Ch. 14: Taking Care of Business

In this chapter, Nancie Atwell introduced nonfiction writing such as protest letters, letters of complaint, petitions, profiles, resumes, etc. This is a neat writing activity for students! I recall doing this only very few times since I’ve been in school, including college. That is very unfortunate because students are so consumed in completing literature tasks when writing for a purpose beyond the classroom produces greater results (develop “street smarts,” knowledge about real-world issues). While learning about Shakespeare is beautiful haha, students need to be more exposed to real-world writing since the majority of students are not going to college to become teachers of Shakespeare. J I absolutely love how Nancie Atwell encourages this activity, and it took me by surprise when she said that “Writing about ideas may well be the hardest genre to sponsor in school.” Now I understand why I find the Linguistics paper I’m going to write is very hard to begin in spite of my huge excitement about it. My paper is somewhat a campaign letter which I intend to address to the state eventually. I am advocating for the Deaf students who continually suffer in grade school, being retained yearly because they are unable to pass the LEAP. Their so-called inability to pass those standards is because English is not their native language; therefore they don’t speak or write it “good enough.” So…this chapter and my campaign letter = perfect timing!
As I’ve already said, I admire how Atwell encourages student involvement in writing activities that builds students’ knowledge and credibility in the real world. There is one thing that I’m confused about; Atwell says, “We never find five paragraphs- the essay form still taught in many schools –and we seldom find topic sentences, thesis statements…” So I wonder, WHY do we teach the five paragraph essay form so often, and not others? Better yet, WHY do we keep encouraging writing tasks that only require the five paragraph essay form? It gets BORING! Our students deserve more than that.

Chapter 14:Write What's Real

Atwell discusses nonfiction writing. They began by addressing the presidential election. One boy suggested that the student’s write letters. No one responded to the letters that the students wrote. How can this be encouraging to the students? However, Atwell says, “the experience of crafting an argument out of incoherent anger- of doing something about it- gave them perspective, a voice to raise, a sense of purposefulness, and the satisfaction of closure.” I too question how a student can write their own ideas. Is it really farfetched that Atwell believes that students are given things to write about instead of ideas to write about that affect their lives? However, how do we plant these seeds… when a student stops being a victim or allowing others to be victimized and writes as an agent, someone who uses written language to act (Page 457).” There seem to be many ways that students can get a sense of what they believe into their writing, through essays, petitions, resumes, etc. Yet, why don’t we exploit many of these writing forms with students? I wasn’t told to write this way and I wonder how these elements would become incorporated in the classroom. It’s a great idea for students to speak out on what they believe, because though school tends to mill everyone into one mold of a student, there are ways that students can stand out like Rachel who responded on Matt’s clear cutting essay. Her editorial gave students a voice in the school newspaper. This not only gave Rachel a stand with an audience she could get an ear from but this also made other students write out about what they believe in. “every year I clip timely editorials and columns from the NY Times, Boston Globe, and the Portland paper (page 468),” Atwell states. I could see how this would help students. They will know what is going on in the world around them and will be able to share their own opinions. Often school seems to only be concerned with the facts that have already been discovered, however let’s uncover our own truths. We can write about real life and how we feel. Do you think something like this could help students stay aware of the world around them as well as give them their own independent thought? I think kids would be pleased to say how they feel for once instead of how they are supposed to feel. Atwell writes, “Problems make good teaching (page 484)….” I agree that if students have a problem then they will show more interest in what they are writing or reading. Bringing real life into the classroom gives students an opinion. Is it our duty to teach students how to prepare for the real world? I guess the answer depends on the teacher but I know students will remember these morsels of truth. Maybe one day they will get a job and remember your efforts. English can involve teaching real life topics but we must find a way to incorporate these things do that they are connected with our classroom teachings.

Inquiry #6 Real and Relevant Writing!! Ch. 14

Chapter 14 is all about nonfiction writing. But, in Atwell’s class it’s not all boring essays. She introduces her students to writing letters, interviews (profiles), petitions, resumes, book reviews, etc. I love how she says that students can use “written language to act” (457). I think that must be such an empowering idea for young students – to know that they can make things happen with their words. Additionally, I think it gives a real purpose to the writing.

