It is important to teach students strategies for writing: We teach students numerous strategies for reading from decoding strategies to fluency strategies to comprehension strategies. I feel that we do not teach enough writing strategies and that it gets put on the back burner to reading. I think that most teachers believe that by simply teaching the steps of writing, they are helping students become great writers. After reading the article, “An Effective Framework for Primary Grad Guided Writing Instruction,” and Best Practices in Writing Instruction, I realized that there is more to writing than I thought. All through college and in the world of teaching you are drilled about guided reading groups, but there is very little mention of guided writing groups.
I feel that it is more difficult to assist students in writing instruction because you generally have less time than you have for reading. You have limited time with each student. In the class I push-into for writing, the students hands go up one after the other and it is difficult to get to all of the students. Often times I am trying to keep students’ attention focused on the task of writing and not the actual writing procedure. This takes away from time to assist in the actual writing process.
It is important to give students the opportunity to share their writing. Many teachers I work with give their students an opportunity to share their writing once a week. Several students share each day. This gives students the opportunity to hear about what others students are writing. It also allows the student to hear his or her own writing and learn the importance of re-reading your work. Many of my students have realized mistakes they have made as they are reading aloud when it does not sound right.
I never thought of teaching writing similarly to a guided reading lesson. This would be very beneficial to students, yet it comes down to finding the time in a day. We are required to teach guided reading groups, yet not expected to teach guided writing groups. There is usually only enough time to teach a whole group writing lesson everyday. Just as it is important to provide a strong book introduction for students, it is also important to provide a strong introduction to guided writing. In the article it states that composing is a skill that has to be learned just like spelling. This helped put that idea into perspective for me. I think that as teachers we sometimes make assumptions that just because we teach students the writing process, they automatically have the skills needed to compose a final piece.
Chapter one of “Best Practices in Writing Instruction,” states that writing instruction must be integrated with the classroom instruction. I enjoy pulling writing topics from read alouds and current units being worked on in class. Students love the opportunity to respond to a story in writing. Students will have a better understanding of a specific topic or skill if they have the opportunity to study in different ways.
Students seem more motivated when they are given a choice about what they are going to write about. They will generally put forth more effort if it is a topic that interests them. Of course we have specific genres of writing that we are required to teach our students, but that doesn’t mean that we have to dictate what they write about. Giving students that freedom to choose allows them to become more engaged in their writing and brings meaning to it.
After reading the article as well as Chapters 1 and 2, I feel that I have a new outlook on writing and the composing process. I push-in to a classroom for writing so I do not make the plans, but there are many changes that I would like to make to my writing instruction if I was currently in a general education position instead of the special education position that I am in.
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