Creating Sparks In the Writing Classroom

How do we spark and then maintain an interest in writing among our students? This is the challenge all teachers of writing face. Here are a few ideas to ignite the writing in your classroom.
 I begin by sharing my own writing. This is where you establish credibility as a teacher of writing. My writer’s notebook with its range of text investigations lets students know that I am a writer  -just like them!

I engage students in conversations around my writing life.- Sharing how I harvest ideas,  how I notice things and how I solve problems in my writing. Such conversations create a powerful dialogue that aims to demystify writing, making it appear more accessible to the novice writer. I am sharing the powerful message that writing holds something worth pursuing.

I share examples of quality writing (fiction and non fiction) that have caught my eye. It is important for young writers to see what it means to read like a writer.

I celebrate the wonder of words used by authors in innovative and interesting ways and invite students to write in the style of an author they admire. I take time to show them how I also learn from authors I admire.

I am consciously laying a foundation for writing; creating a climate that welcomes the celebration of language. To do this I encourage students to join me, take a risk and dive into the writing life!  I am investing heavily in a range of pre-writing strategies and activities. Writing is so much more than form and structure.

Important Actions That Spark Writing

• Encourage students to develop regular lists of potential writing ideas/topics
• Encourage students to decide how they might best write about a specific idea
• Introduce artifacts into the classroom and show how they can spark memories and ideas
• Demonstrate the value of inquiry to stimulate writing ideas
• Draw- maps, characters, storyboards
• Demonstrate how you write across a range of genres when considering a topic to find what best suits your needs as a writer
• Read, read, read and make the reading –writing connections visible
• Read about writing and identify writing mentors for yourself. Encourage your students to follow your lead.
• Make talking about writing an integral part of your writing classroom.

Action VERBS! Guest Blogger, Elaine Hirsch Returns

Guest Blogger, Elaine Hirsch returns with a post about verbs and the potential they possess for injecting action and vitality into our writing. Our work with developing writers should place verbs in a prominent position. They are the muscles of our writing- the heavy lifters, and as Elaine writes, verbs ‘incite all your words to dance and sing together instead of just standing in incoherent, silent groups.’ More power to verbs!

I’m certain you’ll gain renewed appreciation for the great work action verbs perform when you read Elaine’s post:

Verbs describe some kind of action, but some verbs are more active than others. Your writing leaps from commonplace to persuasive and engaging just by changing the types of verbs you use. Whether you're writing fiction, a master's degree dissertation, or copy for advertisements, active verbs make readers want more. They switch on readers' imaginative vision and help them truly feel the meaning of your words.

“The verb is the heartthrob of the sentence,” as Karen Gordon writes in The Transitive Vampire. “Without a verb, a group of words can never hope to be anything more than a fragment, a hopelessly incomplete sentence, a eunuch or dummy of a grammatical expression.” What's more, selection of active and more interesting verbs can make the difference between lively writing and words that merely shamble along.

Using plain verbs like “walk” when you could use something like “amble” can condemn your writing to be ordinary and unconvincing. Readers want to be hooked from the first sentence. They want their imaginations thrust in the middle of the action. Active verbs help readers understand what you’re trying to convey, and stay engaged in your writing.

Active verbs also help you keep your writing concise. The shorter your sentences, the easier they are for readers to understand. While it's not a good idea to have short, choppy sentences throughout your writing, using active verbs to reduce the number of words readers must comprehend in your writing makes a positive difference.

Verbs like “elicit,” “conducted,” and “modified” help readers quickly grasp the full meaning of your words. Active verbs capture the subtle connotative meanings more commonplace verbs can't reach. Using active verbs in your business writing is especially important to convince and persuade readers. Concise writing in business is also highly valued because it takes less time to process and understand.

Active verbs give readers more powerful mental images and help them more easily understand your meaning. Words that do more than just state what happened but also convey the emotional tenor or some other level of nuance associated with the event are vital to good writing. Without them, your writing just does the bare minimum of communicating basic meaning.

With active verbs, you can reduce the number of words it takes to say something. You also express deeper and fuller meaning. Since verbs connect words to form complete ideas, your writing should be full of verbs to incite all your words to dance and sing together instead of just standing in incoherent, silent groups. Active verbs are the key to starting the music and getting the words’ feet tapping.

