I really am not sure what to write about today. I am so glad to have the KPTP behind me now
and while I am anxious about how I have done, I am just going to put it behind
me and move on, placing more focus on working on some of the details that I
need to focus on in my classroom.
Something we started on today in my classroom was a writing
assignment where I am going to ask students to provide a definition for
freedom. This is a slight twist on what
is required for the pacing guide, which expected students to do a persuasive
speech “declaring which freedom(s) are essential”. Instead of going with the speech idea, I am
instead turning it into a four paragraph essay (which I will also have them
read out loud, even if it’s in small groups or to a partner).
One of the things that I’m dreading about this writing assignment
(and that they are too) is the fact that the longest thing these students have
been required to write so far this year in our class is a well-developed
paragraph, which they had been provided a template and sentence starters with,
so they are all showing a lot of resistance to the idea of writing an essay,
although I am doing what I can to make it as structured as possible. I want to prepare them with at least one more-extensive
writing assignment before they move into high school.
Even though I personally do not take well to most
pre-writing strategies, we started with a concept map yesterday about freedom
and how it can be seen in the protagonists of the texts we have read as a class
and also in their own lives. This was
something I used to help develop students’ background knowledge and get them
thinking about the topic, which has been the main theme of this entire unit. Certain students even showed me that they had
taken a whole lot more out of the units than I had realized, especially when
one of my “challenging” students spent a portion of class explaining themes of
a text to a student who had missed the entire week we had gone over it.
So, my big challenge now is going to be keeping students
interested in a 4-paragraph writing assignment when the most they’ve written is
one. I plan on breaking up the writing
assignment with fun, smaller activities from time to time. Yesterday, I started out with a writing
assignment another student teaching candidate (Mr. Thimesch) had suggested,
which was to have students write “the most bogus excuse you can that you do not
have your homework today.” Even though a
few students really enjoyed it and even took it home to add more to it, many of
them simply provided me with one or two sentences of clichés, no matter how
much I prodded. My CT has warned me that
a longer writing project was going to be a challenge with them, but this has
made me realize just how much of a challenge it is going to be, because this was
even a “fun” assignment.
My CT has given me some forewarning that this is going to be
the most challenging thing I’ve done with them so far, and really approves of
the structure I intend to use for the different stages of the essay (that
horrible, scary word that leaves students quaking) such as using graphic
designers for my CwC and my other class with lower-level students. Overall though, I feel like this is something
that the students just need to get used to; in middle school, I can take them
by the hand and help them through an assignment, but in high school they are
going to be thrown to the sharks, so to speak.
Another detail I want to add is that I am trying to develop more of a writing community with my students in the classroom. I tried to give them a lot of low pressure, low point value writing opportunities but a lot of them have been turned off of writing by previous experiences, even telling me that fun and writing can not go together
Another detail I want to add is that I am trying to develop more of a writing community with my students in the classroom. I tried to give them a lot of low pressure, low point value writing opportunities but a lot of them have been turned off of writing by previous experiences, even telling me that fun and writing can not go together
Mr. Thompson,
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this reflection. From reading your blog I think I see some parallels to my own students' attitudes about writing. Teaching students about the oh-so-scary essay in the late stages of middle school and the early stages of high school is an intimidating thought. This may be one of the greatest challenges English teachers face at these levels. I know that my CT and I spoon-fed our class through their first ever essay, and we were fairly pleased with the results. We wrote the first paragraph as well as the first body paragraph together, and then students used a similar paragraph structure to write the last body paragraphs and conclusion. Sure, there were some major grammatical, syntactical, and structural issues, but the fact that the students got it done was the most pleasing part; they had written their first essay and survived.
I think when you begin teaching them about a more extensive writing assignment you may feel like you are trudging through it, but just remember that that feeling is common in teaching a brand new assignment.
And now to talk about your closing sentence:
"I tried to give them a lot of low pressure, low point value writing opportunities but a lot of them have been turned off of writing by previous experiences, even telling me that fun and writing can not go together"
Writing and fun can absolutely go together! Maybe you could write a funny short story about the students in your class and read it aloud to them. Or, maybe they still see writing as purely academic, in which all you can do is expose them to some really neat material, teach them what you can, and hope that they develop a love for writing down the road.
(I was one of those students that dreaded writing in school)
Thanks again for your post, Mr. Thompson!
Sincerely,
Mr. Wike
As I've discussed with Mr. Thimesch, writing assignments are definitely a difficult task for students in middle and high schools. It definitely takes a lot of support for students to succeed. I also have a similar experience to modifying the prompt on the pacing guide. I actually chose that as my overarching concept for my unit over Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. I felt like the continuity helped the students create connections that they would be able to use later for their papers. Sounds like you're having a great experience and I look forward to hearing more about your experiences in the future.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Mr. Slattery
I wander what experiences these students have been put through that makes them dread writing so much? I have the seventh graders at the same school and while they do not embrace writing, they accept it as a part of the curriculum and genuinely try to complete the writing assignments with the least amount of pain as possible. So I wonder what happens to them between 7th and 8th grade where they develop this resistance...
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your on the right track with them developing an organizer to help walk them through it. Structure always helps students and it sounds like you have this well planned out. Look it as a challenge for yourself. If this is the longest writing assignment that they have had so far challenge yourself to get all of the students engaged. They don't think writing can be fun only because no one has ever showed them just how fun it can be.
Mr. Thompson,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if this comment will appease you, but the resistance for writing will still carry on into high school. I love that you are choosing to challenge them now! This will make writing assignments in high school seem like a breeze. Have you thought of breaking the writing assignment down into singular paragraphs? For instance, looking at one specific facet of their definition of freedom. Peer-edit and revise these and then move on to the next example. This will make the four-paragraph essay seem like four one-paragraph assignments, which their used to. It will ease them into the idea of a longer writing assignment without them even knowing it! Another idea might be to have them produce concise writing assignments throughout the unit, addressing your prompt. Then, when it comes time for the big essay, the already have a trove of ideas to pull from.
I really appreciate you making the effort to get students to change their view of writing, especially with fun, creative prompts! As teachers, we all value writing, but we have also had those times when the last thing we want to do is turn in another awful essay (Origins of Western Lit) :) Getting students to realize that writing and creativity can be exciting is something we all strive for. Kudos on the work you've done so far, and good luck with the rest of the semester!
Mr. Thompson, what a timely post! I hope this week's readings from English Journal enhance your lesson design for this writing unit. As Kelly noted, writing can be fun. Perhaps you can help your students experience some fun and/or humor in their writing. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt actually really did. I gave the ma couple of "fun" quick-writes and opportunities to develop writing as a class and they ended up enjoying it, even finally conceding that it had been a fun experience, although the writing experience itself was kind of a rough one and took much longer than I expected.
ReplyDelete