As educators, there are occasionally things that are, for all practical purposes, outside of our control, or at least our choice regarding what we teach. Your math curriculum is often provided for you. Handwriting likely comes with a toolkit and a manual. What our students will remember most, especially at young ages, is what we do with the things that are not provided. Are our games new and exciting, or the same as every other teacher? Do we manage the classroom in fun, flexible, and systematic way? And what do we do to inspire creativity?
Creative Writing
Creative writing is too often something that is overlooked within a classroom, especially when the demands continue to increase in regards to standards. As our society shifted towards a model in which schools had to “teach to the test”, many teachers became heavily focused on the mechanics of writing, rather than creative aspects. Even in classrooms where creative writing was allotted time, students would sometimes receive nothing on their papers that they’ve written besides structural and grammatical commentary. If we put ourselves in the shoes of the child, who just strived to tell us a great story about their pet, vacation, family, or favorite toy, we’d see that something major was being missed when we focus exclusively on the mechanics. The child was expecting comments like “Great Story!” or “I have a cat too!” Instead they were met with simple feedback regarding where a period belongs, what should be capitalized, or errors in spelling. It’s fine to point those errors out so the child can improve, but if one doesn’t also teach to the student’s creativity, he or she will soon lose the learner.
Think about almost any other activity that a child does on a large scale. Do they play sports, dance, play an instrument? Why do they do it? At first, it’s because the activity is enjoyable. They may receive occasional constructive criticism; however, the activity is still fun. We don’t take a child who loves tap dancing and force them into playing the violin to make them more well-rounded. If our child loves soccer, they play soccer, not baseball. Sure, we may try to influence a choice here and there, but ultimately the child will lose interest completely, if the activity is not fun.
So why, when it comes to writing, do we allow ourselves to put creative writing on the back burner? When grading, do we celebrate the natural wonder and amazement a child has for common interests, or do simply grade on testable areas and move on? Our goal as teachers is to create a community of writers that love writing, not raise our test scores. An increase in test scores occurs naturally when one develops great writers.
Following Your Intuition
I firmly believe that if the choice were left to teachers, most of us would love to write creatively all day, take nature walks and record observations, and cultivate a math workshop where abstract ideas become tangible as exploration occurs in and outside of the classroom; however, like many of you, I have been guilty of following the ‘book’s scope and sequence.’ I am thankful for the days when I have the courage to remind myself that my teacher intuition is stronger than a basal. I am the professional in my classroom – just as the doctor is the professional in his office.
As a member of the National Writing Project, I believe it is very important to recognize the importance of writing in a child’s development. Additionally, it is equally important to keep in mind the reasons that the National Council of Teachers of English established October 20 as National Day on Writing, starting in 2009. They cite five reasons:
• to highlight the fundamental place that writing has in American culture;
• to emphasize the importance of teaching writing at every grade level and in every subject;
• to underscore the life-long process of learning to write;
• to bring attention to the range of writing done by Americans in subject matter as well as in media; and
• to encourage more writing.
Focusing exclusively on the fifth point, encouraging more writing… How do we manage to do that in the classroom every day? Are we asking a question “Tell me about your….” and then expecting a response from the students? If we are, then we should not be surprised when some of the students are not actively engaged in the project. The reason why they are not engaged is because they are not interested in the subject matter they’ve been asked to write about. And even if they are engaged and doing well, is there something that they would prefer to write about?
A month ago in Classroom Management I wrote about a student, Miguel, who was coming in every other Monday in terrible moods. The reason for the mood change is because his father only had custody every other weekend, and Miguel truly loved their adventures together and would be very sad when he left Dad’s house to go back to the weekly grind. One of the solutions we found was to have Miguel write about his weekend with Dad on Mondays, and then again later in the week he would write about a future adventure he had planned. His writing improved, as did his behavior. Asking him instead to write a cookie cutter subject would be a terrible mistake on many levels. Leaving the forum open, and providing guidance on the side, will help encourage more writing from your students.
A Second Grade Writer’s Workshop
In my second grade class, we’ve established a writer’s workshop, where we gather four days a week to hone our craft as creative writers. During our fifty minute sessions, we begin with a brief teacher-directed mini-lesson. Then, the young authors work independently to apply the skill that was just demonstrated through the mini-lesson. As the writers are working, I am writing my own piece and conferring with our community of learners. Oftentimes, there will be a need for a mid-teaching interruption to either redirect, highlight student work, or clarify a concept. Because each writer is at a different stage (ability, level, process), I prepare my mini-lessons to introduce a specific craft that professional writers utilize. A quality mentor text often aids in supporting the lesson. Because the instruction via the mini-lesson is whole group, conferences with individual learners or small groups of students prove to be essential so that each child’s needs are supported and developed.
How do you teach writing in your classroom? What successes are you having?
Thank you for sharing your ideas!
About the Author
Erin Klein is a second grade teacher in Michigan and author of the award winning edu tech blog, Kleinspiration. She is also a certified SMART Board Trainer and SMART Exemplary Educator. Erin serves as the Michigan Reading Association’s co-technology chairperson and is a member of The National Writing Project.