Another thing I love about Atwell’s methods is that she used real-life, contemporary examples for everything. While introducing profiles and book reviews, she and her students actually read current newspapers and articles to find good ways of writing in these styles. And, of course, all of her students' writing is written with an intended purpose and audience in mind. Everything they write is potentially going to be sent to someone or published.

Other things I love include, but are not limited to, the following: On page 468, when discussing her and her students reading collected essays, she says, “We never find five paragraphs…” I love it! That five-paragraph essay is so routine and thus, boring. I recognize that it’s a simple way to get students to organize their essay; but, really, I don’t want to read 120 or so five-paragraph essays when I’m a teacher. I want to read something interesting and out-of-the-box. I don’t want my students to have to fit their words into a certain format. I also love that Atwell disapproves of the traditional book report. What is the point of those? I definitely agree that book reviews are more sophisticated and interesting ways of discussing a particular book. And, they go beyond just summarizing the plot.

All in all, I enjoyed this chapter. As usual, Atwell presents the material to her students in such a real and engaging way that I can’t help but be inspired by her. She makes writing seem so relevant and powerful….and it is! Can I go be her student teacher next fall?

Chapter 13

As I was reading the poetry section of Atwell's book I was reminded of teaching my own poetry minilesson. Poetry is quite hard to teach but always seems fun . We must practice what we are going to present in class. Atwell suggests that we read our selection aloud so that students will be able to grasp the concept.

She also says that it is hard to know if students grasp the concept. Th+is is why she suggests that as teachers we break the poem down line by line. The ones who should practice and love the poems we teach should first be students and should next be the students. Pointing out our favorite lines seem to be a good idea because students may be likely to like many of these lines as well.

Atwell says that students will become good writers of poetry as they become good readers of poetry. So it is understandable that as students find genres that are good at expressing the points they are trying to get across. Students will be able to express their feelings and dreams within the realm of poetry. Poetry will help to reveal things about the kids that a teacher may never find out. For example, Jonathan's poetry reflects his love for going out to catch lobsters, which may have never been revealed through everyday conversations in class.

Poems can inspire dreamers and can show feelings of love. Atwell covers works of students who display all of these qualities. Students were able to capture memories that they weren't able to fully remember without the use of poetry. It seems that poetry can be a great tool to get to know your students.

Torvani Pt. 3

The strategies in the appendix sections are very helpful in how and which strategy I’ll decide to put to use. It’s difficult for me to choose what strategy I’d use more often than others because I believe that each strategy works best under certain circumstances; therefore, I’d base my decision on the learning activity my students are engaged in. However, I will provide ideas of how I’d some of these strategies:

-Double-Entry Diaries: Looking at the model, I feel like it’d be a dread to teach my students this type of strategy. However, under circumstances when we’ll read difficult texts such as Dante’s Inferno, I’d take the time to expose my students to this strategy because it’ll definitely help boost their confidence while reading such a difficult text. I see this strategy as a confidence booster because students tend to get frustrated throughout a difficult text, causing themselves to overlook what they can easily understand. Instead of being overwhelmed by their thoughts of “I can’t understand this!” and the negative impact such thoughts have while reading further, they can maintain confidence by paying close attention to what they can understand if asked to record their understandings. I’m referring specifically to the double-entry diary in which the right column begins with “This reminds me of…”

-Comprehension Constructors: While this would not be a “favorite” strategy of mine, it’s one I’m most likely to use more often than others because it’s very flexible and it’s not so tedious. I feel it is less tedious because the questions ask for answers that encourage free-thinking, rather than requiring students to think one way such as “This reminds me of…” line by line by line. An example of the comprehension constructor is “What’s your thinking?” In class, when I model this strategy to students, I’m “thinking aloud.” This strategy, “Think Aloud,” is mentioned in Nancie Atwell’s book in which she specifically model poetry writing by writing a poem of her and her mother (or her daughter, I can’t remember). In my opinion, comprehension constructors are most flexible because I can’t think of one activity that I feel this strategy will be applicable. However, as I stated earlier, different strategies work best in different activities so a comprehension constructor would not always be the best strategy to use in certain activities. J

My question is not as Tovani puts it, "Why teach strategies?"I wonder why not teach strategies?

