Prompt 3 - Love That Classroom

We looked at 2 examples of writing in the classroom. The fictional Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech (2002) and the case study of Page by Mara Casey and Stephen Hemenway (2002). Both examples can be used as examples of the writing process and of having a language-rich classroom. The Writing Process consists of 5 steps: Pre-Writing, Drafting, Revising, Editing, and Publishing.

Pre-writing involves generating ideas and identifying the audience and purpose. This step can include brainstorming, drawing, discussing, reading, and any other strategy that provides seeds for writing ideas. In Love That Dog, Jack reacts to poems in a writing journal. His teacher provides examples of poetry which encourage him to think about that particular form of writing. I would imagine there is some class discussion involved as well. Jack begins to build his own poems from his responses to the examples made available by his teacher.

Drafting is the next step. Here, pre-writing becomes more focussed but also elaborated upon. Writing a first draft means writing as much as you can without worrying about the mechanics of writing. Drafting is about content; write everything down. In the Third Grade Interview, we find out Page wrote multiple drafts: “Page continued, leafing through the six drafts she had written about her cat, Tigger, for the class book.”  There is no maximum number of drafts and each revision leads to a new draft. Which brings me to…

Revision. First, the writer takes a break from their piece for a few days and then re-reads it and makes changes. Revising is also interactive; it involves sharing work with peers or teachers, getting feedback, and incorporating new ideas and suggestions. This can be done by peer conferencing, writers groups, or teacher conferences. Page said: “I like being in my writing group, because you get more attention on your story.” Page has shared her work with a small group of her peers and received feedback about it. On October 10^th, in Love That Dog, Jack writes: “You didn’t say before that I had to tell why.” This is clearly in response to a comment his teacher made about his poem. He builds on his poem because of the questions posed by his teacher.

Editing is the 4^th step of the writing process. This is where a piece gets “polished.” A student can edit their own work, have a peer editing session, or get their work edited by the teacher. This is where mechanical errors are searched out and corrected. This step can involve proofreading and an editing checklist. It is important that all the other steps have happened before editing because the first three steps ensure that a writer has reflected on their piece. Editing should happen when a piece has been developed to where a writer is satisfied with it. Page illustrates what occurs when the process is not fulfilled. “She has a lot of grammar. I can’t stand grammar,” Page asserted, grumbling that the teacher only corrected her spelling, punctuation and grammar, but didn’t write any comments on her essays.” Page’s teacher is only looking at the mechanics of her writing, not the ideas within it. While mechanics make writing more lucid, they can’t be the only emphasized aspect of writing because the content is what the writer is communicating and expressing.

The final stage of the writing process is Publishing, where writers are able to share their work with an appropriate audience. There are many ways to fulfill the publishing stage. In Page’s case, the class published a book of all the stories in the class. “In January, the book was finally published, immediately read aloud to the principal, placed in the school library, and sent home to every family.” Here, the involved manner of publishing speaks to the time and effort that went into the project.

Encouraging students to be writers necessitates a classroom that is engaging and well-organized. Establishing a consistent routine is one way to provide support to students. In the case study of Page’s class, the program directors planned how they would work with the students every week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Sharing examples of good writing is a way to engage students. The reader is told about 8 poems Jack is exposed to in his class. On May 28^th, he writes about the bookcase “sprouting books” by Walter Dean Myers. Examples of writing are inspiring and provide a model for children to build from. An emergent writer needs to be aware of and provided with an audience. Jack’s audience includes his teacher, his classmates, and his favourite poet. At first he is not comfortable with sharing his work and insists that his name is not printed, but as he gains confidence he lets his teacher publish his poems with his name on them. Reading improves ones writing. Being a reader is being an audience. Being aware of ones audience also engages writers and readers to be better audiences.

As the case study indicates, there are “some important steps all teachers must take to achieve a balance between structure and freedom.” I think there are a lot of important aspects in an effective and balanced writing classroom. First of all, time is important. There must be time for each step of the writing process to be thoroughly explored and completed. Sometimes the steps will overlap, but there needs to be time for students to understand and think about what they are doing and to produce their best efforts. Secondly, exposure to different forms of writing is crucial. An example of good writing provides both a model and inspiration for a student; it can be a way to introduce particular concepts and help build a students repertoire of resources. 

As Jack wrote:

Inside this envelope

is a poem

using some of your words.

I wrote it.

It was 

inspired by 

you

Mr. Walter Dean Myers.

From your number one fan,

Jack

Prompt 2 - A Life in the Woods

I had the same teacher for grade 5 and 6. Luckily for me, she was amazing. I remember certain events and activities in that classroom vividly, which is saying something because it was quite some time ago. I’m pretty sure the learning situation I remember would have been in grade 6, although memories from those years cross over because I had the same teacher and classroom and both years were split-level and I was in the elder grade. In any case, this is the story of an effective ELA learning experience. As I remember it. Some details may have been lost in the sands of time.

