Thanks again to everyone for being adventurous and trying out the Writers Workshop activity today. For next week, try and write your own story -- it can be in the form of a short story, children's story, personal narrative, poem-story or other creative form -- I would just ask that you try to put together some kind of story. Please e-mail your draft to me by Tuesday evening, July 3, and also bring a copy to class on Wednesday. (Let me know if you prefer not to share. We will be taking a look at how peer editing works.)
Enjoy the long weekend!
18 comments:
Collaboration,creativity, and enjoyment, were the linchpins for this very successful writer's workshop. I appreciate the combination of strategies that were used for this lesson. We were walked through the introduction using the same methods we learned about during the teaching reading component of the course. i.e., activating prior knowledge, introducing new vocabulary, establishing meaning and purpose for the lesson, predicting and imaging, writing formats and strategies, and the follow up with the story writing purpose.The element of surprise was very effective for triggering the student participation, and the phenomenally productive work activity.
I was equally impressed by the class discussion after the writing activity. Our classmates raised very valuable insights into some important considerations for teachers who will use this writing lesson method.I think it was Molly who said that we need to consider the comfort level of our students by establishing a classroom community that values trust, respect, and consideration. This kind of preparation and groundwork is most beneficial for the students who deserve the opportunity to learn in a classroom that has established clear rules and boundaries for responsible conduct before doing the class work.
Another classmate pointed out how this lesson could include some specific language, or topics for those students who have difficulty getting those first few ideas and words down on paper. It is so easy to assume that all students can work with the concepts they are being introduced to when there is a general attitude of enthusiasm in the classroom.
It was so interesting to hear the classroom concerns about issues with privacy,self-confidence, and inhibition. I think that this is an important reflection of the very real concerns that we will need to acknowledge and be aware of when we teach.
I haven’t examined story structure and development since high school English, so today’s class served as a review for me. I was familiar with the elements of fiction as Sue listed: character, plot (climax, denouement), setting, theme, and style/language. This description fit the mental picture I had of the plot diagram, with the mountain and a plateau. I am sure we’re all familiar with this plot diagram that has been drilled into our heads since elementary school. But then, Sue presented the structure of story writing in a different format. This was the outline provided on the handout: beginning, middle, and climax/ending; with all the details that each component should include. To me, this representation didn’t fit into the typical plot diagram I imagined. I was unaware all the details that were required to develop a full character and setting. For example, the main character needs some endearing quality that would be the central focus of the story. During the writer’s workshop, I felt very constrained by these guidelines. This constraint was compounded by the fact that I was stuck for ideas to write about, as a result I found myself just writing sentences that fulfilled these guidelines. It was like answering questions out of a textbook. I was distracted and did not pay attention to whether or not the ideas flow or fit the overall theme of the story. I found the handout and guidelines restricted my creativity. This should be taken into consideration when providing students with such a detailed framework prior to a free writing activity. However, other influences could be my unfamiliarity with the structure of stories, and the time constraint present during the writer’s workshop, so I felt more anxiety overall.
Upon reflection, and reviewing the handout again, I found both activities to be very valuable. I foresee myself following the guideline provided in my own short story, because I would not be constrained by time or trying to follow the ideas of other writers. The writer’s workshop was a really fun activity to initiate the creative, free-writing process that is required to write our own stories. It also provided us with an opportunity to read the work of other writers. I gained ideas of how to express certain aspects of the story through how it was accomplished by my peers, as all writers express and write differently. For example, it was brought to my attention that I was very descriptive in my writing. While this is an advantage in the beginning of the story when I am describing characters and the setting, it may be wiser to keep description to a minimum at the point of climax. This would create more emphasis and drama to the climax if sentences were shorter. I gained many insights on writing from today’s class and I am excited to start writing my own story!
