Notes and presentation from Tuesday, June 19th, 2012. April Etzold's presentation on letter writing:


 April Etzold's powerpoint version. I was finally able to put this on our blog by converting it to a Brainshark presentation. Brainshark is free. It allows you to add voice and music to your power points by calling in with an access code. April Etzold's Research Question How can teachersbuild writing communities in their classrooms to increase students’ motivationto write? By April Etzold By the time struggling readers and writers arrive at their senior year of high school,the number of negative experiences that they have encountered with writing canbe staggering. They have come to expecta writing assignment to be returned to them covered in red ink and harshcriticisms. It is not surprising thatthey have become reluctant to write; writing assignments are sources of fearand dread. If it weren’t for the socialaspects of high school, many low-achieving students would have given up longago. It is worth wondering, then, ifwriting were to become a social experience, if the negative cloud that thesestudents’ envision atop the pen and paper might disappear. By establishing writing communities in theirclassrooms, teachers can transform the students’ motivation to write. In theNational Writing Project, we wrote and shared our writing with our peers on adaily basis. Although we were expectedto write something, the activity wasnot submitted to a teacher for evaluation and critique. Through this sharing we interacted in ameaningful way with one another and established bonds (Dean & Warren, 2012;Yagelski, 2009). Writing was a social activity, and the more weshared our writing, the more comfortable and confident we became with bothwriting and sharing. There are several waysthat teachers can create such communities in their classrooms. Oneactivity that would help to establish a writing community at the beginning ofthe school year, and to introduce students to each other and their teacher, iswith the writing of “Where I’m From” poems. This lesson would begin with a reading of the poem, “Where I’m From” byGeorge Ella Lyon. After some time isspent reading and analyzing the poem, and discussing how where a person is frominfluences his or her identity, students can write their own “Where I’m From”poem (Mello, 2012). Once poems arecomplete, the teacher could pair students to share their poems (since they maynot be comfortable sharing a poem they wrote with the whole class at this pointin the school year). The lesson couldend with informal writing in reflection of the experience, and the next day’slesson could begin with a discussion of what classmates learned about eachother. This activity would help tocreate bonds among students, as discussing where one another are from can deepstudents’ understandings of each other and many students may discoverunexpected commonalities. It also easesstudents into the idea of sharing their writing with peers. In orderto implement informal writing as a part of the regular curriculum, teachers canbegin or end each lesson with a prompt that may relate to current events, othertopics that the class will cover or did cover that day, or anything that mightinspire thoughtful writing and discussion. Prompts should inspire writing, but students should be allowed thefreedom to respond to prompts in many different ways. Although a prompt could be turned intosomething more formal, most should simply be an exercise in creativity andexpression; writing should be fun and doesn’t always have to be for agrade. Students should, however, be encouragedto share their writing and provide feedback to their classmates; this isimportant for establishing a true community of writers (Dean & Warren, 2012). Sinceclass time is limited and students may not be comfortable reading andresponding to each other’s writing face-to-face (especially early in the year),there are other ways to share writing with classmates. In the activity known as “Celebration”,students can walk around the room and read their classmates’ worksilently. Then they can make positivecomments or suggestions on a separate sheet of paper (Mello, 2012). This may ease students’ anxiety about sharingtheir writing aloud or speaking out with feedback in class, and students willhave their classmates’ suggestions in writing to utilize if revisions need tobe made. Another way to establishwriting communities among students is through the internet. Whether it is with wikis or blogs, ifteachers can turn writing into an interactive, high-tech activity, studentswill be motivated to participate (Dean & Warren, 2012; Edmonson, 2012). Thereare countless other activities that can help teachers to establish writingcommunities in their classrooms. Ifwriting is fun, nonthreatening, and interactive, reluctant writers will becomemuch more motivated. Since, according toBickford and Wright (2006), “learning is a social process that works best in acommunity setting”, this will increase the potential for classroom learning ingeneral, and it will motivate students to write more frequently and with more confidence. References Bickford,D.J., & Wright, D.J. (2006). Community: The hidden context forlearning. In Learning Spaces (Chapter 4). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/LearningSpaces Dean,D., & Warren, A. (2012). Informal and shared: Writing to createcommunity. English Journal, 101(4), 50-54. Edmonson,E. (2012). Wiki literature circles: Creating digital learning communities. EnglishJournal, 101(4), 43-49. Mello,R. (2012). “Where I’m From” (with a twist): Two poems, manylessons. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrievedfrom: http://fgcunwpisi2012.blogspot.com Yagelski,R.P. (2009). A thousand writers writing: Seeking change through the radical practiceof writing as a way of being. English Education, 42(1), 6-28.