These strategies are very helpful. I think that the double entry diaries may work well in the classroom.Students would be able to compare the text to their own thought.Is a student really reaching their full potential as a reader if they don't question the text. See, i feel that the point is to make it so that students question the text that they are reading. Maybe this strategy would work best with a tough read in a classroom and hopefully students would be able to question the reading as they should.I don't know could this be a strategy that is worked up to.For example, if we start by doing this with an article maybe we could work our students up to books. I think that my favorite strategy was the comprehension constructor. Does it remind you girls of those old reading worksheets from grade school, with the questions at the end of the story? If reading can be drawn from the reader wouldnt things work well, because students can form their own opinion much like with the double entry diaries. II think these tools would work great for building comprehension. However, are these thing too tedious?Would students rebel?

Inquiry #5 The Strategies

After looking over all the strategies in Tovani’s book, and having done one myself, I have decided that using the strategies in the classroom can be beneficial. I could definitely see myself using strategies such as the double- entry diary or the highlighting exercise when introducing the class to a difficult text (i. e. something not in modern English). Because they are so involved, I definitely wouldn’t do it too frequently; however, I think that once the students have read a text once or twice using one of these methods, they will become more aware as they read. Therefore, they’ll probably begin to mentally pick out the same things they would have written while using the strategy. I also like the comprehension constructor for a poem. I think that could be useful when students are exposed to difficult poetry. I think a lot of students struggle with poetry, and overall, don’t “get” it. I don’t know why, but I’m thinking of Emily Dickinson’s poems, which a lot of people don’t understand. Perhaps using a strategy such as this one would help a student understand it a bit more. I think the best thing about the strategies Tovani offers us is that they give the students the opportunity to try to comprehend for themselves. They attempt to read it first, without the teacher feeding them the right answers. I think that helps build independent readers. J

I did skim through Atwell’s book (at least the chapters we’ve read) and I really couldn’t find any mention of her using any particular strategies. I know that in her reading workshop everyone is reading something different, and students can choose to abandon books they don’t like. I also know that she really encourages the social aspect of learning. Maybe her students address their confusion or issues with a text directly with her during one of her conferences. Perhaps they write about it in their journals, and Atwell or a friend can respond with some clarification. I know Atwell is always nudging her students to go deeper in their reading, but does she actually teach her students any strategies?

Part 1 of Torvani’s I Read It, but I Don’t Get It was very interesting to read! Throughout the reading, I marked at many points which I felt related to me personally, and not just as a future teacher. Torvani wrote this book with teachers in mind, yet I find that it’s been very helpful towards me as a reader. In the first two parts of her book, Torvani includes realistic classroom scenarios, personal experience and reflections, and her thoughts of what we should and should not do as a teacher, student, and reader. I was very into the beginning of Part 1 in which she talks about “fake reading.” How she and the students who fake-read is definitely something I relate to. I’ve been fake reading all throughout the school years. Being so pressed for time and thinking that the only purpose for completing reading assignments is to earn a good grade, I spent all my time just decoding words. It was not until I learned about reading strategies in EDCI 3136 this semester that I now know how to read between and beyond the lines. And especially after started reading Torvani, I take reading assignments “more seriously.” Honestly, I’d be so ashamed to admit these details about myself but since Torvani says she didn’t really learn how to read until she was in her thirties, I’m no longer ashamed because I know I’m not the only one. To this day, I’ve always wondered when I was ever going to learn how to REALLY read. Sometimes I find myself panicking because I’m in my fourth year of college, studying to become an English teacher, yet I still don’t have confidence and knowledge of how to read and write on my own. How can I teach someone else how to master reading and writing if I’m nowhere near a master myself in that field? As I read Torvani and learn more out of the 3202 and 3136 coursework, I KNOW that my personal skills as a reader and writer will develop dramatically, along with my skills of how to teach it. Now before I exit this blog, I’ll propose one question from the text that left me wondering (I’ll mention my other questions in class in a few minutes LOL). In Torvani’s section about Real-World Monitoring, I was shocked at Dan’s question that we (teachers) are supposed to know when the students do and don’t understand. I always thought teachers were supposed to, and apparently, as I now understand, that is not the case at all. However, I was left thinking if we are not responsible for ALL or SOME of the students’ reading cognitively, then how and when do we assume if it’s poor judgment on their part or our part? How do we know when to assign retests or curves when the majority of our class fails a test? Does it depend on the content? Does it depend on the grade levels? Does it depend on whether or not we have time to give them another chance, when it’s either our or their fault? How do we know?
Andrea

