Teaching Writing...what I've learned

I am currently working towards getting my Masters in Reading. My current course is on teaching writing. It has been a course full of “ah-ha” moments. I have always wanted to help my students become better writers, but I have never really known where to start. Through our course readings and online discussions, I now have a much better insight into the best practices for teaching writing. (Check out my resource page for links to the texts.)

The reason I wanted to get my Masters in Reading, and not just in Education, is because I wanted to gain a better understanding of how to help students whom are struggling with reading and writing. We often see school subjects as distinctly separate, but more and more I am coming to realize how all the subjects are interconnected. Reading and writing are connected to each other and are woven throughout the curriculum of the subjects taught. Most of us read and write in some capacity daily, so they are both extremely important to how successful my students will be in the future. I need to revamp how I teach writing. Here are a few of strategies that I have tried, or plan to try, based on what I’ve learned over my course…

1.      Examine current beliefs and teaching strategies.

When I taught writing, I taught to our state assessment. I focused on writing personal narratives based on a prompt. As I have stated before, my school is considered a striving school, so unfortunately there is a lot of pressure to do well on state assessments. When I examined this technique, I realized that my students’ writing was uninspired and forced. They did not have any intrinsic motivation, because the writing was not authentic. I had the incorrect belief, that because my students struggled with writing, that I needed to change my expectations. Regie Routman explains that, “Mediocrity is not an option. Why do we persist in thinking that just squeaking by is all right for some of our students? (p.55) Instead of lowering my expectations, I need to raise them up. Instead of focusing on writing to a prompt and teaching to the state assessment, I have to help my students see writing as a way to express who they are, what they have learned, and what they are currently exploring.

2.      Demonstrate that writing is a continual process.

When I learned to write, I was taught the traditional writing process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. There were clear steps with a clear beginning and end. I could work through the steps and check them off. Most of my students have this same expectation. They go through the steps and, even if their writing still needs work, they fight against the idea of revisiting their ‘completed’ work. “I’m done,” they tell me, “I did the steps.” However, if we think about how most professional writers or authors work, we realize that they do many rewrites and most wish they could do more - even after their work is published. In Because Writing Matters it states that:

Most research today supports the view that writing is recursive; it does not proceed linearly but instead cycles and recycles through subprocesses that can be described this way: 1. Planning (generating ideas, setting goals, and organizing) 2. Translating (turning plans into written language) 3. Reviewing (evaluating and revising) (p.25).

It is my duty to help my students see this. Not only will it help them improve their writing, but it will also teach them the life skill of continuously working to improve oneself.

3.      Constantly work to move students towards independence.

One of the most important strategies that I’ve taken away from Regie Routman is her ‘Optimal Learning Model’. It moves students from dependence to independence. She summarizes in Writing Essentials, that “In the optimal learning model, students: Explicitly see writing taught (observe demonstration teaching). Work with an expert teacher, side by side (take part in shared and guided experiences). Try it out on their own (practice independently).” (p.11). My goal is to integrate this model into how I teach everything. One area I need to especially work on is the move from me having all the responsibility to the students having the majority of the responsibility. I have realized that I often skip over the importance of shared responsibility. Yet, this is one of the most crucial steps. During this step, I can see what concepts my students are grasping and what work we need to continue working on. 

4.      Share yourself and your thinking with your students

Often students see teachers as all-knowing beings. We know everything, do everything correctly, and everything we do comes out perfectly the first try. It distances students from their teachers. Instead, I hope to help my students understand that all people do not know everything and often make mistakes. To achieve this, I need to be willing to share myself and my thought processes. If we, as teachers, are unwilling to take risks and share part of ourselves, how do we expect our students to do these tasks? Regie Routman writes, “I try to emulate award-winning author Kate DiCamillo: ‘I put my heart on the page when I tell the story.’ It is important to take a risk and share something personal about yourself…” (p.27).

5.      Have students write for a specific purpose and audience.

To make writing authentic and meaningful, students need to write for a specific purpose and audience. That provides a guide to the task they are completing. For instance, when a student has sloppy handwriting you can make it about writing neatly, so that their reader can comprehend what they have written; instead of writing neatly because that is what the teacher required. Routman writes that students must, “Understand that readers expect text to be error-free” (p.67). This gives what the student is doing a clear, authentic goal.

6.      Have meaningful content and editing conferences.

I will be honest and say that my conferences, before this course, were not helping them become better writers. They were focused on improving one isolated piece of writing. Instead, I’ve learned from Ms. Routman that, “Our decisions must be guided by ‘What might help this writer?’ rather than ‘What might help this writing?’” (p. 81). The moment that I started thinking about how I should help my students as writers, instead of how to fix their writing, my conferences have become more productive. I have noticed that my students are not continuing to make the same errors; instead, they are able to self-correct. The other change, I made to my conferences, was to make my conferences more student directed or focused. I asked them what they would change or do to improve their writing. In contrast, during prior conferences, I would go through a list of changes they needed to make.

7.      Give the students choices and the ability to make decisions.

I have learned the importance of giving over much of the decision making to the students. If I want to help them move to independence, I have to help them learn the life skill of making good choices. The majority of students’ writing should be their choice and ungraded. Routman writes, “Provide more choice of writing topics. Students write more easily about something they’re interested in” (p.286). Lucy Calkins also points to student choice as important in her book The Art of Teaching Writing, “We care more about writing when we write with, for, and about the people who matter to us and when we write about or “off of” the issues and experience that matter to us” (p.14). I am constantly trying to find ways to motivate my reluctant students, the best and easiest way is to allow them choices and a chance to share what is significant to them.

8.      Integrate reading and writing.

We focus more on reading, because it is what is assessed. Yet Routman writes, “Research has clearly shown that reading and writing are interactive, closely connected processes that support each other and that participation in strong writing programs clearly benefits both reading and writing development” (p.119). Instead of seeing writing as taking time away time from reading instruction, I have to perceive it as another way to help students become better readers and vice versa. Regie Routman even suggests using student-created texts to teach reading, grammar, spelling, etc. I cannot wait to try this next year.

9.      Use mini-lessons to introduce skills and strategies based on students’ needs.

Instead of teaching part to whole to part Routman suggests we teach whole to part to whole. She writes, “When we start with a whole piece of writing for an intended reader, we can then look at the parts and connect them back with the whole” (p.15). Teaching how to write a complete sentence with worksheets or text books expects students to make the leap of applying this skill on their own. If it is taught using a shared writing piece, the application is clearly modeled. My biggest concern, about using this technique, will be making sure I cover everything that my students need to learn. I’m interested to see if it is possible.

10.  Celebrate student writing.

Students often come to us with very negative feelings towards writing; so, it is our job to change that attitude. Lucy Calkin’s book The Art of Teaching Writing has numerous ideas on how to support students and celebrate who they are as writers. Calkins writes that we need to get to a different state of mind, “What fascinating, amazing kids I have, we think. When we feel this way, we stand a chance of making a difference in their lives.” (p.17). Through focusing on what students’ strengths are and sharing these strengths with fellow classmates, students can also learn from each other. 

I have only begun to scratch the surface of what I need to learn about teaching writing. I cannot wait to continue to practice these and other new strategies. My focus will now stay firmly on how I can help my students instead of how I can help them pass a test. If you have had a chance to use any of these strategies in your classroom or have suggestions, I would love to hear what has worked for you!