Entry #2

This week's post reflects the ideas and topics mentioned in chapters 1-2 of Crafting Digital Writing by Troy Hicks along with chapter 4 of Teaching Writing Balancing Process and Product by Gail E. Tompkins. During these readings, I learned about author's craft and how students use specific techniques and tools in order to make their writing stand out. Hicks incorporates the idea of technology and how this is essential in today's society.

As I reflect on the readings, and I think of myself as a writer, I believe that I recognize elements of craft in both traditional and digital texts when I read. When I think of craft in traditional writing, I think of how the author organized his/her ideas onto the paper, and I think of the author's voice and what words the author decided to include or the manner he/she used in order to capture the audience. These same ideas come to mind when I think of digital writing, but I also think about the presentation of digital writing. Did the author decide to make a website? A blog? Or did the author believe that a video was the best way to portray his/her thoughts and ideas? When I think about craft in digital texts, I tend to focus more on the presentation than the other elements of craft, so I'd like to be more aware of the other elements of craft as I continue to learn about digital text. I think that craft can be found in both traditional and digital texts, and I believe that it's important for teachers and students to be able to recognize these elements in order to not only read them, but to produce writing as well.

When writing a paper either traditionally or digitally, I have never considered the various elements of craft that I have used in order to produce the specific piece of work. Usually, when I write a piece for either a class assignment or just in general, I usually think about what I want to say and simply begin to write once I have a clear grasp around what I'm going to write about. However, there are a couple of elements that I consider more than others depending on the type of writing I'm completing. For example, writing conventions is something that comes to mind when I write for either an assignment or a piece of writing that requires an audience. As I write, I make sure that I'm spelling words correctly, incorporating the correct punctuation, and using correct grammar. Organization is another element that I think about when writing longer pieces such as research papers. I want to make sure that the audience can easily follow along with what I have to say, so I consider how I'm going to begin my piece, how the body will flow easily, and how I will conclude my thoughts.

After reading each chapter and reflecting on the elements of author's craft, I find that the most challenging aspect of author's craft when reading is determining the ideas that the author is trying to convey. This could be in a narrative text or an informational text, but oftentimes when the material is difficult to read, it's hard to determine what main points the author is trying to tell his/her audience. Sometimes I find myself rereading a piece of writing in order to gain more clarity on the topic. This might also suggest that word choice is another element I find difficult when reading a text. Occasionally I will come across a word that I'm not familiar with, so I must take the time to look it up  or, again, reread the material.

The most challenging aspect of author's craft when writing is voice, word choice, and sentence fluency. I have challenges when trying to think of how I want my voice to sound, what words will flow nicely into my piece, and how I should place sentences together in order for my piece to sound smooth.

After reading each chapter, my idea of author's craft has changed significantly, and I now have a better understanding of the elements that go into writing. Before I only recognized a couple of elements such as organization and conventions because I understood that these are important aspects of writing. However, I'm glad that I've had the chance to see how each element is crucial when writing either traditionally or digitally. I loved how Tompkins including ways that teachers could teach each of the traits, and I would like to practice each of these strategies in my future classroom in order to help my students understand the importance of each element in author's craft.

References

Hicks, T. (2013).  Crafting digital writing.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

Tompkins, G. E.  (2019).  Teaching writing:  Balancing process and product (7^th ed.).  UpperSaddle River, NJ:  Merrill.

Entry #1

This past week I was asked to read Chapters 1-2 of Teaching Writing Balancing Process and Product by Gail E. Tompkins, and the article Combining Traditional and New Literacies in a 21st-Century Writing Workshop by Jennifer M. Bogard and Mary C. McMackin. Both of these readings gave me better insights into the importance of reading and writing in the classroom environment, and I was able to take away new information that will help me both as a teacher and student in my LTED 618 class.

One piece of information that both readings addressed was the importance of the pre-writing stage. One thing that I value as a teacher is giving my students the opportunity to always do their best and provide them with all the skills necessary in order to succeed both inside and outside of the classroom. I think this idea of the pre-writing stage really allowed me to reflect on this idea because I think it's so important, as teachers, to give students the opportunity to experience all that goes into the writing process. Tompkins mentions that students should spend most of their time on the pre-writing stage because this allows them to really gather their ideas and organize them as they write. I think this is so important as well, and I truly believe that not enough time is devoted to the pre-writing stage in schools. Just as the Bogard and McMackin article suggest, not only should students spend more time in the pre-writing stage, but they should also have the opportunity to do so in a creative and fun way. I loved how students had the chance to record themselves, collaborate with peers, and use drawings and technology to get their creative juices flowing when putting together personal narratives. If I had had the opportunity to do this when I was still in school, I would've enjoyed and appreciated writing much more than I currently do today. After completing my readings, I have reflected a lot about how I would like to manage writing time in my own classroom, both now and in the future. Currently I'm a long-term substitute teacher for a 1st-grade classroom, and I have had the opportunity to use different strategies and skills that I have learned in my graduate courses in this 1st-grade classroom. After my readings for my LTED 618 course, I can already say that I have new ideas that I want to try out in this classroom and future classrooms. The whole idea of this pre-writing stage is one of the new ideas that I would like to begin working on in classrooms, and I would like to work on incorporating more technology into writing as well. 

Along with this emphasis on the pre-writing stage, there are also some other new strategies and ideas that I had not considered prior to completing my assigned readings. One idea that surprised me was the arrangement of the classroom. This seems like a very obvious way to promote reading and writing by allowing a comfortable environment for students, however, I think it's important to mention when considering all of the elements that go into writing. Students should be able to have Writer's Workshop in an area that has easy to access materials, and students should be able to move around the classroom comfortably in order to accomplish their writing goals for that day. Teachers should give careful consideration when designing their classrooms in order to create the best space possible for students. I think that students' writing abilities would be enhanced by this idea of classroom arrangement because they would have a space that promotes creative thinking and collaboration rather than an environment that is broken up and hard to access important materials. 

After reading my required material for this week, I still find some aspects of a Writer's Workshop challenging, and I would like to spend more time researching these ideas before implementing them into my own classroom. One aspect of Writer's Workshop that I need more information about is how to access these tools to use in my classroom. For example, after reading the Bogard and McMackin article I noticed how the third-grade teacher provided her students with lots of resources such as a SmartPen to create images. How could I make this possible in my own classroom, and what other materials exist out there that I could get ahold of to work on this pre-writing stage in creative and fun ways?

References

Tompkins, G. E.  (2019).  Teaching writing:  Balancing process and product (7^th ed.).  UpperSaddle River, NJ:  Merrill.

Bogard, J.M. & McMackin, M.C. (2012).  Combining traditional and new literacies in a 21^st-centurywriting workshop.  The Reading Teacher, 65(5), 313-323.  DOI:10.1002/trtr.0148