I agree with Kristen about never having struggled with reading. However, I can relate to fake reading. II too am guilty of occasionally browsing through Sparknotes. Yet, I can understand how a child would resort to this because of a lack of comprehension.

I believe,like Tovani, bringing in their favorite book. A teacher will be able to tell which students are readers and which were non readers. I believe that a child can feel reading is unworthy after lack of success on high stakes testing. Tests like that take the fun out of reading causing children to back away from books as leisure. Every student has tried to find someway out of reading a text that was to hard. There is no reason that a student should ever feel ashamed because of their lack of comprehension.

It is true that students will not read what they are not interested in. Kids that don't read in class will read the sports page or the lyrics to their favorite songs. When texts are too difficult students tend to back away. We cannot assume that students can read we must engulf them into reading critically. We must show that we care about what we are reading. Thinking Aloud for example will be great because students will get an opportunity t o hear how we as teachers break down a text in our head. This may be the gateway for a struggling reader to learn how they can better comprehend their readings.

Students can even learn how to mark the text and say what triggers their thought according to Tovani. I think this would work because the students must think through the text. Though I've never thought of reading as baseball she has a point. We must think about every little thing we do in reading.

Reading may be a difficult struggle for some which is understandable and a breeze for others but everyone can have problems comprehending texts, so it is my job as a teacher to open these kids' minds up to reading and thinking in a critical way.

Inquiry Ch. 1-4, Tovani

Reading the first few chapters of Tovani’s book really opened my eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever really struggled with reading (unless it’s something very theoretical) so I wasn’t aware of the extent of use of “avoidance strategies” and “fake reading” of which Tovani speaks. I mean, I know that students use the Internet and tools such as Sparknotes to get information about whatever text they don’t want to read; but, I just thought it was because they didn’t want to read it (and I’m sure this is true in some cases), but I didn’t realize that some students really just don’t know how to read with comprehension. The first paragraph on page 9 really hit me. In this passage, Tovani explains how good readers often take for granted being able to read well. Struggling readers can’t finish a text, can’t enjoy a good story, etc. That was something that had never crossed my mind, and actually makes me really sad to think about it.

I appreciate that Tovani is so honest with her students, actually sharing her struggles with reading and admitting that she doesn’t always understand everything in a book. I also like how she uses Atwell’s approach of modeling reading to her students. This reminds me that I definitely need to become more reflective about my own reading process. Tovani and Atwell both seem so in tune with their thinking while they are reading; I never think about what I’m thinking when I’m reading. But, in order to become a better model of reading I suppose I need to tune in to my own thoughts. I wonder how long something like that takes to do? After reading one book? Or years of paying attention?

Tovani is so right when she discusses teachers just feeding the students the necessary information about a text. It’s no wonder students can actually pass a course and never read the book. From what I’ve seen in my field site, it seems the teacher only wants the students to know the necessary information on which they will be tested. My field site teacher also seems to be in the habit of summarizing everything for the students, so now that I think about it, why should they read the material if someone is going to tell them all about it anyway? It’s no wonder that students are accustomed to having teachers being responsible for their learning.

After Tovani’s introduction into the book, she starts discussing various reading strategies that can be used in the classroom to help students gain better understanding of a text. I like this part because it’s very specific and tells us exactly how to use the strategies. Though it seems tedious, I really like the idea of having the students highlight everything in yellow or pink based on their understanding. I think that would be a great exercise from time to time to make students really think about each sentence they are reading. With all of the strategies she discusses, I wonder if her students ever read without using a certain strategy? Do they reach the point where they read without highlighting, marking, journaling? And if so, how long does that typically take?

