturally to make it great. I guess

answering my question wasn’t quite as easy as reading a book, but the action research m eans so much more.

Hopefully I can continue to grow as a learner and keep things interesting for my students.

Work Cited

Sloan, Megan. Teaching Young Writers to Elaborate. New York: Scholastic, 2008. 144. Print.

Theresa Howard: What are the most important aspects of writing to

focus on when working with in the primary grades?

I am always questioning what the best methods of teaching

the beginning stages of writing are. I ponder the structural process, aswell as which should carry more value; content or syntax. I was

fortunate enough to read Of Primary Importance written by Ann

Marie Corgill, where I was presented with a more apparent outlook

when looking at the stages of writing in the primary grades. The text

provided valuable tips and strategies for working with young writers.

Ann Marie included some tips that she finds to be vital for youthful writers which consisted

of:

Daily writing timeOpportunities for choice in topic, format, or genre

Demonstration, practice, teaching and celebration during the workshop

Reasons to write for a purpose and an audience

Support for the writer

Necessary tools for writers to write and publish their work

Time for writers to think, talk, write and share everyday

I really felt that Ms. Corgill's guidelines were based around logic with the full intent

of making writing structured and daily occurrence for the young writers. With that beingsaid I wanted to research this topic a little further to ensure true validation.

In the book titled "Teaching children to be literate: a reflective approach" written by

Anthony V. Manzo, and Ula Casale Manzo, the authors discuss guidelines that are very

similar to Ms. Corgill's. The text states the importance of writing on a daily basis, writing

for a purpose, and building a community. The author included two powerful and valuable

points. She mentions that children will write when they have something to write about,


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and also states that it's essential that these young writers are given the opportunities to

write about things that interest them. They also noted that writers at young ages should be

able to evaluate their own work and also accept criticism from their peers and teachers. If

children are able to identify areas of weakness and be willing to rewrite their work, the

writing process will become routine for them.

After completing my research I have a clear vision to what I need to be

implementing in my first grade classroom. I plan on utilizing many of the authors'

guidelines when I work to create the ultimate writing environment for my students. My

goal will be to incorporate writing on a daily bases, build a community that is cooperative

and supportive, while also providing my students the opportunity to write on topics of

their choice. These readings have made me look forward to implementing a more

structured and functional writing curriculum this year! If you are looking for a book that

provides ideas, examples, and resources then this is the book for you!

References:

Corgill, A. M. (2008). Of Primary Importance:What's Essential in Teaching Young Writers. Portland, Maine:

Stenhouse Publishers.

Manzo, A. V., & Manzo, U. C. (1995). Teaching children to be literate: a reflective approach. Lake Forest, CA:

Harcourt Brace & Company.

Kawana Jones: Can Readers Theater motivate my students towrite?

It has been a very daunting task trying to get my 10th

grade

students excited about writing, especially in a time of web surfing,

texting and video games. Then I happen upon Readers Theater.

Please keep this in mind that I knew of Reader‘s Theater, especially

after teaching 3rd

grade for three years but I did not have a

significant amount of knowledge on how to fully implement it

within my classroom. After attending several Readers‘ Theater

workshop I went back to my classroom armed with more thanenough literature and a plan to get my students to enjoy writing thru Reader‘s Theater.

Readers Theater is easily adaptable and can easily be used with all grades and

reading levels. In Readers Theater there is no right or wrong way to go about it. The only

requirement is that students need a script to read, whether premade or made by the students

themselves. Students are excited about every component of Readers Theater but more so by


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being able to write their own scripts. Students remain engaged and attentive throughout

whether they‘re speaking their parts or listening to their peers‘ the students are actively

engaged (Flynn 2004/2005, Moran 2006).

I decided that for my 10th

grade students it would be much better if they were allowed to

create the script themselves. When students are working in teams they are easily capable ofscripting short, simple stories no matter what reading or grade level they are perceived to be on.

My students realize that by writing their own original scripts it gave them a sense of ownership.

I notice that when students are allowed to ―own‖ their assignments they put in a lot more effort

and take great pride in their work. In the end the students are able to put on an engaging

performance that has increased student motivation, confidence and pride.