Mollie Koch Reading Log/Blog Week 8 June 29, 2007
I thought the writing workshop was a good way to get students to write. I have never liked writer’s workshop or sharing my work so at first I found this to be extremely hard and challenging. It took me a long time to think of what to write about and how to start it off. Therefore, I think it would be a good idea to have a list of sentence starters to help those students think of an idea were to begin. During this activity I hated the fact that we had to pass our papers along for someone else to read and I had a bit of anxiety. This is because I do not like to share my work because I lack confidence in my writing. However, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading others stories and being able to add on in my own way. For me the beginning was the hardest part because it took me so long to think of an idea. But once I could carry on with others ideas I got more into it and I relaxed. In the end I found this to be very engaging and a helpful way to encourage students to write.
There was some discussion about not doing this on a class because some children do not like to share their work. I think if you set it up properly you can overcome students fear. I am definitely one of those students who would hate it at first but I think I would enjoy it in the end. I found it so interesting to see how my story turned out and the other ones I participated in. It amazes me to see how people interpreted it. In the end I think this would impress students and give them joy in writing because it gives them lots of opportunities to get ideas and to come up with amazing stories. I am sure we all ended up with great stories. I would start off with doing lots of activities were students are reading and responding to each others work to build up on the activity we did today so children are used to it and do not feel threatened.
Past versus presence
I would like to express some thoughts about the CMCM Chapter 8 theories related to modern approach to teaching writing. I am truly fascinated with it. I am familiar with the technique of self-selected reading. My son’s journal keeps me busy for a few hours every summer when I review all of the binders and notebooks he brings from school. At first it was very shocking to see the way he was allowed to write. No attention to any rules whatsoever. It was all so new to me. But after a while I was quite impressed with the improvement he was making every year. Plain printing started to make more sense; there were more attention to capital letters at the beginning of the sentences and periods at the end; sentences were becoming complete and longer; the stories happening to be more interesting. And finally I have reached the point that I have had to ask my son for permission to read his interesting writing filled with passion and personal opinions. May be if I would be exposed to self-selected writing I would not build up such a resentment toward the process of writing.
The following section of Chapter 8 talks about focused writing, which is so different than traditional school of writing that I personally was brought up on. Breaking the process of writing to small pieces like reviewing background knowledge for the prompt, presenting the prompt, engaging in research, individual planning, producing a draft and sharing the draft makes writing truly manageable. The mini lessons led by a sensitive and caring teacher certainly make a learning process accessible for many students like myself. In the past, I felt I was left alone with the topic that I had to work on without any specific instructions. Not only that I had a problem with the content of my writing but also with the mechanics and usage. Three spelling or structural mistakes were degrading any story of mine to the level of C—. Being quite creative in many areas of my life, as a student I have never tried to be creative in my writing because of that C— label that has been glued to me throughout whole elementary and high school.
Since I have already expressed my feeling about the writing workshop, I will politely skip the discussion about this teaching experiment. My immediate and so negative reaction however could be a good example of a student who is seemingly not very comfortable in language art classroom. So this by itself could be a good lesson for any teacher who treats writing as a playful activity. Why am I exposing myself to something so challenging? Well, presumably I like challenge. Or may be like that senior citizen who at the age of eighty starts to learn ancient Greek. When people ask him, “What makes you do this?” He responds with delight – “Either now or never.”
Erin.M. Class 8
As CMCM (text book) state, “it does little good for someone to tell [children] what to write about. [….] Self-selected writing is the single most important tool for promoting engagement in writing (229).” I completely agree with these statements. On several occasions during my undergrad I was given the topic as well as specific guidelines to accomplish writing assignments. To be honest, I ended up hating each one of these types of projects because I was not writing for myself but, for someone else or just marks. In addition, I did poorly on these written works as opposed to those that I had the freedom to select topics I was interested in. I was very aware of how much more effort I put into my research, structure and editing when I was writing about something I had chosen. Moreover, I felt I was challenging myself to advance my existing writing skills as well as expanding my knowledge. Thus, I feel, as a teacher, that I should have students choose their topics as much as possible within in the curriculum. By doing so, I will be helping my students challenge themselves to communicate their ideas through their pens and pencils, at the same time increasing their enjoyment in writing.
