Opportunities to Write
A Little Bit of History
Over the last 5 years, I have developed a healthy habit of working out every morning with my colleagues before school. At first the idea of waking up by 5am, exercising and having my classroom prepped by 7:30am seemed a bit daunting. After about a month this became a routine and I started feeling stronger both mentally and physically. My colleagues and I started getting creative with our workouts and turned them into unique sets, or mirrored some of the CrossFit challenges to spice it up. I began to have more energy and it no longer felt like a chore. Instead of viewing exercising as a punishment, my mind shifted into thinking it was actually an elixir, of sorts, that helped me stay focused. Not only did it become easier, but I began to value the benefits. This is the same feeling I want my students to have about writing, so I have taken three very important components of my own success and have applied it to writing in my classroom: daily routine, opportunities for choice and working as a team.
Change Ideas and Tips
Teachers from all disciplines use prompts to introduce students to new topics or concepts through inquiry and writing, but oftentimes this feels like a waste of time for students or laborious. Journaling is all about time and space, so a way I combat this is through both daily journals and reading journals. On the first day of school I give each of my students their own journal that "lives" in the classroom and is only allowed to "walk" out on the last day of school. I make this stipulation for two reasons: 1) I have 9th graders :) and 2) I use the classroom journals as a relic to show growth in writing. I give my students the last two weeks of school to reevaluate their work from their personal journal in order to analyze their growth and come to these realizations on their own.
Reading journals are another strategy I use to incorporate more authentic opportunities to write. While reading a class novel, students write journal responses after every chapter to connect with the novel, as well as mirror the style of the writer. For example, I have my students write a journal entry after every vignette we read from The House on Mango Street. There are 44 total and we read about 3 a day, so this gives them three authentic journal prompts based on the themes of the novel.
Tips:
Below are documents I have created to promote daily opportunities for my students to put pen to paper. The first are the aforementioned Reading Journals for The House on Mango Street and the rest are various forms of daily writing tasks that lead to larger writing assignments that I call "Weekly Writing." These Weekly Writing pieces are usually attached to a project the students are gearing up for, for example the first few give students opportunities to explore different forms of poetry which leads them into writing their Spoken Word piece. The others explore the skill of interviewing and transcribing and learning the basic structure of a 5 paragraph essay.
Over the last 5 years, I have developed a healthy habit of working out every morning with my colleagues before school. At first the idea of waking up by 5am, exercising and having my classroom prepped by 7:30am seemed a bit daunting. After about a month this became a routine and I started feeling stronger both mentally and physically. My colleagues and I started getting creative with our workouts and turned them into unique sets, or mirrored some of the CrossFit challenges to spice it up. I began to have more energy and it no longer felt like a chore. Instead of viewing exercising as a punishment, my mind shifted into thinking it was actually an elixir, of sorts, that helped me stay focused. Not only did it become easier, but I began to value the benefits. This is the same feeling I want my students to have about writing, so I have taken three very important components of my own success and have applied it to writing in my classroom: daily routine, opportunities for choice and working as a team.
Change Ideas and Tips
Teachers from all disciplines use prompts to introduce students to new topics or concepts through inquiry and writing, but oftentimes this feels like a waste of time for students or laborious. Journaling is all about time and space, so a way I combat this is through both daily journals and reading journals. On the first day of school I give each of my students their own journal that "lives" in the classroom and is only allowed to "walk" out on the last day of school. I make this stipulation for two reasons: 1) I have 9th graders :) and 2) I use the classroom journals as a relic to show growth in writing. I give my students the last two weeks of school to reevaluate their work from their personal journal in order to analyze their growth and come to these realizations on their own.
Reading journals are another strategy I use to incorporate more authentic opportunities to write. While reading a class novel, students write journal responses after every chapter to connect with the novel, as well as mirror the style of the writer. For example, I have my students write a journal entry after every vignette we read from The House on Mango Street. There are 44 total and we read about 3 a day, so this gives them three authentic journal prompts based on the themes of the novel.
Tips:
- Read the novel first and construct prompts based on themes that pique student interest (family struggles, social justice, gender, love, etc.). Having all of the prompts created before students read the chapter is also a great way to introduce each chapter and get them excited about the topic.
- Highlight when authors use literary techniques (metaphors, irony, imagery, etc.) and challenge students to practice crafting work with figurative language.
- Encourage students to write continuously without picking up their pen. The habit of diving in and getting started helps them develop their confidence Students can also generate their writing on the computer if this helps them get their ideas on the page more quickly.
- Give students time in class, rather than for homework, to complete the prompts. Carving out time each day makes a huge difference because it helps students build their ability to tackle a prompt and get started. This also gives every student the same opportunity to practice, discuss, refine and receive support as a team of learners.
- Have students reread their responses immediately after time is up. This reinforces the skill of self-editing and encourages students to hear their work in order to make quick revisions.
Below are documents I have created to promote daily opportunities for my students to put pen to paper. The first are the aforementioned Reading Journals for The House on Mango Street and the rest are various forms of daily writing tasks that lead to larger writing assignments that I call "Weekly Writing." These Weekly Writing pieces are usually attached to a project the students are gearing up for, for example the first few give students opportunities to explore different forms of poetry which leads them into writing their Spoken Word piece. The others explore the skill of interviewing and transcribing and learning the basic structure of a 5 paragraph essay.
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How will you know it's working:
- Pay attention to how much time it takes all of your students to begin writing when you start using the reading journals. After about one week, students should become more comfortable jumping in and writing sooner due to designating time for daily writing.
- The length of student responses begins to increase.
- Students begin to write more complex sentences. This recognition can happen by simply having students look back on their first few responses and comparing them to newer ones.