Practitioners have noticed that students even recognize their improvement and that of

their peers (Neumann, Ross and Slaboch 2008). Recent studies have shown that students‘

reading and writing enjoyment increased after the implementation of Readers Theater in the

classroom (Griffith and Rasinski 2004). In Readers Theater motivation is always a key result.

Sources:

http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/index.html

Casey , S, & Chamberlain, R. (2006). Bringing Reading Alive Through Readers' Theater.

Illinois Reading Council Journal , 4(34), 17-25.

Laurie Kemp: How can I balance helping my students todevelop comfort and love for the writing craft, while also

maintaining the principal’s expectations for using the school-

wide mandated writing program materials to help them achieve

passing scores on the state writing assessment?

I ask myself, am I training a one-trick pony? Unfortunately I’m

afraid the answer is yes. When I think of writing, especially in the

real world, I do not see one type of writing that can be plugged

into a formula. Though there is a time and a place for conforming

to a template, to really become a writer, one has to have more than

one trick in the bag. As a teacher and doctoral student, I understand the need for academic

writing. Believe me, I do enough of it on a daily basis that I think I’ve misplaced my creativity.

But this is what I’m afraid of for my students. Am I fostering a love of writing- or at least a

comfort with the craft? Or am I simply prepping them for a single test, on a single day, on a

single sheet of paper? Participation in NWP reinforced what I already know. Good writers can

do more than take a test. They practice their craft daily in all sorts of formats and genres, and

they write across all content and subject areas. Now, how can I make this happen while still

using the materials that my principal expects us to use? It’s a fragile, intricate marriage

between what I have to do and what I should do.

http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/index.htmlhttp://www.aaronshep.com/rt/index.htmlhttp://www.aaronshep.com/rt/index.html


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Perhaps the first order of business is to get back to the writer’s workshop. It makes no

difference what type of writing program or curriculum a teacher uses; it is easy to blend the

writing workshop. Ralph Fletcher and Joann Portalupi are huge proponents of the writing

workshop and between the two have written a plethora of books on the topic of writing. They

suggest that instruction using best practices will yield better results on formal tests, even

without explicit “teaching to the test,” (Fletcher and Portalupi, 2001). In the writing workshop,

students are given choices, write in different genres, and spend time in prewriting activities,

drafting their writing, revising, and editing. Creativity is encouraged, and styles, conventions,

and forms are taught through the use of mini lessons. These mini lessons are referred to by

Fletcher and Portalupi (1998, 2001) as craft lessons and are inspired by children’s literature and

nonfiction materials. Writing workshops engage the writer, and provide time for writing,

sharing, and conferencing. They emphasize the process as much as the product. Students

receive feedback from their peers and the teacher, in brief sessions that lead them to focus on

few, if not one aspect of their work at a time. However a teacher chooses, or is required to

teach writing form, the writing workshop is a great format for encouraging authorship.

Although research is limited, one study in Florida (Shelton & Fu, 2004) did indicate

comparatively higher FCAT scores in a classroom where the teacher used writing workshop.

According to Miller and Higgins (2008) students who have had authentic writing experiencesthrough the use of writing workshop, feel confident that they can be successful at any writing

task. Yes! That’s what I want for my students. Not just a passing score on the FCAT, but the

security of knowing that they can take anything that comes their way once they leave my class.

Most of all, I want them to enjoy writing.

Participants at this summer institute emphasized a lot of prompting, inspiring, and

motivating students to write. Another strategy that is easily implemented for meeting both of

my goals, complying and nurturing, is the use of multisensory and varied prompts or

“invitations” to write. For example, Fletcher (2006) encourages to teachers to look for model

texts from topics and literature that interests boys, who typically have a greater struggle with

writing. Several of the NWP participants, including myself, addressed students with morecreative or multisensory needs. In considering the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners,

Walling (2006), insists that if these students are to write well, the teacher must find ways to use

their preferred learning style. This may require varied stimuli and/or varied output. I plan to

use a lot more creative expression for pre-writing activities. No longer will students in my

classroom be limited to illustrating when they are finished writing. Instead, they will paint,

draw, taste, touch, observe, move, and listen to music as a stimulus for writing. Perhaps their

connections will be deeper, and their writing more inspired. They will surely be motivated, and

they can still complete the required prompts and activities following their sensory experiences!

