I love the quote at the beginning of the chapter, "very young children can write before they read, can write more than they can read, and can write more easily than they read -- because they can write anything they can say." This aligns very nicely with my own beliefs. I don't believe that students can spell and punctuate - or that anyone can "read" a 2 year olds story, but the fact is the story is there, just written in that child's language. As the child ages, he/she becomes more conventional in their writing and the focus moves from creation to an analytical process, where spelling, grammar, and punctuation rule. By forcing children to follow convention, I feel that their creative processes are stifled. It's important to keep writing creative and fun while working on conventions. To achieve this, I think that brainstorming is incredibly valuable! Giving students the opportunity to slap their words down, heedless of organization, spelling, and punctuation, allows the creative process to work. Then having students modify this creative jumble into a piece with proper conventions, allows for the technical aspects of writing to evolve. Finally, I agree with the book that writing in different forms is incredibly valuable and using rubrics to grade written assignments is a great way to grade fairly. I was in a classroom where the teacher had me grading papers with a rubric and her kids were miserably failing each paper. When I showed her the results, I discovered that she hadn't shared the rubric with the students - they were just told to write a paper on the subject she'd chosen! From this experience, I learned that the students needs a copy of the rubric - in hand or clearly displayed where it can be read from anywhere in the room. Students can't give you a good dance recital if they don't know what music they are dancing too.
That quote also caught my attention at the beginning of the chapter. I especially liked the positive spin it put on writing - anyone can write, because they can write anything they can say! Interesting about the rubrics experience. This is a good reminder for all of us. A rubric doesn't do much good if it isn't shared with the teachers. The students needs to know what the teacher is looking for and what is expected, and only then can they meet the expectations. I also liked your thoughts about creativity and letting children just randomly write down their thoughts. This is where graphic organizers can come in handy to help them organize their random thoughts. But at least it gets their creativity flowing and gets them writing something down on paper.
I totally agree with the comments from both of you about the quote. It kind of takes you back a step to honestly think about all the experiences you've had with writing - whether for yourself or with students. I think that is a phenomenal quote to have in a class and really instil in your students! As Jenny mentioned, graphic organizers are great I think! They can play a key part in a child's story by allowing them to organize their hundreds of thoughts before putting them on paper. Good posts!
When I first heard about 'free writing', I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I worried it would promote misspelling if the student consistently made the same mistakes in the same words, even if they were spelled phonetically. I am still not sure how I feel about it, however, if the student has been taught phonics and understands how to spell many words, free writing is a good tool to promote creativity. (I do realize that this a very controversial tool in that there are many different views) Just to clarify, I do think free writing is good in the upper grades but still unconvinced in the pre-K through 3rd or 4th grade. I do however love the idea of using graphic organizers to gather thoughts like Jenny suggested. If the students simply wrote in graphic organizers and then maybe cut the pieces out and then glued them in order of 'happening', this would accomplish a number of things. Writing practice, creativity, spelling (without repercussions for grammar and spelling, provided they try to spell correctly and put the periods and comma's in the right spots), logical ordering, as well as other items. (crossing across to art) Good argument though. Thanks, but I'm still not sure. I guess I will have to read some studies...
P.S. I do have one belief as far as that subject goes, I do not believe that a young child up to stage 5) should be primarily corrected when they misspell a word(s). I believe that creativity is what should be focused at this time. Am I making sense?
I agree with you that the quote at the begining is essential to the begining of this chapter. It is easy to slip into that frame of mind where we correct the student or child all of the time but it is important to remember that we need to foster their imaginiation and the skills that go along with reading. It is important for them to "write" their thougts, talk about them and make the associations that the written word is made up of the skills of listening, speaking and writing too.
This chapter talked about writing and covered it quite extensively. It listed the four components of writing: graphic, semantic, graphophonic, and syntactic. It gave some ideas for teachers to use when teaching writing to ESOL students. It also went through the writing process, listing six things teachers can incorporate into the classroom to help students learn to write. It’s important to schedule time for writing; otherwise, it doesn’t happen. Another thing that helps encourage students to write is to let them have a choice about the topic. When the same topic is assigned to the whole class, there will be students who are not interested in it. By giving them a choice, they can have a part in what they write about, which will give them a greater interest, which will help them do better work. It’s also important to give feedback. If they write and get no feedback, they aren’t able to grow as writers. The text also listed five steps from start to finish of producing a manuscript. The first step is prewriting. This involves numerous different things in order to prepare them for the actual writing process. Then it stated that publishing the students’ work is very important. If the students never see their work published, they will wonder about the purpose of writing. But to see their work in print, included in a book of some sort, gives them motivation to write and allows them to take ownership of what they wrote. The 6+1 traits of writing were given and explained. The chapter concluded with assessing writing, and different rubrics that can be used in order to evaluate the writing in a consistent manner. I really like the idea of letting students have a choice in what they write about. I think it would be possible to give a choice of several options for a writing assignment and yet still have the students writing. The feedback is also very important – and I would say this about any subject! Students need feedback to know how they are doing. Merely handing an assignment back with only a grade does not further a student’s learning. From reading about the ideas to use with ESOL students, I wondered if these couldn’t also be used for dyslexic students? They often need more time with their assignments, and because reading/writing are a struggle for them, having a topic they are interested in would help them be more willing to do the work. There was very practical information in this chapter, and I really liked all the rubrics given to aid in grading writing assignments. I would love to implement some of this in tutoring sessions, but teaching writing seems to be an extensive project, and I wonder if there is time to do justice to it in our sessions? But I definitely want to hang onto these ideas for my future classroom.
Jenny, great blog! You hit on so many of the high points that the chapter was trying to get across to us! The one thing that I want to always make sure of doing is to make the writing experience a positive experience. That happens by feedback, allowing the students to write about what is important to them, and publishing their material. Both of my kids had an opportunity to publish books in their second grade classrooms, and we still have them today! They came home so excited that they were getting published, and I know that it made them want to write an even better story the next time. I also like the way Mrs. Stoppel has the students present their material to the classroom and/or have them narrate it to her when they are in the earlier stages of writing. On both accounts, it makes the students proud of their work and it doesn't become just a task. I also agree with your comment that the strategies listed for ESOL students would fit with a dyslexic student. It is a great way to scaffold the instruction for the student for them to see success as well and keep down the frustration level.
Chapter 11 ties together the reading and writing connections. There are two big differences between reading and writing. In reading you are receiving a message, while in writing you are conveying a message. Secondly, in reading you must comprehend what others have written, and in writing you need to know how to express your ideas to the audience you are reaching at their comprehension level. There are seven levels of writing: drawing, scribbling, letter-like forms, letter strings, copying, invented spelling, and conventional spellings. In our recordings we watched from Mrs. Stoppel, I really liked the way she incorporated writing at the kindergarten level and emphasizes them to reiterate their story to her. The confidence will be huge by seeing all their successes through her positive approach. In the activity section, the book suggests an expository frames activity for grades 2-3. In this activity the students are setting up their paragraphs with first, second, after this, next, then and finally to provide the correct sequence order and paragraph format. My daughter was actually exposed to this in kindergarten and absolutely loved it. I feel it helped her at a very young age to also apply this activity to retelling of a story. I think it is never too young to incorporate writing into a school curriculum. Acrostic poems are also one of my favorites. A quick, easy poem that allows the student to formulate one word or small phrases that relate to the main word that is vertical at the beginning of each line. This book has provided some more great ideas to hang on to for the future classroom.
Stacy, It is always a great feeling to see the students succeed and know you had a part in it! I enjoy watching Mrs. Stoppel's videos because she is so passionate about what she is teaching. This is a good lesson for all of us that our enthusiasm definitely has an impact on our students. It is so frustrating to see students struggling to read in and see that nothing is being done to help them. So many of the activities found in this book would benefit students I see everyday. I enjoy learning about different activities and methods that I will hopefully have the opportunity to use someday in my own classroom.
I agree with your assessment of the writer needing to understand the audience and be able to reach them through expression, whereas the reader needs to understand receptively through understanding the author's voice and purpose. I too feel that Kim Stoppel is very passionate about what she does and I'm sure she is very effective in teaching young readers and writers.
The book did provide some great ideas to hang onto for the future. I think that using the first, second, after this, next, then and finally is a great way to teach students to think about writing. I ask my kindergarten son to retell a story using these words and he does. He was excited to come home a month or so ago to tell me he was getting write parts of a story in class. He is having a blast with it and tells me most days that it was the best part of his day.
Reading is taking in a message and writing is expressing a message. I think this would be a great way to tell your students the difference between the two. I think that the reading message is easy to understand, but when you start to get them into writing I think that telling them that they need to express a message is a way to get their brain going. If they are allowed to think of their own ideas by saying expressing a message might make them think realize they need to write about a topic they know a lot about. If you are writing as a group this might be a way to keep them on task. You tell them that during writing you only want to hear ideas that have to do with expressing their ideas about the subject at hand.
I also think that if they write their own stories that getting them bound and "published" will let them think they are writers. They are not only writing, but they are writers. This is a powerful motivating factor that they will carry with them into their next writing exercise.
Writing is all about expression - good word choice! I definitely think that encouraging students to convey their own personal messages is a way to get their brains thinking and prepared to write! I remember last semester I watched the recording of Mr. Gary Hogg, the author, presenting and he stated that "in order to get children to love to read or write, show them that you love to read or write." I've stuck with this thought for forever because it is so true - expression is the key in every sense! Express to them your love for the subjects and they will begin to develop that same love in their own way! Good post!
Kasey...I liked the statement about reading being receptive and writing to be expressive a very good point. I feel that part of the difficulty for young readers, is the synthesizing part and getting what they want to say on paper in the form of writing. This is where the strategies presented in this chapter are so very important in teaching our students to become good writers.
The scenario emphasizes the importance of using activities that correspond with test requirements so the students learn these skills. It is important to use a variety of writing activities to accommodate all students and their learning preferences and interests. The author discusses how reading and writing are as separate as they are the same and learning one does guarantee the learning of the other. It was interesting to me to learn that ELL’s usually take 2 years to learn communication skills but 5-7 years to develop academic skills. Reading and writing both use the same cognitive processes and skills. The main difference in reading and writing is that reading is receptive and writing is expressive. This chapter covers the 5 areas students struggle in when writing: graphic, semantic, graphophonic, syntactic and pragmatic. It also discusses the 7 stages of emergent writing: drawing, scribbling, letter-like forms, letter strings, copying, invented spelling, and conventional spelling. I remember analyzing and categorizing students work into these categories in a previous class. It is interesting to see how they move through these stages. I like that this chapter includes activities that are appropriate for students at each stage. It was interesting to me that when comparing the stages of writing development of English speakers and Spanish speakers there is no corresponding level for the traditional stage. I think the characteristics of skilled and unskilled writers provide a good guide to follow when determining what type of writer students are. I know this may seem like common sense but it is always good to be able to see which skills they are lacking in. The writing process section of this chapter provided a good review of the different writing stages. The part of this chapter that I gained the most knowledge from was about evaluating writing instruction. It talked about the 5 areas I must evaluate my own performance in, in order to be an effective writing instructor: classroom environment, instruction, class schedule, professional role model and professional growth. I must ensure my students have all the needed materials to write as well as numerous resources and a safe and supportive environment. I must implement whole group, small group and individual instruction. The students must be provided with ample time to write, have conferences and share. I need to demonstrate good writing skills and share my work with the students. It is imperative that I continue to grow and learn as a teacher in order to provide the best instruction possible to my students.
