Conley Chapter 11

Writing is important in the educational setting as well as in our everyday lives. Even though a great deal of communication is now conducted through email, blogging, and instant messaging, these processes still require a person to know how to write. Students must be able to write with a certain proficiency to pass standardized tests. Writing is also required in most occupations. For these reasons, students must learn to write effectively.
High schools are now preparing students for the writing tasks required in college and beyond. Teachers need to provide direct instruction and guided practice for the students in the classroom. Strategies such as goal setting, brainstorming, and organizing should also be taught. Practice of these strategies in various situations should follow the instruction. Lastly, productive feedback must be supplied. In fact, guided practice and feedback help students learn how to write on their own. Perhaps writing instruction in our schools should be re-evaluated to fit the needs of society today. This process would have to be ongoing, however, because these needs are constantly changing.
Students also need to learn different approaches to writing. Writing should not be looked at as strictly an assignment that must be completed. Instructors can consider using email, media, critiques, editorial reviews, and instant messaging in the classroom to add interest and relevance for the students. Students need frequent experiences in writing, responding to writing, and talking about their writing. Teachers should not be the only audience for these assignments. Peer evaluations are also a large part of the writing process.
Educators can do many things to help children with writing. The environment of the classroom should be exciting, risk-free, and provide students with opportunities to sometimes choose the topic they write about. Teachers should also model the entire writing process for the students. Parents should be involved as well. They should be informed about the writing program and student progress.
Various strategies are useful in developing proficient writers. Quick-Writes are excellent ways to start or end a lesson. Brainstorming and goal setting will help produce a nice finished product. The Guided Writing Procedure is particularly helpful to English language learners because it relates to what the student knows. Stop and List helps students with learning disabilities plan and organize their writings.
Journals are a great way to help students learn the writing process. Learning logs are a type of journal that records what the student is learning and how the student is learning. Dialogue journals involve at least two people exchanging information through writing. An example of a dialogue journal is our blogging. Such journals are especially helpful for second language learners and struggling readers and writers. A third type of journal is the double-entry journal. They help a student remember information as they are reading and can be a valuable tool for studying at a later time.
Journals require specific guidelines. All entries must be kept private unless the writer grants permission for the information to be shared with others. Teachers must respond to entries honestly and without condemnation. Instead, they should provide encouragement and constructive criticism. Journals should not be overused, as they can become burdensome for the students and teachers. Grades should not always be assigned to the entries. Credit should be given for the completion of entries.
Students need to be taught the components of a story before being asked to write one. Each component—setting, problems, actions, consequences, and emotions—should be explained and modeled with examples. Similarly, the steps or persuasive writing should be explained and modeled. An effective strategy for persuasive writing is called D.A.R.E. and the steps are: Develop a position statement, Add supporting facts or ideas, Report and refute opposite facts and ideas, and End with a strong conclusion.
A strategy that is new to me is called I-Search. Students investigate topics they are interested in or need to find out about. It is very useful for English language learners and helps students learn how to do research before they begin the writing process. The steps include choosing a topic, planning the search, gathering facts and information, and developing the product. Plagiarism must be addressed for this type of strategy to be effective. Students must also be taught how to correctly cite sources to prevent plagiarism.
Reviewing and revising can be the hardest part of the writing process. Peers can be helpful in the process. Teachers should train students how to give appropriate feedback to one another. Students can also use these same skills to evaluate their own writing.