Finally, I plan to use writer’s notebooks and response journals with my students. To

clarify, these two tools will not be where students will complete timed writing prompts or

premade activities from the required writing kit. The writer’s notebook will be a personal bookfor students to decorate how they wish, to jot and sketch ideas that they have, and to keep

tidbits that may inspire writing. The choice is theirs what to put in it. According to Fletcher

(1996), “A writer’s notebook is not a diary… it’s not a reading journal in which your teacher tells

you to summarize the main idea of a book, or write a letter to a chara cter.” (p.3) In other words,

I will not be telling my student what goes in their writer’s notebooks, nor will I give them an

assignment to be written in there. It will be each student’s individual treasure trove of writing.

The response journal is not an assignment notebook either. Though as the teacher I will


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provide a prompt (not in the sense of the FCAT style prompt, but in a writing stimulus), the

student will choose how to respond based on the way they feel or react to the stimulus.

I know there are ways to fit this all in. I am confident that I can be creative in my

integration of these strategies into the preexisting template I am given. I know that more

writing can be done across the content areas, and that different modes and genres can be

utilized in ways that meet the demands of the required curriculum and foster a love for writingin my students. I won’t allow them to be one-trick ponies. I want them to be word wizards who

can create magic in any way they are asked to and to go about it with great confidence and joy.

The NWP summer institute has given me my own bag of tricks and the inspiration to make it

happen!

References

Fletcher, R. (1996). A writer’s notebook : Unlocking the writer within you . NY: HarperCollins.

Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (2001). Writing workshop: The essential guide. Portsmouth, NH:

Heinemann.

Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (1998). Craft lessons: Teaching writing K-8 . York, ME: Stenhouse.

Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (2001). Nonfiction craft lessons: Teaching information writing

K-8 . Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Miller, M. & Higgins, B. (2008). Beyond test preparation: Nurturing successful learners

through reading and writing workshops. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 44(3), p. 124-127.

Shelton, N. & Fu, D. (2004). Creating space for teaching writing and for test preparation.

Language Arts, 82 (2), p.120-128.

Walling, D. R. (2006). Teaching writing to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners .

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Diane Kratt: Will embedding writing into the College of Education

undergraduate courses help the teacher candidates become teachers of writing?

Being a relatively new instructor in the College of Education, I have relied heavily

on what has been done before me when it comes to creating a course syllabus

and planning my lessons. However, as I gain a higher degree of comfort and have

experiences of my own in these courses, it makes me wonder what changes I

could bring to the survey courses I teach in order to increase the level of

effectiveness for the education students during the course and in their future

teaching assignments. Finding ways to embed various writing assignments

throughout any education course can certainly help them to become better


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writers, but will it also help them to become better teachers of writing?

It hasn’t taken me long to come to the conclusion that yes, embedding writing into my courses will indeed help the

teacher candidates to become better writing teachers. The entire NWP summer institute is an example of this. Just

by having all of us write several times a day during our institute has helped me become a better writing teacher so

how could it not do the same thing for my students?

The book I read for the institute also helped me to see the idea clearly. One of the main points I took away from

Because Writing Matters by the NWP and Carl Nagin is that it is extremely important for a teacher to believe that

writing does matter and have a love for writing themselves. I do feel this way and I want this to come across to my

students in what we do in the classroom. I also would hope that as we engage in various writing activities with

which everyone can feel success, the teacher candidates’ positive feelings towards writing also increase.

According to an article I read called “Be a better writer, be a better teacher” by Marsha Grace in the Journal of

Adolescent and Adult Literacy (Sept. 1999), people who write come to know themselves better. The author states

that becoming a person who writes is important but becoming a teacher who writes is essential. Writing is one of

the most powerful and accessible communication devices we have and it is imperative that we all engage in using

it frequently to better ourselves in whatever we do.