I like how the text stated in being an effective writing instructor, you must share your own work with students. If you are modeling the writing process and performing it with the students then they will be more willing to do it also. This is the same for reading. If students are reading, then the teacher should be reading. Sustained time for reading and writing are both very important in being a role model for students.
Chapter 11 covered the topic of writing. I absolutely loved this chapter, simply because I love to write! This chapter notes the difference between reading and writing - reading is when we are receiving a message whereas writing is when we are conveying some sort of message. Both of these things are very complex cognitive processes which is why the education of reading is so very important. It seemingly lays the groundwork for every other subject, reading and comprehension are a must!
The chapter then discussed both the components and the stages of writing which I found interesting. The components of writing were something I was aware of but I liked how the book divided out the 4 components and explained them in much simpler terms. The stages of writing is also something I remember learning about in Children's Lit. and other classes. I love looking at drawings and writing as children advance from stage to stage. On page 286 they shared a number of examples of the stages of emergent writers. It's so incredibly neat to see that advancement as years pass.
The book also discussed the skills of both skilled and unskilled writers, in relation to those stages of emergent writers. Some are seemingly obvious while others were slightly surprising. On page 293 the author shared some more detailed information about the writing process which started on page 290. It talked about writing drafts, revisions, editing, publishing, etc. It was interesting to read about each of these components in an informational text myself and be able to relate it to what my 5th graders are doing write now for specific writing assignments.
The ending of the book discussed the six-trait writing method and all of its components. This is definitely something that is familiar to me but it was a good to be refreshed on the details. The activities at the end of the chapter were relative to six-trait writing. It provided activities for each trait including ideas and content, voice, word choice, ect. So helpful! Definitely loved reading this chapter!
Chapter 11 covered writing. The text gave insight into reading and writing connections. The components of writing are graphic, semantic, gaphophonic, and syntactic. Stages of emergent writing include drawing, scribbling, letter-like forms, letter strings, copying, invented spelling, and conventional spelling. Six essential elements of a writing workshop are to have a regular, sustained writing time, allow choices, give feedback, establish structure, build a community, and provide mini-lessons for direct, explicit instruction. The writing process includes prewriting for brainstorming, structuring, and deciding on an audience; drafting, editing, revising, editing, and publishing also occur. Evaluating writing is best done with the use of rubrics and portfolios to show growth. The chapter also gives information on other assessments and technology connections, along with the ever so resourceful intervention strategies and activities. Being able to view the stages of writing is amazing. I think the most visible time is in Kindergarten when they start school they can form letters but do not make a connection and by the end of school they can use invented spellings and some conventional spelling. As a parent, developing writing skills begins with scribbling. Parents need to know how important just giving their child crayons and paper is. My son was always 'drawing' when he was a toddler, and before he even started Pre-K he was able to write letters. In my tutoring sessions we just did story writing. I decided to let them write about anything they wanted, within limits. They had a blast once they got started and even wanted to write a chapter book! They have just done their 'sloppy copy' and I can see improvement within their spelling with other areas we have studied over the past few weeks.
I found this chapter to be very informative about writing, and how it is closely linked to reading, as well as strategies good writers need to use and how we are supposed to teach them in the classroom. I learned much about the different components of writing and how emergent writers display their current levels of writing through their works. I believe that one of the most important aspects of writing that our students need to be taught is the writing processes that include the pre-writing stage, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. I feel that if students can be taught and receive ample practice in each of these writing stages, they will benefit greatly. We as teachers need to make sure that the way we instruct our students is sound as well. Our classroom environment, manner of instruction, class schedule, professionalism, and professional growth should all be done with the goal of creating better writers in mind. I learned much about how the six +1 traits of writing should guide how we write. One question that came to mind was: Why, if writing is so intertwined with reading, are these things not more evident in the classrooms today? Once again, the activities at the end of the chapter were extremely helpful and will prove to be a valuable resource in my future classroom when I instruct in reading.
I have to agree with you about your question on why we don't see more in the classrooms today. I have seen evidence of the 6 trait writing style, but not the six + 1. I also agree that students should learn about the writing process.
I was a kindergarten para for many years up until this school year. When I started we did the Letter People program, then we adopted Success For All (SFA). At the end of last year, they decided they needed something different because of the low test scores. When looking, one thing that was important to them was having a program that included writing. Neither the Letter People or SFA had writing components and they felt like that was very important. Their new program, I believe it is called Treasures, has writing beginning at the Kindergarten level.
The chapter begins by discussing the components of writing with five aspects of language, graphic, semantic, graphophonic, syntactic, and pragmatic. It also goes into detail about the stages of emergent writing. These seven stages include drawing, scribbling, letter like forms, letter strings, copying, invented spelling, and conventional spelling. This to me was very interesting, because even though I was aware of a couple of these stages I didn’t realize there were so many. I personally would have thought that drawing and scribbling would be the same stage, but I can see now how they differ. I also didn’t know that the good old 6 trait writing assessment has been changed to the 6 + 1 writing assessment. The addition of presentation does add a different element which I feel is important for children to learn. Like I have said in many of these blogs, I especially like the different activities that are included in the chapter. There are so many activities that I could have used during my tutoring sessions that could have helped my students. One in particular I would have liked to use during my poetry sessions would have been the fibbin poems. It would have been cool because of the integration of mathematics in the lesson since the lesson is named after Fibonacci who was a mathematician.
I agree with you about the activities at the end of the chapters. I used some of them in my lesson plans for comprehension. Their are so many great activities for each section of the Big 5. This book will be a wonderful tool during student teaching.
Julia and Chris, this text serves as a great resource for all of us not only for planning for tutoring sessions, but most definitely for planning for our future classrooms. I especially likes several of the activities used in this section, my personal favorite was the noun stories activity, I think my tutoring group could have had a lot of fun with this one.
Chapter 11 of the DeVries text had a lot of very useful information. They talked about how reading and writing are similar in many fashions. We have been taught in our classes how they go together, but not how they differ. This chapter explained that there are three differences in reading and writing, and that was something new for me. First, reading is receptive and writing is expressive. When you read, you are taking in information, and when you write, you are expressing information. Second, when you read you comprehend what others have written. When you write, you have to choose words that express the point of your writing and the message you are sending. The third difference is that when reading you decode words and when you write you encode words. The text goes on to discuss the 5 components of writing, which include graphic, semantic, graphophonic, syntactic, and pragmatic. I really liked reading about the seven stages of emergent writing on page 285, and appreciated all the activities they had to go along with each level. On page 291 they discussed the characteristics of skilled and unskilled writers and then went on to discuss the writing process. One of my favorite parts of this chapter was the website references on page 296. Including technology in lessons is so important and really helps me keep the students attention. This list had a lot of great sites on it. Some of them I have used before and some were new to me. What a great resource! The 6+1 Trait Writing had a TON of new information in it. I think this is a great tool to use in the classroom, and I like how it went over every part of it, including the assessments. As always, there were many great activities listed at the end of the chapter that will be very beneficial in the classroom.
I too enjoyed looking over and even visiting a few of the websites listed on page 296. A few of them I have used here and there throughout classes, but too be honest, I had never really heard of many of these until this chapter. One of the websites I visited was www.cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com and oh my goodness there are so many tools to use here for practically every subject area. This one was definitely added to my lists of favorites!
This chapter focused on the connection between reading and writing for students. The part that I found most interesting in this chapter was the writing stages. Yes, I've studies them before, but I really like how this chapter gave an example of each one. But it also saddened me because this semester I am observing in a 3rd grade classroom where too many of the students are still seem (to me anyway) to be in the conventional spelling stage. For being almost the end of the year it saddens me to see this and I don't observe their reading time any, but I haven't seen the teacher help them much in any form to improve the spelling capabilities. But who knows, maybe she has. I'm just worried that these students already seem to be two years behind where they should be, how much further behind are they going to end up before something is actually done about it? If anything is ever done about it.
One thing I really didn't understand in this chapter was figure 11.3 with the sound boxes. I feel like this is something I should know and understand how to do, but I don't...I've reread this section and looked over this figure a couple of times and just can't figure it out, but it looks like a really nifty tool to know how to use.
Later on in the chapter it talks about the 6+1 traits of writing. I remember being introduced to these in 3rd grade, but then it was just known as the 6 traits of learning, so it was nice to see they are now adding (the +1) presentation onto the 6 traits, because anymore there is so much material typed that presentation needs to be taught and mastered at an early age as well.
I have never heard of or seen sound boxes before. I am still a little confused at how they work but I would love to see them in action. I wonder if there is anything on YouTube? That seems to be a great resource these days!
Kayla, I couldn't agree with you more regarding how it saddens you about the status of some of your third grade students and the fear that they will simply continue to fall behind. I too, am in a third grade classroom and it amazes me the disparity between the top of the class and the bottom, many of our bottom students are reading at a first grade level. Ironically, I am reading your post after having listened to the recorded session regarding the new trend to hold students back, especially at the third grade level. Unless there is active identification and support put in place for many of theses students, unfortunately the learning gap between these students and their grade level peers will continue to grow. As future educators this will be one of the biggest challenges we face.
Chapter 11 looks at the process of writing and how it is integrated into reading and language arts. This text reminded me how reading and writing go hand in hand, while reading both are cognitive processes, reading is a receptive, whereas writing is expressive. This text continues to discuss the components of writing and the distinct stages of writing. The text emphasizes the importance of giving students the opportunity and time to write and 'learn' to write in class through writing workshops. Just as reading requires readers to develop necessary foundational skills, so does writing.
One of the most interesting components of this chapter for me was having students take attitude surveys about writing. I guess I simply had never thought about that. However, this would be an insightful way to gain understanding of how students felt about writing and would be a key tool for planning instruction.
For me, I have always liked to write and I have enjoyed watching many students within my class thrive in their writing ranging from poems, to plays to narrative papers. However, on the other end of the spectrum there are a number of students that struggle in this area and I am curious to see how they will catch up. With such an emphasis in the district I observe in specifically on math and reading, writing workshop is not a daily activity.
I think that assessing the student’s attitude about writing is really important. I was always one that loved to write, though I hated the editing part. I do remember some of my friends hating to write and not liking anything about it unless it was about the one thing that caught their attention, and then they still had a hard time with it. Like you said it is a great way to plan for instruction and plan on those that don’t like to write. I think that writing is really important and should be something that is done every day, but in varied forms.
Maggie You make an interesting point about a student’s attitude toward writing. I can see how some students just love it and others would rather do about anything else. I used a reading attitude survey during my internship to help me understand how they felt about reading because it helped me know how to plan lessons for them. Writing could be the same way. If you know a student does not like to write, a teacher can investigate further to find out why and maybe help the student work through the difficulty. I agree with you too that writing has not gotten the emphasis in schools that it once did especially when it is an important skill.
