Teaching Writing

Teaching Writing Chapter 5 Maxwell and Meiser

Research Issues Writing in other subjects Grading Skills vs content Choosing topics of interest

Across the years • 1930s - motivation, relevance, errors • 1940s - topics of interest • 1950s - errors and basics • 1960s - product to process (Dartmouth) • Talk before writing; groups (Dixon)

Writing Process(Recursive) • Writers can improve their writing at any or all stages of a draft • Stages • Prewriting (discovery) • Draafting • Revising • Editing

Discovery Activities Free writing Drawing Mapping Outlining Creative Dramatics

Short vs Long Assignments Errors are our most important learning tool. (James Moffett)

Classroom Climate Risk-taking Good teacher rapport Friendly Active Work on display

Teacher’s Role Organized Predictable Choices

Your Role Are you a professional proofreader?

Sentence Structure • Sentence combining and “decombining” • Embedding • Boys who put snakes in the teacher’s desk should be expelled. • My brothers, who put snakes in the teacher’s desk, should be expelled.

Daily Oral Language 2-3 sentences daily Board or transparency Students correct in journals Full class discussion of corrrections Brief, immediate Not a test!

Spelling and vocabulary “Learning to spell is learning about words -- their meanings, forms, and uses in communication.”(Richard Hodges)

Spelling The public views correct spelling as the hallmark of an educated person, and that failure causes others to question our education and native intelligence.

Levels of Writing • Level 1 - casual situations • Level 2 - more formal..know our audience • Level 3 - form = message • Audience may be unknown • Resumes, business letters, publication • (page 215)

Types of Writing Assignments • Journals • Personal response • Language (paying attention to language) • Writer’s Journal • Learning Logs

Short Stories • Short Stories • Round Robin • Developing Characters • Story Strips • Personal Narratives • Poetry

Teaching Writing