The final thing I’ll say about this part of the text concerns teaching our subject or teaching our students. On page 39, Tovani discusses an issue she had in her classroom about whether she should just feed the students the information about the reading that they would need to know, or should she stop and focus on teaching the students how to read better. I think that’s going to be the story of our lives once we’re out there in our classrooms. I’m glad she chose to stop and make certain her students would learn strategies to help them with the text, even if it made her fall behind on her lesson plans. In the end, I know it’s worth it, and I hope I remember to do the same thing.

Chapter 10

Atwell speaks of taking off the "top of your head" as a teacher. Invite the students into your personal archives of writing. Allow the student to learn from your mistakes. A student should not be expected to naturally understand how to be great writers. Atwell makes students take notice of mistakes in their writing or her writing, as to make them understand that they must be able to identisfy features of writing as well as the mistakes that we all make. Atwell mentions writing bad on purpose in order to sharpen students' skills as writers and readers. Most impressively, Atwell does not use bad examples of student writing in class. Manny times, students will become discouraged as teachers do this. Though many times teachers hide the names on a bad paper, you can still see the writer squirm as the teacher deconstructs their paper. Students should write things that come naturally to them. If students write naturally the brainstorming process as well as the weriting process will come together because the student wants to talk about the subject matter. As Atwell says, "I had to write pages like this (in regards to a corrected draft) before I got it out of my system- to write badly as a prelude to, perhaps, writing well." The same goes for students, so writing is the only way to get better as a writer.

Chapter 4 Inquiry

In Chapter 4, Atwell addresses the underlying methods of how to create a writing workshop in her classroom in terms of space, time, resources, control, etc.  In the very beginning, she explained how Donald Graves noted her organization as key to her being a good writing teacher.  At first, I’ve always associated organization with neatness. ALWAYS. I was taken aback when I realized that Graves’ term of organization means “discovering what writers and readers need and providing plenty of it in a predictable setting.” Now that’s an area I’ll need to work on. Getting neat is the fun part for me; getting ready is the part I dread the most possibly because I feel that I don’t have the skills or experience yet to predict what I need to prepare myself for.  In the next couple of pages in Chapter 4, I noted Atwell’s explanation that “growth in writing is slow. “ I always thought that writing a lot makes you a noticeably better writer in each paper you write (with the exception of me). I made myself to be an outcast in my writing activities because each time I wrote, and write still, there was always a specific basic writing tool or skill that I needed to master. Atwell’s book targets current and prospective teachers who want to be successful with their students; nevertheless it also targets me as a writer (and reader) by making me aware of my personal issues. Further along in the chapter, I have posed several questions, which include:

-p.97 Option 1, the student does an hour’s worth of writing as homework at his own discretion. How does Atwell know to trust that her students are doing that? Does she assign homework assignments that she predicts will take one hour to complete?

-p.101, What is a general statement for her objection to series novels? I read Christopher Pike’s The Last Vampire (every single episode) and loved it. Yes, I was disappointed when I read the very last one because it just doesn’t produce the same ending effect as a complete novel. Regardless, I was addicted to that series.

-And last, p. 104, do teachers ever complain about classroom space? I’m curious to know because of how Atwell described her classroom or shall I say, writing-reading workshop, creativity. While it all sounds so creative and fun, I’m left thinking will I have room for my students to get around each other, their resources, and have personal space? For instance, Atwell said her solution to silencing the students’ conferences was to set up a space for each conference in separate areas of the room. How is that possible? Is it possible in a regular classroom or is it just possible in her own school, the Center for Teaching and Learning?

 

Andrea =)

Inquiry #3 All the Details

In Chapter 4, Atwell really takes us step-by-step through the “getting ready” phase of starting a workshop, and I found it completely overwhelming! I think this chapter is definitely one that is meant to be referenced again and again because there is no way I can remember all of these details! It was really great to read about her process though, and to see that there is a great deal of structure surrounding the workshop. It’s not just showing up for class and letting the students read and write aimlessly. I laughed at the part when she mentions how her principal saw her unusual teaching methods and told her, “I’ll come back when you’re teaching” (p. 95). Like I’ve said before, her ideas seem to contradict every other English class I’ve been in as a student, or observed as part of this program. She is molding students to be reflective readers and writers, and that’s not something you witness very often, especially in a middle school classroom. I love, too, that she expects her students to attempt professional publication. How awesome is that? I wish I could have had a teacher like this to make me work at my full potential!