An interest survey is a great idea! I work with a first grader who is "developmentally delayed" severely (we are thinking moderate-acute dyslexic but are in process of testing). She HATES to write. Loathes it! Partly because she isn't good at it. On the last writing assignment her neighbor filled out 6 pages in beautiful, neat, handwriting, perfectly spelled, and punctuated. While the frustrated first grader managed to get 2 sentences with a total of 8 words down on paper. Of course she hates this activity - it's frustrating and incredibly difficult for her! It doesn't help that her neighbor is incredibly good at it. Now, sit her down and let her dictate and you'll get some amazing, inventive, and incredibly LONG stories. We take turns now with writing - she tells the story, then she and I take turns writing it down.
The Pre-writing stage on page 291 almost gave me chills because it brought some unpleasant times as I worked with a 4th grade hearing impaired student. This student has 2 cochlea's and uses a microphone deal. It seems to be in connection with the cochlear, but I have never seen this in others who had cochlea's. Not only does this child have such difficulty with his hearing, but he is also an ESL student. The author says that the student needs to understand, how to choose a topic, brainstorm possible subtopics, "how to structure their material and how to tailor their writing to their audience." It is very difficult to help the student find a topic, let alone all of the other area's. With his hearing and language barriers, he has tremendous difficulty coming up with anything, even with a topic. What I do is ask questions and write what he says for him to copy. (Spelling is another issue) On page 292, figure 11.7 is a storyboard example. I really like this idea, with a pre-made flow map, with generic box leads, this could work! I am going to try it when they write their next paper. The example box leads are "Character is described, Life before interruption, the incident that created the interruption..." This could work, how exciting!
Reading requires students to gather background knowledge and connect it to new information. When they write they put their thoughts into a message that has order and makes sense. Not all kids are able to put their thoughts into words. Reading and writing depend on the same cognitive process involving semantic, syntactic, graphophonic and pragmatic. All goals for reading and writing are the same – there are seven of them. But there are differences between reading and writing. Reading is receptive and writing is expressive. It is now common practice to give students time during the day to write on their choice of topic to get them comfortable with writing. However, many students still struggle with being able to write effectively. There are stages of writing that begin with toddlers who use an instrument to scribble and put marks on paper. This is the emergent stage when they are exploring ways to put marks on paper and develops into eventually forming letters and being able to tell stories from their attempts at words/letters . Next is the conventional stage. There are skilled and unskilled writers. My particular focus from the reading was on unskilled writers, especially since I work with special ed kids who, when told to write an essay, stare at the blank screen on their computer for hours without being able to put their thoughts into an organized format. They fit all the criteria for unskilled writers: write only what they know, do not plan, do not reflect on what they have written, have no idea of audience, lac organization, very seldom delete material, lack detail and elaboration, spend a short amount of time on composition, struggle with mechanics, emphasize form instead of content, lack knowledge of he writing process, do not research topics and do not proofread. There seem to be so many kids (high schoolers) that have no writing skills at all and it makes me wonder where we (teachers) failed them. Most of them do not even know how to make an outline to organize information. We have a new English teacher this year and she has been such a blessing in teaching them how to be better organized in preparation for writing. I have heard of six trait writing before but the “+1” was new to me (presentation). Page 296 listed many websites that I will share with my coworkers. Some of the sites were familiar to me and others were not. I am interested to further explore some of them.
Chapter 11 was over the similarities and differences in reading and writing, the developmental writing stages, tips for helping struggling writers during the writing process, writing digital text and using the internet to publish it, the challenges with ELL students and writing, and assessments and strategies for struggling readers. The activities and intervention at the end was great and full of wonderful ideas that would be great to bring into a class. I think that if a student does not like writing it is hard to get them engaged and willing to write their best. It would be helpful to get some ideas on how to excite students about writing. There was more to the stages of writing instruction than I was really aware of. Though they make sense, I never really thought about them being set in stages like they are. I like how the different stages are emphasized with different activities and how to promote the students to develop farther in that stage. The share the pen activity that was talked about is great and I feel like they would be really helpful in developing good writing later on. I think that the invented spelling stage is really important and I think it is a time when students can really be proud of what they wrote and spelled on their own. The assessment section was really helpful for me because having more ideas of how to assess writing is really good. I remember doing writing workshops and loved them when I was in school. I remember that editing was the hardest part for me. I had a really hard time changing things in my own paper. When I would have my parents help me edit my papers and I really didn’t like when they would have me change different things in my paper ebcasue I thought that they were trying to make my work not my work.
I understand the concept of the invented spelling stage is important. But, the first graders I work with want so badly to spell the word "right" and I have a hard time finding the words to let them know they have spelled it perfect for a 1st grader.
I remember my 16 year old's kindergarten teacher, would ask the kids "are you in college?" "Do you have to write like a college student?"
Brenna, I don't know if you took the Reading/Language Arts internship last semester but Gary Hoggs had come to FHSU. He was amazing. He writes the Spencer series and he was very good at encouraging writing in the classroom. If you have not heard of him you should look him up and see how he encourages students to be authors.
I like how this chapter offers some ideas to help get students engaged in writing because there are many students who don't enjoy writing. I thought the assessment part of this chapter was helpful because I didn't realize all the ways to assess writing. I would agree about the editing part of writing that is what I struggled with the most and I still do when I write so I like having someone that is able to help with this.
Reading and writing work closely together. I am fascinated by the stages of emergent writing in the way a child goes from drawing a picture to writing out whole thoughts in words. The Reading Recovery example was an interesting method that the teacher used to help Billy write a sentence. Billy used several different strategies to spell the words in the sentence from environmental print to sounding out words. I liked the method of putting a line for a difficult word and coming back to it later with the teacher guiding him. The strategy allows him to continue to write and not be slowed down by waiting on the teacher who may be involved with other students.
I am very interested in incorporating writing workshops into my classroom. I like the idea of having a regular sustained time to write. The text discusses several prewriting strategies that I could envision helping the students write more effectively. By allowing the students to choose a topic that they are interested in, the students are then more excited about the writing process. Also teaching students how to take the time to structure their thoughts or research before writing strengthens the end product.
The part of the writing process with students that I struggle with is the editing process. In my reading methods internship, the students completed several writing projects that involved editing. From this experience, I found that during the self-edit students would read through their writing and not find any mistakes. Then their peers would edit and find a few mistakes. I would then read it and find all sorts of mistakes. I would like to find a method of editing were the students are more engaged and responsible in the editing process and understand why they want to develop that skill.
I also learned in my internship how much rubrics helped me to grade the students writing. Developing a rubric conveyed to the students what was expected in their writing assignment. It also helped me to grade their writing with more consistency and helped me stay focused on the point of their writing assignment. Learning how to write and convey ideas to others is an important skill to develop for students.
I found those stages of writing very interesting as well. I thought it was compelling how the quality of illustration was far beyond the writing. Meaning, the details in the illustration seemed to be ahead of the being able to form letters with that same attention to detail. I only mention this, because I work with a student who is 7, and probably draws and writes like an average 3 year old. But, he came to this point from not even being willing to hold a pencil 1 year ago. So, I really was studying the quality of drawings vs letter formation in those photographs.
I think having a sustained writing period during classtime is important too. Not so much correct grammar or spelling but getting them interested in putting down their ideas and thoughts onto paper. The high school English teacher has the kids use a lab journal like you would use in science and they can either draw a topic from a jar or write their own but they have to write for three minutes straight...she calls it "sneeze" writing because it's short.
I found this chapter to be very interesting. I have been in a school environment for 6 years now. Recently I have noticed, when teachers have the students write, they are just as tense about the situation as the students are. I believe this negativity brushes off on the students.
Watching the videos this semester, and seeing the exciting ideas such as guided writing, where the students "publish" books. I recall from RLA the project where the students got to solve a mystery and write about it.
I want as a teacher, to have writing be a fun time for the students, and not something that they struggle with. I have witnessed students who love to draw, hate to write. To me, it seems like a natural transition, that should be enjoyable.
I was happy to see that guided reading was listed as one of the activities at the end of this chapter. I have already started looking more into that idea. I also was glad to see the 6+1 traits of writing. I recall that from past classes as well. Something I struggle with in the classroom, is that the students want, very much to spell words "like an adult", and do not like the invented spelling. I want them to be able to embrass it, and be proud of their spelling.
I, too, liked this chapter. I can understand why some teachers are tense about it, but for me it would be the the correcting of the assignment. I think it stems from being a mediocre writer myself and wanting to grade the writing correctly. I think some of the activities listed would be fun for most students.
Chapter 11 discusses writing. The components of writing include graphic, semantic, graphophonic, and syntactic. The graphic component involves the ability to form the letters of the alphabet. Semantic is the abstract meaning of a word. Graphophonic in writing is the letter sound-relationship. Finally syntactic is the structure of a sentence and paragraph. This chapter gives the characteristics of skilled and unskilled writers. This will be especially helpful in the classroom. The activities are an asset in this chapter.
Is the 6+1 Trait Writing Assessment the same as 6 trait writing assessment? I have heard about 6 trait but did not know if the +1 is a different instruction model.
The reading helped to show me the importance of writing. I am not sure I am as vigilant about incorporating as much writing as I should have in the lessons. Sure I had them writing daily but not in a formal fashion. I love some of the ideas and activities in our reading, especially the poem ideas.
I think writing intimidates me. I am nervous whether I am going to grade it correctly or if someone would disagree with the way I grade it. Maybe some of this is because it is not my strong point.
Chapter 11 talks about how writing and reading are complex cognitive developmental processes with aspects that occur before, during, and after each distinct reading or writing task. When you talk about reading and writing their are two big differences between them. The first one is that reading is considered a receptive language art and writing is an expressive language art. The second one is that readers must comprehend what others have written and writers must know their audience and choose the genre that best express their ideas. When it comes to writing instruction teachers are now understanding that students need to learn how to use the computer to write effectively and not just have them set there for a certain amount of time writing on their favorite topic. There are five components when it comes to writing and these are: graphic, semantic, graphophonic, syntactic, and pragmatic. One type of writing that is use is the 6 trait writing and the traits consist of idea/content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and presentation. This chapter also covers ways to assess students writing. One question I have would be when reading about the 6+1 trait writing. I can remember there being 6 trait writing so is the 6+1 trait writing new and when did it become this? I have never heard of presentation for 6 trait so just wondering if this is new recently? I think after reading this chapter I look at assessing writing in a different way. I always thought you just went and would write something and the teacher would check punctuation and that was about it. I realize that there is way more to assessing a students writing such as with rubrics or formal assessments. I also look at how important writing is and how it ties to reading in a big way. In my own experience I can remember doing pen pals in elementary school and how much fun it was to write to a friend in another country. I think pen pals are a great way to get students to write and to enjoy writing because it is fun to hear from someone that lives in a different culture than you. I think they are also good for students to see how other students write.
I also wrote pen pals in elementary school. And I enjoyed it because for one I like to write and two because that I got to find out about my pen pal and where they were from. It is a great idea for the students to participate in a program like that.
I did a creative writing unit in the last few weeks of tutoring. My students absolutely loved it! It is very time consuming but the experience was very positive for all. It was great to see how they write. I was able to see more into their thought process of decoding and immediate word recall as well. I wish I would have done the writing unit at the beginning of our time together because I could have worked on those skills throughout. I definitely left with a lot of information about my students needs that I had not realized before the writing unit. I also used it as a fluency activity. After the stories were written, edited and a final copy was made they practiced reading their stories with high fluency. They then read these to their parents on the last day. It worked great! They were motivated to practice their stories and focused on their fluency because they were the authors of the story! we could have spent all of our sessions on just writing. There are so many things that we did not do and I wasn't even sure that we would get through it. In the end I even typed up their final copies for them. I loved figure 11.2! I wish that I would have put something together like this with my own children's art. I have lots of things that they have made, but they are definitely not organized by date. I have to admit that poetry has grown on me in the last couple of semesters as well. I really need to make a poetry resource notebook for myself. I am pretty excited to do poetry with my future students. I think that I can make it a much more positive experience for them than my teachers did for me!
