A few days ago, I posted about reading. Today, writing. I was reminded of wanting to post about writing when I saw this, three minutes ago:
I read this post by a teacher named Jenn, who shared her struggles with teaching writing and I felt like I could have written it (the first part anyway) about myself as a teacher of writing. What hit me was when she described her routine:
I gave a writing assignment and expected my students to complete it. They would complete it, sure, but with errors galore. I would instruct students to proofread their rough draft, and they would read through it, say, “It’s good!” and turn it in. Then (just like my teachers had done for me) I would spend hours correcting all of their mistakes, which they would then copy for their final draft. It was exhausting doing their work for them, and my students weren’t becoming better writers.
Exactly!
I was fortunate this year to have a teaching partner who has many strengths – one of which is teaching writing. By watching him and by doing in my own classroom, I felt like I was beginning to morph from the teacher described above to one more able to evoke a love of writing. But I still have a long ways to go! I know that I need to:
- write when my kids write
- be more explicit in talking about writing
- share my own struggles, frustrations and triumphs in writing
- make sure I am providing authentic audiences for their writing
- draw upon real life experiences for writing
One of my biggest ‘breakthrough’ moments as a teacher was with a student who is a really good writer. She was ‘well-schooled’ in how writing works: She writes, the teacher approves her writing, she moves on to write something else. I felt a little stifled by this routine and wanted to break it – but didn’t know how. After almost a year of slowly working away at the idea that revising work is not a punishment, that the feedback from others can improve the work and that success as a writer isn’t determined by wether or not I, as the teacher, “like” your work, we made a breakthrough. One day, out of the blue, I noticed that our conversations about her writing had become a real conversation. She would share her work, ask for ideas, and when I gave suggestions, she would weigh in, ultimately making edits that suited her artistic inclinations.
My other writing epiphany came as I watch the writing of another student go from good to amazing in a really short period of time. I have been with some of my kids for two years having followed them from fourth to fifth grade and when I saw the change in this student’s writing, I was blown away. How did it happen? There were a number of factors and none of them had anything to do with me! Firstly, she read – a lot. Different genre, current books, all the time. Secondly, she was not at school, she was on a 77 day sabbatical in Barcelona. She wrote without pressure of the hamster wheel pace of school life and with the experience of a reader, traveler and explorer and it showed. Big time.
My question to myself is
“How do I make sure I help all children get to the same place these girls arrived at without leaving it to chance? ”
I did some research and came across a great post titled How Do Kids Really Learn To Write, 2.0 by Patricia Zaballos. It is an excellent read. I am highlighting points from it below but do yourself a huge favor and go read it in it’s entirety. It begins by outlining:
What Kids DON’T Need In Order To Become Writers:
- Kids don’t need to master the mechanical skills of writing before developing voices as writers.
- Kids don’t need daily, or even weekly writing practice.
- Kids don’t need to practice writing in various formats.
- Kids don’t need to write to develop as writers.
All these points would describe 99% of what goes on in a regular, grade-school writing class. But if this is being touted as what kids don’t need, what do they need? The blog post goes on to describe what you can do:
How Can You Help Kids Develop Into Writers:
- Raise them in a literature-rich, word-loving home.
- Talk about what interests them.
- Make the distinction between getting-words-on-the-paper skills and written expression.
- Let them write about what interests them, and in genres that they enjoy.
- Explore intriguing nonfiction
- Help them find meaningful, authentic reasons to write.
- Slap things together from all parts of your life, moving things around, rearranging them and ultimately piecing it all together.
- Be prepared to write anytime, anyplace, low-tech.
- READ!!!
- When you see something you consider “killer writing” copy it, rip it out, photograph it, keep it. Read it again and again. And again.
- Write first, think later. Just do it – then refine, or not.
- Experience 3D life so that you will have something to write about.
- Do something each day to further your role as a writer: read, write, discuss, explore, create, do…
- Entertain yourself with your writing – you will always be your number one fan.
- Make people laugh/cry/give you stuff/root for you/want more.
- Share your art.
sonya terborg 
Sonya, thank you so much for linking to my article in such a beautifully written post. I’m so glad that it’s been helpful to you. I also have Austin Kleon’s list clipped as inspiration; what an honor to have my work connected with his!
Your stories of the two students who helped you make breakthroughs are inspiring! They both seem to really *get* what it takes to be a writer. If you keep thinking about how they got where they did, I’m sure you’ll be able to help other students get to the same place.
I wonder if you’ve heard of the book The Digital Writing Workshop by Troy Hicks. It’s written for teachers of older kids, I suppose, but it’s a great resource for using new technologies to find those “authentic audiences” that can be so essential in creating a writer.
All kids deserve to have teachers that care as much as you do. Best of luck to you, and have fun with your writing!
Patricia, Thank you for your great comment! I really appreciate it! I love Austin Kleon’s work and your ideas about what kids need coupled with his ‘stealing’ tips just really resonated with me. I know (think?) you write predominently for a home-school audience, but I think it is just as important for teachers in schools to think about the reasons why people want to homeschool and to endeavor to provide the same experience at school. I have worked in Title 1 schools and in private schools and I know that the rich language experience just doesn’t exist at home for some kids – so I see it as my job to provide it at school. Your post was just what I was looking for to affirm what I think I already knew! Thank you for the book suggestion – I will definitely check it out. And thank you for your kind words – I really love teaching and the more I do it, the more I mess up, try new things, keep seeking out ideas from all walks of life, the more I love it!