Chapter 7 focused on the interaction between students and teacher in the writing workshop. She informs us that she is in control of the conferences with students – she is the one to move from desk to desk and keeps the conversation within a certain timeframe so that she can address as many young writers as possible. She said something that really stuck out to me: “After-the-fact response from a teacher comes too late” (p. 230). I think, especially in today’s world, students need immediate feedback on their work, so I love that her workshop provides that. The students receive help as they need it, not only once they’ve completed a first draft. Atwell also reminds us that these conferences aren’t for revisions, but rather, to help the students think about their writing and where they want it to say. I also found it interesting that she doesn’t seem to teach a particular grammar skill to the class at once; instead, she helps each writer focus on the conventions that he/she is struggling with. The individualized instruction in her classroom seems to be amazing!

For me, these chapters left me with no questions. She is so detailed in her writing, even supplying appendixes for us to reference, that I can’t even come up with one question. Maybe I’m just still overwhelmed right now by all the information! I do know that I want to start looking at the comprehensive curriculum for EBR and start getting ideas of how to incorporate her workshop ideas into a high school English classroom here. Maybe if I start planning now, I’ll be able to implement it by the time I start teaching!

changes for next week (28 Sept)

Let's read Chapter 4 and 7 (instead of 5) so we can keep talking about response and evaluation. I think it will be a rich topic. You'll also write inquiry #3 on one or both of these chapters.

We'll skip Chapter 5, "Getting Started." That's okay, I think, because it's probably going to be more useful to you down the road, when you're actually setting up a workshop in your own classroom. It has ideas for first minilessons and first day routines (how to introduce the workshop approach and your expectations to students, for instance). Also, if you choose to do the reading/writing territories final project, you'll want to use this chapter as a guide.

Inquiry for Chapter 3

Atwell opens up about the trials that come along with middle school classrooms, and how we can lead those trials to become tribulations. She discusses the psychological aspects of an adolescent in an effort to make us realize that adolescents’ behavior (mood swings, outbursts, social needs, etc.) is an uncontrollable force of nature (human).  I really enjoy reading this chapter because I have great interest in why we act the way we do, when we’re teens, and how do we get the world around us to conform to our unpredictable, and most of the time, intolerable but natural behavior.

 

Judging from Atwell’s interpretation of the status quo, and the real reason behind it, why does it even exist still? If our educational leaders in this country are, or supposed to be, all for equal educational opportunity for every individual, then why is tracking still in effect? It is pretty obvious the upsetting effects of tracking so why do it? Is it really done to make teachers’ jobs easier? Teachers’ jobs are not supposed to be easy! Maybe it’ll be easier for “them” to answer my question, rephrased: “To make our teaching jobs less harder?” Teachers become teachers with one goal in me: to teach someone. And while we’re preparing to teach, we are taught that it’s going to be a tough job on one individual teaching hundreds of students, hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year. Whether it makes it harder for us, we’re to be dedicated and committed promoting student learning. I’m not saying allow things for us to be hard so that we’ll be driven to insanity and depression (LOL), but I’m saying we can’t keep ourselves (as teachers) “safe” by tracking if it results in low and upsetting rates of student performance. We should look for other solutions, take risks, and drive ourselves to the BRINK of insanity (not all the way there LOL) if that’s what it takes to get our students to their fullest potential.

adultism

As a complement to your thinking about Atwell's notes about adolescence, here are a few resources to consider what has come to be called "adultism." The notion that youth in our country don't have the rights and freedoms that they deserve is one that is being talked about more and more by youth workers and by the youth themselves. Check out some of the links below for insights into the conversation, and consider its implications as you spend time in your middle school site--how are schools and classrooms set up in ways that resist or that enact adultism? Ask yourself, here is the boundary between necessary structure and oppression? How can teachers maintain a safe, efficient and productive classroom while giving students a degree of autonomy and freedom? How can we establish our authority--which is essential--without robbing students of their own? What might this delicate balance look like in your classroom?