I certainly will be looking at my courses through a writer’s filter now and finding ways to incorporate writing during

each of our class sessions. I feel that by doing this I will be improving my own students and therefore helping to

improve the students that they will teach in the future. My hope is to turn students in the College of Education into

believers that writing matters for everyone and at every grade level and that they can all be effective teachers of

writing, no matter what content they are teaching.

Alessia Leathers

Research Question

“I’m a new teacher and learning on the job.”

Frank McCourt, The Teacher Man

How effective is it to disclose to college students our

double role of being teachers and learners?

I was a TA when I started teaching in 2007. After being a

journalist for more than two decades, it was absolutely

refreshing to try a different profession. What helped me in my new role in front of the class,

I am sure now, was the fact that I was also a student finishing my M.A. in English. So while

my students were dealing with the blank page, so was I. Or when they were trying to finish

in time their research papers, so was I. We were drinking from the same cup of coffee. So I

shared with them my vicissitudes as a student from day one. I was also concerned about

issues like how to manage my time between writing and reading. Also, how to juggle three

papers during the same weekend? How to decipher my own handwriting in my notebooks?

Yes, we were, well, how to say it, partners in crime. I was with them, not against them.


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And that is how I have been trying to keep the relationship with my students in Composition

I and II at Florida Gulf Coast University.

However, if you read carefully, I said “trying.” I frequently question myself. Should I

be open with the fact that I am in the same process of learning? Should I let them know

that I am not a walking dictionary or that I have not swallowed the Chicago Manual of

Style? Of course, these initial questions were followed by others. Should I be open aboutmy double role right at the beginning of the semester? Could this openness jeopardize my

legitimacy as a teacher? Could the discussion of this duality cause insecurity and uneasiness

among students who need a god-like figure in front of the classroom? Honestly, I have been

playing pretty much by ear these last three years. It is just now, thanks to the National

Writing Project, that I have the time to discuss my viewpoints and methodologies with other

teachers as well as start looking for answers in different books and essays written by

recognized educators.

Paulo Freire (1970) gave me the initial frame I needed to clear up my doubts. In his book

Pedagogy of the Oppressed , the Brazilian educator criticizes what he calls the “banking

concept of education” that positions students as empty vessels to be filled by the teacher.

In this vertical approach, the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing, theteacher talks and the students listen-meekly, the teacher disciplines and the students are

disciplined. In other words, the teacher is the subject of the learning process, while the

pupils are mere objects (p. 59). I felt less lonely after reading Freire‟s theory. In the open

dialogue I establish with my students, my ultimate goal is to build a community of learners

in which we identify ourselves as seekers in the thirst for knowledge. I am not the owner of

the truth. In a community we all share what we know; we all drink from the water fountain.

Even before Freire, American educator John Dewey (1859-1952) was already in favor of

recognizing the active role of students with his constructivist educational theory. So I was

not too far-fetched when I was trying to empower my students by recognizing their prior

knowledge as well as cultural and intellectual backgrounds. My students have their own

voices and I want to hear them.It is precisely my desire to fully carry out my role as a teacher that I of necessity have

to learn from them. I need to hear their needs and weaknesses, as well as their

accomplishments and strengths. As professor Carol Ann Tomlinson (2008) explains, the lack

of connection with the teacher “spells academic failure” (p. 27). Teachers in tune with their

classes should “assiduously study their students” (p. 29). It is through this learning process

that teachers are able to provide a sense of ownership to students. If the assignments and

lessons are far away from their realities, students would not be motivated to participate in

the learning community. And apathy is a recipe for failure.

Now, my role as a student goes beyond my desire to learn about them. If I want to be

a teacher who truly leaves the podium, I also need to be a student who learns with and

from them. As J. Larson and J. Marsh (2005) note in the book Making literacy real:Theories and Practices for Learning and Teaching, in the complexity of the digital era,

teachers are “co-constructors” of knowledge, since teachers must acknowledge “that

students sometimes know as much, if not more about certain things” (as cited in The

Reading Teacher , 2009). Yes, we need to share the chalk.

