Writing and Representing

I want my students to be able to cover many different types of writing and representing.  The grade 8 BC ELA IRP states that the purposes of teaching writing and representing are to be able to “create a variety of meaningful personal, informational and imaginative texts.”  These purposes are very broad, but all very important.  As usual when applying things from the IRP, there are endless ways in how a teacher can achieve these goals.

When writing an informational piece, structure is one of the key elements.  Teaching the students structure allows them to represent the information they have written in a way for everybody to understand that information.  Having a sound structure will also allow students to produce writing on a topic that does not necessarily interest them.  As much as I would like every student to write about things they are keen on, it can’t always happen.  Especially as students get older, and if they attend post-secondary education, students will need to have the tools to write and represent on topics that can be challenging and possibly uninteresting.  Writing this way is a very important skill that needs to be learned to be successful as a student, and quite possibly in their career.  Students will need to produce good quality work that they are not very excited about having to write, and if they can produce good quality work without interest, imagine what they can apply to that framework when they are interested in the topic.

When assessing informational pieces, this is where I believe teachers can take the red pen out and make adjustments to content, grammar, spelling and style.  Students will likely not be as emotionally attached to this type of work and will respond better to the constructive criticisms that teachers provide.  An extensive rubric that students can see and can make sure they hit every point to get their mark is important for assessing informational writing.  Students can see exactly where they went wrong and where they can make adjustments.  

Imaginative works can be the most fun for students to write, but can also be the most challenging.   Sometimes students do not have the tools needed to get their thoughts formally organized on paper.  In Nancy Atwell’s text (1998), she describes the story of a student who throws away two drafts of a paragraph because it did not feel right.  The teacher suggested making the work in to a poem, which the student found a lot easier and ended up publishing.  With imaginative work, you need to find the right medium to represent the creative thoughts and ideas of the student.  As teachers, we need to encourage students to explore all the different possibilities within the genre of creative writing.  Some examples are poems, graphic novels, comic strips and computer games, all of which push students experiences past the structure of a pen and paper. 

When assessing imaginative works it is important to remember certain standards and how it affects students.  The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has a list of standards for assessment of reading and writing.  All of them are important, but the first really touches on my beliefs:

“The interests of the student are paramount in assessment.  Assessment experiences at all levels, whether formative or summative, have consequences for students.  Assessments may alter their educational opportunities, increase or decrease their motivation to learn, elicit positive or negative feelings about themselves and others, and influence their understanding of what it means to be literate, educated, or successful. It is not enough for assessment to serve the well-being of students “on average”; we must aim for assessment to serve, not harm, each and every student.”

If I can hold to this standard at all times, it will make writing and representing a much more enjoyable and fulfilling learning experience for myself and the students.

Being able to write and represent personal information through things like personal journals, poems or blogs are all valuable tools in helping students understand their own learning.  Personal writing would have a different purpose in my classroom then the other two forms.  Students will be able to reflect and answer questions and formulate thoughts on different topics without having to worry about their thoughts being judged and criticized.  As Atwell (1998) says, “Writers are vulnerable.  That’s the writer, there, on the page.  Our essential selves laid bare for the world to see” (p. 217).  The personal writing in my classroom will be a chance for students to externalize these thoughts and for the teacher to see them and to assess based on the idea of content and effort as opposed to structure and style.

In the article by Casey and Hemenway (2001) that we read for class, the ideal teacher “would provide time, support, and real audiences for writing; it would unite both fiction and nonfiction, process and product, content and form, and freedom and discipline; it would include talk about writing, global revision, opportunities for feedback and publication, and high, but realistic, teacher expectations.”  With the three forms of writing and representing that were presented in the IRP, and with the proper application of each, I believe writing and representing will have a strong foothold in my ELA classroom.

References:

Atwell, N. (1998). In the Middle: New Understandings About, Writing, Reading, and Learning.  Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers.

Casey, M., Hemenway, S.J., (2001). Structure and Freedom: Achieving a Balanced Writing Curriculum.  English Journal. (p. 68-75).

English Language Arts Grade 8.  BC Integrated Resource Package (2007).

NCTE.  Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing, Revised Edition (2009).