The writing activity Sue used to conclude the class was a fun way to reduce the stress of trying to come up with a complete story in a short amount of time. Granted, we are all experienced writers and it is very likely that younger children may have several problems with this strategy. Several classmates have already touched on this. Nonetheless, I think this activity would go over well with high school and ESL classes (high beginner and up) as a great warm up before larger writing assignments. It could also be used a fun way to end off a week of structured lessons and/or intensive writing. A Friday Fun Write for example. Of course, it would depend on your classroom environment and how comfortable the students are with each other. The high school students in my 405 practicum would have loved this activity as they would have had the opportunity to have fun with writing and enjoy the outcome
What a fun day to experience writing first-hand! I have used this writing workshop in my own grade 7 class during my practicum and it worked marvelously. It worked well, for me anyways, to teach specifically about the three sections of the story - the Introduction (includes intro to setting, the main character, and plot) then explain the Body (including the development of the plot, the rising action up until the climax) and the Conclusion (the denoument and falling action, story gets solved...). The students, after learning about these three story structures, really enjoyed just getting into writing and trading their stories around. At the end, like we did, there is a great opportunity for students to read their stories to the class and celebrate the imagination that their peers contributed to their ideas.
One area that I still struggle with in this lesson is how to differentiate effectively for students that are at varying degrees of learning. How do you help students that are lower contribute as well as the higher level students? Do you simply run through the story activity and whatever happens, happens? I've had it where a student got their story back and, when reading through the lower student's part, started to poke fun at the level of writing this student used and complain about not being able to read the printing. A pretty embarrassing moment for the lower student. So, how do we meet every student with where they are at? How do we keep students motivated to contribute even though they know they are lower writers? More to ponder, I guess...
I enjoyed the writing workshop last class. At first I felt it a bit difficult to get started and I can imagine that some students would find it hard to be creative on the spot. To motivate students you could introduce stories, similar to what we did as a prior writing activity, but some action/adventure, mystery/suspense, and parables. I remember really enjoying mystery/suspense stories in elementary school and I would try to write in that style. I would like to try this activity in a classroom and as a follow-up activity, return the beginning portion to the students and ask them to continue writing their own story. They may have had a vision of where to go with it in the beginning and may have gained some insight after reading their peer’s contributions. The discussion afterwards brought to my attention things I never considered before. In elementary school I was not a shy student and was eager to share my work. I have to keep in mind where students are at in their writing level and create a safe classroom where all forms of creativity are welcome.
I found our writing exercises last class to be rather challenging. It didn’t take long for me to realize the conditions under which I write best, that is, alone in a quiet space. It was interesting to see how distracted I was just by seeing people around me writing and writing, often without the need to stop. I was even distracted by the sound of people writing. When I was finally able to focus somewhat, I had such a hard time starting a story out of nowhere. I had a vague idea of where I wanted to go, but none to get me started. When I finally got a few words down, I realized yet again, just how slow a writer I am. I find most of my time is consumed trying to find the right word or reading my writing out loud or rewriting or thinking. I’ve never been able to break this pattern and have come to accept it. Having to write in class, however, brought to light the inefficiencies of my writing patterns and I couldn’t help but feel envious of the free flowing writers.
In more closely observing my own writing patterns, I immediately thought about how the kids must feel when asked to write in their journals or on any topic. Although leaving the topics open-ended might work for some kids and might feel like you’re not cramping creativity, I can see how some really struggle with this. For these kids, I think the writing prompts work very well, even when they’re only one sentence. I find quick conversations also work well in giving kids ideas, which they tend to arrive at on their own. Aside from subject matter, I couldn’t help but think about how the classroom is not the ideal writing environment for some. Many could very well feel as distracted as I did in the classroom. And I started to think that perhaps some might prefer to write outside, in the library, on the floor, with music, alone, at home, on the computer, etc. I think it’s well worth exploring these conditions with my students if I plan to really respect them as writers and honour their work. This was yet another example of how reflecting on my own processes helps me better understand the needs of students.
