Guiding Question:
- In Because Writing Matters, Nagin starts by asserting that "writing is a complex activity: more than just a skill or talent, it is a means of inquiry and expression for learning in all grades and disciplines." How does this view affect the way we might approach our teaching? Why is writing so complex and what challenges does it pose on our schools? Are these ideas addressed in "Writing Next" as well?
Do not let my questions limit your discussion. They are merely meant to be suggestions that might help start a conversation.
I just finished reading the article about teaching to the test. I found this well researched piece a validation of just about everything I believe about teaching writing--that kids have to write a lot to get better, that the writing workshop concept is vital, that time to revise and confer with me and each other is imperative, and that they have to have some interest in the topic. It was great to read that all of this often equates to higher scores on the standardized tests that are now ubiquitous in education. As reform movements sweep the lower 48, with even the promise/threat that teacher salaries and retention may be tied to students' scores on such tests, we all have to pay attention to articles like this that support the notion that best practices work.
ReplyDeleteI’m still reading “Teaching to the Test...Not”. So far, it confirms what I’m sure most of us have observed: adherence to rigorously and enthusiastically teaching the writing process will help our students pass standardized tests. However, as I read, the thought occurred that we do a good job of teaching the five paragraph essay for students who will graduate to the world of one page memos and Power Point briefings.
ReplyDeleteI took a moment to Google the U.S. Coast Guard’s Correspondence Manual. It’s an old friend. We studied the Correspondence Manual in officer’s candidate school. I used to give copies of the effective writing chapter to my subordinates and require them to apply it their official writing, much of which they prepared for my signature.
The link to the manual is: www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/5000-5999/CIM_5216_4C.pdf
You don’t have to read the whole thing. In fact, most of it concerns how Coast Guard correspondence is routed and filed. Pretty boring stuff. However, check out Chapter 10, “Coast Guard Writing Standards.” This is the meat of the book and it applies to all of us. It’s a quick and enjoyable read with some great one-liners. For example: “...because readers hear writing, the most readable writing sounds like people talking to people.” Or, “Seek out small words. The effort will lead to simpler writing in general. (Simple writing isn't simple minded; it requires complex, sophisticated work.)”
Check it out, I’m sure that you’ll find some good things in it.
Rick, I appreciate your points on writing. The changing nature of communication has always been with us. We most likely cannot imagine exactly what or how our students will be writing, but chances are they will be composing in some form or fashion. The most readable writing is easy and enjoyable to read just as your manual says. I was thinking we have gone from elaborate letter writing to short letters to email to blog to tweet. If that is a trend (not that anything is gone on the list) we are become more succinct which takes extreme thought and skill. I must admit I am not a tweeter or text sender, but my young college students are champs at it. All of my ramble still relates to ideas presented in the text. We need to continue to teach and reinforce writing with skill and clarity in all its complexity for much more than a test score.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the article on teaching to the test. I have been frustrated with this entire process as a special education teacher. I had one student that didn't get a diploma even though he passed all his regular ed. classes, but he couldn't pass one of the three HSGQE tests. (I might add, it wasn't writing he failed at, it was math.) His parents and I were so frustrated. If he had been 2 years older, he would have gotten a diploma.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, reading the article was a good reminder of ideas I have heard for years. I apply many of them in my teaching, but it is always good to refresh and review to find the little things you have possibly neglected or might be interesting if applied in class.
I don't teach 5 paragraph essays in my class because the skill level is too low, but it is still a great idea to do mini lessons on voice, word choice, organization, ideas, and sentency fluency along with conventions and mechanical correctness. Sometimes it seems that I only get to focus on parts of a sentence, but then they show me the inner writers that they really are, even though most of the words are miss spelled.
Bottom line for me is, can my students express on paper, phone or computer what they want to say? That's what we focus on, not tests and the possibily that I might have a pay cut because my students weren't blessed with cognitive superiority.
I don't have a student this year that is trying to get a regular diploma, but they have to have writing skills to make it in the job and real world after they walk out of Homer High. Teaching them to write with confidence and lack of fear is what I focus on in my class, no matter what the tests show.