There are two main problems that arise when we want to assume the almighty role of

the “primary knower,” as Maren Aukerman (2006) observes in her essay “Who‟s Afraid of

the Big „Bad Answer‟”? First, students focus on matching the teacher‟s interpretation;


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Laura Link: How might teachers’ writing groups help

teachers in their classroom instruction?

My inquiry into the question: “How might teachers’ writing groups

help teachers in their classroom instruction?” focused on gaining

information from two primary sources: my National Writing

Project summer institute, and the internet.

Our NWP facilitator, Stacey Elmeer wrote: “We here at the

national writing project, if we truly believe in writing, we must

write ourselves. As teachers, we run the risk of never getting any writing done —of only ever

loving other people’s books and poems, but if we are to truly enter into the conversation, we

too must write.”

Elmeer’s insights match my own: after four weeks, our NWP group has become an intensivewriter’s community. We have practiced prewriting, writing from the senses, using knowledge of

left-brain and right-brain strengths in guiding our own and our students’ writing, writing about

nature, journaling and so much more. Nearly all of the strategies we practiced accomplished

the two goals: improving my own writing and improving how I can teach writing to my students.

As a writing and journalism teacher in high school, I already have many ideas from NWP to

bring to my lessons.

I searched the term Teacher Writing Groups on both Google and the National Writing Project

website, www.nwp.org. The internet is always either my first or second step in any type of

research, from formal inquiry to a price comparison on cameras. The following is from an article

by Anne Elrod, reprinted on the NWP site. She writes about her experiences in an e-mail writing

group comprised of three teachers.

“We all knew, too, that teachers of writing also should write. As writing project teacher-

consultants, two of us had even worked together in a writing group before, and we knew what

attentive response from a group could do for our writing. Somehow, though, it took us two

years as colleagues and friends before we figured out that we could combine all those bits of

knowledge, that the same connections that enriched our writing classrooms could enrich our

own lives, and that we could stage an exchange of our own —an online writing group just forus,” writes Anne Elrod in “Reflections on an Online Teachers Writing Group,” published in The

Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 1 , Winter 2003

In my search, I discovered a few books by writer and teacher Judy Reeves. An Amazon.com

review of her book, Writing Alone, Writing Together: A Guide for Writers and Writing Groups,

says, “This is a great resource, whether you are trying to piece together your own writing

http://www.nwp.org/http://www.nwp.org/http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/resources/voice_quarterly_issue.csp?pub=The%20Quarterly&year=2003&vol=25&num=1http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/resources/voice_quarterly_issue.csp?pub=The%20Quarterly&year=2003&vol=25&num=1http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/resources/voice_quarterly_issue.csp?pub=The%20Quarterly&year=2003&vol=25&num=1http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/resources/voice_quarterly_issue.csp?pub=The%20Quarterly&year=2003&vol=25&num=1http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/resources/voice_quarterly_issue.csp?pub=The%20Quarterly&year=2003&vol=25&num=1http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/resources/voice_quarterly_issue.csp?pub=The%20Quarterly&year=2003&vol=25&num=1http://www.nwp.org/


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group, deciding how to choose a group to join, or hoping to reinvigorate your current group.

Ms. Reeves offers plenty of practical advice, with true-to-life examples. This is a great

follow-up to her collection of writing prompts, A Writer's Book of Days, which I have used

almost daily for the past four years!”

Based on my research, I will read Judy Reeves‟ book, and I would like to begin a writer‟s

group especially for teachers. It may be based at my school or more informal with a few

friends from the NWP. Regardless, this decision is an answer to my research question in

action: teachers’ writing groups can help teachers in their classroom instruction by getting

teachers to practice their own writing.

Lee Moody: Will the application of creative/free writing in

the classroom help to strengthen the students’

factual/functional lab reports?

I teach science. As Worsley (2000), says historically science

teachers do not teach writing, because science teachers are

worried about ―stepping on the toes‖ of the Language Arts

department. This is why I have to wonder if creative writing will

help in the classroom, Knipper and Duggan (2006),

reports: ―Writing is often left out of content classrooms because

of an overemphasis on produces writing and the confusion between learning to write and writing

to learn.‖ Thus helping me to formulate my research question: If we add creative writing within

the subject area classrooms, will it help students‘ with the other factual writings that they will

have to do throughout their academic careers.