I really enjoyed the class on writing. I have always enjoyed writing and realized that I don’t think students get enough opportunity for creative writing. I also believe that the more opportunities students are given for this, the more comfortable they will be with their writing. I have often found writing to be therapeutic and I have tried to maintain a journal throughout my life that I often write in when I am having issues in life that I am struggling with. I found if I just start writing I will often be able to answer my own questions about what to do and I get a sense of relief for getting the thoughts out of my head and on to the page.
The challenge I found with having students write was often it was hard to find something to motivate them to write and many students struggled with being concerned about spelling which held them back from just writing freely. Since writing and especially creative writing is such a personal thing, it often is uncomfortable for students and adults. I know I have felt nervous and vulnerable at times sharing my writing, but I found that the more I did it the more comfortable I felt.
I loved doing the activity of 3 people writing parts to a story. It was interesting to think about after the activity what part is the hardest to write. I found it difficult to get to a climax in the story because I wanted to make sure it was a great one. It was neat to see at the end how curious everyone was as to what direction their story ended up going in and how it ended.
The reading of the short stories and discussing them was interesting. The story I read was the Jade Peony which was such a heart warming story and it was interesting to discuss it within our group and hear the different interpretations of parts of the story and what parts of the story each of us connected to. This would be a great activity for checking in with comprehension where even if someone in the group was unable to comprehend the story when they first read it, the discussion with other group members could help clarify things for them. I am looking forward to writing my story and (especially after hearing some of the stories in class) hearing other stories and ideas from the class.
Writer’s Workshop… I have heard of this term somewhere in my past I’m sure but last week’s experience was something exciting that I will definitely remember in the future. Like many others have already said, it can be difficult to start a story on the spot. However, I was fortunate enough to have thought about this the night before. The night before the class, I took a break from my other homework and decided to play a role-playing game on-line that is text based; meaning every bit of action or events that happen is written in story form. This was something new for me and was definitely not something I have done a lot of. It was here that gave me my idea for the beginning of my story the next day in class. I didn’t realize until recently when exploring this RP game, how much fun creative writing can be. You can just get into a character’s head or be any character you want and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like. Since I have started playing these games online, I have found myself on a number of occasions being able to just day dream about and come up with random story plots; where they could go next, what types of characters could possibly be added or what is going to happen to the current characters. Creative writing has never been an easy task for me but I find that I can definitely start a new story if I have some basic plot, event or character to spark my interest. I have also thought about what this could mean in the future for students and creative writing. Perhaps, if students also play games where they can become any character they want but must do it through descriptive writing, they too would be inspired to do more writing of there own. Just a thought….
First off, being given the choice of what story to read for our discussion was great because I believe giving choice to students is the best thing a teacher can do. If the students end up enjoying their self selected story then they can be proud of the decision that they made. If they end up not liking it, then they can at least come away knowing that it was their own choice that let them down and not that of the teacher’s.
After reading Chapter 8 of the textbook, I came across some interesting differences in our class. I understand that students may have writer’s block and they may not be able to come up with a story right there on the spot but I also believe that brainstorming different ideas limits their imagination. Some students may feel ripped off if their idea for a story is placed on the brainstorm wall and half the class adopts that idea and makes that particular student’s story seem unoriginal. Some students see the ideas on the board and adopt one of them right away and never try to think of something for themselves. I understand that some people have difficulties coming up with their own ideas but isn’t that something that we are trying to teach them? Are we not trying to teach our students to think imaginatively in order to come up with an original story? Then why should we be giving them the first step which requires the most amount of imagination. It’s important to challenge students as much as it’s important to make them feel comfortable. But if a tight classroom community has been built and the students feel at home and comfortable in the classroom, then this type of activity should not be difficult even for those students who struggle with imagination. I totally agree with the textbook when it says that self-selected writing is a very important aspect of building writing interest. By brainstorming ideas, we are indirectly forcing some of our students to write about those certain topics.
Also, if a tight classroom community has been established then students should not feel awkward or nervous about sharing their work with their peers. If enough peer assessment has been done and if it has been done in such a manner that is constructive while being positive, then the students should want to pass their papers on in hopes of having one of their peers add to it to make it that much better. Let’s be honest, how many of us got some really good ideas for our own children’s stories after reading the works of our classmates? As long as guidelines have been established, nothing negative should come out of sharing one’s work with others.
