What kinds of activities can be used in each core subject area classroom (Math, English language arts, Science, and Social Studies) that would not only encourage more writing but also encourage a deeper sense of critical thinking among each topic discussed in the class?
Personally, I think any activity where they imitate something is beneficial. I would like to do poetry in science or social studies. Have the students look at a book like the Math Curse, or Science Curse, and see what they could create mimicking styles like this depending on the topic that we are studying at that time.
I don't think that information really becomes interesting or relevant in student's minds until they are able to link it to something in their lives, or find something about it that is somehow unique to them. So I think tying together past, present, future, and content are very important. These include personal writing activities, allowing students to do interactive projects instead of just writing papers or filling out multiple choice worksheets. Any activities that eliminate busywork are good activities. :)
Well in my science classes that I will be teaching we will have a lab component. That is where most of the writing will be taking place. When i introduce the scientific method to my students they will be learning how to jot everything down in a specific order. When you are recording data and generating hypothesis as well as observing and taking note it isn't like normal academic writing; I'm a fan of teaching science through scientific inquiry. I pose the questions and stand back and wait for my students to "get it".
I think it is sometimes hard to incorporate subjects in classes that you wouldn't normally do that. But, doing this would change up the class a little bit and maybe get the students more interested and involved. In math, you could have the kids write poems or rhyming sentences that would help them remember equations; same for remembering terms in social studies or science. You could also have students reflect on lessons in history and write what they thought about how people in the past handled situations and what they might do differently if they were the ones in that situation. It would also be good to try and get them to relate their own experiences to what they learned that day, which might help them to remember the information better.
I think if you integrate ideas from different subjects into other subjects that would be helpful. For example Dr. Bum in one of our classes read that children's story with the animals about the Holocaust. That integrates a book (English) into a History lesson. This could then spin off into writing and deeper thinking.
Learning/practicing math through poetry is pretty amazing. My math teacher from elementary school used this technique to make solving problems more interesting and students more involved, as well as to make learning math and teaching it more enjoyable. I believe that children memorize easier something that is of their own interest rather than something that is strictly imposed by others; thus learning through playing, linking poetry to different subjects, and coming up with unusual assignments will definitely attract their attention and boost up their interest, involvement, and overall performance.
i love the idea of having students "write before they write" (30 Gallagher). What ways can a teacher have students write to prepare themselves to write? For my big research paper in high school we had to research all the quotes we wanted to use in the paper and put them on note cards and for each topic covered we had to turn in a short 1-3 page paper on what we planned to talk about before we wrote the actual research paper. I think drawing out the process of a bigger assignment into little sections over a week or two would really help students see all that goes into a well written paper. I for sure think writing along with reading should be in the classroom daily and in all subject areas, so doing small assignments of writing and reading will result in a literate student.
That sounds like a wonderful activity. It seems like a lot of time, but it also give the students an idea of how to process information and plan rather than just writing a paper the night before. What class was your paper for?
I think this is a great activity but for me personally something like this can be hard for me. I was always that student that had a hard time physically prewriting. When the idea came to me I went for it and I just loved it like that. It was hard for me to often find teachers to understand that outlines and listing wasn't always helpful for me. I t was much easier for me to jump write into the activity and then edit and revise as I went.
In a lot of my creative writing type classes, we would do a type of brainstorming that was very non-committal, and very unorganized. The goal would be to clear the pathway between the mind and the pen, ultimately. Kind of like brain yoga, I guess. Activities like she mentioned in the chapter, where she wrote a word like "Holocaust" on the board and had everyone jot down things for five minutes that they knew about it are the kinds of activities that I HATED as a student. It's like there wasn't quite enough structure for me to follow, yet not quite enough freedom, either. I think giving students more freedom is key with pre-writing. It's good for people to be able to tap into their subconscious, even when it comes to formal writing.
Prewriting has always been a bit of a struggle for me. However, one of my favorite prewriting exercises is starting off on one topic and then writing whatever comes to mind. The idea is to keep writing until your thoughts and pen start to flow easier. I think that could be a great way to get students brainstorming new ideas.
Pre-writing has always been the bane of my existence. BUT, it definitely serves an important purpose in the grand scheme of things as you write (for which ever reason that may be). We haven't seen eye to eye because i always have trouble starting. I do realize that is the point of pre-writing, to help the creative juices flow, but i have a different way of going about things. instead of taking a few moments by ourselves and free writing for a few or creating detail webs; the method of drawing. Even if you don't have any art skill, it may be easier to think of a picture in your head of what you may want to write about and as you start drawing that pictures details start flowing about what you are trying to portray in said drawing and then you're off!!
I have always been really bad at pre writing. I can never seem to figure out where I want to begin. I like the ideas that you talked about. Sounds fun and would help students with pre-writing tremendously.