In Nagin's introduction and first chapter, many things impressed me. One, the need for authentic writing assessments, again makes me happy I'm in a district that still values the AWA. We recently received the tests back, and I'm making those a big part of my students' on-going writing portfolios. Reading that, too, made me really glad to be teaching multiple grades, as I can more easily monitor progress with different traits. I don't know about you guys, but when I taught one grade, I always felt a little bad sending those 8th graders on, knowing I probably skipped something really important, and nobody else was going to pick up exactly where I'd left off w/ them.
ReplyDeleteAnother things was the importance of writing across the curriculum. "...districts and schools that have made writing an overarching curricular aim have done so by declaring it the job of all faculty and by providing ongoing professional development focused on writing." I had a good conversation w/ my principal just yesterday afternoon about making this one of our main goals for the school.
Yet another point: When student writers are challenged with ever more difficult writing tasks, their mechanical errors increase, which is often seen as a sign of regression instead of growth. NOT SO! I plan on bringing this up with my ELL kiddos next week. It's a concept I've often seen, especially coming from elementary into middle school - they're afraid to write because now that the forms are more difficult, they have to take bigger risks just to express themselves.
Anyway, really enjoying the book (WHICH took about a month from Amazon. Next time I'm ordering from the local book store...)
What resonated with me in the first section of Nagin's text was the section on the need for common expectations for good writing. At my school (1700 kids, 100+ teachers) there is a distinct lack of communication when it comes to how we teach and grade writing assignments across content areas and also within the English department.
ReplyDeleteI teach in our 9th grade academy, and even among the four English teachers within the academy there is confusion and misunderstanding about how we are supposed to be approaching writing instruction. How many writing assignments and what type of writing students should be doing is left up to individual teachers to decide. There is no common vision.
The people who really lose out here are our students. Since there is no continuity among the staff and no blueprint for what students need to learn and where they are going to learn it, some students get a lot of writing instruction and others not so much. It depends entirely on the luck of the draw when the students get scheduled.
Our staff needs to be sold on the idea that, as Nagin states, "every teacher who interacts with children has a responsibility for the student's development in writing as it applies to their subject area." Nagin is right when he says that content teachers can't assume their students know how to write a certain type of paper. They have to be prepared to teach students in their classes how to write an appropriate paper for that content area.
The task of organizing a large staff like ours around common writing goals and procedures seems so daunting that I think it just perpetually gets pushed to the back burner. We all know the students at our school need intensive writing instruction and experience, but we don't have a good system of delivery--yet. I'm remaining optimistic. Writing is now a district focus, so my hope is that some of these issues will come to the forefront.
I was happy to read in Chapter 1 that students need to write more and in all content areas. My husband and I are the two secondary teachers in our school, and we have started collaborating on writing in our content areas. I'm the writing teacher, so I help him write the assignment and make the rubric for his students. I also, look over his students papers, letting him know what he can expect from them. That way, the expectations between us are the same for the students.
ReplyDeleteThe students crack me up about it. They insist that writing is for writing class and they resent it that I'm collaborating with their Science teacher! I tell them we're putting the squeeze on them to improve their writing skills! We just started this recently, so we'll see what happens.
For some reason this year I have had a lot more contact with the outside (non-teaching) world. The professionals is all fields have lamented to me the lack of writers that are available to hire. They will interview candidates and have high hopes until the writing portion occurs. Even writing majors! lack the skills that are needed in the business world.
ReplyDeleteAs I work with my young writers covering the traits, I try to make the connections so they will see where they are going. Examples of all types of writing are presented and shared...sometimes it doesn't seem to matter.
What are the expectations? How can we send out students on when we know they are missing pieces and how do we reach down and bring them up? It can be daunting, yet as Nagin points out it is valid and important and we must continue with best practices. It does make a difference.
It would be impossible to find a way of teaching writing that would benefit every child perfectly. My concern is about getting bilingual teenage non-writers who are illiterate in their first language and find it quite acceptable. Some attended schools in refugee camps, some didn’t attend any school for long periods of time. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve seen children who knew five very different languages, and it wasn’t a result of parental encouragement, but rather where life has taken the family on their way to Alaska.