Mc Conachie, Hall, et al (2006) voice: ―To develop complex knowledge in any discipline,

students need opportunities to read, reason, investigate, speak, and write about overarching

concepts within that discipline.‖ Then Knipper & Duggan (2006) states: ―Writing to learn is an

opportunity for students to recall, clarify, and question what they know about a subject and what

they still wonder about with regard to that subject matter.‖

Writing allows the students to express what they are thinking, experiencing, reading, or just to

question things that they are wondering about; assisting them in self expressions. As you read

any student work, you know that this is the area that is really lacking. They simply do not knowhow to phrase things so that their reader understands what they are thinking. Furthermore,

writing can help to strengthen the students comfort level, their self expressions, their semantics

and their syntax. So if we research and adopt multiple ways to implement creative writing within

our classes, we should be able to see a vast improvement within their factual writing.

In reading Knipper‘s article, it is clear that adding the process of writing to learn will forge the

students‘ understanding. Benjamin (2005) sums up the research: ―When students are writing


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something in of for your class, they are processing what they are supposed to learn in your

subject. Writing is not just a demonstration of what has been learned (assessment); writing is a

means to learn (process).‖ Therefore, the application of creative writing within the classroom

will help to strengthen the students‘ factual reports.

References:

Benjamin, A. (2005). Writing in the Content Areas, 2nd

edition. Eye on Education. Larchmont,

NY.

Knipper, K. J. & T. J. Duggan (2006). ―Writing to learn across the curriculum: Tools for

comprehension in content area classes.‖ International Reading Association; Vol. 59, no. 5;

February 2006. Pages 462-470.

Mc Conachie, S.; M. Hall; L. Resnick; A. K. Ravi; V. L. Bill; J. Bintz; & J. A. Taylor. (2006)

―Task, Text, and Literacy for All Subjects.‖ Educational Leadership, October 2006. Pages 8-14.

Worsley, D, & B. Mayer (2000). The Art of Science Writing . Teacher & Writers

Collaborative. New York, NY.

Yancey, K. B. (2009). ―Writing in the 21st Century‖. National Council of Teachers of English.

Pages 1-8.

Cheryl Moss

Where does functional writing meet the

Language Arts curriculum?

To answer this question, I first went on-line to the

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards website to

look at each grade level checking for functional

writing skills. I discovered that the Language Arts

strand is broken into two major categories, Writing

Applications and Writing Process. In the Writing

Applications strand, there is a standard that is Informative. Under that

section, at every grade level, there are specific objectives for life long,

functional writing. Some examples are:

1. developing a thank you note with the teacher as a scribe in

kindergarten

2. recording information related to a topic using

observations, lists, notes, charts, and legends in third

grade

3. writing business letters and formal invitations and

designing detailed directions using cardinal and ordinal


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vocabulary, landmarks, and distances along with an

accompanying map in seventh grade

4. using primary and secondary sources accurately in report

writing; writing memos with succinct information; and

writing work-related documents such as resumes, cover

letters, applications, speaker introductions, and letters

of recommendations in eleventh and twelfth grades.

The most important thing that I saw while researching this question is that

what was expected in the lower grades shows up repeatedly throughout the rest

of the grades with higher writing expectations. Therefore, I can comfortably

say that the state of Florida includes functional writing into the standards

for students at all grade levels.

Next, I went to research articles for information from the educational

experts. Willard “Bill” Daggett, Ed D, has developed a framework for school

reform: Rigor/Relevance Framework. He believes that students have always

asked themselves the question, “Where will I ever use what I am being taught

today?” His premise is that states, school districts and teachers must focus

on providing a rigorous and relevant education that allows students to become

life-long learners, rather than spending time preparing them for a multitude

of tests. At the annual Model Schools Conference in Orlando, Florida, Dr.

Daggett spoke about his framework. It includes the following four quadrants:

Quadrant A – Acquisition – Students gather and store bits of knowledge

and information. Students are expected to remember or understand this

knowledge.

Quadrant B – Application – Students us

Documents

092310JF01 National Writing Project Anthology- 9-22-2010