Chapter 7: Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills
I liked how it was said to have them write and then teach the skills to support the writing at a later time. This makes sense. Students’ should feel that writing is fun and if you explain the other skills during the writing process instead of having them the main focus at the beginning, they will enjoy writing much more. The chapter mentioned that students’ need to make sure they know who their audience is. If they have a purpose, their writing will be much more meaningful. Students need to be able to know where to start their paper and how to focus it. This will make the paper more structured and better put together. Teacher’s need to keep the standards in mind as they are teaching. However, they must be taken in sections. If a teacher looks at them all, it will be overwhelming. Teaching the minilessons helps this become not such an overwhelming task.
About Me
- triffel
- I am a first grade teacher, a wife, and a mother of a 3 month old baby boy.
I think this idea of knowing your purpose for writing is a powerful one, not just for students, but for all of us. Think about how you approached writing your responses to the textbook when you knew that others would see it - not just for a grade from the teacher. Children are no different. They tend to become more engaged with writing when they know that there is a reason to write - and it's not just for a grade or for a text. The trick is for teachers to come up with create reasons for students to write - hosting a writer's fair (like a science fair but without the competition), posting writing on a class blog, etc. It's more work for teachers, but the quality of the writing we receive is higher. I guess it's true - you can't get something for nothing.
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