ReplyDeleteThe younger the child, the less they have to catch up academically, the easier is the adjustment process. Many young adults skip schooling altogether and enter the work force surviving with minimal writing skills. Teenagers have it the most difficult because they are expected to catch up and perform, being responsible to write for the entire immigrant family: the elders, the parents, the younger siblings. The greatest challenge is to teach several years worth of material in one, while taking some of the life’s pressure off the child and letting them free-write and express themselves.
I enjoyed reading the article Teaching to the Test.
ReplyDeleteThere is no harm in testing based on the standards being taught. If we teach the standards that will be assessed by the test, does it mean we are teaching to the test? The main issue for me is HOW to teach so the teaching does not become the meaningless drill to prepare for the test.
The article describes Writing workshop and 6 Traits +I as effective instructional approaches in teaching writing process. It points out that rigorous writing instruction that incorporates social nature of learning, provides students with choices and allows them time to experiment with different genre, brings positive testing results.
Testing for the purpose of collecting data and punishing schools for low test scores is ineffective and punitive. Routine formal and informal assessment that drives instruction is a necessary teaching element.
I noticed that for many English learners, “free writing” presents a challenge. Not confident in their writing skills and unaccustomed to freedom of expression and having choices, students, coming from different- sometimes very structured- classrooms, struggle to allow themselves to be creative. The fear of making mistakes is very limiting. Scaffolding techniques such as modeling expository writing or “written retell” of a story, individual and small group conferencing were helpful in my class to get them started.
I am teaching to the test right now! Well, a little...
ReplyDeleteMy students are instructed to write a "very organized five-paragraph essay" and I let them know I don't care if it's boring for the first draft.
When I introduced the lesson, I told them: "Boring yet organized gets you through the HSGQE (High School Graduation Qualifying Exam)." Is it wrong to teach to the test in some ways? The reading states that if you only teach skills for tests, that is wrong. But it said: "Students who have effective writing instruction score better on state writing tests than their counterparts who receive specific instruction in the skills assessed on the test (Manzo, 2001). According to Tchudi and Tchudi (1999), the broadest and richest preparation in writing produces the highest test scores."
Does that mean I can openly tell them what to do for the test, but require them to go further in my class? I hope so: that's what I am doing right now. Egads.
I want their first draft to be "HSGQE-Ready," but we will move on to edit and create beautiful final drafts, rife with strong verbs and powerful images. My rubrics require strong writing skills and powerful writing strategies. But for the first draft, I fear if I do not teach them to write a "boring yet organized" five-paragraph essay, they will not pass the high school test, nor will our school meet AYP.
Will they want to stop at step one? That is the fear, and that is what the article made me ponder. I consider the passing of the HSGQE to be a "draft" form of a powerful essay. As advanced 7/8th graders, they should be able to create a solid (if not enchanting) 5-paragraph essay in a very short time period. Then we move forward.
Do I worry too much about the tests? Yes. I probably do. I want my school to meet AYP. I want to create positive attitudes about my school within the community. Clearly, if this is how we receive funding, we need to focus on the skills that show our success.
I cannot give the finger to the standardized test. I cannot embrace the standardized test like some desperate hussy. I am seeking a way to support a quality writing program while also garnering impressive test scores. Can I do it?
After reading the article on teaching to the tests in reading and writing, I realized that we are often pushed to teach to the test, at least in my school. I find that my principal actually sends us website links that are geared to train our students to the test. I understand that we don't want our students to freak out when they are looking at the test and haven't seen anything like it all year. However, I think the main goal is for our students to meet AYP again and not the maintenance or exceeding expectations in the classroom year round like it should be. I find it difficult to teach a concept without having to worry how it aligns with the test or if my students are going to actually see this on the exam.