The research paper was for english class and was on some super dry topic on James Joyce and i hated the entire thing except being able to litterally write a paper just by sorting flash cards of quotes into a specific order. For all of those people that hate pre-writing I wonder how you'd feel about having students start a creative paper by writing a conclusion or ending to some story then they have to piece the rest of it together later. The flash card idea could still be involved.
Why do you think kids continue to do less and less writing, both inside and outside the classroom? What are some ways teachers could incorporate writing into activities where it might not always be necessary, but could help improve their skills and add to the lesson? Also, do you have any ideas about how to encourage writing outside the classroom?
I believe that there is a constant struggle between writing and other activities in the classroom. I think that your suggestion of combining both writing and activities is reasonable and productive. I think that simple activities that are not long (i.e. 1 page or more), but short to encourage students in the classroom to briefly write. Having activities outside of the classroom connected to Twitter and Facebook can help adjust student think that writing is limited to a paper assignment and look more at every word written can be a writing activity.
I think a lot of the reason toward the decrease personally is technology. I'm not knocking it or anything but I do believe that having technology so readily at out fingertips and as advanced as it is decreases writing. If students have excessive access to media devices and music, and texting, I believe that they may forget the benefits of writing. I agree that teachers can get creative with how they teach writing and the different styles they teach which could help encourage an increase in writing.
I think students are doing less writing because they are doing less reading. I agree with Mahogany that there are soooo many distractions with modern technology that actual reading is put on the back burner. If there's a news story we want to know about, rather than reading the paper, we can turn on the television or watch a YouTube video about it. There are so many other mindless ways to entertain ourselves as a culture, that we choose those paths. If I've had a long day and just want to do nothing, and there sits in front of me a laptop (with Facebook access) or a library book I haven't started, it's instinct to flip open the laptop and completely turn my brain off. Before I had a personal laptop, I would go through a book a day, sometimes. Without reading, writing is not naturally inspired. I think, as teachers, we have to incorporate different types of writing and reading. Having students write more thought-provoking things on their social media forums, or bringing in readings they find through those same forums can really inspire positive critical thinking in students.
I think that Katelyn is right; students are doing less writing because they are reading less outside of class. Most students have so many extracurriculars going on, let alone all of their school work, that they don't have time to sit and read or write, even if they would want to. I think that teachers could have students do a prewriting activity before the lesson explaining to the teacher how much they know about the topic. That can help them practice explanation through writing and help the teacher know where the class stands on the subject.
Now a days children are moving further and further away from writing. technology innovation is to blame for this in my eyes. We have come so far from pencil to paper. I believe if a teacher can some how either make a game out of writing where every student is engaged and ready, or incorporate technology into the lesson, students would be prone to enjoy writing. Since some schools are one-to-one with technology to students you can plan a lesson on the students going around the room and taking photos, after they take the pictures and choose their best one they return to their seats to create a fiction story about it, and heres the kicker, with a pen and paper, not the ipad etc...
Yes, technology is one of the reasons, but lets look at it from the kids perspective. In schools writing and reading is represented as something you HAVE TO DO. It is not an option, and you usually do not choose what to write or when to write. Do not get me wrong, this varies from teacher to teacher, but I am mostly focusing on teachers from my country. From kids perspective, writing is something understood as responsibility rather than enjoyment and pleasure, thus kids are more likely to write only when they are told to do so (sometimes not even then :D). Free writing exercise could be a good solutions for this kind of a problem. Kids would get an opportunity to write about whatever interests them and whatever they love or like to do.
I think that just making writing more unique will disguise it for some students. For students, like myself, that don't particularly like to write a lot--i would rather just talk it out. I think for those students sending them home with some sort of research assignment that they have to respond to would be different. For example "Find out the pro's and con's of the new apple iphone." This assignment can be written in different formats--paragraph, bullet points, product testers journal, etc. Homework assignments that aren't standard and might not have much to do with a school topic will keep students interested. You could have students write about some sports game they watched on tv or on a store that they like to shop at.
I noticed that Gallagher tended to divide writing warm up exercises into two categories: Free writing or giving the students a prompt. Which strategy would you implement in your classroom and why?
I would most likely prefer to implement exercises towards giving students a prompt. From personal experience in the classroom, I have a hard time consistently thinking of new topics to write about on my own. Having a prompt immensely helps me and I would not want to stress any of my students out by requiring them to always think of their own prompts to write along with writing the assignment.
I think both have a place and both styles are useful. Personally there are times when I really need a prompt and other times I wish my teacher would have just let me write freely. Honestly I'm not opposed to offering both like we did when it came to having the choice to follow the format for the Where I'm From poem or not to.
I think it really depends on the time and place. In the chapter, I think both were utilized very purposefully and in positive ways. There definitely has to be balance in things; if teachers allow students to be too "free" all of the time with their writing, then they won't be prepared for the structure of college writing. On the other hand, without any free writing, students can really lose interest in writing.