The writing activity that we did in class last week reminded me very much of several activities I did in my high school creative writing class. It helps students to release the attitude of perfectionism when it comes to writing, but it takes time to become comfortable with this kind of activity. Often students, myself included, are inhibited in their creativity by the idea that everything they write needs to be excellent right away. Few students understand that writing is truly a process. Hours of work on one story may lead you to inspiration for an entirely different story. The second one may then be the “keeper,” as I like to call it, but this doesn’t make the first one useless. Sure, it may not be publishable material, but it did play a valuable role. My creative writing teacher was really good at using a variety of means to inspire us and get us writing about many different topics and in multiple different styles. For the first term, this was a real challenge. Each piece of writing was very personal to me, and I was afraid that the piece would be rejected in some way by my peers during the editing process. However, after a while, I realized that nobody had intentions of tearing my work apart and discouraging me. The feedback I received was always very positive. I also saw that even the best writers in the class wrote pieces that they weren’t happy with, or which, for one reason or another, simply “didn’t work.” This gave me the freedom to feel like I could fail too. It was okay to write something that I wasn’t completely proud of, because all writers do. And I also came to see that eventually—likely when I’d least predict it—I would write something really good...something I was proud of.
June 27th, 2007
Writer’s Workshop
Today lesson reminded me of my high school English classes. The handout that described the various “steps” of a story (such as development of character(s), plot, climax, setting, etc) were familiar, however writing a story that follows the general guidelines was difficult. Like Ackie, I found myself concentrating too much on following these guidelines rather than developing a story with flow, a full character and setting. As a secondary math teacher, I don’t think that I would have my students write a story with such guidelines – instead I would probably have them do “free write”, journals, and/or mini math reports. If I were to include a writer’s workshop within one of my classes, I think I would verbally inform the students of the guidelines, then let them develop a rough draft of a story, and then handout more detailed guidelines so the students can modify and edit their stories. When it came time for us to start writing our stories, I found myself stuck and frustrated. I would have preferred “writing prompts” or different starting ideas – and I feel that a lot of students would feel the same way and would have more time to write if they were given somewhere to start. I give the students plenty of time to brainstorm different story ideas, settings, possible plots and conflicts, and interesting character traits – then I would have the students take home the story to complete. A lot of students, including myself, write a lot better with less pressure and in a non-classroom environment. At first I didn’t really like the idea of sharing my work, since I know that I am not a great writer. After the experience, I saw that everyone was “exposed” and in the same boat - it made me feel more comfortable and more likely to share “my/our” story. Overall, I learned lots from the workshop. I had never really paid attention to the format and style of different writing. I think that these guidelines are just that - guidelines! I don’t think that every story has to follow the typical story format; some of my favourite stories are completely different. I found a website that suggests that children as 5 (kindergarten!!!) should be introduced to writer's workshops and typical story lines/guidelines. I think that in kindergarten, children are just learning how to write letters and learn the beginnings of reading - I think that it's too early to confuse them with such guidelines and this should be left to the intermediate and secondary grades.
I thoroughly enjoyed what we did last class! It was amazing for me to see how the story I created ended up. I did not have much trouble coming up with the beginning of the story however, I know that if I were to use this teaching strategy in the classroom I would have provided the students with some sentence starters just to get the ball rolling a little for those who needed it. Another point I had to think about was whether or not students would feel comfortable passing along their papers to their classmates. I know this idea of passing along their work would bring on some level of anxiety for some students. I would definitely make sure that a safe classroom environment was in place before doing an activity such as this.
As for the other activity of reading the four stories in smaller groups it was enjoyable having the choice of which article you wanted to read. The only thing I personally would have done a little differently is instead of a large classroom discussion I would have “jig sawed” the activity and put the class into smaller groups of four, one person from each story and then share. I have found that students can benefit at times more from smaller group discussion because they have more of an opportunity to speak and take more personal responsibility.