Youth Rights Network
The Free Child Project

Inquiry Ch. 3

Atwell uses chapter 3 to describe the adolescent students that a teacher will encounter in most middle school classrooms. Atwell describes the children that we can expect to see as teachers. At this age students begin to think about growing into adulthood and will display this change mentally and physically. This age in student/child development should be nurtured because the change is very important. Teachers can nurture this change with more independent study and more say in the classroom.

Teachers at this level of education must take all of these things into consideration when students begin to aggravate them. Teaching at the middle school level incorporates having tough skin, because these words cannot be taken to heart. Instead of backing away we must nurture the students, because they are reaching new intellectual levels. These kids are developing true creativity with understanding of it. How can we get students to learn? The only way to ensure that is to make sure that students are enjoying whatever they are doing. After all, anything can distract these growing students, so keep students involved and active. Dont develop students as fast or slow learners, this is not the time. As a result of these labels students in both groups may lose out.

Workshops are perfect for students at this age. Students can interact socially as well as to get their ideas across, which is great at this stage in student development.As teachers we must set the workshop on its tracks. Make sure that students have trust in these workshops sothey can speak freely. Also students must move. Keeping students involved is key to this entire process.

Inquiry #2 Middle School

In Chapter 3, Atwell really sums up the ideas of the two previous chapters. She reinforces the “workshop” as the best model for adolescents to learn through reading and writing. She also spends some time discussing the mentality of the middle school student – and I think she’s captured it. These kids (from what I’ve observed so far) are all over the place and seem utterly “in-between.” But I think she hits the nail on the head (about the teachers) when she says, “I think that losing control looms as our greatest fear. Rather than risk overstimulation we choose not to stimulate” (p. 68). As of today I’ve only spent about three and a half hours observing in a middle school class, but this quote pretty much sums up what I’m seeing. It’s like the teacher has to constantly correct her students to reinforce the idea that she’s in charge, but the result of that is a completely boring and worksheet-prone classroom. There’s no stimulation at all. And just as Atwell explains in her book, students are more prone to learn when they are able to enjoy it and be an active participant – not just a listener.

As I’ve said before, I love Atwell’s idea of the reading and writing workshops; I want to know more about the implementation of the workshops in the public schools. I know that she primarily works with middle school students but it seems that these workshops would work really well with high school students as well. I wonder if she’s ever tried that? Mostly I want to know how she gets students (of any age) to come together as a community of readers and writers. Students are so diverse and during those teen years, there always seems to be conflict or picking of some sort. How do these students come to trust each other with their work, their ideas, their emotions? That’s a lot for any person to share, let alone a teenager who isn’t quite sure who they are yet.

I admire Atwell’s commitment to her students’ learning and her dedication to researching sources that aid her in being the best teacher she can be. In this chapter, she really emphasized “starting over” in terms of continuous findings of the best ideas, theories, or methods of teaching and replacing her current pedagogical ways with these new findings. Because the chapter is very specific and clear, it is difficult to come up with even a few instances that had me questioning in my mind.

I became confused at the section where Atwell discussed her “favorite rationalization” that her students’ struggle in writing was due to their previous teachers’ poor pedagogy. In general, I’ve assumed that when students enter a grade level in which they immediately show that they are not prepared well enough to take on their tasks, their previous teacher is to blame. I may be wrong but the more I thought about it, I’ve concluded that Susan Sowers’ observations opposed this idea. According to Susan’s study, all grade levels present students with the opportunity to write about almost anything and everything through exercises.

At this point, I wondered if this means that Atwell’s rationalization is always wrong, that obvious poorly qualified teachers are not the fault of students’ lack of preparation at the next grade level. I strongly doubt that is true but I’d like to learn from another’s opinion if it differs from mine. That’s all!

