Teaching Writing in Middle and Elementary Schools: ePorfolio
Central Michigan University
2485041843
MultiMedia Sources
Video
"Teaching the Writing Craft" and "Teaching a Specific Writing Strategy" explore the place whole-class lessons have in a writing workshop and the approach teachers take in planning them. They feature commentary from experts on teaching writing at the elementary level, as well as classroom illustrations highlighting the practices of several teachers.
Teachers use inquiry to help students identify elements and strategies in written texts that they can replicate in their own writing.
Teachers urge students to immediately try the strategy being taught.
Teachers use a variety of models to show the elements of good writing.
Common Core State Standards
The Common Core is a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA). These learning goals outline what a student should know and be able to do at the end of each grade. Here is an example of the CCSS for Writing in grades K-5.
Nelson Mandela
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world"
Reflection as a Writer:
My persuasive text reflects this genre of writing because I am writing to convince the principal of my school to allow a decrease in the amount of homework that is assigned on a daily basis. This is a very authentic text because it is something that students would feel passionate about and be willing to write an argument for. The authenticity made writing this much easier because I did not have to think of coming up with a situation in my head, and I kept the opinion of the students in mind. I already knew all my reasons that to which I would use to persuade the principal.
I will not actually use this persuasive text outside of this class other than to guide my students in the future with their persuasive texts. I wrote this a model to use in the classroom, rather than to actually formally use in an argument to reduce the amount of homework in a school setting. I used the argument organizer when constructing my persuasive piece. The organizer broke up the paragraphs and lay all of your thoughts out and coming up with counter arguments too. It was nice to break it down into smaller parts before starting the writing process. I knew that my audience would be student in a classroom setting so I tried to relate my reasoning to reflect other positive academic outcomes that we would get from not having as much homework. If I was writing this to other teachers, I would incorporate the fact that less grading would be in the picture, and overall less complaints from students.
Reflection as a Teacher:
I would ask my students come up with something that bothers them inside or outside school that they would like to see change. Using a decrease in homework can be used, but students would need to come up with their own arguments. The goal would be to have each child to find something personal to them, something they can relate to and be passionate about. The audience would differ depending on the topic that the student chooses. Some students might be writing to their parents or siblings while others may be writing to a teacher, administrator, or the President. The purpose would be to achieve in the convincing the audience to make the change that they have argued for and feel passionate about.
Persuasive Writing
Reflection as a Writer:
While writing this piece, I really struggled finding a topic to write on. When you think of giving someone directions, you do not think of it being a difficult task, but when you have to produce a step by step process of completing something, without fault, it is not so easy! I tried to think of topics on cooking or baking, but then I thought about writing letters and having a pen-pal. We all know that snail-mail is not how we connect anymore, if at all, but children have a strong liking to writing and receiving letters! When writing my procedures, I kept the process open ended as writing a letter is personal and there is not one “correct” way of doing so. My produces have various tips and suggestions when it comes to writing a letter to a new pen-pal. While writing my how-to, I referred to ehow.com and how they labeled the steps of writing a letter to a pen-pal.
I found that working and writing this piece with a partner was the best to the end result leading to something of an accomplishment. As I sequenced the steps, we would act out each action and insure that it made sense to not only us, but a younger audience as well. I learned that you simply cannot assume that people may, or may not, know what you mean by some of your directions!
Reflection as a Teacher:
In my future classroom, procedural writing will most definitely be incorporated. I find this type of writing interesting and unique, and students will be able to have a great deal of fun with it. Through the use of mini lessons where we read how- to or procedural books, I think students will get a grasp on what procedural writing it and how it is done. It is important for students to understand the type of writing they are engaging in, and how they should write it, before the writing begins. By using mentor and/or touchstone texts, the children can produce ideas for how and what they will complete their pieces on. I think the biggest struggle is going to be pick their topics and sequencing the order of the steps.
I will teach students and model how to write different steps, and tips on how to sequence them or add tips themselves. One the students have their first draft completed, they will test their directions against the class. Students will go up and present their step by step procedural writing and the students in the classroom will have to follow the direction as they are stated. This is a fun way to edit their writing and see what steps are missing, what steps are not needed, and get feedback from their peers!
Procedural Writing:
Reflection as a Writer:
The narrative I wrote reflects the genre and craft of a memoir because I choose a moment and place in my life that really mattered to me. My memoire is very specific to a moment in my life and describes a moment and place that has shaped me into the person I am today. It changed my views on teaching, on friendship, and in life in general. Other students may have a similar experience to such a feeling and that can be transformed into a personal narrative.
The process of writing this memoir was one of the “easiest” writing pieces I have completed. I knew right away that I was going to write about the first time that I traveled on my own for summer camp job, but I really did not where to start. There were so many important details that I did not want leave out and I found myself adding and adding information. The revision process of my memoir played a big role in the final outcome. I used multiple different lenses from our Revision Tool Box including the lens of focus and clarity and the lens of so what. When looking through different parts of my story, I was able to find where the heart of my story was and how I could elaborate more into my writing to let the audience know my feelings throughout the journey. This memoir took large amounts of preparation, revision and edits, and time; however, I have grown as a writer and learned to appreciate a new form of writing that I did not before. With this in mind, I think that many students favorite forms of writing is a personal narrative due to the fact that they can tell their story in a way of exploding a moment, or place, that means the most to them.
Reflection as a Teacher:
The topic of narrative writing is an important writing style to teach students as it is one of the first types of stories that they hear as children and one fo the first types of writing that they learn to perform in the classroom. I find narrative writing very important because it allows children to express themselves within their writing. As a future teacher who would like to teach kindergarten, narratives can be done through pictures and labeling. This will be the genre that we will spend a lot of time on while teaching how to compose a story as well. Narratives come in many different forms and children love to tell stories and exaggerate parts of their life at home. They have the opportunity to share events that take place, making the writing have a personal aspect and meaningful purpose,, while also learning the tools of writing!
I plan on using what I learned in this class when teaching my students how to write a narrative through exploding a moment and writing a memoir, as I did in my personal writing sample. After reading the various mentor texts and examples, I will tell them to prompt them to think about moments that they strongly connect with, have a strong vision of, or have strong feelings towards. Students can also look back at their heart maps to get inspiration and jog their memory of moments that mean the most to them. We will work on exploding their moments and adding as much detail as possible about their moments.
Narrative Writing:
Personal Statement
Why I Do What I Do:
As Malcolm X once said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”. As a future Early Childhood Educator, I will personally strive to prepare my students in the best ways possible for them to succeed in their future endeavors. My beliefs regarding child development in relation to brain and learning, working within the multicultural society, building a family and community relationship within my classroom, terms of assessing my students, inclusion of integrated curriculums, personal professionalism and ethics, and how I plan to guide my students into a caring community shape who I am as an educator and a leader. Writing is such an important aspect to the classroom curriculum, and I now have the knowledge to implement and work with it in an effective way.
ASHLEE EMERSON
Teacher of Writing//Writing Coach
This online ePortfolio displays my philosophies on teaching three distinct genres in the Elementary Education setting. I am currently a student at Central Michigan University studying Elementary Education with an emphasis on Early Childhood Development and Learning and Language Arts. My ultimate dream is to teach in a Kindergarten classroom in a public school setting (near or far!) After concluding a practicum class involving teaching writing in Elementary and Middle school levels, I have adapted new ways in which writing can be taught, and learned to love! Please, take a look and enjoy!