ReplyDeleteStacey's post really got right to the heart of some of my frustrations with writing instruction in our district. There has been a district effort to create a master plan for the basic requirements of writing for each grade level at elementary. Many teachers spent several days away from our classrooms working out what is taught at each level, building a scope and sequence using the framework of the HM reading program and adding in other sources, etc. Somewhere along the line it seems to have stalled out. Where is all that work that was done and is it ever going to make it to the rest of the teachers in the district? Right now it seems to me that the writing instruction students receive depends totally on individual teacher's commitment to teaching writing. Teachers at each grade level don't even have consistent expectations because there are only the basic GLEs to guide instruction.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading a number of posts above, in conjunction with the readings, "Teaching to the Tests," and, "Because Writing Matters: Intro and Chapter 1," I feel like I'm reading the same things over and over again. I'm not meaning to say that I don't agree with what has been relayed to me as the reader, but as mentioned above, it's not the importance of incorporating writing that I question, it's how best to instruct in the writing process to get quality out of what's been assigned. I have my students journal, but it's a rare occasion that I get more than two or three sentences out of a 20 minute writing session. One student really goes crazy writing, but we end up trimming the fat continuously as there is no focus with what she writes. I hope as we read further into the texts provided that I get an almost tangible grip on the instructional side of writing. As I've mentioned before, I have loved writing and been motivated to do so for quite some time, so I struggle to find the best ways to motivate my students to communicate in such ways.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out and was "highlighter" worthy as I read through "Because Writing Matters," was the comment that we too often focus on the syntactical and grammatical errors, identifying good writing based on it's correctness as opposed to its overall effect on the reader. This was a great reminder that writing is meant to draw in and captivate a reader, leaving a memorable effect on anyone that comes across the writing. Usually, the syntactical and grammatical errors are the easy fixes, and I agree with the idea that as professionals, we tend to fix these errors without motivating our writers to develop meaningful pieces.
Another piece that caught my attention was the section that identified a need for professional development as a whole staff as opposed to singling out the language arts curricular areas. I truly feel we'd be incorporating writing more into all curricular areas if we had a staff that felt comfortable with the writing process themselves.
Much like everyone else above, I find myself struggling to incorporate writing into all curricular areas while still tying my lessons in with GLEs and HSGQE standards. I know if my students master the standards and benchmarks set forth in writing, they'll likely pass the HSGQE; however, I do not take solace in the fact that my students passing the HSGQE will have developed the skills necessary to find and keep a job based on the minimalistic standards of the HSGQE. To be honest, those are 8th grade skills at most, and while my students still struggle to meet those standards, I feel I'm doing the best with what I have to better prepare them. I think I need to better prepare myself for the writing portion before I expect my students to exceed the expectations set forth by HSGQE.
I like all of the conversation on writing in the subject areas. I am the middle school teacher at a two teacher site, so I am responsible for teaching all subjects to 6th-8th grade. Some days, that can be a bit daunting, trying to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and technology to all of those grades. I hate to admit it, but when I am short on time it is the science and/or social studies that has to be cut or integrated into another subject. My solution to keep it from disappearing completely is to integrate it into my reading and writing. This has really helped me juggle all of the different content I have to cover. I however have found it to be a struggle, because of the reading and writing levels that my students are at. Although they are 6th-8th graders, they are still at the "Learning to Read and Write" stage, rather than "Reading or Writing to Learn" stage, which is where they should be.
ReplyDeleteIn all the reading what is clear to me is the need for students to write on a regular basis. Too often it is restricted to just the language arts arena. It is pointed out in basically everything we have read thus far that to develop as a writer one must write. The idea of learning to write/writing to learn helps to bridge to other curricular areas. With the advent of "No Child Left Behind" it has become about accountability which has changed the style of teaching for some. I am glad I work in a District that has an authentic writing assessment in place. As a staff at my school we have worked over the years to come up with common language, expectations, and scoring rubrics. To facilitate this work we were able to bring in a consultant who is very strong in the writing process/writing workshop approach. The greatest benefit derived from this experience was she came into our rooms and taught a lesson; modeled for teachers. It is my opinion that if students are given opportunities to develop as writers they will indeed do well on State tests.
ReplyDeleteI posteed this entry last night, but upon checking today, I couldn't find it. So here goes attempt number two:
ReplyDeleteI was very pleasantly surprised that Because Writing Matters is an enjoyable book because it is so well written. Frankly, I dread reading educational literature because the authors tend to over vocabular-ize and seem to be more interested in trying to impress we readers with their intelligence than in communicating ideas. Usually, I’m not impressed when I have to wade through thirty pages of complex-compound sentences in passive voice to get to a point that could have been made in one or two.
Good writing contains impact sentences. In Because Writing Matters certain quotes jumped off the page:
“With the exception of college-level teaching geared to the freshman writer,
composition pedagogy remains a neglected area of study at most of the
nation’s thirteen hundred schools of education, where future public school teachers are trained.”