I am so glad that you did creative writing with your tutoring sessions. I think creative writing is an important thing for students to do. I love to write and I think that is because I was always encouraged to write as a child. Creative writing opens up your imagination and allows you to elaborate what you are thinking. I also like that you used the creative writing as a fluency activity as well. You can do so many activities with writing and tie into so many things.
I really enjoyed the scenario at the beginning of the chapter. I like how that Mr. Burns loves writing and used it in his classroom, but didn't find any improvement on their writing tests. He then figures out what he needs to do to improve the scores in writing and he does that. It is so important for teachers to do their research and find out exactly what they need to do to help their students. I may cost more time, but in the end we as teachers do what is best for our students.
Chapter 11 focuses on writing. Writing to me is something that has always came natural to me. I have been writing my own poems and stories since before I can remember. I started collecting those poems when I was a Sophomore in High School. I like to look back of what I have written and how much I have improved over the years. And still to this day, writing a research paper or essay is nothing to me. I can write one no matter the length in a few hours.
My favorite section of the chapter is the intervention section. This section has plenty of activities to use with writing. I feel that it is so important for students to write, not only does it get them to express themselves. It will help them in the long run like it has for me. Writing isn't a chore for me, it is something I enjoy and can do effortlessly. If teachers encourage writing on a daily basis it will help the students more.
Interesting Cassandra.......I had some similar comments! Like you, I enjoy writing myself. Essentially, it's another method of communication, and I love the creativity associated with writing. I also feel that the more teachers can expose their students to writing with journals, blogs, poetry, etc., it can provide them the opportunity to practice their writing, gain more confidence, and hone their skills in this area. Exposing students to a variety of literature can definitely enhance their writing capabilities as well. Another comment I made in my post that I think is significant is the educator's attitude towards writing; sharing a positive attitude with one's students about writing can be contagious. Teachers can model this on a daily basis. I enjoyed reading your comments!
I have really enjoyed this book. I think the activities are all great ideas that we can employ in the classroom. Each one gives me ideas on ways that I can work with it to change it around and make it my own. I think that this chapter on writing and the importance of it is something that we may not have focused on much because we have been so zoned in on reading, but I think this goes hand in hand and should not be over looked.
Writing has always been something I have struggled with, so it does not surprise me from reading the book, struggling writers are struggling readers. When I took my English Comp. Classes, the instructor would give us a prompt and tell us we had a certain amount of time to write and told us to just start writing, it would just come to us. She was right, once a student just starts to write and not worry is the writing is correct, the ideas begin to immerge. The fluency is something that will come once the thoughts are put on paper. The more prior knowledge a student has on a topic, the better they are equipped to express themselves. There are stages of learning to write, the drawing stage, scribbling stage, letter-like and letter string stage, the copying stage, invented spelling stage, and the conventional spelling stage. Students will most likely go through these stages by the age of 7, after that they will start to incorporate the story telling along with the structure if they are skilled writers. Unskilled writers tend to struggle with planning and organizing their writing. They will write and re-write feeling inadequate about their ideas. When I have helped students write narrative or informational papers, they will have a guide to follow, I get them going and then step away. When they finish, I have them read it like a kindergartener to find grammar mistakes. It always amazes me how many I find in my own work when I use this strategy.
I struggle with writing too. I have a hard time with grammar and punctuation. When I write on the projector in front of a class I get nervous that I am spelling something wrong because it has happened to me before. That is something I need to work on as a teacher.
I have struggled with writing as well, mostly grammar. Like you pointed out, struggling writers are struggling readers. This is very interesting and very true. Reading and writing are very intertwined and cover a lot of the same areas of learning. It is important for teachers to work on these areas, especially when they are noticing problems since it will show up in more than one area.
In this chapter it discusses writing and the stages that come along with it. Students are able to write before they read, however, people may not understand what it says. A younger student is still trying to express themselves before they know how to. I really enjoy watching a toddler write because in their mind, they are expressing their ideas.
When students get into school, they start to learn how to write letters, words, sentences, then stories. They learn to pre-write, draft, edit, and re-write a final copy. I have seen students in kindergarten start revising when a teacher uses marks and they have to figure out what those marks mean.
When teaching a writing lesson, a teacher needs to make sure the lesson can connect with the students. Students will loose interest when they HAVE to write about something they do not like. I want to make sure I have choice writing, and I plan on using different writing prompts to help students enjoy writing.
I am poor in the grammar section in writing. I have always gotten marked down, still till this day, from my grammar. I hope I am able to feel confident when writing on the board in front of my class with out spell check. That is something I am nervous about as a teacher.
Grammar is something that is very difficult, but it is something I think is very important for both the students and the teacher. If a teacher can't write in front of students, it will be very difficult for them to take the teacher seriously. I watched a student teacher that simply could not write at all quit because the teacher she was working with would not accept her work. I think this is something we all have to work on before and while we are in the classroom.
This chapter of the DeVries text elaborates on writing and the strong correlation between it and reading. The text explains several similarities and differences between reading and writing. Reading and writing both rely on semantic, syntactic, graphophonic, and pragmatic systems. One of the primary differences that is so important to keep in mind when comparing and contrasting reading and writing is that reading involves receiving a message; it’s a “receptive language art”. Writing is an expressive language; it entails creating, then delivering a message. The expressive and receptive components can then combine to produce a really artful form of communication. We read about the components of writing, as well as the stages of writing which progress from drawing to invented spelling to incorporating the conventional stage. The six important stages of writing workshop are each described in detail; I think theses descriptions include quite beneficial information and help as well. The six traits of writing consist of ideas or content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions; I was actually surprised to see that it’s now identified as the 6 + 1 traits which, more formally includes the presentation aspect of the writing. I liked the idea of using a rubric which could record students’ growth, thereby providing a method of identifying where students need to improve. As far as the rubrics, I thought it was interesting that attitudes towards writing can be assessed. Many students definitely become intimidated by the writing process, and this can affect a student’s attitude about his or her writing abilities. I think a teacher who incorporates writing into a student’s daily schedule will help the student to become familiar with the process of writing more quickly. Additionally, an educator’s enthusiasm for writing can be such a benefit to all students. I really want to include a substantial amount of writing for my students. I want to be able to provide plenty of practice/experience for them to build their confidence with writing. It’s such a unique expression of creativity. There were several strategies in the chapter that could be very beneficial; I liked “Sharing the Pen” for younger grade schoolers, and I love the blogs for older students.
I liked the rubrics too. This is something that I want to use more often. Also, I agree that an educator's enthusiasm for writing makes a big difference. After listening to Gary Hogg's lecture, I began writing while my students were writing and sharing my pieces and it did make a big difference in their attitudes about writing.
I was glad the chapter did an overview of the components of writing, I always find myself having to double check these. Graphic is knowledge about how to form the 26 letters, semantic focuses on word meanings, graphophonic is working with the different ways vowel sounds can be spelled and syntatic is being able to write a good sentence. When looking at assessing writing I liked the idea of the rubric to check each component of writing ( setting, characters, motives). The chapter also touched on guided writing, this is something that I would like to try but have not used yet. However, the ideas to use in guided writing were great ideas and many of them I could relate to as areas of weaknesses with my students. Like many of the other chapters a lot of writing activities were given in the chapter. My favorites were sequels and the different poetry examples.
I think that this chapter is important in revisiting the idea that the written word is important because it gives the child another way to learn and explore the written word seen in reading but in a manipulation way. Students have to be free to express themselves and we have to tread lightly with the urge to correct them and make writing seem like a chore. We have to get students comfortable with the process of writing, the feel of it before we even think about bringing the technical side of it into the picture. Students have to see be shown the connection between reading, listening, speaking and wrtiting and that they all go hand in hand in regards to reading.
Chapter 11 was titled writing. It began by talking about the reading and writing connection again. This is a connection that I think should not be overlooked. I think that they go hand in hand and you simply can't have one without the other. There was a paragraph on the differences between reading and writing, which I found to be very interesting. The chapter then moved to writing instruction, components of writing, and stages of emergent writing. The portion on writing stages of bilingual spanish-english writers, I thought was very informative. The chapter then moved to the 6 + 1 trait writing assessment and instruction model. This is a framework for assessing, talking about, and organizing writing. After that, the chapter moved into activities. I liked the portion on Mt. Plot. The idea of responding to stories by creating story maps is something that I think children can relate to.
Chapter 11 is about writing and the different stages of writing. The chapter starts off with the similarities and differences with reading and writing, but the way I see it, is that you cannot have one without the other. On one of the first pages in the chapter, it gave a list of the same goals that reading and writing have that go together. Students are able to see the connection between reading and writing when they follow these simple goals. These goals include; chunking of words, root word use, and connecting spelling with word meanings; to list a few. Moving on to writing, there is a lot that goes into it, like the different stages of emergent writing, and the writing process. These all come together to make everyone a better writer. These include the processes of revising, editing, and publishing. Like many of the other chapters in this text, this chapter provides a lot of strategies and activities for teachers to use in their classrooms to help with student's writings. I wish my teachers would have used some of these activities to help me when I was younger. To this day, I still have problems with my writing, mainly grammar, I am terrible with it.
I believe the same, in that reading and writing go hand in hand. I think in order to do one of these skills really great, you also must understand and know the other. I love to read and I love to write. I am not as good as a writer as I am a reader because I get so many things in my head and do not always seem to put it down on paper the way that I see it or want it to sound. I also wish that my teachers would have taught writing differently. Thanks for sharing!
This is easily my favorite chapter in the book thus far!!! This chapter was completely packed full of new strategies and techniques to incorporate into my future classroom and I absolutely love them! There is a part of this chapter that will stay in my head forever (I hope),"Students learn to write by writing texts; many require mentoring in the five steps of the writing process to become proficient. When students understand this process, they know to gather information before they write. When they begin writing, they know to get their ideas down on paper before they work on revisions and mechanics." I LOVE LOVE LOVE this!! I cannot stress how many times I have been told to pick a topic and start writing. It would have been so much more helpful if a teacher would have told me to jot down a few ideas I had of words/phrases that jumped out at me while I was reading about a certain topic because it would be so much easier for me to write about. Even if I wasn't writing a paper, it seems to be so much easier to just jot things down as they come to mind and then go back and revise them, kind of like a rough draft. Writing, to me, is an important backbone to our Reading and Language Arts area. This chapter has offered so much great insight and ideas that I cannot wait to use.
