Investigation of Styles
A Little Bit of History
I always tell my students that the best way for them to improve their writing is by reading more. Naturally, they groan in disgust because they have heard this before, but I explain to them that seeing how another writer uses punctuation can help them develop this skill just by passively taking in the story in front of them. This sneaky teacher move is good, but over the years I have come to realize that having students learn by osmosis of published writers takes time and ultimately does not really get at the initial problems students face when they are expected to write. The challenge of just getting started weighs heavily on them and I have found that pointing automatically to published authors is not necessarily the way to go. Instead, I have them look to their left and their right!
Change Idea and Tips
Giving students more opportunities to write lends itself to more opportunities to share, which ultimately allows students to see different styles of writing within their learning community. The Golden Nugget Collaborative Piece is an idea I tweaked from my colleagues that consists of students writing a response to a common prompt and passing their responses through 3-5 other peer writers. As the responses are passed, students read each piece and highlight with their designated color what they believe is the “Golden Nugget” or most powerful sentence of the writing response. Once the pieces have finished going through circulation and are back with the writer, have the writers choose their “Golden Nugget” from the ones their peers identified and have them rewrite on an index card. Collect the cards randomly and compile the powerful sentences together in one collaborative writing piece.
Tips:
As mentioned above, students write a response to a prompt and have their piece "moved" through their peers in order to promote not just more eyes on their piece, but also more eyes getting inspiration from others. Below is a quick outline of the steps I took in one of these activities.
Step 1: Grounding the Writing Prompt in Real-World Application-Sandra Cisneros Video
I always tell my students that the best way for them to improve their writing is by reading more. Naturally, they groan in disgust because they have heard this before, but I explain to them that seeing how another writer uses punctuation can help them develop this skill just by passively taking in the story in front of them. This sneaky teacher move is good, but over the years I have come to realize that having students learn by osmosis of published writers takes time and ultimately does not really get at the initial problems students face when they are expected to write. The challenge of just getting started weighs heavily on them and I have found that pointing automatically to published authors is not necessarily the way to go. Instead, I have them look to their left and their right!
Change Idea and Tips
Giving students more opportunities to write lends itself to more opportunities to share, which ultimately allows students to see different styles of writing within their learning community. The Golden Nugget Collaborative Piece is an idea I tweaked from my colleagues that consists of students writing a response to a common prompt and passing their responses through 3-5 other peer writers. As the responses are passed, students read each piece and highlight with their designated color what they believe is the “Golden Nugget” or most powerful sentence of the writing response. Once the pieces have finished going through circulation and are back with the writer, have the writers choose their “Golden Nugget” from the ones their peers identified and have them rewrite on an index card. Collect the cards randomly and compile the powerful sentences together in one collaborative writing piece.
Tips:
- Designate different highlighter colors to the peer writers. The visual of various colors identifying different sentences promotes the idea of how style in writing is subjective and open for creative interpretation.
- Have students pass their responses down a line, rather than in a table group setting. This allows the writer to “let go” of their work easier and focus more on the work in front of them.
- Give students an opportunity to come together in a small debrief group in order for each writer to hear why their peers chose the sentences they did.
- Once the Golden Nuggets are compiled into one writing piece, project it for the entire class to read.
As mentioned above, students write a response to a prompt and have their piece "moved" through their peers in order to promote not just more eyes on their piece, but also more eyes getting inspiration from others. Below is a quick outline of the steps I took in one of these activities.
Step 1: Grounding the Writing Prompt in Real-World Application-Sandra Cisneros Video
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I have my students watch Sandra Cisneros's explanation of how she got her inspiration for The House on Mango Street. The quick video is very powerful for students because it chronicles the struggles she went through in her writing program. Most of these struggles are connected to insecurity, so I show this to my students to tap into their empathy towards one another as writers because it helps them go into the activity with open hearts for their peers. Cisneros makes a very poignant claim that writer's block is not actually not having the ability to write, but rather not having the courage to say what you know you need to say because of others. After we watch the video we discuss her points and lead into the writing prompt. |
Step 2: "What I Know" Writing Prompt and Model
Next, I give my students the "What I Know" Writing Piece Document. Before they begin, I share my example with them in order to not just spark some creativity, but to also be an example of vulnerability. Below are both documents.
