Pages from a Writing Teacher

1. Pages from a Writing Teacher A presentation by Debra Johnson Reading 703 November 22, 2010

2. Why is teaching writing important? Writing contributes to word recognition, especially during the primary grades. Ron Cramer The Language Arts: A Balanced Approach to Teaching Reading, Writing, Listening, Talking, and Thinking (2004) p. 330.

3. When you teach writing,your appearance may change…

4. However, you may also enjoy teaching writing!

5. Tips for Writing Teachers • Always display examples of your students’ work

6. Tips for Writing Teachers • Do not give up if your efforts appear to be unfruitful

7. Tips for Writing Teachers • Present your students’ work as a classroom event or as a school event

8. Tips for Writing Teachers • At least once a year, publish your students’ work.

9. Writing Teachers Generally Cover Four Areas: • Short stories • Skits or plays • Poetry • Essays, critiques, and/or research papers

10. Teaching Students How to Write Short Stories • Before teaching students how to write short stories, the teacher shall first instruct the students in the elements of the short story and the seven types of imagery. Why? • When students know the elements of short stories, the stories they write shall be more accessible. • When students know how to use imagery, their stories are more vivid and contain compelling details.

11. Teaching Students How to Write Short Stories Of the seven types of imagery, five correspond to our five senses: Visual The tall man wearing a green suit and a yellow hat Auditory The buzzing of the bees or the crashing waves

12. Teaching Students How to Write Short Stories Tactile His skin feels like sandpaper or is as soft as rose petals Olfactory Her breath smells like hot garbage

13. Teaching Students How to Write Short Stories Gustatory The words were sweet as honey or bitter as bile The remaining two types of imagery are forms of movement.

14. Teaching Students How to Write Short Stories Kinetic He dances like a washing machine or her words cut me like scissors Kinesthetic The lava runs down the volcano like a man running a race

15. Teaching Students How to Write Short Stories Two helpful tools for guiding the student in writing an original short story: • Short Story Map • Step-by-Step Directions on How to Write a Short Story

16. Teaching Students How to Write Skits or Plays • Teach this unit immediately after the elements of the short story • Provide an incentive for writing skits or plays, such as a performance • Students who performed in this skit (written by a Ferndale adult education student) received extra credit

17. Teaching Students How to Write Poetry • Let students know in advance which terms shall be taught • Explain each term or type with a variety of accessible examples • Require students to produce a poetry project • On the day the projects are passed back, celebrate with a classroom coffeehouse

18. Teaching Students How to Write Poetry How to Have a Classroom Coffeehouse • The teacher brings the coffee (Starbucks or school cafeteria) plus excessive sugar and cream • Students bring the baked goods • Pass back the projects, light the candles, and darken the room • Snaps for each poem

19. Teaching Students How to Write Essays • Before you teach the essay, tell your students to write a five paragraph essay. This is your baseline. Save it!

20. Teaching Students How to Write Essays • Use the Basic Essay Skeleton to teach the five paragraph essay • Video examples are available at teachertube.com, then enter djohnsonish • Video examples are also available on this website under the Videos tab

21. Teaching Students How to Write Essays • After students have mastered the five paragraph essay format, expose them to more sophisticated essays so their writing style can successfully develop • Excellent examples can be found in the New York TimesMagazine section • Online examples of elegant essays are available at grammarabout.com/od/60 essays/a/classicessays.htm

22. Teaching Students How to Write Essays • Require students to complete an essay project with titles they select from a list the teacher provides.

23. Teaching Students How to Write Essays • Encourage students to enter essay contests because they may win

24. Teaching Students How to Write Critiques • To encourage critical thinking skills, use the Critique Skeleton to help students write evaluations of literature, objects, or themselves.

25. Teaching Students How to Write • The most effective strategy for teaching grammar is the use of mini-lessons that target errors identified in previous students’ writing (Feng, S., & Powers, K., 2005)

26. Resources for Teaching Writing Brooks, G.W. (2007). Teachers as readers and writers and as teachers of reading and writing. Journal of Educational Resources, 3, 177-191. Fearn, L. & Farnan, N. (2007). The influence of professional development on young writers’ writing performance. Action in Teacher Education, 29(2), 17-28. Feng, S., & Powers, K. (2005). The short- and long-term effect of explicit grammar instruction on fifth graders’ writing. Reading Improvement, 42(3), 67-72. Lienemann, T.O., & Reid, R. (2006). Self-regulated strategy development for students with learning disabilities. Teacher Education and Special Education, 29(1), 3-11. McCarthey, S.J. (2007). The impact of No Child Left Behind on teachers’ writing instruction. Written Communication, 25(4), 462-505. Pardo, L.S. (2006). The role of context in learning to teach writing: What teacher educators need to know to support beginning urban teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 57(4), 378-394. Sheehy, M. (2003). The social life of an essay: Standardizing forces in writing. Written Communication, 20(3), 333-385. Stange, T.V., & Wyant, S.L. (2008). Poetry proves to be positive in the primary grades. Reading Horizons, 48(3), 201-214. Ziolkowska, R. (2007). Early intervention for students with reading and writing difficulties. Reading Improvement, 44(2), 76-86.