While I was growing up, there were many things that caused me to be the writer that I am today. The teachers that I had when I was younger made a huge difference in my writing education because most of them were so passionate about the subject to begin with.
In writing, we spent a lot of time learning about a specific genre, looking at mentor texts and authors that used that particular genre. After we studied this and were familiar with the genre itself, we got time to free write and practice using those skills on our own. We wrote many times in contents that were not just writing so that we got the opportunity to practice our writing skills in non-evaluative areas. For example, in fourth grade we studied Mesa Verde while we were researching Colorado History. We wrote haiku poems, cinquain poems, acrostic poems, and learned about different types of poems. We had to include our knowledge of Mesa Verde and Colorado History content in our poems, showing that our Social Studies knowledge was present in our writing as well. I remember receiving tons of positive feedback about my writing during this unit, and it is then that I developed a love of writing.
We also looked at our own writing as a class after we had written a piece to see what constructive criticism our classmates could give us to be better writers. Our teachers would put our writing up on the overhead and we would talk as a class about what elements were strong in a piece of writing and talk about what elements could still use work. The student whose writing was presented would then get the opportunity to add the ideas that they gained from the rest of the class before writing their final copies. This really helped me as a writer because I was able to see what good techniques my classmates used and I was able to emulate them in my own writing. I was also able to get ideas if I were struggling with a topic or part of a written piece. I could also listen to paragraphs or pieces that didn’t flow and notice what those students did in their paragraphs that I would not want to do in mine.
I always remember having lots of pieces of writing that I was incredibly proud of, and I remember the genres and topics that we wrote about, but I don’t necessarily remember sitting down and writing them. I don’t know if we ever had mini lessons that taught us a skill and I can’t remember if we had time to silently, independently write. I think sometimes time for mini lessons and using these skills in written work can be helpful for students.
We would also have writers workshop, get feedback from our teacher, and then conference with our peers. We would present our research papers or longer pieces that we had worked on for a while in a creative way to the class. This was another way to help us become invested in the topic and remember the information that we learned, and it worked on our public speaking skills. This was also a way for our classmates to learn about the topics that we were so passionate about.
The view of writing that my writing instruction is most similar to is Process Writing. Not only was I asked to produce writing that was of high quality, but I also learned about the actual writing process throughout my journey as a student. I was familiar with the steps of writing, was able to do them on my own after I had enough practice, and I was able to "internalize the process involved" (Freeman and Freeman, 2004, p.30). During the time I spent in school, I developed the "skills needed to produce the message" that I was trying to convey to my reader instead of simply starting with one part and working step by step onto the next part, as mentioned in the Traditional Writing Classroom (Freeman and Freeman, 2004, p.29). We were taught to enjoy writing, and the classroom was set up with many opportunities for us to write authentically. Writing was an avenue of expression instead of simply a subject of turning "words into sentences, and then sentences into paragraphs" (Freeman and Freeman, 2004, p.29). I learned about grammar and mechanics naturally as I grew as a writer, and these things were never forced on me. My writing grew better as my talents as a writer grew better. It was also important that the teacher was not the only person looking at my writing to help correct it, but that my peers, other adults, or sometimes I was the one who was responsible to edit and revise my drafts. My experience definitely was most similar to a Process Writing Classroom.
Today I love to write. I love to show kids the different ways that writing can be used in the classroom. It is sometimes hard for me to teach the direct steps of writing since it does come so naturally to me, but it is something I continue to work on. I think that my education when I was little helped shape this love, because I had so many great teachers who instilled this in me. I also think that the way I was taught made a difference because it kept me engaged and constantly learning.
You must have gone to a wonderful elementary school...Lol!
ReplyDeleteOur experiences were very different in leaning to write. My teachers were more interested in the mechanics of writing. Very rarely did I feel that a teacher was paying attention to the content or the message in my writing. I did not enjoy writing as a child because of this.
Since I know many of the teachers that influenced you as a writer and as a writing teacher, I realize how lucky you were in your education. Barb Robinson was a master at teaching writing. While you were learning how to write from her, I was learning how to teach writing from her. Her approaches in using mentor texts, teaching the process of writing, and allowing each child to create their own craft influenced all of her students to love writing. She made sure they did! We were both very lucky to have had her as a mentor.