Free writing just for a general day's warm up and specialized prompts for when you take on certain subjects. I.e. racism when reading, "To Kill a Mockingbird".
I think I would use both sometimes. I would use free writing for things like journal writing or assignments with less criteria. I think I would use prompts more often because I would want to see what they thought about certain issues. I also think it could be a mixture of both because I could give them a couple prompt choices and allow them to choose which one or how they wanted to answer.
I think I would do both. I think I would give students the opportunity to write about what ever they would like (since some students may need to vent through writing), but then give students a prompt as well. For me, I like structure, so having a specific topic to write about in the beginning of class might help get the writing juices flowing!
I love the prompts that Dr. Bum does with different videos and responses each class. There is a lot of material out there for this. You can use magazine ads, commercials, movie trailers, and just pictures. I know that i like to have a little bit of structure when writing, i hate to be told to just write anything or anything about one subject. I need more of a question to respond to. Although if my students seem to really get the hang of prompt responding, then i might transition more into a free write to give them another skill.
What are different types of daily in-class writing activities one could incorporate into a classroom, that won't seem mundane or redundant to the students? How can I incorporate things that interest them into these in-class assignments, such as music, social media, etc.?
I think that anything interactive is a great way to get student excited and focused on a new assignment. Using pop-culture references in order to have the students write about what they would do in a certain situation or maybe just using a popular music video to engage the students in a new topic for the day (as long as it was age appropriate). I think that both music and social media are constantly changing and can always provide new topics for the class to discuss and write about to help them get excited about writing.
I think activities that would get students interested would include anything involving social media, videos, music, etc. Everyone gets excited when they get to watch a video in class or get to write about something they are interested in. It would help them to practice their writing and maybe help them to enjoy writing more as well.
Just like in all of Dr. Bum's classes, I think warm ups would be a great way to get students writing. The warm up doesn't even have to connect to the rest of the lesson, it can be random. As long as students write in those first few minutes, I think anything could be the subject of the warm up.
Yesss Megan, warm ups! Motivating videos, songs, games..., whatever comes to your mind. Dr. Bum's warm ups are an amazing example of how to start the class and let students express they thoughts, ideas, and emotions. :)
I have seen had to do warm-ups before Dr. Bum's class and I have observed other teachers doing them as well and this is what I noticed. The warm-ups that are the most successful are the ones that are engaging. If the warm-up is just some question written on the board then the students do not become excited or really show much enthusiasm about completing it. However, if the warm-up is fun and engaging (like Dr. Bum's warm-ups) then it gets the students ready to learn and excited for class.
So, I just read this quote in a fiction book I'm reading...
"i have no idea why anyone would want to become a teacher. i mean, you have to spend the day with a group of kids who either hate your guts or are kissing up to you to get a good grade. that has to get to you after a while, being surrounded by people who will never like you for any real reason... and they honestly think we're going to remember a thing they say to us after final exams are over. right."
Ah! As a future teacher (and total nerd who loved school), this is horrifying! I know it's fiction, but it occurred to me that perhaps this is a real mentality in students! So to tie it in to our reading... Having this quote in mind, what portions/ideas in this chapter negate that attitude? What can be utilized in that chapter to defend ourselves as teachers against that kind of negativity? How do we use writing and reading (using resources from the chapter) to plant seeds of non-teacher-hatred into students?
We plant those seeds by showing that reading and writing is a necessity for whatever career you choose. We make everyone see the practical aspect of communication arts, because not everyone loves it like we do.
Gallagher mentions a writer's notebook that is used in the classroom that is required by all students to maintain? Do you like this idea? Do you think the organization of the notebook would be overall beneficial for students who do not like to write or would it make their unease worse?
I really like the idea of a writer's notebook. It actually reminds me of the book that Dr. Bum read aloud to us in Children's Lit, Sharon Creech's Love That Dog. The character was really hesitant at first to write in a journal, but after a while he grew much more comfortable and was able to express his thoughts through writing which is what we as teachers want for our students.
When I was in middle school, we had something like a writers notebook that would stay with us in class. I was the same way in regards to not being "into" writing all the time. Writers notebook activities got better and better as the year went on and I did feel more at ease eventually after I got my feet wet enough. Once I captured my flow, it was over and I was enjoying writing (for the time being haha).
I think a writers notebook can be very helpful to a student who is trying to discover writing. It is always there to use and develop skills. Little assignments here and there, if the right topics, will only help the student enjoy writing more I think.
I'm someone who doesn't really enjoy writing and I always liked having a writers notebook in school. It allows students to have some structure if they need it, and I think it would encourage them to write.