Notes from Monday, June 18th. ( Belated Blogger's Note: These pictures were actually taken on the 26th, but Pat gave her presentation on the 18th. Pat is - however - in the picture, and that is why these pictures are on this page. The photos were taken during Remy Kaufman's presentation.

Pat Zubal's Sliderocket Presentation Pat's tic tac toe assignment sheet for differentiation:

Pat Zubal's Research Question:Strategies for Motivating Students to Write ReseWriting teachers encounter many stumbling blocks when assisting students in developing as writers but perhaps the largest obstacle of all is the lack of student interest or motivation to write. What can be done to overcome this impediment to progress? Donald Graves explains that the process of writing influences and is influenced by the community in which the writer participates (1994). Writing is a social activity. When students are provided with the opportunity to write about their own experiences with the world and share that writing with peers they develop their own personal voice and the confidence to write about a wide variety of topics. One of the defining characteristics of an effective writing community is the amount and type of conversation that takes place within that community. According to Allington (2004), classroom talk is one of the most important features in effective writing communities. Classroom talk must be respectful, supportive, productive and modeled as well as implicitly taught by teachers. Students cannot be expected to innately know how to interact with each other and their teacher within the writing process. Expectations must be clear and consistent so that students desire to and know how to actively and effectively participate in the writing process within their writing community. An important but often inactive participant in the classroom community is the teacher. Graves (1994) believes that when a teacher demonstrates a willingness to continue to learn through writing, students gain a feeling of trust in the teacher to support their risk taking and exploration within the writing process. Teachers are then able to model the role of writer for the students who in turn are able to learn by example. New (2005) explains that real-world relevance is an important aspect of student motivation. She suggests that teachers find a way to connect the writing to students’ lives. She further explains that students are more motivated when they have the opportunity to see good samples of other students' writing and understand how their writing is assessed. Providing students with choices and variety allows for ownership in their learning while creating a more meaningful and authentic writing experience. This type of learning environment helps students to develop the ability to make independent choices, set goals, and stay committed to reaching those goals (New, 2005). Teachers who provide personalized feedback, teach and model reflective skills and develop positive relationships with their students are the most effective in helping students grow as writers (Spalding and Wilson, 2002). Kelley (2002) recommends that teachers employ the following strategies to improve students’ attitude and motivation to write: · Teacher and peer conferences · Classroom discussion · Collaborative writing tasks · Writing for real audiences and purposes · Student self-assessment · Regular periods of writing · Choice of writing topics · Models of good writing The National Council of Teachers of English (2012) encourages a great deal of reading and writing within specific genres or content areas to improve writing achievement. Students must have many opportunities to use their writing skills and knowledge of conventions within each of the genres if they are to become fluent and comfortable within that genre. The National Writing Project (2002) recommends 10 ideas that NWP teachers have found successful in motivating students to write: Writing need not begin and end at the classroom door · Writing can connect kids to their communities · Kids like to write to other kids. · Students write best about what concerns them most. · Students are motivated to write when good writing is recognized. · Young writers need to do real writing. · Children benefit when parents are part of the literacy loop. · If a school recognizes the importance of writing, so will the students. · A published student writer is a motivated student writer. · With student writing, to celebrate is to motivate. Research has provided teachers with important information about the type of classroom environment and the most effective teaching strategies that can be beneficial in encouraging students to be actively engaged writers. Teachers who translate the research into practice will be rewarded by seeing their students’ writing flourish. References Allington, R. (2002). What I've learned about effective reading instruction from a decade of studying exemplary elementary classroom teachers. Phi Delta Kappan. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Writing Initiative, (2012) What we know about Writing: Key research concepts. New, Robin. (2005). Motivating students to write about art.School Arts. (105). 3. p. 44-45. Graves, D. H. (1994). A fresh look at writing. Irwin Publishing Co. Ontario, Canada. Kelley, M. C. (2002). "Best practices in writing instruction: Teachers' report of writinginstruction at a high performing elementary school" (Doctoral dissertation, University of Delaware). Spalding, E. & Wilson, A.(2002).Demystifying reflection:A study of pedagogical strategies that encourage reflective journalwriting.Teacher’s College Record.(104). 7. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on Reading and Its Implications for Instruction. Reports of the Subgroups. (2004). Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development), p.2–4. National Reading Panel Ten ideas that get kids writing. (2002). The National Writing Project.