Maxmom’s Weblog

Yea!  I modeled writing for my students three days last week!  My students do journal twice a week and we have a writing block – of one kind or another J – everyday.  Much of the class is training the students to think about their writing through Empowering Writers and preparing for the writing test.  Our “journaling” is quite different from what we have read about and discussed in our RE5130 class.  I am excited to learn new strategies and ideas.

Best Practices in Promoting Motivation for Writing –  chapter 10 and

 “Children Can Write Authentically If We Help Them”

In this age of TESTING, time is a factor.  We spend our writing time writing to prompts, preparing for testing.  This is not how I want to teach, but how I’ve have been “programmed”.  J  Between paragraph editing and teaching story plans and personal and imaginative narratives, other types of writing – “real life” writing generally goes unwritten.  On Mondays my students journal and draw about their weekend; on Fridays they write about their week in second grade.  I do read their journals periodically and “grade” their writings based on requirements for the report card.  I realize this may not be the best practice, but is necessitated by a lack of a better idea.  If students are to journal to practice skills learned, then shouldn’t I check that they practice correctly?  My students write, but mostly extrinsically motivated, and many, just the bare minimum.  Although, some students do write more than is required, are proud of their work, and like to share; I hope new ideas will improve motivation and enjoyment for my students.  . Three of my students basically refuse to write most mornings.  They also have difficulty with neatness, letter reversals, and staying focused on a task.  This morning I “invited” one of my graphophobes J to write about her weekend or a topic of her choice.  I offered her three writing areas- her desk, a table, and the computer. (These have been previous options.)  She typed a short paragraph about a topic of her own choosing-her favorite toy-and did a nice job-all things considered.  She typed her sentences without complaining and was actually proud of her work.  She even added a nice illustration.  She likes to be in control of situations.  This worked for her today; I’ll try again later this week.  What concerns me is the fact that she does need to write to given prompts (for testing purposes, of course).

In the past, I have attempted to have students respond in writing to a science experiment, etc.  I get one-word answers and not much thought or effort.  I realize modeling is probably the answer here, but again, I feel so pressed for time.  I feel  I need to move on just to get everything “taught” that is expected of me.  I don’t really understand how collaborative writing could work to write in the manner expected of students today.  It seems that students should practice writing stories of their own.  I know I need to incorporate more writing throughout the day and integrate it throughout the curriculum.  I need more time and energy!  HELP!!!

Good writing occurs in engaging, academically inclined classrooms, with much teaching, modeling writing tools and quality children’s books, where student work is displayed and teachers have high expectations. This is what I would love for my classroom to look like but I am uncomfortable and reluctant to teaching writing. Chapter 1 suggests a systematic spelling and handwriting program. We have begun a spelling program, but should consider consistent handwriting instruction. My students and I correct daily paragraphs, but I need to do more mini-lessons and modeling. I always feel rushed to complete a writing project and like I do not have the time for anything other than “writing’, although I realize there are other important components. In our county, we assess writing three times a year and use the Empowering Writers program to teach writing. The program is intense and does not suggest grades 1-2 to write complete stories, but only parts of a story. Of course the assessment requires a complete story. I am uncomfortable using the program and do not feel adequate in modeling writing. I also feel Empowering Writers teaches to the test, teaching imaginative prompts, but not real writing for real life in the real world. I look forward to learning and improving my teaching of writing.