I love a writers notebook, but i think i might make it more of a binder so that students can have different sections for different types of writing. Students can also look back at a certain type of writing if they forget how to do it or all of the pieces. It would become a sort of resource book. I have seen lots of different ideas of how to use a writers notebook online. There are different times to use it and it can also be used in different subject areas. For example there would be one section for scientific writings like the labs that Justin mentioned earlier, there would also be a math section for students to write out instructions for how to do some math function. This notebook could go everywhere with them.
Being an athlete and understanding how much preparation goes into each weeks game is essential. Practice makes perfect and I believe that in order to be a successful writer we need to take a page out of the "athletes'" playbook. "It would be crazy to just ask my players to show up for their game Friday night without first giving them a place to practice, and a lot of time to develop their skills" (Gallagher 31).
So I guess my question is: How do you feel about drawing a comparison between sport performance and writing performance? Are they really that closely nit?
Generally speaking, when someone wants/needs to be good at something, practice is required. So, in the necessity of practice I would say writing and athletics are linked.
I think this is a really good reference. Improving sports skills and improving academic skills can go hand in hand because each requires practice to get better. Coaches and teachers are also similar because they help students and players learn. I think making references like this in class would be helpful for students who might not like writing to understand. If they enjoy sports and you relate it to sports, they might be able to relate through their experiences and pay attention when they usually might not.
I think it is a great analogy for the skill of writing. Students cannot hope to improve in their skills in whatever they are doing, sports, music, writing, etc, unless they practice them every single day. I also agree with Krista that this could be a great way to explain to students who don't like to write why they are writing so often in the classroom.
I agree with this comparison. For anything that you want to excel in, you must first put in the time and practice it. In this case, yes sports and writing do go hand in hand.
Writing is another one of those skills in life that is not innate, but must be practiced often to keep maintained. It is not that hard to draw comparisons between playing a sport and writing because they both require practice and need constant maintenance in order to be at peak performance.
This quote intrigued me, "American education will never realize its potential as an engine of opportunity and economic growth until a writing revolution puts the power of language and communication in their proper place in the classroom," (30). Do you fellow future teachers really buy this quote? I'm not trying to undermine what we're planning on doing as teachers, but there are already a ton of studies linking higher economic status with education.
Gallagher points out that students spend less than 15% of their school time writing. I took the ACT without taking the writing portion, since it is now optional to take the writing portion when you take the ACT. If important things, such as the ACT, are doing away with writing, along with the dwindling percentage in time spent writing in school, how can teachers incorporate more meaningful and relevant writing into their classrooms?
I think if we allow are students to do some time of enjoyable writing each day, they will want to write more. Whether it is giving them more creative projects with less structure or having them free write during a warm up each day, it is important to write every single day.
I agree with Megan. Writing is something you cannot force onto kids; especially when it comes to the topic they are not interested in. Free writing is something all teachers should keep in mind because not every kid can easily express. Giving kids some freedom while writing will definitely encourage them. Free writing is, I believe, the best way to keep kids practicing and improving their writing skills on the topic they personally want to write about.
In order to keep writing both meaningful and relevant to students can be achieved through giving students choices when it comes to writing. It is often easier to write about something a student cares about and allowing the freedom to choose a topic when writing essays ties both meaning and relevance into the lesson. It showcases how to write essays which is important for those students who want to continue their education or continue to write and it is not boring because the student picked the topic, therefore it has meaning to him/her.
I noticed one of the large headings titled, "Writers need to Write Before they Write" and it caught my eye. When I read this I instantly thought of pre-writing. I had few teachers in middle/high school who allowed us time in class to pre-write and brainstorm. In the classrooms where I was given the opportunity to free write, I always seemed to enjoy writing more. I think because I was allowed to just kind of write and get my words flowing, it was easier for me to write. So my question for the class is how will you allow your students to pre-write? Will you give them time to write freely about anything? Will you give them a chance to brainstorm in groups? Were you all able to benefit like I was from prewriting?
I plan to allow time for my students to free write and brainstorm because I think it is an important part of the writing process. Sometimes just thinking creatively can spark ideas for stories or paper topics. I know I benefited from having that freedom to write what I waned and brainstorming before actually writing anything because it is like stretching before going on a run. It allows the mind to be in the right place for when it is time to write and overall a fun and easy way to get students ready to write.
I believe that students need to discover a focus, what they care about, what they know, what they still need to find out, what they agree or disagree with, and how prior knowledge connects to new knowledge before they start writing. Gallagher also says: "Writers Need to Write Before They Write". Do you agree with this statement? Do you think that coaching students to play and plan is a good technique in figuring out what they want to say before they start writing?
What kinds of activities can be used in each core subject area classroom (Math, English language arts, Science, and Social Studies) that would not only encourage more writing but also encourage a deeper sense of critical thinking among each topic discussed in the class?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think any activity where they imitate something is beneficial. I would like to do poetry in science or social studies. Have the students look at a book like the Math Curse, or Science Curse, and see what they could create mimicking styles like this depending on the topic that we are studying at that time.