Next, I give my students the "What I Know" Writing Piece Document. Before they begin, I share my example with them in order to not just spark some creativity, but to also be an example of vulnerability. Below are both documents.
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Step 3: Time to Write in Class
This seems to be a pretty obvious step, but as mentioned in my "Opportunities to Write" section it is important to provide an equitable learning environment for students to grow in together. Designated writing time also gives students a starting point. For this activity, I encourage the students to polish their piece in preparation for the next day.
Step 4: Golden Nugget Collaborative Activity
Before my students come to class, I arrange my desks in rows. This allows the student work to be passed through multiple peers without the author of the piece getting distracted by what others are marking on their piece. The papers circulate through 3-5 peers who have different colored highlighters to identify what they believe is the "Golden Nugget" of their peer's work. Once the papers have gone through multiple readers the author receives their document and chooses one of the golden nuggets to submit for the class collaborative.
Step 5: Class Collaborative Pieces
Below are examples from my classes. Once I have the final piece constructed, I read it to my students as one cohesive piece. The responses in both classes are the same: shock! It is amazing to hear them clap after they hear the work read aloud and it sparks great conversation which I use to take a quick temperature of how they are growing as confident writers...more on that in my "Data" Section!
This seems to be a pretty obvious step, but as mentioned in my "Opportunities to Write" section it is important to provide an equitable learning environment for students to grow in together. Designated writing time also gives students a starting point. For this activity, I encourage the students to polish their piece in preparation for the next day.
Step 4: Golden Nugget Collaborative Activity
Before my students come to class, I arrange my desks in rows. This allows the student work to be passed through multiple peers without the author of the piece getting distracted by what others are marking on their piece. The papers circulate through 3-5 peers who have different colored highlighters to identify what they believe is the "Golden Nugget" of their peer's work. Once the papers have gone through multiple readers the author receives their document and chooses one of the golden nuggets to submit for the class collaborative.
Step 5: Class Collaborative Pieces
Below are examples from my classes. Once I have the final piece constructed, I read it to my students as one cohesive piece. The responses in both classes are the same: shock! It is amazing to hear them clap after they hear the work read aloud and it sparks great conversation which I use to take a quick temperature of how they are growing as confident writers...more on that in my "Data" Section!
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How will you know it's working:
Data and Rationale
In order to see if this activity was working for my students I gave them a "Temperature Check" Exit Card with this question:
Giving students opportunities to look at each other's work is also a great way to help students develop confidence in revising their own work. The University of New South Wales’ online “Assessment Toolkit” entitled “Student Peer Assessment” attests that “peer assessment is a powerful meta-cognitive tool. It engages students in the learning process and develops their capacity to reflect on and critically evaluate their own learning and skill development. It supports the development of critical thinking, interpersonal and other skills, as well as enhancing understanding within the field of knowledge of a discipline.”
- As students get comfortable with their peers reading their work (repetition), they begin to let go of their writing more easily and focus more closely on their peers’ pieces.
- Students will ask “Can I start over?” I usually get between 2-3 students per class when I do this activity because they see something in another student’s writing that inspires them and the lightbulb clicks.
- Students begin to use more figurative language and have a higher percentage of sentences containing imagery and metaphors. When they get the hang of the activity they push themselves to get more diverse feedback from their peers by constructing more complex sentences.
Data and Rationale
In order to see if this activity was working for my students I gave them a "Temperature Check" Exit Card with this question:
- As a growing writer, what are you most proud of when looking back over your “What I Know” piece?
Giving students opportunities to look at each other's work is also a great way to help students develop confidence in revising their own work. The University of New South Wales’ online “Assessment Toolkit” entitled “Student Peer Assessment” attests that “peer assessment is a powerful meta-cognitive tool. It engages students in the learning process and develops their capacity to reflect on and critically evaluate their own learning and skill development. It supports the development of critical thinking, interpersonal and other skills, as well as enhancing understanding within the field of knowledge of a discipline.”