Writing Lessons? Please Stop Says Jay Mathews

Confronting article written by Jay Mathews on his view of the teaching of writing in many U.S. schools.  Mathew's article first appeared in the Washington Post under the banner, Class Struggle. I thought it was worth sharing, as it provides another perspective on writing, particularly in the Secondary education setting in a comparative system. The column has stirred debate about the teaching of writing with the NWP (National Writing Project) urging educators to join in with their responses. Jay Mathews is an education columnist.

Originally Posted at 10:00 AM ET, 11/13/2011

Writing lessons? Please stop

By Jay Mathews

With a few exceptions, our schools are bad at teaching writing. Students are not asked to do much of it, mostly because reading and correcting their work takes so much time. Instruction methods are often academic and lifeless.
English teachers rarely assign non-fiction reading and are even less apt to require non-fiction writing. Almost no high school students, except those in private or International Baccalaureate schools, are required to do major research papers.
Worthy attempts at reform haven’t gotten far. Writing instruction is killing our children’s natural desire to express themselves. Compare their school assignments to their e-mails and you will see what I mean.
The only way to fix this is to tear up what we are doing and start over.
Leading this movement is Paula Stacey, an editor and educator who has taught every level of writing instruction. Her Sept. 21 Education Week piece exposed the torture that is Composition 101. “We have the entire English department at a local high school,” Stacey wrote, “embracing a schoolwide essay format that calls for exactly three central paragraphs containing exactly eight sentences: topic sentence, detail sentence, commentary sentence, another detail sentence, another commentary sentence, a final detail sentence, a final commentary sentence, and a concluding sentence.
“At a different high school across town, a history teacher hands out zeros to students who don’t have the thesis statement as the final sentence in the opening paragraph. Meanwhile, a woman I know who teaches at an elite research university bemoans the fact that her students, among the best in the country, have mastered the five-paragraph essay, but can’t develop a complex idea in writing.”
The new common core standards for ninth and 10th grade writing are enough to chill a classroom. Here is what they recommend for teaching how to write an argument:
“Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.”
The result of such clerical work is usually unreadable. Few people who learn to write this way ever make it their life’s work. The professional writers I know got excited not in class but while compiling personal journals, or composing poems and songs, or sending long letters or e-mails to friends, or working for the school newspaper.
I have been influenced by educators who think free reading is the best homework for elementary school. Why not add some free writing? Stacey suggested junking “the narrow models, the graphic organizers, the formats and the steps” and do something very simple: “Ask students questions, read their answers, and ask more questions.”
Even elementary school students love research opportunities. How long would it take for a fifth grader to produce a report on which of her grandparents spent the most time in school, and why? Once in high school, they can read Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style” and do a 4,000-word researched essay on a teacher-approved topic.
They will still need good teachers. Teaching writing the right way is hard work. But educators have told me they do it because for many of their students it is the most satisfying work they will ever do.
Most school districts don’t see this. But some teachers have already discarded the old rules. They inspire their students to be vivid and clear, rather than just orderly. They show how much this can improve their lives, from love letters to job applications. What better lesson is there in an Internet era in which more words are being written than ever before?

By Jay Mathews |               

Finding the Right Approach with Errors in Student Writing

If parents don’t understand why you’re not marking up mistakes on a piece of writing or’ correcting’ writer’s notebook entries with relentless zeal, then consider this drastic action.
Take a child’s painting and cover it in transparent plastic or laminate. Then, start marking all over it, crossing things out, redrawing other parts, putting notes and comments on it. Parents will most likely find such action discomforting. They might even gasp in horror. Then ask, why should we do this to a student’s writing? Afterall, both are artistic creations –works of art.

Inexperienced writers make errors. So do experienced writers. Learning cannot take place without some level of error. One of the greatest issues a developing writer can face in the process of becoming a competent writer is to be inhibited from responding, for fear of being wrong.

When a young writer tackles an unfamiliar word in their writing and spells it correctly they confirm their existing beliefs concerning that word. If they happen to get it ‘wrong’ then they learn something just as important. They learn that they must modify their belief about that word. The writer learns by testing their existing belief. This is the kind of healthy risk taking we must encourage in our classrooms. Writers should not be afraid to tackle new words.

I watched with glowing pride as a Grade 1 writer recently tackled the word aquarium in her writing, because ‘fish tank’ just wouldn’t do. We celebrated the risk taking with much ceremony during the share time that day. The next lesson saw many more risk takers emerge in that writing community.

Frank Smith in ‘Essays Into Literacy,’ wrote, ‘Children do not learn from being corrected but from wanting to do things the right way.’