DeleteI don't think that information really becomes interesting or relevant in student's minds until they are able to link it to something in their lives, or find something about it that is somehow unique to them. So I think tying together past, present, future, and content are very important. These include personal writing activities, allowing students to do interactive projects instead of just writing papers or filling out multiple choice worksheets. Any activities that eliminate busywork are good activities. :)
DeleteWell in my science classes that I will be teaching we will have a lab component. That is where most of the writing will be taking place. When i introduce the scientific method to my students they will be learning how to jot everything down in a specific order. When you are recording data and generating hypothesis as well as observing and taking note it isn't like normal academic writing; I'm a fan of teaching science through scientific inquiry. I pose the questions and stand back and wait for my students to "get it".
DeleteI think it is sometimes hard to incorporate subjects in classes that you wouldn't normally do that. But, doing this would change up the class a little bit and maybe get the students more interested and involved. In math, you could have the kids write poems or rhyming sentences that would help them remember equations; same for remembering terms in social studies or science. You could also have students reflect on lessons in history and write what they thought about how people in the past handled situations and what they might do differently if they were the ones in that situation. It would also be good to try and get them to relate their own experiences to what they learned that day, which might help them to remember the information better.
DeleteI think if you integrate ideas from different subjects into other subjects that would be helpful. For example Dr. Bum in one of our classes read that children's story with the animals about the Holocaust. That integrates a book (English) into a History lesson. This could then spin off into writing and deeper thinking.
DeleteLearning/practicing math through poetry is pretty amazing. My math teacher from elementary school used this technique to make solving problems more interesting and students more involved, as well as to make learning math and teaching it more enjoyable.
DeleteI believe that children memorize easier something that is of their own interest rather than something that is strictly imposed by others; thus learning through playing, linking poetry to different subjects, and coming up with unusual assignments will definitely attract their attention and boost up their interest, involvement, and overall performance.
i love the idea of having students "write before they write" (30 Gallagher). What ways can a teacher have students write to prepare themselves to write? For my big research paper in high school we had to research all the quotes we wanted to use in the paper and put them on note cards and for each topic covered we had to turn in a short 1-3 page paper on what we planned to talk about before we wrote the actual research paper. I think drawing out the process of a bigger assignment into little sections over a week or two would really help students see all that goes into a well written paper.
ReplyDeleteI for sure think writing along with reading should be in the classroom daily and in all subject areas, so doing small assignments of writing and reading will result in a literate student.
That sounds like a wonderful activity. It seems like a lot of time, but it also give the students an idea of how to process information and plan rather than just writing a paper the night before. What class was your paper for?
DeleteI think this is a great activity but for me personally something like this can be hard for me. I was always that student that had a hard time physically prewriting. When the idea came to me I went for it and I just loved it like that. It was hard for me to often find teachers to understand that outlines and listing wasn't always helpful for me. I t was much easier for me to jump write into the activity and then edit and revise as I went.
DeleteIn a lot of my creative writing type classes, we would do a type of brainstorming that was very non-committal, and very unorganized. The goal would be to clear the pathway between the mind and the pen, ultimately. Kind of like brain yoga, I guess. Activities like she mentioned in the chapter, where she wrote a word like "Holocaust" on the board and had everyone jot down things for five minutes that they knew about it are the kinds of activities that I HATED as a student. It's like there wasn't quite enough structure for me to follow, yet not quite enough freedom, either. I think giving students more freedom is key with pre-writing. It's good for people to be able to tap into their subconscious, even when it comes to formal writing.
DeletePrewriting has always been a bit of a struggle for me. However, one of my favorite prewriting exercises is starting off on one topic and then writing whatever comes to mind. The idea is to keep writing until your thoughts and pen start to flow easier. I think that could be a great way to get students brainstorming new ideas.
DeletePre-writing has always been the bane of my existence. BUT, it definitely serves an important purpose in the grand scheme of things as you write (for which ever reason that may be). We haven't seen eye to eye because i always have trouble starting. I do realize that is the point of pre-writing, to help the creative juices flow, but i have a different way of going about things. instead of taking a few moments by ourselves and free writing for a few or creating detail webs; the method of drawing. Even if you don't have any art skill, it may be easier to think of a picture in your head of what you may want to write about and as you start drawing that pictures details start flowing about what you are trying to portray in said drawing and then you're off!!
DeleteI have always been really bad at pre writing. I can never seem to figure out where I want to begin. I like the ideas that you talked about. Sounds fun and would help students with pre-writing tremendously.
DeleteThe research paper was for english class and was on some super dry topic on James Joyce and i hated the entire thing except being able to litterally write a paper just by sorting flash cards of quotes into a specific order.
DeleteFor all of those people that hate pre-writing I wonder how you'd feel about having students start a creative paper by writing a conclusion or ending to some story then they have to piece the rest of it together later. The flash card idea could still be involved.