Inquiry 1: Learning with Students

Atwell speaks about her experiences with students’ writing. She began her career as a teacher by assigning what she thought a teacher should. She soon learned that she could not teach students this way. Students must be given options
I have questions that I gathered from the readings, such as in the case of Jeff. For example, if Jeff began learning so well with her creative attempts, why not teach the rest of the class the same way? I guess that she had to stick to a certain curriculum with the rest of the class who were reading and writing at a higher level while trying her best to catch Jeff up as much as possible. She used things that interested Jeff to make him want to read and write, which is a great idea. If a student can be interested in what he or she is doing, then it will always bring out the best in them.
How do students such as Jeff slip through the cracks? I think Atwell says it best when blaming teachers of grades K-6. Teachers will let students continue from grade to grade not knowing how to read or write at grade level. This happens because many teachers may not take out the time to fix the problem before they just pass or fail a student. If teachers took time out like Atwell to learn alongside their students things would be different.
Students must have an identity with their writing. When the topics are broad and students can write freely the writing experience becomes more enjoyable, sometimes therapeutic. The teacher is best when she can lead the students as a teacher, help the students with their writing and show the students his or her writing as well. Interest the students in your writing in order to help make better student writers.
I enjoy Atwell’s outlook, before I read this I felt that open ended writing was great in classrooms, but now I can hopefully use her tactics one day to guide my students.

Inquiry #1: The Writing Workshop

Okay, I hope I'm doing this right! This is officially my first blog. :)

First of all, I just want to say that I love the way this book is written; I prefer this memoir-style writing as opposed to a traditional textbook format. Plus, I find it pretty interesting.

I appreciate Atwell's honesty about her first attempts at teaching the process of writing. I think that is the best way to learn: trial and error. Of course, I appreciate the fact that she has done some of the erroring for us so that perhaps we can skip that part and use the techniques that she has in place in her classroom presently.

I do have questions about the in-class writing workshop which I'm certain will be addressed later in the book (I've only read the 1st chapter). For instance, how often is a writing workshop held? Is it part of a daily routine, or weekly? I wonder if her class was solely devoted to writing, or was this a basic English class that also included reading literature, grammar, vocabulary, etc. With class time being so limited (usually 50 minutes in high school), how is it possible for one teacher to address 25+ students in an individual conference?

Something that Atwell said really hit me: "...writing well is not a gift" (p. 14). I'm not sure why this never occured to me before the moment I read it and I'm a little ashamed to admit that. I guess since I've never really had a problem expressing myself through words, I thought it was just a natural talent (I've never considered myself "gifted") :). Of course, I do think that some people are more naturally inclined to writing simply because they enjoy it (like myself). I started thinking about it this way: I hate math and don't really care for science; yet, even on the college level I made an A in each of those classes. I don't enjoy it, it's not something I ever wanted to pursue, but I was able to be "good" at it when needed. I think the same goes for writing. Even those who don't like it or don't have any desire to be writers can still write well when needed. And since writing is heavily required in academics, it's definitely something that should be taught heavily, in my opinion.

In theory, I love the ideas presented in the first chapter. I love to write and I know that as a teacher, I will expect much from my students in this area; therefore, I am looking forward to learning strategies and methods which I can implement into my classroom to help them grow as writers (and perhaps myself, too).

Welcome! Fall 2009

Welcome to our class blog. I can't wait to read and discuss with you here. Although I'm sure you don't need it, here's a reminder about norms:


-Keep it professional.

Remember that the world is your audience, and that you're representing not only yourself and LSU, but the teaching profession. What we may know is intended as a joke could appear to be utterly serious to somebody who's never met you.



-Keep it topical.


This is a forum for discussing articles and issues raised by them related to language development and diversity. Make sure your postings and comments are relevant.



-Protect your anonymity, as well as that of others. 


Use either first or last names in posts, but not both.



-Seek to understand before seeking to be understood. 


Voicing disagreement is productive. In order to keep it that way, make sure you understand the point with which you disagree before offering your alternative. It's always a good idea to ask for clarification.




-Hold each other to high standards.


Push each other's thinking. Don't let assumptions go unquestioned. Ask tough and interesting questions. Make connections to other ideas we've talked about. Challenge yourself to think deeply about these issues, rather than simply getting the grade.