The Nurturing of Self Directed, Independent Writers

The Nurturing of Self Directed, Independent Writers



 As a classroom teacher, parent information evenings always meant the inevitable question arose, ‘What are your expectations for my son/daughter this year?’ It’s a great question to ask a teacher and I was prepared for it, having thought long and hard about how I would respond. 

 I always wanted my students to develop into independent, self-directed learners and I had a year to achieve my goal. With the support of parents and the co-operation of the students, it was a goal for all of us to pursue. 

When attempting to foster self-directed learners, everything we do becomes important -what we do as educators; in every aspect of our teaching  Let’s consider what we do in the writing classroom.

 In an increasing number of classrooms teachers encourage student writers to choose their own topics and writing projects. They purposefully teach their students routines and procedures for conducting themselves independently. 

 Despite these admirable efforts, we sometimes see young writers  struggling to initiate their own writing ideas, young learners not displaying the kind of writing growth expected of them.

 If kids are asking questions such as ‘How much should I write? or, ‘Is it okay to write about…?’ then it’s time to re-examine what we mean as independent.

Here are some actions to consider when trying to foster genuinely self-directed writers:

 • When it comes to the long term goal of embedding classroom routines and rituals aimed at nurturing the growth of independence, the answer lies in vigilance. 

 • Your instruction must be organized in ways that make it easy for students to be successful. This is what our instruction needs to do- set kids up to be successful in their own learning endeavours. Modelling and demonstration need to be constantly present in the writing workshop.

 • The most proficient reader and writer in the classroom must demonstrate the decisions and actions that characterize a truly independent, self-directed learner. If you wish for risk takers  to be a feature of the classroom, you must teach boldly and bravely.  Students will be more inclined to follow you out of the comfort zone if you lead the way. 

 • Continually reinforce the mantra –writers make decisions. Expect your writers once appraised of their options to decide on a course of action. Every day, you are striving to foster self-belief and self-determination.  Planning needs to reflect the objective of students becoming more self-directed in their learning pursuits. You must continually reinforce the intended outcome with your actions, not just your words.You are assisting the developing writer to narrow the distance between their intentions and actions. Making writers accountable is critical to achieving this goal.

 • Show your student writers how you persist with aspects of your own writing. Self-directed learners understand writing is essentially a problem solving activity. They push on through the tough writing days knowing struggle is sometimes part of the process. Engaged writers have more energy.

 • Make sure the choices you provide for student learners go well beyond choice of topic. It’s about how to begin, tone, voice, what to include (illustrations), etc.' Ralph Fletcher.  Encourage choice at every step of the process. 

 • Mini lessons, conferences, strategy group work and your share time provide opportunities to further notice and note student efforts towards independence. Feedback for effort is a powerful mechanism for empowering student writers and increasing engagement. Remind your students of all the independent actions you witness during the writing workshop. Let them know, you are noticing such behaviours.

 • The classroom environment must be supportive of independent action on the part of the child. Materials/resources must be accessible. 

We must work consistently to assist the developing writer to view themselves as writers  -Writers, whose words and ideas are worthy of consideration. Identity as a writer is critical to growing towards true independence. Referring to students as both readers and/or writers whenever possible, will hasten a growing sense of identity.

 The last thing you want your students to be are sparrows in a nest waiting for you to feed them. Having students inquire, ‘I’ve finished. What do I do now?’ is a world away from independence.

 Ask them, ‘What can you do when you think you’re finished?’ Sit with them to create an anchor chart of possible actions. It's strong evidence you wish them to make informed decisions. 

 An anchor chart provides scaffolded support for  inexperienced writers. It helps to make independent action a reality.  We must remain alert and notice when student writers use initiative. Notice when they begin to realize, every stop is a place to start. We must work every day to shape the kind of learning environment we seek. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular With Other Visitors

Writing Opposite Poems

Image
 O pp o s ite  P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. Not every thing has a
Read more

Writing About Reading - Reading Reflection Journals:

Image
UPDATED February 2022 Writing in response to literature can be a great way for students to organize their thoughts, explore what they think, and generate ideas. One of the strengths of writing in journals is that it allows students to capture all of those great ideas that generally float off into the air during the discussion.  Journal writing can also become drudgery if students are asked to write too often, given little choice or inspiration in what to write, or if they simply don't have anything to say. While some students eagerly share their impressions about selections they have read in class discussions, others are less comfortable and keep their thoughts to themselves. In an effort to encourage all students to think more about what they read and confidently share their observations and opinions, some teachers are turning to the reading reflection journal and are gaining insights they never anticipated.  The Value of Reflection Journals   Journals assist teachers to gain i
Read more

Learning How to 'Zoom In' When Writing

Image
It is important for young writers to understand that not all parts of a story are equal. There are parts through which a writer moves quickly, and important parts where the writer slows down and lingers a while. This is where the writer might intensify the action or reveal the character’s reactions in greater detail. Young writers need to know that this is a deliberate strategy on the part of the author. The author consciously zooms in. The writer uses a magnifying glass to view a part of the story more closely; to focus on a moment and to slow down time. When an important part of the story is enlarged upon, it   is a signal to the reader, that this part of the story is important. The strategy of ‘zooming in’ goes by many names: ‘exploding a moment’ ‘magnifying a moment’, ‘hotspot’ ‘snapshot’, ‘adding detail’ or ‘slowing the action.’  What ever the name, the idea is the same. The author writes in a way that expands a significant part of the story with the intention of drawing t
Read more

Answering Questions Posed by Young POETS

Image
UPDATED, May 2020 As a frequent visitor to schools I have the great pleasure of working with groups of young, enthusiastic poets and their teachers. When I arrive in a classroom, young poets are often pre-loaded with questions, and most keen to have them answered.  I try to answer as many as I can, but we frequently run out of time, and the poetry caravan moves on to the next classroom. So I am here to answer some of those questions -right here, right now. So here goes: When you were little did you love writing? The short answer is yes. I have always enjoyed words and language. I can't recall a time when I wasn't doing some kind of writing. When did you write your first poetry book? I have had poems published over the years, but it wasn't until 2014 that I had an entire book of poems (an anthology) published. When I looked back through all my notebooks I realized I had hundreds of poems from which to choose. So, 'Searching For Hen's Teeth-Poetry From The
Read more

Slice Of Life Story-The Trials Of A Left Handed Writer

Image
Amazingly I learnt to write using my left hand. An achievement against the prevailing beliefs of the day. My very first teacher saw it as her mission in life to ‘fix’ the poor, wretched little boy suffering from what she clearly diagnosed as left handed disease. She must have thought, 'This child must be re formatted! If he remains left handed he will be forever condemned to writing in a scrawl that no one will be able to read. Ugly hand, ugly hand.' ...They tried to say it couldn't be done, it mustn't be done. They took the pencil out of my left hand and placed it in my right hand. It felt unnatural. It felt weird. It was not right. More to the point it was not left. I was not about to conform. At least they didn't try tying my hand behind my back. Watch me I said. I may be an oddball, left handed scribbler but I am a determined oddball. I mean how boring would the world be if everyone wrote with their right hand? So I dug my toes in –and my hands to
Read more