Why do you think kids continue to do less and less writing, both inside and outside the classroom? What are some ways teachers could incorporate writing into activities where it might not always be necessary, but could help improve their skills and add to the lesson? Also, do you have any ideas about how to encourage writing outside the classroom?
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is a constant struggle between writing and other activities in the classroom. I think that your suggestion of combining both writing and activities is reasonable and productive. I think that simple activities that are not long (i.e. 1 page or more), but short to encourage students in the classroom to briefly write. Having activities outside of the classroom connected to Twitter and Facebook can help adjust student think that writing is limited to a paper assignment and look more at every word written can be a writing activity.
DeleteI think a lot of the reason toward the decrease personally is technology. I'm not knocking it or anything but I do believe that having technology so readily at out fingertips and as advanced as it is decreases writing. If students have excessive access to media devices and music, and texting, I believe that they may forget the benefits of writing. I agree that teachers can get creative with how they teach writing and the different styles they teach which could help encourage an increase in writing.
DeleteI think students are doing less writing because they are doing less reading. I agree with Mahogany that there are soooo many distractions with modern technology that actual reading is put on the back burner. If there's a news story we want to know about, rather than reading the paper, we can turn on the television or watch a YouTube video about it. There are so many other mindless ways to entertain ourselves as a culture, that we choose those paths. If I've had a long day and just want to do nothing, and there sits in front of me a laptop (with Facebook access) or a library book I haven't started, it's instinct to flip open the laptop and completely turn my brain off. Before I had a personal laptop, I would go through a book a day, sometimes. Without reading, writing is not naturally inspired. I think, as teachers, we have to incorporate different types of writing and reading. Having students write more thought-provoking things on their social media forums, or bringing in readings they find through those same forums can really inspire positive critical thinking in students.
DeleteI think that Katelyn is right; students are doing less writing because they are reading less outside of class. Most students have so many extracurriculars going on, let alone all of their school work, that they don't have time to sit and read or write, even if they would want to. I think that teachers could have students do a prewriting activity before the lesson explaining to the teacher how much they know about the topic. That can help them practice explanation through writing and help the teacher know where the class stands on the subject.
DeleteNow a days children are moving further and further away from writing. technology innovation is to blame for this in my eyes. We have come so far from pencil to paper. I believe if a teacher can some how either make a game out of writing where every student is engaged and ready, or incorporate technology into the lesson, students would be prone to enjoy writing. Since some schools are one-to-one with technology to students you can plan a lesson on the students going around the room and taking photos, after they take the pictures and choose their best one they return to their seats to create a fiction story about it, and heres the kicker, with a pen and paper, not the ipad etc...
DeleteYes, technology is one of the reasons, but lets look at it from the kids perspective. In schools writing and reading is represented as something you HAVE TO DO. It is not an option, and you usually do not choose what to write or when to write. Do not get me wrong, this varies from teacher to teacher, but I am mostly focusing on teachers from my country. From kids perspective, writing is something understood as responsibility rather than enjoyment and pleasure, thus kids are more likely to write only when they are told to do so (sometimes not even then :D). Free writing exercise could be a good solutions for this kind of a problem. Kids would get an opportunity to write about whatever interests them and whatever they love or like to do.
DeleteI think that just making writing more unique will disguise it for some students. For students, like myself, that don't particularly like to write a lot--i would rather just talk it out. I think for those students sending them home with some sort of research assignment that they have to respond to would be different. For example "Find out the pro's and con's of the new apple iphone." This assignment can be written in different formats--paragraph, bullet points, product testers journal, etc. Homework assignments that aren't standard and might not have much to do with a school topic will keep students interested. You could have students write about some sports game they watched on tv or on a store that they like to shop at.
DeleteI noticed that Gallagher tended to divide writing warm up exercises into two categories: Free writing or giving the students a prompt. Which strategy would you implement in your classroom and why?
ReplyDeleteI would most likely prefer to implement exercises towards giving students a prompt. From personal experience in the classroom, I have a hard time consistently thinking of new topics to write about on my own. Having a prompt immensely helps me and I would not want to stress any of my students out by requiring them to always think of their own prompts to write along with writing the assignment.
DeleteI think both have a place and both styles are useful. Personally there are times when I really need a prompt and other times I wish my teacher would have just let me write freely. Honestly I'm not opposed to offering both like we did when it came to having the choice to follow the format for the Where I'm From poem or not to.
DeleteI think it really depends on the time and place. In the chapter, I think both were utilized very purposefully and in positive ways. There definitely has to be balance in things; if teachers allow students to be too "free" all of the time with their writing, then they won't be prepared for the structure of college writing. On the other hand, without any free writing, students can really lose interest in writing.
DeleteFree writing just for a general day's warm up and specialized prompts for when you take on certain subjects. I.e. racism when reading, "To Kill a Mockingbird".