This brought to mind a conversation that I had with an MAT classmate during one of our seminar classes. We were student teaching four days a week and meeting at the university one day for classes and discussions. I made that comment that I couldn’t understand how seniors and juniors could have so much difficulty producing good writing. One of my classmates taught social studies down the hall. She said her master teacher’s policy was to evaluate student writing assignments by whether main ideas were covered and not to worry about the mechanics, voice, flow, and all those things English teachers check.
On Friday, I had a conversation with one of the staff members at the youth facility where I teach. He told me how frustrated he was grading student papers as graduate assistant because the university’s policy was the same; look for the main idea and don’t grade the writing itself. He was amazed at how poor his students’ writing was. I asked what would happen to them after graduation when their employers would expect concise, coherent, error-free writing. He said that he had posed the same question to deaf ears in his university department.
The concept of writing across the curriculum isn’t new. When I student taught, my master teacher gave me a wonderful little paper back book about a reading program that was developed at a reform school in Michigan during the early 1960s. I don’t remember the book’s title. I lent it to my cohort down the hall. I’ll check it tomorrow. The gist of the program was to introduce what we now call sustained silent reading to the reform school inmates, who were, predictably, poor to non-readers and low performing students.
Part of the experiment also involved writing across the curriculum. To ensure consistency and real attention to writing, the school’s English teachers graded ALL of the writing assignments in ALL subject areas. In compensation, the English teachers taught one less class per day than the other teachers. The program was successful beyond all measure. At mid year, the consultant, a University of Michigan English professor, and the facility staff did a room inspection and collected any reading material they found. They filled three wheelbarrows with books, magazines, and notebooks that the students used as journals. Teaching writing is really coaching. The English teacher as cross curriculum writing coach seems like a very valid concept.
I got my book, finally! I bought it through Amazon and it took over a month and several “Where is my stuff?” messages to get it here.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the Introduction and Chapter 1. The first chapter tells about the array of challenges related to writing as it is a highly demanding task of critical thinking and problem solving. I agree with the authors that to improve students’ writing they need to write more and in all subjects, and not just write more, but have exposure and practice various meaningful, authentic writing experiences.
NAEP Report t Card statement about direct correlation between writing and reading comprehension resonated with my personal belief and classroom practices. My ESL students’ speaking, reading, and overall comprehension skills improved significantly because (tenaciously) I expected them to write their responses in complete sentences and provide several reasons for their opinions. I strongly agree with the authors that writing in all subject areas should be the norm in the entire school and teachers need ongoing professional development on how to teach writing effectively. I also think there should be a typing class available to Ells; many of the kids come to schools without basic commuter literacy and typing skills. If learning how to write clearly is a lifelong endeavor to master, typing quickly (“particularly in a fast- paced technological environment”) they can probably learn in one semester.
Mike Rose’s perspective on progression of student’s mistakes as a sign of growth was very insightful: as the writing tasks become more complex, students tend to make to more sophisticated mistakes. He urges teachers to “analyze rather than simply criticize them”.
I am looking forward to Chapters 3 and 4 to learn more about the strategies.
I read with interest the part of chapter two that talked about the differences in writing instruction between product and process. This has been abundantly clear in my 9th grade classes this year. As I grade small, in-class written work it I can see that they don't know how to use vocabulary in sentences. They're mixing up verbs and adverbs, nouns and adjectives. Their usage, especially of new and unfamiliar vocabulary, is frequently problematic.
ReplyDeleteAs a student that grew up learning to write as a "process" I feel that I recognize mistakes, that I'm good at fixing mistakes, but that I don't know how to explain it to my students. I myself don't have the grammatical vocabulary needed to explain the "why's" that my students demand.
Today I called upon an ELL aide that works in one of my classes to help explain parts of speech to my students. I asked one young woman when they last reviewed basic parts of speech and her recollection was in 6th grade. So as freshman, not only has it been several years but it really depends on what teacher and where they went to school. I'm fairly certain that the only grammar instruction I had after two graduate programs, a bachelor's degree, and 13 years of public education was in Mrs. Bringold's 6th grade Language Arts class at Kodiak Junior High.