Each student in our class was to choose their own novel for a study unit from a pre-determined selection. I think there were about six novels to choose from. I don’t remember what the other options were, but I chose to read Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten. I remember I chose that book because it was the longest book and I was an eager student. Maybe I felt like I had something to prove, I was competitive and intense as a younger student. I should refine that to say I was extremely competitive with myself. I recall feeling very mature for being able to choose my own material and I wanted to read the most ‘adult’ book that I could. To me, that meant the longest book. I saw it as a challenge. That was my rationale for choosing Bambi. It seemed like the hardest and it was the longest. And no, I actually hadn't seen the movie, nor did I think to watch it instead of reading the book.

When choosing our books, I remember having to open the book at random and read a page. If there were over ten words I didn’t know, then it would be wise to consider a different book. I can’t remember the number of words exactly, but that sounds close. I suppose the idea was to makes sure it was within the ZPD and to get us thinking metacognitively. That is, to choose a book that wouldn’t be too easy or too difficult and to be aware of our own reading abilities.

I was a capable and enthusiastic student. In this situation, I was given the freedom to choose my own reading material and I found this responsibility engaging. Whatever my motivation, each student had the opportunity to choose level-appropriate and, ideally, interesting to them. I think the important aspect was we had a choice and in choosing came the responsibility to read the book we chose.

The book we read determined what group we were in. There were three or four students in my group. One of them was my best friend, which probably had something to do with book choice. We must have spent a few weeks with our books to ensure everyone read them, I don’t remember how that was managed. I know we had group discussions and made a poster together. Bambi raises strong ideas; our teacher facilitated group discussions and thematic exploration. To end the unit, we did individual projects. I remember feeling proud of myself for reading what I felt was a challenging book and being able to respond to it.

I would characterize this experience as a resource-based approach. Most memorably, I was able to choose my own resource. It was an in-depth novel study in an extended readers workshop. Looking back, I see this experience as having strong connections to Vygotsky’s socio-linguistic learning theory. I doubt I would have read Bambi on my own. Had I chosen to read it outside the classroom, where my teacher and peers would not have been available resources, perhaps I would have found it too difficult. Because I knew I would have my teacher and group members to support me, I was more comfortable with the thought of reading it.

Prompt 1 - The Elementary/Middle Years ELA Learner

I don’t think it’s possible to talk about THE Elementary/Middle Years Learner and I think talking about THE characteristics of an Elementary/Middle Years learner generates an unending list of possibilities. I think the biggest challenge of teaching will be the diversities of students in the classroom. The characteristics of these learners are wide-ranging. In a class of 30+ students, there will be a huge variety of strengths, weaknesses, abilities and experiences being brought to each desk. In fact, there will be 30+ different combinations of the pre-mentioned characteristics, plus others. The thought of having to lead that many individuals in one room is intimidating, it almost sounds impossible. Or crazy. However, I think there are common traits among students (and human beings) which are how teachers can start to connect with their students. I don’t want to generalize, but I think most people are curious, social, somewhat self-aware and consistently changing. When students find something interesting, they want to learn about it. As a teacher, the key is to make subjects interesting, exciting, and, in particular, accessible. This is where the challenge lies because what is accessible to one student may not be for another. This is where Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development is important.

too easy too hard

too easy too hard

These are very simplified visuals of how I picture a range of students in a classroom and their relationship to a certain task. Each student has a unique ZPD, but there will be some overlap. The students who are in similar zones can help, or scaffold, each other and their teacher can guide them. People are social, and students will learn through social interactions. Within Piaget’s theory, each student will be bringing a unique set of schema to the classroom. Each will have access to different material with which they will assimilate or accommodate as they are exposed to new information. Each learner is unique, yet their social nature and curiosity are common between them.

BC ELA IRP

There are positive and negative aspects about the BC ELA IRP in regards to my above remarks. How can one document cover the needs of so many individuals? The same Prescribed Learning Outcomes for every grade 7 student in British Columbia? Forget it!! But wait... Although the BC ELA IRP is an external set of standards and expectations for what students should know by the end of each grade level, it is also a tool for teachers. Instead of viewing it as a document telling me what to do, I chose to view it as providing a starting point for my role as a scaffolder. From the PLOs, I should be able to get an idea of where the students have been, where they are, and where I can reasonably expect them to go. I think the PLOs are explicit enough to be useful and flexible enough to be adapted by the teacher for the learner. Also, what an outcome means for one student might look quite different for another student. I feel interpreting the PLOs for individual students can be a slippery slope, but I think a good teacher will support their students appropriately. For example:

One ELA PLO for grade 7 states: It is expected that students will:

C3: Write a variety of imaginative writing for a range of purposes and audiences, including short stories, passages and poems modelled from literature, featuring strategically developed ideas by using interesting sensory detail.

It is possible that student A will write a short story and include two examples from each of the 5 senses while student B will include three examples of one sense and student C will use very descriptive language to describe one sensory experience. Each student has met the PLO, but in different ways. The IRPs are good resources for teachers and students. They provide a starting point from which to build lessons and present end goals which can help motivate students. The role of the teacher is to be flexible and creative by being able to adapt and extend the PLOs to meet the needs of individual students.