DeleteI think I would use both sometimes. I would use free writing for things like journal writing or assignments with less criteria. I think I would use prompts more often because I would want to see what they thought about certain issues. I also think it could be a mixture of both because I could give them a couple prompt choices and allow them to choose which one or how they wanted to answer.
DeleteI think I would do both. I think I would give students the opportunity to write about what ever they would like (since some students may need to vent through writing), but then give students a prompt as well. For me, I like structure, so having a specific topic to write about in the beginning of class might help get the writing juices flowing!
DeleteI love the prompts that Dr. Bum does with different videos and responses each class. There is a lot of material out there for this. You can use magazine ads, commercials, movie trailers, and just pictures.
DeleteI know that i like to have a little bit of structure when writing, i hate to be told to just write anything or anything about one subject. I need more of a question to respond to. Although if my students seem to really get the hang of prompt responding, then i might transition more into a free write to give them another skill.
What are different types of daily in-class writing activities one could incorporate into a classroom, that won't seem mundane or redundant to the students? How can I incorporate things that interest them into these in-class assignments, such as music, social media, etc.?
ReplyDeleteI think that anything interactive is a great way to get student excited and focused on a new assignment. Using pop-culture references in order to have the students write about what they would do in a certain situation or maybe just using a popular music video to engage the students in a new topic for the day (as long as it was age appropriate). I think that both music and social media are constantly changing and can always provide new topics for the class to discuss and write about to help them get excited about writing.
DeleteI think activities that would get students interested would include anything involving social media, videos, music, etc. Everyone gets excited when they get to watch a video in class or get to write about something they are interested in. It would help them to practice their writing and maybe help them to enjoy writing more as well.
DeleteJust like in all of Dr. Bum's classes, I think warm ups would be a great way to get students writing. The warm up doesn't even have to connect to the rest of the lesson, it can be random. As long as students write in those first few minutes, I think anything could be the subject of the warm up.
DeleteYesss Megan, warm ups! Motivating videos, songs, games..., whatever comes to your mind. Dr. Bum's warm ups are an amazing example of how to start the class and let students express they thoughts, ideas, and emotions. :)
DeleteI have seen had to do warm-ups before Dr. Bum's class and I have observed other teachers doing them as well and this is what I noticed. The warm-ups that are the most successful are the ones that are engaging. If the warm-up is just some question written on the board then the students do not become excited or really show much enthusiasm about completing it. However, if the warm-up is fun and engaging (like Dr. Bum's warm-ups) then it gets the students ready to learn and excited for class.
DeleteSo, I just read this quote in a fiction book I'm reading...
ReplyDelete"i have no idea why anyone would want to become a teacher. i mean, you have to spend the day with a group of kids who either hate your guts or are kissing up to you to get a good grade. that has to get to you after a while, being surrounded by people who will never like you for any real reason... and they honestly think we're going to remember a thing they say to us after final exams are over. right."
Ah! As a future teacher (and total nerd who loved school), this is horrifying! I know it's fiction, but it occurred to me that perhaps this is a real mentality in students! So to tie it in to our reading... Having this quote in mind, what portions/ideas in this chapter negate that attitude? What can be utilized in that chapter to defend ourselves as teachers against that kind of negativity? How do we use writing and reading (using resources from the chapter) to plant seeds of non-teacher-hatred into students?
We plant those seeds by showing that reading and writing is a necessity for whatever career you choose. We make everyone see the practical aspect of communication arts, because not everyone loves it like we do.
DeleteGallagher mentions a writer's notebook that is used in the classroom that is required by all students to maintain? Do you like this idea? Do you think the organization of the notebook would be overall beneficial for students who do not like to write or would it make their unease worse?
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of a writer's notebook. It actually reminds me of the book that Dr. Bum read aloud to us in Children's Lit, Sharon Creech's Love That Dog. The character was really hesitant at first to write in a journal, but after a while he grew much more comfortable and was able to express his thoughts through writing which is what we as teachers want for our students.
DeleteWhen I was in middle school, we had something like a writers notebook that would stay with us in class. I was the same way in regards to not being "into" writing all the time. Writers notebook activities got better and better as the year went on and I did feel more at ease eventually after I got my feet wet enough. Once I captured my flow, it was over and I was enjoying writing (for the time being haha).
DeleteI think a writers notebook can be very helpful to a student who is trying to discover writing. It is always there to use and develop skills. Little assignments here and there, if the right topics, will only help the student enjoy writing more I think.
DeleteI'm someone who doesn't really enjoy writing and I always liked having a writers notebook in school. It allows students to have some structure if they need it, and I think it would encourage them to write.