Anyway, I struggle to balance the process of writing with the nuts and bolts of sentence construction, mechanics, usage, and grammar.
The book is Hooked on Books by Daniel Fader. It's available in used paperback format from Amazon for as low as $1.00 per copy.
ReplyDeleteAmy-
ReplyDeleteI am compelled to respond immediately to your post about how you're teaching the 5 paragraph essay. I think you're right on the money. In my humble opinion, it's exactly the right thing to do- and not for sleazy, sell-out, purposes! As with many things in life, once you're confident about how to do something (like write a proper essay), you can then, and only then, turn it into a craft that you can be proud of. I bet your students are really grateful to get that basic structure down pat. Think of the freedom of expression they now own!
Editing my writing for over an hour is turning my words about the reading inside out. Thinking about writing as a socioeconomic phenomenon has sucked my brain out. Speech is not a privilege; why is writing? Because of the quality of instruction? Because it is a luxury to have the time to create and appreciate good writing? Like Amy's students, for example, why should they bother to make their proper essays beautiful? Two reasons: they deserve to have a handle on composition and style; and that our language, our speech, our passion for word play are some of the best (most expressive, descriptive, influential) gifts that we, as a species, have got.
ReplyDeleteEleanor, thank you for your words! My essays have turned out (well, many have turned out) beautifully. I had two today that I marked with the "red heart sticker" which means I'd like a copy for my Exemplar Binder to keep over the years. (Both students beamed.)
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think "really grateful" is, although a dream of mine, not how these delightful middle schoolers feel about their essay skills - alas! :) Maybe someday they will...
"Writing is complex, and so is the instruction that a school must provide... Even the most accomplished writers say that writing is challenging, most notably because there is so much uncertainty embedded in the process of doing it." (Nagin, Because Writing Matters)
ReplyDeletePerhaps because I'm a newer teacher, the Best Practices article was useful because it defined and clarified important aspects of the writing process and writing workshop that I am not as familiar with as I would like to be. On the other hand, the first chapter of Because Writing Matters merely highlighted to me the importance of educators knowing how to write and being skilled at understanding the process - so that they can teach students how to do it! Some of the most relevant points that I gained from the reading and that were also echoed my others in this class were the need for professional development and understanding of the basics of writing, as Brielle expressed:
"I truly feel we'd be incorporating writing more into all curricular areas if we had a staff that felt comfortable with the writing process themselves."
The other thing that really grabbed my attention is the need for students to have frequent opportunities to write across content areas. I wonder if this might sometimes be easier to do in elementary, where generally only one teacher is primarily responsible for the teaching of all subjects so they can easily pull, push, and squeeze writing into various content areas? Shirlie echoed the need for students to write on a regular basis, and Rick described a program wherein students were introduced to SSR in order to improve in reading - so we can infer that from this reasearch, in order to improve in writing they need to write more! I could not agree more, and will admit that my bedtime reading has not been the latest best-seller or favorite classic - but rather Notebook Know How: Strategies for the Writer's Notebook by Aimee Buckner. I have been amazed at the amount of time she builds writing into her teaching, but also amazed at the powerfully amazing results she gets from doing so consistently from the beginning of the year. But how many other teachers are working on something similar? It seems as though writing is not nearly as much in the forefront of education discussion as it should be...and until then, we are going to worry about the tests, if not for the sole purpose that by "teaching to the test" we are in a way teaching strong basics of the writing process that can then be developed more fully and creatively!
I think writing can be paralleled with any art form or sport for it requires the actual "doing" to become a writer (though sports can have spectators). For others to want to read your piece, you have to work on precision, clarification, and articulation. In the process of perfecting those, a writer can work with pleasure, and when they achieve them, s/he can gain satisfaction and others will want to ready what's been written. As our students are practicing singing for sixth grade graduation, I noticed today that their voice at the beginning of the song sounds very inviting, wanting to listed to the rest of the song. They have been practicing for over a month under a guidance of our intern teacher. As they sing more, their voices are getting better and more pleasant (please don't ask how they sounded at first!). I think writing also evolves with more of actually "doing" it and one can achieve the inviting beginning after practice... I just got started now, so I have a long way to go!
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