They do not become better writers by writing less, and this is the possible negative outcome from an over emphasis on correction.

Correction is beneficial when the student sees the need for it. When students have an authentic purpose for the writing they are doing, they engage in the process with purpose and a desire to make it work for the reader. The pen that makes the correction is in the hand of the writer, not the teacher. Correction needs ownership rather than imposition. Most of the effort put in by teachers acting the part of the correction police is largely a waste of time. It overwhelms the learner and openly promotes the notion of why bother? in the mind of the hapless victim.

Jeff Anderson’s idea of issuing students with’ an invitation to explore’ exemplars of good writing is a wonderful way to deal with many of the issues that young writers deal with as they grapple with making their writing reader friendly. It encourages the developing writer to look for things they might be able to imitate in their own writing. Anderson’s approach condemns the idea of putting up a piece of mistake riddled writing and having students conduct a kind of misguided autopsy on the body of errors. It is consigned to the rubbish bin of irrelevance.

Remember, the argument is not about the standard of student writing but how we go about achieving the standard. By consistently sharing models of great writing we have the opportunity to highlight the conventional wisdom regarding spelling, grammar and sentence construction. Armed with this information the young writer is then invited to conduct a discrepancy analysis and make the appropriate changes. More power to the writer…

Do we want students to be able to identify errors and make corrections, or do we want them to use the power of punctuation to create messages that resonate with clarity and beauty? Actually, we want both!

Breathing Life into Sentences.

The issue of sentence construction arises consistently when discussing the development of student writing. Sentences regularly appear in the work of young writers. Sentences that draw frowns on the faces of teachers. -Sentences that lack variety, spark, energy or complexity. The challenge is, how do we support young writers to more consciously construct sentence brimming with energy and intent?

Let's begin by drawing the young writer’s attention to the sentences constructed by mentor authors. Examining closely the work of other writers. Spotlight sentences that reveal possibilities for the developing writer. Encourage them to write in the style of the mentor. Doing this can lead to almost instant improvement in their work. It remains a powerful mechanism for change.

Consider the following actions to Soup Up Sentences:

Draw attention to the way other writers use strong verbs to create vivid images for the reader. Verbs are the muscles of the sentence. They need to know this. Precise, accurate verbs can replace longer inefficient phrases.

Do the same with the precise use of nouns. Nouns that take the reader from the general to the specific. Don’t write dog when you mean Doberman.

Alert students to the careful use of adjectives in their written pieces. -Adjectives that assist the reader to visualize. Think of adjectives in the way that you think of fast food; indulge in them sparingly. Inexperienced writers often throw a collection of adjectives at a subject hoping to impress. It rarely works.

Encourage students to look for alternative ways to say the same thing to avoid monotony. Words and phrases used repeatedly should be identified and weeded out. The exception being where deliberate repetition is used for effect.

Show students how to combine two sentences into one using connectives (conjunctions). Literature abounds with examples. Show them how you use this important information to inform your writing. Sentence combining is a powerful mechanism for improving the flow of writing.

Aim for precision in word choice. Encourage students to search for the word/words that states exactly what they wish to say to the reader.

Check out the way mentors use a variety of sentence beginnings to keep the reader engaged.

Teach the strategy of reading sentences OUT LOUD to ensure they sound right and flow easily from the lips.

Studying sentences closely can make them come to life with the essential energy good writing requires.

When Authors Write to Effect a Change

Writers have a purpose when they write and so it is important to embed this understanding in the minds of young writers. A reader can be influenced by the words used by the writer. We want young authors to fully understand this purpose for writing.  The writer evokes a response, or a change in attitude from the reader and is thus fulfilled,  

What we are attempting to do here is to encourage the development of a persuasive tone into the writing without immediately descending into a pale imitation of a persuasive essay. To avoid this, we need to focus on the reasons for writing, rather than being mesmerized by the form.

It is therefore vital that we show students how to read like writers. Show them how the writer is using words to influence and inform the reader.

What craft is the writer using to achieve this?

What do you notice about the writer’s voice?
What words are the most powerful?
What is the writer’s point of view here?

This requires us as teachers to seek out good quality texts that convey a sense of social consciousness or awareness. A variety of texts written in a range of genres and styles can be used most effectively to show students how authors use words and illustrative techniques to affect the reader’s attitude, opinion, and understanding of any given issue. From here, students may then set about writing their own pieces. This is when we support students to try writing about different ideas and topics, or try a particular writing style another author has used to effect. Topics generally range from global issues to more personal concerns. –those things that drive us crazy (think-what cheeses me off!)