DeleteI love a writers notebook, but i think i might make it more of a binder so that students can have different sections for different types of writing. Students can also look back at a certain type of writing if they forget how to do it or all of the pieces. It would become a sort of resource book. I have seen lots of different ideas of how to use a writers notebook online. There are different times to use it and it can also be used in different subject areas. For example there would be one section for scientific writings like the labs that Justin mentioned earlier, there would also be a math section for students to write out instructions for how to do some math function. This notebook could go everywhere with them.
DeleteBeing an athlete and understanding how much preparation goes into each weeks game is essential. Practice makes perfect and I believe that in order to be a successful writer we need to take a page out of the "athletes'" playbook. "It would be crazy to just ask my players to show up for their game Friday night without first giving them a place to practice, and a lot of time to develop their skills" (Gallagher 31).
ReplyDeleteSo I guess my question is: How do you feel about drawing a comparison between sport performance and writing performance? Are they really that closely nit?
Generally speaking, when someone wants/needs to be good at something, practice is required. So, in the necessity of practice I would say writing and athletics are linked.
DeleteI think this is a really good reference. Improving sports skills and improving academic skills can go hand in hand because each requires practice to get better. Coaches and teachers are also similar because they help students and players learn. I think making references like this in class would be helpful for students who might not like writing to understand. If they enjoy sports and you relate it to sports, they might be able to relate through their experiences and pay attention when they usually might not.
DeleteI think it is a great analogy for the skill of writing. Students cannot hope to improve in their skills in whatever they are doing, sports, music, writing, etc, unless they practice them every single day. I also agree with Krista that this could be a great way to explain to students who don't like to write why they are writing so often in the classroom.
DeleteI agree with this comparison. For anything that you want to excel in, you must first put in the time and practice it. In this case, yes sports and writing do go hand in hand.
DeleteWriting is another one of those skills in life that is not innate, but must be practiced often to keep maintained. It is not that hard to draw comparisons between playing a sport and writing because they both require practice and need constant maintenance in order to be at peak performance.
DeleteThis quote intrigued me, "American education will never realize its potential as an engine of opportunity and economic growth until a writing revolution puts the power of language and communication in their proper place in the classroom," (30). Do you fellow future teachers really buy this quote? I'm not trying to undermine what we're planning on doing as teachers, but there are already a ton of studies linking higher economic status with education.
ReplyDeleteGallagher points out that students spend less than 15% of their school time writing. I took the ACT without taking the writing portion, since it is now optional to take the writing portion when you take the ACT. If important things, such as the ACT, are doing away with writing, along with the dwindling percentage in time spent writing in school, how can teachers incorporate more meaningful and relevant writing into their classrooms?
ReplyDeleteI think if we allow are students to do some time of enjoyable writing each day, they will want to write more. Whether it is giving them more creative projects with less structure or having them free write during a warm up each day, it is important to write every single day.
DeleteI agree with Megan. Writing is something you cannot force onto kids; especially when it comes to the topic they are not interested in. Free writing is something all teachers should keep in mind because not every kid can easily express. Giving kids some freedom while writing will definitely encourage them. Free writing is, I believe, the best way to keep kids practicing and improving their writing skills on the topic they personally want to write about.
DeleteIn order to keep writing both meaningful and relevant to students can be achieved through giving students choices when it comes to writing. It is often easier to write about something a student cares about and allowing the freedom to choose a topic when writing essays ties both meaning and relevance into the lesson. It showcases how to write essays which is important for those students who want to continue their education or continue to write and it is not boring because the student picked the topic, therefore it has meaning to him/her.
DeleteI noticed one of the large headings titled, "Writers need to Write Before they Write" and it caught my eye. When I read this I instantly thought of pre-writing. I had few teachers in middle/high school who allowed us time in class to pre-write and brainstorm. In the classrooms where I was given the opportunity to free write, I always seemed to enjoy writing more. I think because I was allowed to just kind of write and get my words flowing, it was easier for me to write. So my question for the class is how will you allow your students to pre-write? Will you give them time to write freely about anything? Will you give them a chance to brainstorm in groups? Were you all able to benefit like I was from prewriting?
ReplyDeleteI plan to allow time for my students to free write and brainstorm because I think it is an important part of the writing process. Sometimes just thinking creatively can spark ideas for stories or paper topics. I know I benefited from having that freedom to write what I waned and brainstorming before actually writing anything because it is like stretching before going on a run. It allows the mind to be in the right place for when it is time to write and overall a fun and easy way to get students ready to write.
DeleteI believe that students need to discover a focus, what they care about, what they know, what they still need to find out, what they agree or disagree with, and how prior knowledge connects to new knowledge before they start writing. Gallagher also says: "Writers Need to Write Before They Write". Do you agree with this statement? Do you think that coaching students to play and plan is a good technique in figuring out what they want to say before they start writing?
ReplyDeleteYES, I agree that we need to teach students to play and plan, but especially play, because otherewise they think writing is boring and so is school.
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