There is a danger for teaching students reading, writing, and oracy in that what has the potential to be fun and engaging can become tedious and demoralizing. Topics need to be relevant and exciting for students. If ELA students are interested in what they are producing, they will naturally strive to develop their skills. No one had to force Michael Jordan to spend every day shooting hoops. The trick for ELA teacher is to create that bond between literacy and student interest.
I plan on fostering student engagement by making my classes full of naturally interesting activities. This is much easy said that done, however. I have been provided with a large number of opinions and options throughout the course that have given me a great starting point. This diversity not only provides me with many avenues or methods of learning, but it also increases that chances that any given student will find the way of learning that suits them best and captures their attention.
I was really excited about the use of podcasts in the classroom. I listen to podcasts for my own enjoyment, and I like the mixture of casual conversation with interesting ideas. I will likely use my idea of having debates as historical figures in my own classroom. This type of lesson helps to develop creativity, research skills, oracy skills, and the ability to relate to others. Since the debate is through a historical character, a student that ‘loses’ the debate can see the shortcomings as a product of the character’s beliefs. This way, the student’s self-esteem isn’t impacted in such a negative way.
I found the story of Page to be quite similar to my own experiences in literacy. I was motivated to write and to develop my skills at an early age. As time went on, I had fewer opportunities for the exciting type of creativity that allowed me to really develop a piece as I wanted. My assigned projects paid lip service to the idea of creativity, but it was all about colouring inside the lines. Reading about Page, as well as Nancie Atwell’s story of Jack, has helped me to reconsider the importance of freedom in developing earnest writers.
When it comes to developing new ideas, I have mixed feelings about writing prompts. I think they can be great tools for helping students get started when they need that nudge, but I think that they should be presented as optional tools. There were times in class when we were given a writing prompt and were then told to take the prompt in a very definitive direction. I found this stifling and it took away the freedom of creativity that I need to stay engaged. An example of this problem arose when we were read poems featuring nature words and we then had to use the words we remembered to create our own poem. I liked how the words put me in a certain mood, but that mood had little direct relation to the words used in the poems. For me, truly free and creative writing uses as little scaffolding as possible.
One important thing I’ll take away from our ELA class is the importance of using engaging strategies to get students writing. Throughout the semester, and even during our group presentations, it was evident that a good hook or exciting idea was the difference between wanting to write and having to write. Strategies had to connect the task to a personally relevant idea. If you have sports or action-oriented students reading about a young girl and her doll, they will be no personal connection and the activity will likely fail to produce meaningful work.
The lesson also needs to be exciting. Monster books were one way to provide students with that stimulation for creative writing. If the goal is to get students to develop their ability through a love of writing and oracy, they will do so naturally and without resistance if they enjoy it and are proud of their product. The notion that, “if you find a job you love then you will never have to work a day in your life,” is as relevant for students learning to write as it is for adults choosing a career path. I think that if you can manage this type of engagement in class, students will love to come to class and write, speak, and engage.
Bryce, your vision is very good - and the desire for engagement in learning is a sound one.
ReplyDeleteI hear you about the Found Poetry activity not working for you - but I do hope that you see it as one thing done in a whole array of writing experiences.
I believe there is no one right way to teach writing - but this is part of creating a language-rich environment. Have students try many methods, and evaluate what works best for them. These prompts are part of the fishing for inspiration stage...I had all of you do it so you could experience it for yourself. In your case, perhaps you would have wanted to skip the step of having to use words you remembered, and simply get inspiration from the readings themselves. For others, they might not have known where to start. If you set it up as a "writing challenge" (such as a Survivor challenge) - it can be fun.
I'm curious: what are your thoughts on Performance Standards? Do you see these as a tool you would use in Evaluation?
I wish you well next term, and appreciate your participation in class - Your friendly nature will take you far!