As I reflect on my own experiences teaching and interacting with writing, there are many ideas and principles that come to mind. I have not yet had the pleasure of having my own classroom; therefore, I draw back to experiences student teaching and per-diem substitute placements. As I prep for my upcoming long- term substitute interviews, I have begun to dig deeper into what I consider to be absolutely essential in an elementary classroom. What I have come to believe is that there are so many ways for an educator to approach teaching writing, there is no certain "starting point" persay. "Writing is an elusive experience that comes in many guises, looks a little different just about every time you do it,...and can never be precisely the same for any two people" (Tompkins, 2012, p. 16).
Teaching writing to young children is a daunting task that must be carefully constructed due to many factors. First of all, writing is a process that is very cyclical, and does not follow a certain "linear path". As Tompkins (2012) would agree, "...they [children] develop their own ways of cycling through the stages, but even though the writing process is flexible, writers always incorporate some activities representing each of the five stages into their writing process" (p. 16). Moreover, the students must be personally invested in what they are writing if they want to have any motivation to write for an extended amount of time. Finally, writing is a process that takes time to master, "...once students understand the purpose of each stage and become proficient in performing these activities involved in each one, they begin to personalize the writing process by shaping it to fit their needs" (Tompkins, 2012, p. 16).
As for the "core principles" that I value, I would say that writing must occur everyday for students to truly see success. In writing everyday, I say that there must be a writing workshop that students go through each step to construct a published work of their own. This workshop would include a brainstorming, drafting, editing, revising, and publishing step that each child would go through to get to their final copy of their own personal "best piece". Throughout this workshop, the teacher would hold a conference with the students so they can be taught critical aspects of their writing in a one- on- one environment. This is where grammar, spelling, and syntax would be taught where needed. It is also a time for teaching writing organization. However, I know that all of these areas of writing can be taught in a whole- group environment through the use of mini lessons. I believe that whole- class mini lessons are extremely beneficial, but in a conference with one student, the teacher can pinpoint where areas of weakness are coming into play.
To go along with this reflecting on my own practices, I also must consider my own comfortability with technology integration....Dr. Jones you told me to stop.
Kristine, I absolutely love the title and description of this blog. It really helps to set the "tone" for the readers and to clarify the purpose and focus of the blog. Nicely said.
ReplyDeleteSorry I had to cut short your reflective process. You were making some great connections to your past experiences and I can see you already have internalized a number of the principles of quality writing instruction.
As you continue to write these entries, I encourage you to continue writing with the same energy and focus as you do in this one. Also, don't be afraid to keep your "I-voice" consistently throughout the entry. In your second paragraph, because you switch to third person (i.e., the teacher would...), your reflection loses some of its impact because you are no longer telling the reader what YOU will do.
I look forward to reading your future entries Kristine. I have no doubt this will be a rewarding learning experience for you.