Punishment + Fear + Writing = Non-writers
This topic was stressed in my Secondary Education English class. Where I learned that as a future English teacher I need to be able to not criticize but give advice as to how to improve writing in order to make future writers. Also as teachers we cannot expect students to just magically know how to write. (Expectations like that will also create non-writers.)
This chapter also reminded me of what types of writing are the fun and engaging kinds of writing. I know that some of my best writing is always when I am very emotional about it. Whether I was in middle school and in love with a boy, angry about what someone said to me or sad about a family/friend situation. Whether my writing was in poetry, writing mini-novels, comics or journal entries - I was always passionate about something. Our students are the same way too! Which is why I think that this chapter talked about writing in a way that I KNOW works.
Strong mentioned that the best and most effective assignments are the ones that have ten design principles. They were:
Make sure your topics are meaningful
Use specific terms such as: define, illustrate, persuade, etc.
Exercise C.R.A.F.T. (Context, Role, Audience, Format)
Design topics to elicit meaningful, specific, immediate responses.
Define the criteria.
Give the students choice.
Create topics that invite inventive thinking.
If you use a hypothetical situation make sure it is within your students grasp.
Select topics that have a purpose.
Use creative formats.
This makes sense because when you use topics that are interesting such as, teen pregnancy, racism and drug abuse. Suddenly you see student's eyes light up, especially those who would never participate. I have been fortunate enough to see some of these topics in action at Central Falls Highschool.
Karen - I think its great how you differentiate between criticism and advise. I think it is terrible to think that students are punished with writing. I also think its a great point you made when you mentioned using topics to write about that students find interesting or are passionate about. The foundational skills of research, writing, grammar and organization can all be used in a writing assignment about something that students find interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Calla, I really love how personal you got talking about the passion behind writing. This is something so simple and effective and yet is often forgotten. Most great writers and famous writers write about what they're passionate about. This is true of fiction and non-fiction; the more you care about a topic the more effort and detail you're going to give to it's delivery. One thing I've been thinking about this though is what about people who don't already love to write? Is it possible to get students who don't like to write interested in writing if we give them the right topics and authority to choose those topics?