Entry #9: How can teachers promote biographical writing in the classroom setting?

After reading chapter nine and chapter ten of Tompkins (2019), I have gained new insights into how teachers can help students when thinking about biographical writing and informational writing. For this week's post, I'd like to take some time reflecting on biographical writing and its importance when learning and growing as a writer.

While reading this chapter I began to think a lot about autobiographies and how important it is to introduce autobiographical writing at a young age. I thought about how young children tend to be very egocentric in nature as they develop and learn about the world around them. Why not use that as an advantage and have children spend lots of time writing about themselves? I have seen many teachers do just that in various classroom settings. When young readers and writers first begin to write they often start by writing about their own personal experiences: what they did over the weekend, what they ate for dinner, what happened on the bus ride home. I believe early writers should spend most of their time writing about themselves because of their developmental level and because the writing is authentic.

One example that Tompkins (2019) provides in this chapter is the idea of life boxes. This is a fantastic strategy to use with early writers because it allows them to write about themselves in an authentic way. Students have the opportunity to share personal belongings with the classroom which makes them feel special and connects home and school together. When I was young, I loved participating in Show and Tell because I was excited to share a piece of my life with my teacher and classmates. I felt so special and motivated to write about things that meant a lot to me. Another example from Tompkins (2019) that allows early writers to practice autobiographies is the "Me" Quilts. I thought this was a great way to not only introduce autobiographical writing but to help writers with the prewriting stage. Having a "quilt" to look at with various pictures that symbolize a writer's life could be beneficial when deciding how to craft a piece of writing.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBIE-All-About-Me-Quilts-783930 

When considering biographical writing in the classroom, there were many other examples that Tompkins (2019) provided that I really enjoyed learning about and would love to try myself as well as with students. The Biography Posters was one idea that really stuck out to me because I think it's a great way to get students motivated to write biographies. I think it would be great to allow students to create these posters and present them to the class. Presentation and organization are two aspects of author's craft that would go well with this project. When I was in school, I always loved opportunities to be crafty and incorporate drawings, pictures, and designs into my pieces. This could be a great option for students who are artistically gifted and need more opportunities to show their strengths. 

I have gained a lot of new insights into biographical writing, and have found a new interest in this type of writing. As I continue to learn about biographical writing in class, I'd like to try to find ways to incorporate it into my own classroom. 

References

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

Entry #8: How can writer's provide feedback to the work of their peers?

Hicks (2009) talks about the importance of peer review and mentions three ways to respond to the works of others: to bless, to address, and to press. When an individual blesses someone's piece of work they are offering praise. When an individual addresses someone's piece they are asking specific questions about the main ideas of the work. Finally, when an individual presses someone's piece they are asking critical questions and challenging the writer to explain their reasoning and clearly elaborate on their work.

https://minersp2019.blogspot.com 

After spending some time to reflect on the work of my peers, I have decided to focus on a peer's piece titled "Writing to learn integrates writing into all content areas." by Katy Miner. This blog post stuck out to me because of my own personal experiences with journal writing and the importance of incorporating journal writing into the classroom setting. I will use the ideas of Hicks (2009) to bless, address, and press this piece of work, and I will refer to chapter six of Tompkins (2019) when considering the various ways to incorporate writing in the classroom.

Bless
I'd like to begin by blessing my peer's work for the exceptional presentation of her blog post along with the content she chose to write about. Tompkins (2019) stresses the importance of author's craft when composing pieces, and this came to mind as I was reading this piece of work. When opening up to her blog page, I was very impressed with how each blog was presented and organized. When looking specifically at her post, "Writing to learn integrates writing into all content areas", I thought each idea written was presented in a way that was easy to follow and very engaging. I could hear Katy's voice as she wrote, so I believe her word choice was well thought out. Lastly, I enjoyed simply reading about journal writing because of my own personal interest in this genre. I was able to connect to many ideas that Katy discussed in her piece.

Address
One question that I have for my peer and her blog entry is, "What personal experiences have you had with journal writing when you were growing up in the classroom setting?" I ask this question because  I noticed that the author, Katy, focused more on the benefits of journal writing in the perspective of a teacher. Although Katy mentioned a particular experience at the end of her post, I would like to know more about her viewpoints when considering the benefits of journal writing. One reason that this post intrigued me is because I've had some wonderful opportunities as a student to work on fun and engaging pieces of journal writing that have had an impact on the way I view writing. I wonder if Katy has similar experiences or if she has not had similar opportunities when she was a student.

Press
I find that it's difficult to press my peer's piece because I am also still learning and growing as a writer and am looking for ways to improve and grow. However, one aspect that I would consider "pressing" this piece on is thinking about Hicks (2009) and creating a more digitally enhanced piece of work. One idea is to include some hyperlinks for each type of journal writing that truly gives the reader an example of what these pieces would look like in a classroom setting. Even incorporating pictures to show the different examples might be beneficial when crafting this blog.

Peer review is an extremely important aspect of the writing process, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to practice the skill of blessing, addressing, and pressing.

References

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

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

Entry 7: How can students use Google Sites to create more digitally enhanced pieces?

I decided to spend some time reflecting on the aspect of digital writing and how there are an abundance of resources available for students to use when publishing their work in a digital format. In particular, I would like to consider Google as a way for students to be creative when learning about the writing process. I will also refer to stage five of Tompkins key features of the writing process which is publishing.

After watching the Introduction video to Google Sites, I had the opportunity to reflect on Google as a whole and how it's an amazing tool to use for writing. In the district I currently work in, students have access to their own computer, and the teachers use Google as a way to connect the classroom in a digital format. Students use Google Classroom to create pieces of writing, and then share their work with teachers who can then provide feedback through Google Classroom as well. For example, a third grade class is learning about the country of China. Students use graphic organizers, handouts, etc. to help them draft a paragraph for each aspect of the country: geography, economy, and government. The students type up a paragraph for each area and send it to their teacher via Google Classroom. I loved being able to observe how students were creating digitally convenient pieces of writing where they incorporated technology to demonstrate their knowledge of writing.

Now that I've learned a little bit about Google Sites, I wonder if this is something students could also use in the classroom to really focus on digitally enhanced pieces of writing. Along with crafting paragraphs about the geography of China, students could create a site where they include hyperlinks, videos, pictures, etc. to showcase their knowledge. I believe Google Sites would be a great way to push students further on projects such as the China project. Personally, I find assignments to be more fun when they are authentic and relate to real-life experiences. I think it would be great if students could publish their own Google Sites with the purpose of showing it to for the public to see. Knowing that their is a real audience that could be looking at your work adds excitement and engagement to activities like these! https://sites.google.com/a/mail.naz.edu?pli=1

After re-reading pages 15-16 of Tompkins, I have also reflected on the idea of publishing, and how this is a crucial step in the writing process. I think this ties well into the idea of Google Sites and how it can create an authentic experience for students when they are finally finished. This is something that I was not able to do when I was in school because the resource was not available. I wish that I had had more authentic experiences with writing and working on the stage of publishing because I don't believe that I really had enough practice with this stage when I was young. As a result, whenever I think of writing and the audiences involved, the only person who comes to mind is my teacher. Writers need to understand that there is a bigger audience out there, and they need to have experiences writing to these larger groups of people. Writing shouldn't simply be about getting a grade, but it should be a fun and engaging experience for all involved. I truly believe that writing allows people to open their minds and be more creative!

 

References

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