Going over the main aspects of a story was something that I was familiar with from high school and the many attempts at story writing and reading. But the concept of writer’s workshop was one that I have heard of before, but I did not have a lot of information about. I thought it was fun to carefully take apart the pieces of a story to identify the main aspects of that story for the whole class. I really enjoyed reading my story and the discussion that followed afterwards in my group. I think a writer’s workshop can be a useful and fun way of getting students excited about their own writing skills. I think a workshop like this would work really well with older students, maybe from grades 5-7. I think they would be able to work cohesively and independently with other students. I also think that this would be a great way to introduce writing to students. They can be creative and imaginative by having thought up a story and can see how their story develops when written by another students. The writing workshop is also a great way to have students become familiar with the main aspects of a story: introduction, middle, ending. This workshop can also bring out the creative and imaginative minds of studnets and relay that onto paper. As a teacher, I think it would be a lot of fun to see how students create their stories and how they come to write them down. This workshop can help students learn how to write down what they think in a way that others (readers) will understand.
I was absent for this class and feel inadequate about what to write in my reading log. It seems, from the already posted blogs that it was an interesting class that helped to stir the creative juices and form ideas on what to write for our short stories. It also seems that it would have been quite informative on the writing process. This is something that I am sure I could use. I enjoy reading stories but writing them is a whole other ball game as it is from my mind that must come the plot and setting and characters. I wish I had been there to gain insight into the writing process. I hope someday that I can experience another writer’s workshop to illuminate this topic better for me.
Reading chapter 8 in CMCM and participating in the writers workshop was a really interesting experience for me, as writing has always been my most hated area of study. It’s strange that I dislike writing so much, because I absolutely love to read, in fact I read at least one book a month for pleasure in addition to course readings. I think my dislike may stem from my belief that I am not a creative person. I have spent so much time developing my mathematical and scientific side, that I definitely lack experience and confidence in anything creative. Also, from a very early age I was told that “smart people do science”, that if you want a good job, and thus a good life, you do academics not arts. As a result of these past experiences, doing the writers workshop made me extremely uncomfortable. I was barely ok with having to write a story that only I would read, having to unexpectedly share my story with the class was way beyond my comfort level. I actually considered not participating my anxiety level was so high. Even as the activity progressed, I definitely did not feel any better. It was incredibly clear that my peers were writing at a level that was much better than my own. Also, I could hear people’s comments that they were “not happy” with where I took their stories. This experience for me showed that I don’t think this sort of strategy should be introduced until all students feel comfortable in their writing ability, or provide other options for those students who don’t feel comfortable with the activity.
From the text, I definitely saw the usefulness in incorporating writing into the secondary science or math curriculum. Science in full of opportunities to write stories or explanations to the concepts being learnt. In math, writing an explanation or a story to describe a solution or algorithm is a great way to reach the more creative students in the class who may see math as dry or boring. I definitely learnt a lot this week about how to promote literacy in my own secondary classroom, and the importance of doing so.
Ok I am going to be completely honest here . . . I hated this lesson!! I am terrified of creative writing. I have not liked it for as long as I can remember and most of the time I sit there staring off into space with no ideas about what to write. Even when given a topic to begin with I get blocked. I suddenly cannot think of any times in my life to draw on to write about. I think my problem is in the actual writing part itself. If you ask me to tell you a story about something verbally, I seem to have no problem. I really wish I knew what it was about writing that made me feel this way. I do not recall any particular incident in my past that made me so adverse to writing. It is not just creative writing either, it is all writing. Creative writing just seems to be the worst for me. That being said, once I got into this exercise my anxiety eased a bit and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. My question, though, is how do I make my students feel better about doing this kind of exercise. I can see the value in it, but I know I would find it very difficult to do this kind of task in my own classroom. I would like to know how I could ease the anxiety in those of my students who feel the same way I do. I know that if I was told that it would be fine and that it is not as bad as you think I would think “yeah right”. So how do you convince those terrified kids to take the risk that you yourself hate to take?
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