Reading Assignments Responses

07/12/07
NWP Publications

Mozartians, Beethovians, and the Teaching of Writing
"If we wish to become effective teachers of writing, we need to teach the whole person; we need to allow both the Beethovians and the Mozartians to be who they are when they write." As a teacher this quote open my eyes it is not very frequent that you hear this kind of asseveration, as a teacher this is something that I will print and have with me and pull it out whenever I forget that I'm not just a writing teacher but that I also teach to the hopes, dreams, aspirations and emotions of my students. That their writing will reflect their unique personalities that the writing process isn't a set of rules written in stone that are meant to be followed in order. That writers can be messy and still be good writers that following an orderly format is not a guarantee of succesful writing rather it can become a frustration for students. Understanding that students writing abilities are different will allow me as a teacher to -teach the whole person.-

Skeletons Out of the Closet: The Case of the Missing 162%
Revision is one of the most difficult things to teach. The majority of my students just recopy their final drafts they don't use the comments they get when doing peer revision or from our conferences. This strategy provides a visual aid into the abstract concept of revising.

Getting Real: Authenticity in Writing Prompts
Whenever I assigned writing homework I relied on a lists of prompts that was given to me by another teacher. Every time I, hesitantly wrote them on the board and always felt the need to explain to my students what they meant in order to give them a clue what to write about. Now I know why, I wasn't really giving my students an audience or a purpose to write. Although they may not get to send their published pieces to their intended audience; giving them 'authentic prompts' will enable them to develop their voice.

The Parallel Universes of Theory and Practice: One Teacher's Journey
Beverly Paesano's dilemma hit home with me. I can completely relate to her dissapointment. As a 1st-year-2nd grade teacher I felt disappointment in my teaching
specially when it came to teaching writing. Working with 7 other teachers that had been teaching between 10-25 years, I felt that I had to follow their leads. The usual skill/drill/worksheet approach. It was a comfortable situation because I was in control but I knew that teaching had to be more than that. Mind you I was a blank slate coming from an alternative certification program with non-education degree. Then last year I was offered a 4th grade position and I knew I was in for a challenge. My team leader who had only been teaching 3 years prior, two other first year teachers and thankfully my bilingual counterpart that had been a teacher for 9 years. It really wasnn't the number of years under their belts but their approach to teaching writing. Everything the team leader said the other two did. We pretended to plan together and then I'll follow on footsteps. She didn't believe in woksheets or teaching skills in isolation she didn't teach spelling but rather word study. I was intrigued and felt that I had found the answer to my prayers. Our classrooms and bulettin boards bloomed with writing responses, published work, probes you name it. My kiddos were exciting about writing they trully enjoyed it. They had for the first time become young authors, illustrators and publishers.