I love the quote at the beginning of the chapter, "very young children can write before they read, can write more than they can read, and can write more easily than they read -- because they can write anything they can say." This aligns very nicely with my own beliefs. I don't believe that students can spell and punctuate - or that anyone can "read" a 2 year olds story, but the fact is the story is there, just written in that child's language. As the child ages, he/she becomes more conventional in their writing and the focus moves from creation to an analytical process, where spelling, grammar, and punctuation rule. By forcing children to follow convention, I feel that their creative processes are stifled. It's important to keep writing creative and fun while working on conventions. To achieve this, I think that brainstorming is incredibly valuable! Giving students the opportunity to slap their words down, heedless of organization, spelling, and punctuation, allows the creative process to work. Then having students modify this creative jumble into a piece with proper conventions, allows for the technical aspects of writing to evolve. Finally, I agree with the book that writing in different forms is incredibly valuable and using rubrics to grade written assignments is a great way to grade fairly. I was in a classroom where the teacher had me grading papers with a rubric and her kids were miserably failing each paper. When I showed her the results, I discovered that she hadn't shared the rubric with the students - they were just told to write a paper on the subject she'd chosen! From this experience, I learned that the students needs a copy of the rubric - in hand or clearly displayed where it can be read from anywhere in the room. Students can't give you a good dance recital if they don't know what music they are dancing too.
ReplyDeleteThat quote also caught my attention at the beginning of the chapter. I especially liked the positive spin it put on writing - anyone can write, because they can write anything they can say! Interesting about the rubrics experience. This is a good reminder for all of us. A rubric doesn't do much good if it isn't shared with the teachers. The students needs to know what the teacher is looking for and what is expected, and only then can they meet the expectations. I also liked your thoughts about creativity and letting children just randomly write down their thoughts. This is where graphic organizers can come in handy to help them organize their random thoughts. But at least it gets their creativity flowing and gets them writing something down on paper.
DeleteI totally agree with the comments from both of you about the quote. It kind of takes you back a step to honestly think about all the experiences you've had with writing - whether for yourself or with students. I think that is a phenomenal quote to have in a class and really instil in your students! As Jenny mentioned, graphic organizers are great I think! They can play a key part in a child's story by allowing them to organize their hundreds of thoughts before putting them on paper. Good posts!
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DeleteWhen I first heard about 'free writing', I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I worried it would promote misspelling if the student consistently made the same mistakes in the same words, even if they were spelled phonetically.
DeleteI am still not sure how I feel about it, however, if the student has been taught phonics and understands how to spell many words, free writing is a good tool to promote creativity. (I do realize that this a very controversial tool in that there are many different views) Just to clarify, I do think free writing is good in the upper grades but still unconvinced in the pre-K through 3rd or 4th grade.
I do however love the idea of using graphic organizers to gather thoughts like Jenny suggested. If the students simply wrote in graphic organizers and then maybe cut the pieces out and then glued them in order of 'happening', this would accomplish a number of things. Writing practice, creativity, spelling (without repercussions for grammar and spelling, provided they try to spell correctly and put the periods and comma's in the right spots), logical ordering, as well as other items. (crossing across to art)
Good argument though. Thanks, but I'm still not sure. I guess I will have to read some studies...
P.S. I do have one belief as far as that subject goes, I do not believe that a young child up to stage 5) should be primarily corrected when they misspell a word(s). I believe that creativity is what should be focused at this time.
DeleteAm I making sense?
I agree with you that the quote at the begining is essential to the begining of this chapter. It is easy to slip into that frame of mind where we correct the student or child all of the time but it is important to remember that we need to foster their imaginiation and the skills that go along with reading. It is important for them to "write" their thougts, talk about them and make the associations that the written word is made up of the skills of listening, speaking and writing too.
DeleteThis chapter talked about writing and covered it quite extensively. It listed the four components of writing: graphic, semantic, graphophonic, and syntactic. It gave some ideas for teachers to use when teaching writing to ESOL students. It also went through the writing process, listing six things teachers can incorporate into the classroom to help students learn to write. It’s important to schedule time for writing; otherwise, it doesn’t happen. Another thing that helps encourage students to write is to let them have a choice about the topic. When the same topic is assigned to the whole class, there will be students who are not interested in it. By giving them a choice, they can have a part in what they write about, which will give them a greater interest, which will help them do better work. It’s also important to give feedback. If they write and get no feedback, they aren’t able to grow as writers. The text also listed five steps from start to finish of producing a manuscript. The first step is prewriting. This involves numerous different things in order to prepare them for the actual writing process. Then it stated that publishing the students’ work is very important. If the students never see their work published, they will wonder about the purpose of writing. But to see their work in print, included in a book of some sort, gives them motivation to write and allows them to take ownership of what they wrote. The 6+1 traits of writing were given and explained. The chapter concluded with assessing writing, and different rubrics that can be used in order to evaluate the writing in a consistent manner.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of letting students have a choice in what they write about. I think it would be possible to give a choice of several options for a writing assignment and yet still have the students writing. The feedback is also very important – and I would say this about any subject! Students need feedback to know how they are doing. Merely handing an assignment back with only a grade does not further a student’s learning. From reading about the ideas to use with ESOL students, I wondered if these couldn’t also be used for dyslexic students? They often need more time with their assignments, and because reading/writing are a struggle for them, having a topic they are interested in would help them be more willing to do the work.
There was very practical information in this chapter, and I really liked all the rubrics given to aid in grading writing assignments. I would love to implement some of this in tutoring sessions, but teaching writing seems to be an extensive project, and I wonder if there is time to do justice to it in our sessions? But I definitely want to hang onto these ideas for my future classroom.
Jenny, great blog! You hit on so many of the high points that the chapter was trying to get across to us! The one thing that I want to always make sure of doing is to make the writing experience a positive experience. That happens by feedback, allowing the students to write about what is important to them, and publishing their material. Both of my kids had an opportunity to publish books in their second grade classrooms, and we still have them today! They came home so excited that they were getting published, and I know that it made them want to write an even better story the next time. I also like the way Mrs. Stoppel has the students present their material to the classroom and/or have them narrate it to her when they are in the earlier stages of writing. On both accounts, it makes the students proud of their work and it doesn't become just a task. I also agree with your comment that the strategies listed for ESOL students would fit with a dyslexic student. It is a great way to scaffold the instruction for the student for them to see success as well and keep down the frustration level.
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DeleteChapter 11 ties together the reading and writing connections. There are two big differences between reading and writing. In reading you are receiving a message, while in writing you are conveying a message. Secondly, in reading you must comprehend what others have written, and in writing you need to know how to express your ideas to the audience you are reaching at their comprehension level. There are seven levels of writing: drawing, scribbling, letter-like forms, letter strings, copying, invented spelling, and conventional spellings. In our recordings we watched from Mrs. Stoppel, I really liked the way she incorporated writing at the kindergarten level and emphasizes them to reiterate their story to her. The confidence will be huge by seeing all their successes through her positive approach. In the activity section, the book suggests an expository frames activity for grades 2-3. In this activity the students are setting up their paragraphs with first, second, after this, next, then and finally to provide the correct sequence order and paragraph format. My daughter was actually exposed to this in kindergarten and absolutely loved it. I feel it helped her at a very young age to also apply this activity to retelling of a story. I think it is never too young to incorporate writing into a school curriculum. Acrostic poems are also one of my favorites. A quick, easy poem that allows the student to formulate one word or small phrases that relate to the main word that is vertical at the beginning of each line. This book has provided some more great ideas to hang on to for the future classroom.
ReplyDeleteStacy,
DeleteIt is always a great feeling to see the students succeed and know you had a part in it! I enjoy watching Mrs. Stoppel's videos because she is so passionate about what she is teaching. This is a good lesson for all of us that our enthusiasm definitely has an impact on our students. It is so frustrating to see students struggling to read in and see that nothing is being done to help them. So many of the activities found in this book would benefit students I see everyday. I enjoy learning about different activities and methods that I will hopefully have the opportunity to use someday in my own classroom.
I agree with your assessment of the writer needing to understand the audience and be able to reach them through expression, whereas the reader needs to understand receptively through understanding the author's voice and purpose. I too feel that Kim Stoppel is very passionate about what she does and I'm sure she is very effective in teaching young readers and writers.
DeleteThe book did provide some great ideas to hang onto for the future. I think that using the first, second, after this, next, then and finally is a great way to teach students to think about writing. I ask my kindergarten son to retell a story using these words and he does. He was excited to come home a month or so ago to tell me he was getting write parts of a story in class. He is having a blast with it and tells me most days that it was the best part of his day.
ReplyDeleteReading is taking in a message and writing is expressing a message. I think this would be a great way to tell your students the difference between the two. I think that the reading message is easy to understand, but when you start to get them into writing I think that telling them that they need to express a message is a way to get their brain going. If they are allowed to think of their own ideas by saying expressing a message might make them think realize they need to write about a topic they know a lot about. If you are writing as a group this might be a way to keep them on task. You tell them that during writing you only want to hear ideas that have to do with expressing their ideas about the subject at hand.
ReplyDeleteI also think that if they write their own stories that getting them bound and "published" will let them think they are writers. They are not only writing, but they are writers. This is a powerful motivating factor that they will carry with them into their next writing exercise.
Writing is all about expression - good word choice! I definitely think that encouraging students to convey their own personal messages is a way to get their brains thinking and prepared to write! I remember last semester I watched the recording of Mr. Gary Hogg, the author, presenting and he stated that "in order to get children to love to read or write, show them that you love to read or write." I've stuck with this thought for forever because it is so true - expression is the key in every sense! Express to them your love for the subjects and they will begin to develop that same love in their own way! Good post!
DeleteKasey...I liked the statement about reading being receptive and writing to be expressive a very good point. I feel that part of the difficulty for young readers, is the synthesizing part and getting what they want to say on paper in the form of writing. This is where the strategies presented in this chapter are so very important in teaching our students to become good writers.
DeleteThe scenario emphasizes the importance of using activities that correspond with test requirements so the students learn these skills. It is important to use a variety of writing activities to accommodate all students and their learning preferences and interests. The author discusses how reading and writing are as separate as they are the same and learning one does guarantee the learning of the other. It was interesting to me to learn that ELL’s usually take 2 years to learn communication skills but 5-7 years to develop academic skills. Reading and writing both use the same cognitive processes and skills. The main difference in reading and writing is that reading is receptive and writing is expressive. This chapter covers the 5 areas students struggle in when writing: graphic, semantic, graphophonic, syntactic and pragmatic. It also discusses the 7 stages of emergent writing: drawing, scribbling, letter-like forms, letter strings, copying, invented spelling, and conventional spelling. I remember analyzing and categorizing students work into these categories in a previous class. It is interesting to see how they move through these stages. I like that this chapter includes activities that are appropriate for students at each stage. It was interesting to me that when comparing the stages of writing development of English speakers and Spanish speakers there is no corresponding level for the traditional stage. I think the characteristics of skilled and unskilled writers provide a good guide to follow when determining what type of writer students are. I know this may seem like common sense but it is always good to be able to see which skills they are lacking in. The writing process section of this chapter provided a good review of the different writing stages. The part of this chapter that I gained the most knowledge from was about evaluating writing instruction. It talked about the 5 areas I must evaluate my own performance in, in order to be an effective writing instructor: classroom environment, instruction, class schedule, professional role model and professional growth. I must ensure my students have all the needed materials to write as well as numerous resources and a safe and supportive environment. I must implement whole group, small group and individual instruction. The students must be provided with ample time to write, have conferences and share. I need to demonstrate good writing skills and share my work with the students. It is imperative that I continue to grow and learn as a teacher in order to provide the best instruction possible to my students.