This approach aims to encourage students to:

·        Keep their writing focused on the purpose they have identified.

·        Choose a genre for exploring their opinion, idea, point of view

·        Continue to be aware of the target audience throughout the writing

·        Continue to develop their voices as writers

·        Organize the writing to clearly convey their thoughts

·        Notice illustrative techniques that support the written messages

 Some Suggested Actions For Young Writers To Follow:

·        Participate in class discussions around relevant, age appropriate social issues that arise from the reading that takes place.

·        Talk to each other about the focus of their writing

·        Articulate their writing intentions(pre-writing) and what they hope to achieve

·        Read and reread their work at regular intervals

·        Spend adequate time revising their work

·        Edit their work with a partner

Gathering Suitable Resources:

Collect as many texts as you can that convey a social message or are written from a perspective that desires to effect a change. In selecting books, we must remain mindful of selecting texts that are appropriate and accessible for the students you are teaching. These texts will be used to extend the thinking of students and open their minds to a variety of possible writing topics and ideas.

Exploring Issues

·        Ask students:

What matters to you enough to want to write about it, or explore it in your writing?

      What frustrates or annoys you?
      What is something you feel strongly enough about to write it down
      How do other authors present such issues and could you do something similar?

·        List

 Issues that matter to your students

       Possible audiences

·        Talk about

 Issues and they way they affect people and communities

      Ways to bring about a change, or improvement

·        Rehearse

How they would support a cause or deal with an issue in their writing

      Encourage students to talk about an issue with a partner as if they were talking to
      a reader

·        Document/chart

Some of the words, phrases etc that the mentor authors are using to influence the reader.

In What Ways Do Writers Influence Us?

·        By warning us through their writing both fiction and non fiction

·        By telling a story that brings the issue to our attention

·        By telling a story that has a message

·        By providing the reader with examples

·        By describing details

·        By begging us to change

·        By writing letters –public and personal

·        By writing about something worth preserving or protecting

·         By describing a scene to highlight a problem

·        By writing poetry

·        By writing about how to treat people, places, objects, treasures

·        By inspiring us to try new things

·        By inspiring us to be brave or resolute

·        By describing the benefits to be gained by a particular action/actions

·        By repeating words, or a group of words (word patterns) to add emphasis

·        By writing a story with a moral

·        By asking questions

When writers do these things they are ‘prodding’ us to think more deeply about an issue.

Who Were Your Writing Champions in School?

Who were your writing champions as you went through school? Who do you recall as a writing hero; a teacher who promoted writing through their own actions?                                                        

Sadly, it wasn’t until I reached my tertiary education that I actually encountered such a person. The late Tom McCabe encouraged me to become editor of the college newspaper. He talked about writing in a way that previous teachers had conspicuously failed to do. He ignited my passion for writing poetry. He talked with passion and authority about the joy of writing.  He was a stand out champion for writing!

I certainly had teachers who stood out as beacons for literature and reading. People such as John Harris, my Grade 6 teacher, who read the poetry of Henry Lawson and A B Paterson with great enthusiasm. He also introduced us to the work of Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. His reading was intoxicating. He had a way of taking the listener with him as he read. He made Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, come to life in my mind.

In high school John Simpson and Fred Male were passionate champions of great literature and poetry. We were exposed to a wide range of literary models for which I am now eternally grateful. At the urgings of our school librarian, Dorothy Poynter, I recall reading, ‘Prisoner of Zenda’, by Anthony Hope Hawkins, ‘Hawaii’ and ‘Caravans’ by James A Michener, ‘Robbery Under Arms’ by Rolf Boldrewood as well as the works of Shakespeare and the poetry of John Keats and Elisabeth Browning. These educators worked hard to shape their students as life long readers. I also read a series of detective novels by Arthur Upfield. Upfield was an Australian writer, whose books featured fictional Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte ('Bony') of the Queensland Police Force. I really enjoyed this series of books.

 But for all their efforts around reading, and for their consistent urgings for their students to read, I do not recall them having the same champion’s voice for writing. I wonder how students today think of us in this regard? Do they see us as teachers who champion both reading and writing? Have we influenced them to such an extent that the siblings of the literature family have an equal place in their future plans?

Do you have a writing champion that stands out in your educational journey? I hope you do.