As Professor James Nahachewsky suggests, to effectively teach you must explicitly identify and share with the students the goals and objectives of the writing activities which include the process of the writing and the end product (class discussion, Oct. 12, 2010). For me, this is an important factor that I will utilize in developing an effective classroom. I will clearly state goals and objectives of writing activities and have them displayed for students to refer to. This will help them in peer and personal assessment and help them build on the development of their work as they complete the writing processes. I will also provide a marking rubric or developmental scheme so they have something to reflect upon and use as an aid if they feel lost in a process. “If you build it, many of your students will come” (class discussion, Nahachewsky, Oct.5, 2010).
In order to follow the true development of students writing there must be consistency in the steps and in the process of writing that is provided and visible to them. Also equally important is to provide mini-lessons throughout the process on ELA elements that students may be inquiring about or having trouble with. As discussed in class and in the textbook, the five stages of writing are an enriching process that provides structure that assists in knowledge development and metacognitive thinking while offering the freedom for meaningful learning that will enhance communication abilities.
The first stage is the Pre-Writing stage. In class we discussed that this stage can take up 70% of the time and provides a space for students to brainstorm a topic, gather and organize ideas, identify audience and identify writing purpose. As a teacher I can support my students by suggesting a spider web, talking and discussing with peers and drawing pictures and constructing idea webs as idea generators and organizational tools. According to Nahachewsky also provide examples with discussion in order to engage the students thinking on the particular area, to provide inspiration and ideas and to exemplify the goals and objectives (class discussion Oct.5, 2010). In “Love that Dog,” Jack starts out as a reluctant poetry writer believing that only girls write poetry. His teacher encourages his participation and supports the development of his attitude and skills by allowing him to select topics that are meaningful to him. The teacher also brought in a variety of poetry examples and a speaker. As noted in Jacks personal journal entries, “I really really really did NOT get the pasture poem you read today” (Creech, 2002, p.20) she also engages the class in discussion about them. By creating journal usage Jack’s teacher helps maintain organization as all of their preliminary work and final work are together in one book. This also makes things more organized for when she needs to assess their work. She corresponds with them in their journals and offers an organized way of offering ideas and feedback. It appears Jacks teacher also offers a structurally well-organized writing classroom. There is an in-class library area, bulletin board for their work, computer area, place for them to write in their journals and possibly a reading area for the poems and speaker.
The second stage is the Drafting stage. Students write a rough draft and the emphasis is placed on the content rather than the mechanics of writing. As suggested in class, as a teacher I can model the behaviour by demonstrating another example (possibly my own work), that is rough, imperfect and unfinished. I will then follow this with a class discussion on where it could go next, additions that could be made and reflect on whether it has followed the stages of writing etc. In Casey and Hemenway’s article, Paige’s class was set up in writing groups that assisted each other. They were further supported by mini lessons, teacher feedback, reachable expectations and sufficient time. This also allowed “students to teach themselves to write by trial, error, hard work and persistence” (Casey & Hemenway, 2001, p. 69). The authors argue that these students were thus able to develop a personal understanding of the writing process.
The third stage is the Revising stage. Students share their writing with peers and teachers in individual conversations, group discussion or in manners such as the author’s chair. As a teacher I will also encourage them to discuss with friends and family outside of the class. Here students make changes and reflect on reactions and between first and final draft students should make substantial changes to their work. As highlighted in Paige’s sixth grade interview, without proper explanation, activity variety, guidance, encouragement, challenge and adequate time during this stage, students can miss the benefits of this stage, loose their motivation, fail to conduct proper research or reflective thinking, fail to conduct metacognitive thinking and thereby creating students “who once wrote to please themselves were now churning out lifeless, largely unrevised writing to please their apparently easily-pleased teacher” (Casey & Hemenway, 2001, p. 70). This example highlights the importance of achieving support throughout the entire writing process as well as providing variety in the activities. Incorporating and supporting students through personal, imaginative and informational writing processes is an important factor to me in developing an effective and balanced classroom. In order to maintain interest, meet diverse needs and encourage growth, I aspire to create writing process guidelines for each that are visible as well as provide students with the opportunity for choice.
The fourth stage is the Editing stage. Students proofread their own work and help with others work. Students progressively identify and correct their own work. Emphasis is on writing skills, correcting grammar and utilizing new and advanced vocabulary. Mini lessons, vocabulary sheets, dictionaries and grammar explanation can be provided to deter repeated mistakes. Page was upset that her teacher only corrected her spelling, punctuation, and grammar but didn’t write any comments on her essays. This is important to also provide students with in order to properly scaffold them through understanding grammar techniques and word usage instead of simply marking up their paper. Students who are creative and critical and analytical thinkers yearn to understand their errors or why adjustments need to be made. Writing is also a time to be spent on improving grammar and writing techniques. This also highlights why drafting and editing require their own individual stages.
The fifth and final stage is the Publishing stage. Here students publish their work in an appropriate form as designed by teacher and/or class. As discussed in class, students must share their work with an appropriate audience and the more opportunity to share their work the more reward there will be for most students for their hard work. Displaying their work provides the opportunity for peer evaluation and discussion which ultimately provides peer and community feedback that can further increase their confidence and ideas/opportunities for building on their skills and abilities. The ability to learn from each other seems to be a cross discipline approach to learning and displaying can be just as rewarding for group as it is for individual work. Pages’ grade three class was an example of an engaged writing classroom. The students were having fun together while working hard towards perfecting a class book. This allowed for both individual and group work, provided multiple audiences for conferencing and feedback and kept the students engaged with going through each process together. As stated by Nahachewsky, when you provide them with an audience that isn’t solely the teacher, students will have purpose to broaden their writing to other audiences. This provides authenticity to their writing (class discussion Oct.12,2010). In “Love that Dog,” Jack’s teacher also allows him the choice on what to publish. “I guess it does look like a poem when you see it typed up like that.” (Creech, 2002, p. 18). “I guess you can put it on the board if you want to but don’t put my name on it in case other people think it’s not a poem” (Creech, 2002, p. 16). Later apparent is Jacks own progression, and he allows the teacher to post his poem “My Sky,” on the board and includes his name with it.
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