ReplyDeleteI like how the text stated in being an effective writing instructor, you must share your own work with students. If you are modeling the writing process and performing it with the students then they will be more willing to do it also. This is the same for reading. If students are reading, then the teacher should be reading. Sustained time for reading and writing are both very important in being a role model for students.
Deletemb
DeleteChapter 11 covered the topic of writing. I absolutely loved this chapter, simply because I love to write! This chapter notes the difference between reading and writing - reading is when we are receiving a message whereas writing is when we are conveying some sort of message. Both of these things are very complex cognitive processes which is why the education of reading is so very important. It seemingly lays the groundwork for every other subject, reading and comprehension are a must!
ReplyDeleteThe chapter then discussed both the components and the stages of writing which I found interesting. The components of writing were something I was aware of but I liked how the book divided out the 4 components and explained them in much simpler terms. The stages of writing is also something I remember learning about in Children's Lit. and other classes. I love looking at drawings and writing as children advance from stage to stage. On page 286 they shared a number of examples of the stages of emergent writers. It's so incredibly neat to see that advancement as years pass.
The book also discussed the skills of both skilled and unskilled writers, in relation to those stages of emergent writers. Some are seemingly obvious while others were slightly surprising. On page 293 the author shared some more detailed information about the writing process which started on page 290. It talked about writing drafts, revisions, editing, publishing, etc. It was interesting to read about each of these components in an informational text myself and be able to relate it to what my 5th graders are doing write now for specific writing assignments.
The ending of the book discussed the six-trait writing method and all of its components. This is definitely something that is familiar to me but it was a good to be refreshed on the details. The activities at the end of the chapter were relative to six-trait writing. It provided activities for each trait including ideas and content, voice, word choice, ect. So helpful! Definitely loved reading this chapter!
Chapter 11 covered writing. The text gave insight into reading and writing connections. The components of writing are graphic, semantic, gaphophonic, and syntactic. Stages of emergent writing include drawing, scribbling, letter-like forms, letter strings, copying, invented spelling, and conventional spelling. Six essential elements of a writing workshop are to have a regular, sustained writing time, allow choices, give feedback, establish structure, build a community, and provide mini-lessons for direct, explicit instruction. The writing process includes prewriting for brainstorming, structuring, and deciding on an audience; drafting, editing, revising, editing, and publishing also occur. Evaluating writing is best done with the use of rubrics and portfolios to show growth. The chapter also gives information on other assessments and technology connections, along with the ever so resourceful intervention strategies and activities.
ReplyDeleteBeing able to view the stages of writing is amazing. I think the most visible time is in Kindergarten when they start school they can form letters but do not make a connection and by the end of school they can use invented spellings and some conventional spelling. As a parent, developing writing skills begins with scribbling. Parents need to know how important just giving their child crayons and paper is. My son was always 'drawing' when he was a toddler, and before he even started Pre-K he was able to write letters. In my tutoring sessions we just did story writing. I decided to let them write about anything they wanted, within limits. They had a blast once they got started and even wanted to write a chapter book! They have just done their 'sloppy copy' and I can see improvement within their spelling with other areas we have studied over the past few weeks.
I found this chapter to be very informative about writing, and how it is closely linked to reading, as well as strategies good writers need to use and how we are supposed to teach them in the classroom. I learned much about the different components of writing and how emergent writers display their current levels of writing through their works. I believe that one of the most important aspects of writing that our students need to be taught is the writing processes that include the pre-writing stage, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. I feel that if students can be taught and receive ample practice in each of these writing stages, they will benefit greatly. We as teachers need to make sure that the way we instruct our students is sound as well. Our classroom environment, manner of instruction, class schedule, professionalism, and professional growth should all be done with the goal of creating better writers in mind. I learned much about how the six +1 traits of writing should guide how we write. One question that came to mind was: Why, if writing is so intertwined with reading, are these things not more evident in the classrooms today? Once again, the activities at the end of the chapter were extremely helpful and will prove to be a valuable resource in my future classroom when I instruct in reading.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you about your question on why we don't see more in the classrooms today. I have seen evidence of the 6 trait writing style, but not the six + 1. I also agree that students should learn about the writing process.
DeleteI was a kindergarten para for many years up until this school year. When I started we did the Letter People program, then we adopted Success For All (SFA). At the end of last year, they decided they needed something different because of the low test scores. When looking, one thing that was important to them was having a program that included writing. Neither the Letter People or SFA had writing components and they felt like that was very important. Their new program, I believe it is called Treasures, has writing beginning at the Kindergarten level.
DeleteThe chapter begins by discussing the components of writing with five aspects of language, graphic, semantic, graphophonic, syntactic, and pragmatic. It also goes into detail about the stages of emergent writing. These seven stages include drawing, scribbling, letter like forms, letter strings, copying, invented spelling, and conventional spelling. This to me was very interesting, because even though I was aware of a couple of these stages I didn’t realize there were so many. I personally would have thought that drawing and scribbling would be the same stage, but I can see now how they differ. I also didn’t know that the good old 6 trait writing assessment has been changed to the 6 + 1 writing assessment. The addition of presentation does add a different element which I feel is important for children to learn.
ReplyDeleteLike I have said in many of these blogs, I especially like the different activities that are included in the chapter. There are so many activities that I could have used during my tutoring sessions that could have helped my students. One in particular I would have liked to use during my poetry sessions would have been the fibbin poems. It would have been cool because of the integration of mathematics in the lesson since the lesson is named after Fibonacci who was a mathematician.
I agree with you about the activities at the end of the chapters. I used some of them in my lesson plans for comprehension. Their are so many great activities for each section of the Big 5. This book will be a wonderful tool during student teaching.
DeleteJulia and Chris, this text serves as a great resource for all of us not only for planning for tutoring sessions, but most definitely for planning for our future classrooms. I especially likes several of the activities used in this section, my personal favorite was the noun stories activity, I think my tutoring group could have had a lot of fun with this one.
DeleteChapter 11 of the DeVries text had a lot of very useful information. They talked about how reading and writing are similar in many fashions. We have been taught in our classes how they go together, but not how they differ. This chapter explained that there are three differences in reading and writing, and that was something new for me. First, reading is receptive and writing is expressive. When you read, you are taking in information, and when you write, you are expressing information. Second, when you read you comprehend what others have written. When you write, you have to choose words that express the point of your writing and the message you are sending. The third difference is that when reading you decode words and when you write you encode words. The text goes on to discuss the 5 components of writing, which include graphic, semantic, graphophonic, syntactic, and pragmatic. I really liked reading about the seven stages of emergent writing on page 285, and appreciated all the activities they had to go along with each level. On page 291 they discussed the characteristics of skilled and unskilled writers and then went on to discuss the writing process. One of my favorite parts of this chapter was the website references on page 296. Including technology in lessons is so important and really helps me keep the students attention. This list had a lot of great sites on it. Some of them I have used before and some were new to me. What a great resource! The 6+1 Trait Writing had a TON of new information in it. I think this is a great tool to use in the classroom, and I like how it went over every part of it, including the assessments. As always, there were many great activities listed at the end of the chapter that will be very beneficial in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed looking over and even visiting a few of the websites listed on page 296. A few of them I have used here and there throughout classes, but too be honest, I had never really heard of many of these until this chapter. One of the websites I visited was www.cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com and oh my goodness there are so many tools to use here for practically every subject area. This one was definitely added to my lists of favorites!
DeleteThis chapter focused on the connection between reading and writing for students. The part that I found most interesting in this chapter was the writing stages. Yes, I've studies them before, but I really like how this chapter gave an example of each one. But it also saddened me because this semester I am observing in a 3rd grade classroom where too many of the students are still seem (to me anyway) to be in the conventional spelling stage. For being almost the end of the year it saddens me to see this and I don't observe their reading time any, but I haven't seen the teacher help them much in any form to improve the spelling capabilities. But who knows, maybe she has. I'm just worried that these students already seem to be two years behind where they should be, how much further behind are they going to end up before something is actually done about it? If anything is ever done about it.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I really didn't understand in this chapter was figure 11.3 with the sound boxes. I feel like this is something I should know and understand how to do, but I don't...I've reread this section and looked over this figure a couple of times and just can't figure it out, but it looks like a really nifty tool to know how to use.
Later on in the chapter it talks about the 6+1 traits of writing. I remember being introduced to these in 3rd grade, but then it was just known as the 6 traits of learning, so it was nice to see they are now adding (the +1) presentation onto the 6 traits, because anymore there is so much material typed that presentation needs to be taught and mastered at an early age as well.
I have never heard of or seen sound boxes before. I am still a little confused at how they work but I would love to see them in action. I wonder if there is anything on YouTube? That seems to be a great resource these days!
DeleteKayla, I couldn't agree with you more regarding how it saddens you about the status of some of your third grade students and the fear that they will simply continue to fall behind. I too, am in a third grade classroom and it amazes me the disparity between the top of the class and the bottom, many of our bottom students are reading at a first grade level. Ironically, I am reading your post after having listened to the recorded session regarding the new trend to hold students back, especially at the third grade level. Unless there is active identification and support put in place for many of theses students, unfortunately the learning gap between these students and their grade level peers will continue to grow. As future educators this will be one of the biggest challenges we face.
ReplyDeleteChapter 11 looks at the process of writing and how it is integrated into reading and language arts. This text reminded me how reading and writing go hand in hand, while reading both are cognitive processes, reading is a receptive, whereas writing is expressive. This text continues to discuss the components of writing and the distinct stages of writing. The text emphasizes the importance of giving students the opportunity and time to write and 'learn' to write in class through writing workshops. Just as reading requires readers to develop necessary foundational skills, so does writing.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most interesting components of this chapter for me was having students take attitude surveys about writing. I guess I simply had never thought about that. However, this would be an insightful way to gain understanding of how students felt about writing and would be a key tool for planning instruction.
For me, I have always liked to write and I have enjoyed watching many students within my class thrive in their writing ranging from poems, to plays to narrative papers. However, on the other end of the spectrum there are a number of students that struggle in this area and I am curious to see how they will catch up. With such an emphasis in the district I observe in specifically on math and reading, writing workshop is not a daily activity.
I think that assessing the student’s attitude about writing is really important. I was always one that loved to write, though I hated the editing part. I do remember some of my friends hating to write and not liking anything about it unless it was about the one thing that caught their attention, and then they still had a hard time with it. Like you said it is a great way to plan for instruction and plan on those that don’t like to write. I think that writing is really important and should be something that is done every day, but in varied forms.
DeleteMaggie
DeleteYou make an interesting point about a student’s attitude toward writing. I can see how some students just love it and others would rather do about anything else. I used a reading attitude survey during my internship to help me understand how they felt about reading because it helped me know how to plan lessons for them. Writing could be the same way. If you know a student does not like to write, a teacher can investigate further to find out why and maybe help the student work through the difficulty. I agree with you too that writing has not gotten the emphasis in schools that it once did especially when it is an important skill.
An interest survey is a great idea! I work with a first grader who is "developmentally delayed" severely (we are thinking moderate-acute dyslexic but are in process of testing). She HATES to write. Loathes it! Partly because she isn't good at it. On the last writing assignment her neighbor filled out 6 pages in beautiful, neat, handwriting, perfectly spelled, and punctuated. While the frustrated first grader managed to get 2 sentences with a total of 8 words down on paper. Of course she hates this activity - it's frustrating and incredibly difficult for her! It doesn't help that her neighbor is incredibly good at it. Now, sit her down and let her dictate and you'll get some amazing, inventive, and incredibly LONG stories. We take turns now with writing - she tells the story, then she and I take turns writing it down.
