I have never been a person who has enjoyed writing. I see many of my students love to write in their free time, and I have never felt that passion. One of the reasons why I do not enjoy writing is that someone else is telling me what to write about. I think many of my students feel the same way as I do and struggle when they have to write about certain topics. This is why I try to give my students choice in their writing. By providing broad topics or letting students free write on any topic, they will automatically be more motivated and have more ideas about their writing. To help my students through the writing process, I really focus on developing strong prewriting. With guidance, my class fully thinks out and organizes their writing by using graphic organizers. I have consistently seen that a well developed piece of prewriting leads to a well-writted final copy. I make my students first reread their writing out loud to find mistakes and then use peer conferences so they can find each others' mistakes. After working independently and with a partner, I then will conference with the child to help them edit and revise.
Reading this chapter helped me see things that I often forget during writing time. I am so bad about sharing our final copies. My students rarely get to read each other's published writings. I really need to start making time to celebrate published writing so that students will feel proud and know that their writing has a purpose. I'm also guilty of conferencing just to fix mistakes, instead of conferencing during different writing stages. Many of my children need help with the prewriting stage so by the time they get to me, the writing is so far off track. I also need to stop using my red pen and hand it over to my student so they can address their mistakes.
I definitely intend to fix these mistakes in my classroom. I could set aside every Friday during snack time, for one or two students to share their published writings. I can conference with students at all stages of their writing instead of focusing on just revising and editing. Lastly, I need to fork over my control and remember that it is the student's writing, not mine. By having the child use the red pen and discuss their writing, they can add details or fix any mistakes with my guidance, not by my insistence.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteTake time out of your busy schedule before the baby comes and simply write about the things that are the most special to you. Go to the bookstore and buy a "Mother's Keepsake" book and start writing for your child. You will never regret it!
Don't beat yourself up about the sharing of the student's final drafts - It happens to me all the time. So many things to accomplish and too little time!
Nanelle
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI teach Creative Writing, a class devoted to writing, and I make the same mistakes. Even though we have 90 minutes it's still hard to work in time to conference regularly, especially with 28 students. I agree that the students should be able to share their.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI, too, had a hard time turning control of the editing over to the students. It was so easy for me to take the red pen, read their wriitng, and make the corrections. It was when I took a class through the Upstate Writing Project that I learned to sit on my hands and let the students make their own corrections! It's hard, but I do it. It was funny, too, when they would ask me why I was sitting on my hands. I just replied that I had to do it so I wouldn't take their red pen.
We really don't have time in our schedules for sharing writing. This is something I think we need to put in our plans. I know that if it's in my plans, I will make the time and do it. It's so important for the students to share what they have to say. We've gotten away from so much that we need to get back to. We can talk about this at planning and put in a small time for the Author's Chair.