DeleteThe Pre-writing stage on page 291 almost gave me chills because it brought some unpleasant times as I worked with a 4th grade hearing impaired student. This student has 2 cochlea's and uses a microphone deal. It seems to be in connection with the cochlear, but I have never seen this in others who had cochlea's. Not only does this child have such difficulty with his hearing, but he is also an ESL student.
ReplyDeleteThe author says that the student needs to understand, how to choose a topic, brainstorm possible subtopics, "how to structure their material and how to tailor their writing to their audience." It is very difficult to help the student find a topic, let alone all of the other area's. With his hearing and language barriers, he has tremendous difficulty coming up with anything, even with a topic. What I do is ask questions and write what he says for him to copy. (Spelling is another issue)
On page 292, figure 11.7 is a storyboard example. I really like this idea, with a pre-made flow map, with generic box leads, this could work! I am going to try it when they write their next paper.
The example box leads are "Character is described, Life before interruption, the incident that created the interruption..." This could work, how exciting!
Reading requires students to gather background knowledge and connect it to new information. When they write they put their thoughts into a message that has order and makes sense. Not all kids are able to put their thoughts into words. Reading and writing depend on the same cognitive process involving semantic, syntactic, graphophonic and pragmatic. All goals for reading and writing are the same – there are seven of them. But there are differences between reading and writing. Reading is receptive and writing is expressive. It is now common practice to give students time during the day to write on their choice of topic to get them comfortable with writing. However, many students still struggle with being able to write effectively. There are stages of writing that begin with toddlers who use an instrument to scribble and put marks on paper. This is the emergent stage when they are exploring ways to put marks on paper and develops into eventually forming letters and being able to tell stories from their attempts at words/letters . Next is the conventional stage. There are skilled and unskilled writers. My particular focus from the reading was on unskilled writers, especially since I work with special ed kids who, when told to write an essay, stare at the blank screen on their computer for hours without being able to put their thoughts into an organized format. They fit all the criteria for unskilled writers: write only what they know, do not plan, do not reflect on what they have written, have no idea of audience, lac organization, very seldom delete material, lack detail and elaboration, spend a short amount of time on composition, struggle with mechanics, emphasize form instead of content, lack knowledge of he writing process, do not research topics and do not proofread. There seem to be so many kids (high schoolers) that have no writing skills at all and it makes me wonder where we (teachers) failed them. Most of them do not even know how to make an outline to organize information. We have a new English teacher this year and she has been such a blessing in teaching them how to be better organized in preparation for writing. I have heard of six trait writing before but the “+1” was new to me (presentation). Page 296 listed many websites that I will share with my coworkers. Some of the sites were familiar to me and others were not. I am interested to further explore some of them.
ReplyDeleteChapter 11 was over the similarities and differences in reading and writing, the developmental writing stages, tips for helping struggling writers during the writing process, writing digital text and using the internet to publish it, the challenges with ELL students and writing, and assessments and strategies for struggling readers. The activities and intervention at the end was great and full of wonderful ideas that would be great to bring into a class.
ReplyDeleteI think that if a student does not like writing it is hard to get them engaged and willing to write their best. It would be helpful to get some ideas on how to excite students about writing.
There was more to the stages of writing instruction than I was really aware of. Though they make sense, I never really thought about them being set in stages like they are. I like how the different stages are emphasized with different activities and how to promote the students to develop farther in that stage. The share the pen activity that was talked about is great and I feel like they would be really helpful in developing good writing later on. I think that the invented spelling stage is really important and I think it is a time when students can really be proud of what they wrote and spelled on their own. The assessment section was really helpful for me because having more ideas of how to assess writing is really good.
I remember doing writing workshops and loved them when I was in school. I remember that editing was the hardest part for me. I had a really hard time changing things in my own paper. When I would have my parents help me edit my papers and I really didn’t like when they would have me change different things in my paper ebcasue I thought that they were trying to make my work not my work.
I understand the concept of the invented spelling stage is important. But, the first graders I work with want so badly to spell the word "right" and I have a hard time finding the words to let them know they have spelled it perfect for a 1st grader.
DeleteI remember my 16 year old's kindergarten teacher, would ask the kids "are you in college?" "Do you have to write like a college student?"
Brenna, I don't know if you took the Reading/Language Arts internship last semester but Gary Hoggs had come to FHSU. He was amazing. He writes the Spencer series and he was very good at encouraging writing in the classroom. If you have not heard of him you should look him up and see how he encourages students to be authors.
DeleteI like how this chapter offers some ideas to help get students engaged in writing because there are many students who don't enjoy writing. I thought the assessment part of this chapter was helpful because I didn't realize all the ways to assess writing. I would agree about the editing part of writing that is what I struggled with the most and I still do when I write so I like having someone that is able to help with this.
DeleteReading and writing work closely together. I am fascinated by the stages of emergent writing in the way a child goes from drawing a picture to writing out whole thoughts in words. The Reading Recovery example was an interesting method that the teacher used to help Billy write a sentence. Billy used several different strategies to spell the words in the sentence from environmental print to sounding out words. I liked the method of putting a line for a difficult word and coming back to it later with the teacher guiding him. The strategy allows him to continue to write and not be slowed down by waiting on the teacher who may be involved with other students.
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in incorporating writing workshops into my classroom. I like the idea of having a regular sustained time to write. The text discusses several prewriting strategies that I could envision helping the students write more effectively. By allowing the students to choose a topic that they are interested in, the students are then more excited about the writing process. Also teaching students how to take the time to structure their thoughts or research before writing strengthens the end product.
The part of the writing process with students that I struggle with is the editing process. In my reading methods internship, the students completed several writing projects that involved editing. From this experience, I found that during the self-edit students would read through their writing and not find any mistakes. Then their peers would edit and find a few mistakes. I would then read it and find all sorts of mistakes. I would like to find a method of editing were the students are more engaged and responsible in the editing process and understand why they want to develop that skill.
I also learned in my internship how much rubrics helped me to grade the students writing. Developing a rubric conveyed to the students what was expected in their writing assignment. It also helped me to grade their writing with more consistency and helped me stay focused on the point of their writing assignment. Learning how to write and convey ideas to others is an important skill to develop for students.
I found those stages of writing very interesting as well. I thought it was compelling how the quality of illustration was far beyond the writing. Meaning, the details in the illustration seemed to be ahead of the being able to form letters with that same attention to detail. I only mention this, because I work with a student who is 7, and probably draws and writes like an average 3 year old. But, he came to this point from not even being willing to hold a pencil 1 year ago. So, I really was studying the quality of drawings vs letter formation in those photographs.
DeleteI think having a sustained writing period during classtime is important too. Not so much correct grammar or spelling but getting them interested in putting down their ideas and thoughts onto paper. The high school English teacher has the kids use a lab journal like you would use in science and they can either draw a topic from a jar or write their own but they have to write for three minutes straight...she calls it "sneeze" writing because it's short.
DeleteI found this chapter to be very interesting. I have been in a school environment for 6 years now. Recently I have noticed, when teachers have the students write, they are just as tense about the situation as the students are. I believe this negativity brushes off on the students.
ReplyDeleteWatching the videos this semester, and seeing the exciting ideas such as guided writing, where the students "publish" books. I recall from RLA the project where the students got to solve a mystery and write about it.
I want as a teacher, to have writing be a fun time for the students, and not something that they struggle with. I have witnessed students who love to draw, hate to write. To me, it seems like a natural transition, that should be enjoyable.
I was happy to see that guided reading was listed as one of the activities at the end of this chapter. I have already started looking more into that idea. I also was glad to see the 6+1 traits of writing. I recall that from past classes as well. Something I struggle with in the classroom, is that the students want, very much to spell words "like an adult", and do not like the invented spelling. I want them to be able to embrass it, and be proud of their spelling.
I, too, liked this chapter. I can understand why some teachers are tense about it, but for me it would be the the correcting of the assignment. I think it stems from being a mediocre writer myself and wanting to grade the writing correctly. I think some of the activities listed would be fun for most students.
DeleteChapter 11 discusses writing. The components of writing include graphic, semantic, graphophonic, and syntactic. The graphic component involves the ability to form the letters of the alphabet. Semantic is the abstract meaning of a word. Graphophonic in writing is the letter sound-relationship. Finally syntactic is the structure of a sentence and paragraph. This chapter gives the characteristics of skilled and unskilled writers. This will be especially helpful in the classroom. The activities are an asset in this chapter.
ReplyDeleteIs the 6+1 Trait Writing Assessment the same as 6 trait writing assessment? I have heard about 6 trait but did not know if the +1 is a different instruction model.
The reading helped to show me the importance of writing. I am not sure I am as vigilant about incorporating as much writing as I should have in the lessons. Sure I had them writing daily but not in a formal fashion. I love some of the ideas and activities in our reading, especially the poem ideas.
I think writing intimidates me. I am nervous whether I am going to grade it correctly or if someone would disagree with the way I grade it. Maybe some of this is because it is not my strong point.
Chapter 11 talks about how writing and reading are complex cognitive developmental processes with aspects that occur before, during, and after each distinct reading or writing task. When you talk about reading and writing their are two big differences between them. The first one is that reading is considered a receptive language art and writing is an expressive language art. The second one is that readers must comprehend what others have written and writers must know their audience and choose the genre that best express their ideas. When it comes to writing instruction teachers are now understanding that students need to learn how to use the computer to write effectively and not just have them set there for a certain amount of time writing on their favorite topic. There are five components when it comes to writing and these are: graphic, semantic, graphophonic, syntactic, and pragmatic. One type of writing that is use is the 6 trait writing and the traits consist of idea/content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and presentation. This chapter also covers ways to assess students writing.
ReplyDeleteOne question I have would be when reading about the 6+1 trait writing. I can remember there being 6 trait writing so is the 6+1 trait writing new and when did it become this? I have never heard of presentation for 6 trait so just wondering if this is new recently?
I think after reading this chapter I look at assessing writing in a different way. I always thought you just went and would write something and the teacher would check punctuation and that was about it. I realize that there is way more to assessing a students writing such as with rubrics or formal assessments. I also look at how important writing is and how it ties to reading in a big way.
In my own experience I can remember doing pen pals in elementary school and how much fun it was to write to a friend in another country. I think pen pals are a great way to get students to write and to enjoy writing because it is fun to hear from someone that lives in a different culture than you. I think they are also good for students to see how other students write.
Jared-
DeleteI also wrote pen pals in elementary school. And I enjoyed it because for one I like to write and two because that I got to find out about my pen pal and where they were from. It is a great idea for the students to participate in a program like that.
I did a creative writing unit in the last few weeks of tutoring. My students absolutely loved it! It is very time consuming but the experience was very positive for all. It was great to see how they write. I was able to see more into their thought process of decoding and immediate word recall as well. I wish I would have done the writing unit at the beginning of our time together because I could have worked on those skills throughout. I definitely left with a lot of information about my students needs that I had not realized before the writing unit. I also used it as a fluency activity. After the stories were written, edited and a final copy was made they practiced reading their stories with high fluency. They then read these to their parents on the last day. It worked great! They were motivated to practice their stories and focused on their fluency because they were the authors of the story! we could have spent all of our sessions on just writing. There are so many things that we did not do and I wasn't even sure that we would get through it. In the end I even typed up their final copies for them. I loved figure 11.2! I wish that I would have put something together like this with my own children's art. I have lots of things that they have made, but they are definitely not organized by date. I have to admit that poetry has grown on me in the last couple of semesters as well. I really need to make a poetry resource notebook for myself. I am pretty excited to do poetry with my future students. I think that I can make it a much more positive experience for them than my teachers did for me!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you did creative writing with your tutoring sessions. I think creative writing is an important thing for students to do. I love to write and I think that is because I was always encouraged to write as a child. Creative writing opens up your imagination and allows you to elaborate what you are thinking. I also like that you used the creative writing as a fluency activity as well. You can do so many activities with writing and tie into so many things.
DeleteI really enjoyed the scenario at the beginning of the chapter. I like how that Mr. Burns loves writing and used it in his classroom, but didn't find any improvement on their writing tests. He then figures out what he needs to do to improve the scores in writing and he does that. It is so important for teachers to do their research and find out exactly what they need to do to help their students. I may cost more time, but in the end we as teachers do what is best for our students.
ReplyDeleteChapter 11 focuses on writing. Writing to me is something that has always came natural to me. I have been writing my own poems and stories since before I can remember. I started collecting those poems when I was a Sophomore in High School. I like to look back of what I have written and how much I have improved over the years. And still to this day, writing a research paper or essay is nothing to me. I can write one no matter the length in a few hours.
My favorite section of the chapter is the intervention section. This section has plenty of activities to use with writing. I feel that it is so important for students to write, not only does it get them to express themselves. It will help them in the long run like it has for me. Writing isn't a chore for me, it is something I enjoy and can do effortlessly. If teachers encourage writing on a daily basis it will help the students more.
Interesting Cassandra.......I had some similar comments! Like you, I enjoy writing myself. Essentially, it's another method of communication, and I love the creativity associated with writing. I also feel that the more teachers can expose their students to writing with journals, blogs, poetry, etc., it can provide them the opportunity to practice their writing, gain more confidence, and hone their skills in this area. Exposing students to a variety of literature can definitely enhance their writing capabilities as well. Another comment I made in my post that I think is significant is the educator's attitude towards writing; sharing a positive attitude with one's students about writing can be contagious. Teachers can model this on a daily basis.
DeleteI enjoyed reading your comments!
I have really enjoyed this book. I think the activities are all great ideas that we can employ in the classroom. Each one gives me ideas on ways that I can work with it to change it around and make it my own. I think that this chapter on writing and the importance of it is something that we may not have focused on much because we have been so zoned in on reading, but I think this goes hand in hand and should not be over looked.
Deletethanks,
Julie Copeland
Writing has always been something I have struggled with, so it does not surprise me from reading the book, struggling writers are struggling readers. When I took my English Comp. Classes, the instructor would give us a prompt and tell us we had a certain amount of time to write and told us to just start writing, it would just come to us. She was right, once a student just starts to write and not worry is the writing is correct, the ideas begin to immerge. The fluency is something that will come once the thoughts are put on paper. The more prior knowledge a student has on a topic, the better they are equipped to express themselves. There are stages of learning to write, the drawing stage, scribbling stage, letter-like and letter string stage, the copying stage, invented spelling stage, and the conventional spelling stage. Students will most likely go through these stages by the age of 7, after that they will start to incorporate the story telling along with the structure if they are skilled writers. Unskilled writers tend to struggle with planning and organizing their writing. They will write and re-write feeling inadequate about their ideas. When I have helped students write narrative or informational papers, they will have a guide to follow, I get them going and then step away. When they finish, I have them read it like a kindergartener to find grammar mistakes. It always amazes me how many I find in my own work when I use this strategy.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with writing too. I have a hard time with grammar and punctuation. When I write on the projector in front of a class I get nervous that I am spelling something wrong because it has happened to me before. That is something I need to work on as a teacher.
DeleteI have struggled with writing as well, mostly grammar. Like you pointed out, struggling writers are struggling readers. This is very interesting and very true. Reading and writing are very intertwined and cover a lot of the same areas of learning. It is important for teachers to work on these areas, especially when they are noticing problems since it will show up in more than one area.
DeleteIn this chapter it discusses writing and the stages that come along with it. Students are able to write before they read, however, people may not understand what it says. A younger student is still trying to express themselves before they know how to. I really enjoy watching a toddler write because in their mind, they are expressing their ideas.
ReplyDeleteWhen students get into school, they start to learn how to write letters, words, sentences, then stories. They learn to pre-write, draft, edit, and re-write a final copy. I have seen students in kindergarten start revising when a teacher uses marks and they have to figure out what those marks mean.
When teaching a writing lesson, a teacher needs to make sure the lesson can connect with the students. Students will loose interest when they HAVE to write about something they do not like. I want to make sure I have choice writing, and I plan on using different writing prompts to help students enjoy writing.
I am poor in the grammar section in writing. I have always gotten marked down, still till this day, from my grammar. I hope I am able to feel confident when writing on the board in front of my class with out spell check. That is something I am nervous about as a teacher.
Grammar is something that is very difficult, but it is something I think is very important for both the students and the teacher. If a teacher can't write in front of students, it will be very difficult for them to take the teacher seriously. I watched a student teacher that simply could not write at all quit because the teacher she was working with would not accept her work. I think this is something we all have to work on before and while we are in the classroom.
Deletethanks,
Julie Copeland
ReplyDeleteThis chapter of the DeVries text elaborates on writing and the strong correlation between it and reading. The text explains several similarities and differences between reading and writing. Reading and writing both rely on semantic, syntactic, graphophonic, and pragmatic systems. One of the primary differences that is so important to keep in mind when comparing and contrasting reading and writing is that reading involves receiving a message; it’s a “receptive language art”. Writing is an expressive language; it entails creating, then delivering a message. The expressive and receptive components can then combine to produce a really artful form of communication. We read about the components of writing, as well as the stages of writing which progress from drawing to invented spelling to incorporating the conventional stage. The six important stages of writing workshop are each described in detail; I think theses descriptions include quite beneficial information and help as well. The six traits of writing consist of ideas or content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions; I was actually surprised to see that it’s now identified as the 6 + 1 traits which, more formally includes the presentation aspect of the writing.
I liked the idea of using a rubric which could record students’ growth, thereby providing a method of identifying where students need to improve. As far as the rubrics, I thought it was interesting that attitudes towards writing can be assessed. Many students definitely become intimidated by the writing process, and this can affect a student’s attitude about his or her writing abilities.
I think a teacher who incorporates writing into a student’s daily schedule will help the student to become familiar with the process of writing more quickly. Additionally, an educator’s enthusiasm for writing can be such a benefit to all students. I really want to include a substantial amount of writing for my students. I want to be able to provide plenty of practice/experience for them to build their confidence with writing. It’s such a unique expression of creativity. There were several strategies in the chapter that could be very beneficial; I liked “Sharing the Pen” for younger grade schoolers, and I love the blogs for older students.
I liked the rubrics too. This is something that I want to use more often. Also, I agree that an educator's enthusiasm for writing makes a big difference. After listening to Gary Hogg's lecture, I began writing while my students were writing and sharing my pieces and it did make a big difference in their attitudes about writing.
DeleteI was glad the chapter did an overview of the components of writing, I always find myself having to double check these. Graphic is knowledge about how to form the 26 letters, semantic focuses on word meanings, graphophonic is working with the different ways vowel sounds can be spelled and syntatic is being able to write a good sentence. When looking at assessing writing I liked the idea of the rubric to check each component of writing ( setting, characters, motives). The chapter also touched on guided writing, this is something that I would like to try but have not used yet. However, the ideas to use in guided writing were great ideas and many of them I could relate to as areas of weaknesses with my students. Like many of the other chapters a lot of writing activities were given in the chapter. My favorites were sequels and the different poetry examples.
ReplyDeleteI think that this chapter is important in revisiting the idea that the written word is important because it gives the child another way to learn and explore the written word seen in reading but in a manipulation way. Students have to be free to express themselves and we have to tread lightly with the urge to correct them and make writing seem like a chore. We have to get students comfortable with the process of writing, the feel of it before we even think about bringing the technical side of it into the picture. Students have to see be shown the connection between reading, listening, speaking and wrtiting and that they all go hand in hand in regards to reading.
ReplyDeleteChapter 11 was titled writing. It began by talking about the reading and writing connection again. This is a connection that I think should not be overlooked. I think that they go hand in hand and you simply can't have one without the other. There was a paragraph on the differences between reading and writing, which I found to be very interesting. The chapter then moved to writing instruction, components of writing, and stages of emergent writing. The portion on writing stages of bilingual spanish-english writers, I thought was very informative. The chapter then moved to the 6 + 1 trait writing assessment and instruction model. This is a framework for assessing, talking about, and organizing writing. After that, the chapter moved into activities. I liked the portion on Mt. Plot. The idea of responding to stories by creating story maps is something that I think children can relate to.
ReplyDeletethanks,
Julie Copeland
Chapter 11 is about writing and the different stages of writing. The chapter starts off with the similarities and differences with reading and writing, but the way I see it, is that you cannot have one without the other. On one of the first pages in the chapter, it gave a list of the same goals that reading and writing have that go together. Students are able to see the connection between reading and writing when they follow these simple goals. These goals include; chunking of words, root word use, and connecting spelling with word meanings; to list a few. Moving on to writing, there is a lot that goes into it, like the different stages of emergent writing, and the writing process. These all come together to make everyone a better writer. These include the processes of revising, editing, and publishing. Like many of the other chapters in this text, this chapter provides a lot of strategies and activities for teachers to use in their classrooms to help with student's writings. I wish my teachers would have used some of these activities to help me when I was younger. To this day, I still have problems with my writing, mainly grammar, I am terrible with it.
ReplyDeleteI believe the same, in that reading and writing go hand in hand. I think in order to do one of these skills really great, you also must understand and know the other. I love to read and I love to write. I am not as good as a writer as I am a reader because I get so many things in my head and do not always seem to put it down on paper the way that I see it or want it to sound. I also wish that my teachers would have taught writing differently.
DeleteThanks for sharing!
This is easily my favorite chapter in the book thus far!!! This chapter was completely packed full of new strategies and techniques to incorporate into my future classroom and I absolutely love them! There is a part of this chapter that will stay in my head forever (I hope),"Students learn to write by writing texts; many require mentoring in the five steps of the writing process to become proficient. When students understand this process, they know to gather information before they write. When they begin writing, they know to get their ideas down on paper before they work on revisions and mechanics." I LOVE LOVE LOVE this!! I cannot stress how many times I have been told to pick a topic and start writing. It would have been so much more helpful if a teacher would have told me to jot down a few ideas I had of words/phrases that jumped out at me while I was reading about a certain topic because it would be so much easier for me to write about. Even if I wasn't writing a paper, it seems to be so much easier to just jot things down as they come to mind and then go back and revise them, kind of like a rough draft.
ReplyDeleteWriting, to me, is an important backbone to our Reading and Language Arts area. This chapter has offered so much great insight and ideas that I cannot wait to use.