Bravely off to Sea

While many of my core values regarding the English Language Arts in the classroom remain much the same as they were when I began this course, my ideas about how to deliver this material, inspire my students and foster a love of ELA have evolved greatly.

First and foremost, I would like to create an inclusive environment for my students by giving them varied ways to present and express ideas and by teaching in as diverse a manner as possible to accommodate different learning styles and interests. I would like ELA to be as relevant as possible for all students and, so, would like to give them many opportunities to generate their own content and to let them tell me what they would like to write and talk about. This strategy has the advantage of keeping writing and representing relevant, and therefore interesting, to students but it also has the added advantage of reinforcing what I believe is the most fundamental aspect of ELA that I would want my students to understand: ELA is not just a subject which is taught in school, it is a skill set that will allow them to express themselves to the world. It is a tool that they can use to better understand themselves and the world around them and, as such, is invaluable.

I would like all of my students to feel comfortable sharing their ideas in the classroom with myself as well as with other students. I have always wanted this, but I had not understood the importance of modelling writing for your students to achieving this goal. I hope that by writing myself and sharing my writing with my students they will be able to understand that it is a worthwhile endeavour and will be more willing to share their thoughts and writing with me.

One thing that I have learned from this course is the importance of oracy. I think that talking is something that I have just taken for granted as a skill which is picked up naturally. I was shocked to read in Constructing Meaning that studies have shown that the language used by students in the classroom is less rich than the language that they were using at home. So, I would really like to encourage meaningful conversations in my classrooms. I loved the idea of a conferencing centre where students could discuss ideas with each other or with me.

I would also like to incorporate oracy and writing into as many of the other subject areas as I can. Particularly in the elementary years, the subjects are so interrelated and can be tied together so many ways. I really believe that weaving the different subject areas together presents so many opportunities to be creative and to keep students engaged and would really enhance the learning experience.

Finally, I have learned that assessment goes beyond the teacher simply assigning a mark. The concepts of assessment as learning and assessment for learning were completely new to me, but I can certainly see their value. I think that empowering students is one of the most important aspects of keeping them engaged and focused in the classroom. Giving students the opportunity for self-assessment gives them a sense of agency and also encourages reflection on their learning and the work that they produce. It serves to remind us that children are capable of taking on responsibility earlier than we often think.

With all of these things in mind, I would really like to foster a love of ELA and learning in general in my students. It is something that I consider to be of the utmost importance and I hope to be able to encourage some of that passion in others. I look forward to putting these ideas to practice and finding out what works for me in the classroom.

Wrangling Ideas in the Elementary Classroom

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you.  And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.  ~Arthur Plotnik

       Learning to write and represent is a critical aspect of the educational journey. If we think of our role as educators as one of helping our students to understand and interpret the world around them and function as part of society, then teaching expression through writing and representing is of fundamental importance. As the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading states in the ELA IRP: “Through writing children express themselves, clarify their thinking, communicate ideas, and integrate new information into their knowledge base” (IRP pg. 5) All of these things are fundamental not only to success in the school environment but also, I would argue, to leading a fulfilling existence.

        Writing is something which comes more naturally to some than others, which is why creating a supportive environment for such exercises is so important. Though some students may find it difficult, I would hope to help my students understand that the potential to write and represent is in all of us, it is just a matter of fostering those skills. If they are persistent, they can all produce valuable work. This is something that I think is captured so well in the book “Love That Dog”. The character in that book starts out believing that he can't write and questioning the value of writing poetry but, by the end of the book, he has produced something that he is proud of and that is meaningful to him.

       An important part of encouraging this attitude is helping students to understand that their ideas and experiences are valuable sources of inspiration. If they are able to generate content themselves, instead of writing and representing simply to fulfil their teacher's expectations, the process is bound to be more meaningful and fruitful for them. In Constructing Meaning and the article Structure and Freedom, there is an emphasis on the need to make writing and representing assignments relevant to the lives of the students. Allowing students to write about things that are important to them is fundamental to this. Churning out assignments based on the interests of others, or what a teacher might deem to be important takes so much of the meaning away from the exercise. If we are able to approach teaching writing with the attitude that children should learn to view writing as a tool for self-expression, then we must provide students with opportunities to show us what is meaningful and important to them.

       In addition to this, I would hope to help students understand that they are capable of negotiating the writing process through the gradual release of support referred to in Constructing Meaning. If students come to think of themselves as capable writers, then the role of the teacher shifts from one of directing to one of scaffolding the process. Allowing students to form small groups during writing conferences could help to develop a sense of independence from the teacher. Children working together in small groups can use each other as resources and help one another develop ideas. There are many advantages to this structure. As was mentioned in Structure and Freedom, students enjoy the smaller groups because their work is given more individual attention. It also encourages discussion, developing their oracy skills.

       Along with group work, I particularly love the idea introduced in Constructing Meaning of establishing a space within the classroom where students can conference with each other and their teacher during writing workshops. I think that this would really encourage students to talk about their work and feel that it is important. Along with the gradual release of support, we can further encourage a sense of agency over their work by implementing self-assessment. Children are aware when their work does not meet expectations, and when they could have done a better job. Making them responsible for some of the assessment of their work encourages taking ownership over the process.

       I would also like to have my students understand how important literature and writing are for interpreting and understanding the world around us, as well as the past, and for connecting with the ideas of others. I would like to introduce them to as many different forms of writing and representing as possible because throughout that spectrum there is bound to be a form that they connect with. I would also like to explore how writing can help us understand other cultures and places by reading works from other countries. In Structure and Freedom one of the major stumbling blocks in keeping students engaged in the writing process was the fact that school writing tends to narrow down throughout the years until it mainly focuses on the five part essay. Some student apathy could be avoided by making exercises as varied as possible and maintaining a focus on fiction, historical fiction, poetry, songwriting, as well as many other forms of writing throughout the school years. I would love to bring music into the process by printing lyrics to songs and discussing why the artists wrote those particular songs and why they might be meaningful to them.

       I also couldn't help thinking that reading essays to the class could be helpful in keeping that form of writing stimulating. It would be wonderful to lead class discussions about the motivation of the authors as so many of them are writing about something that they are passionate about, either to educate others or to explore a subject further. This might help students to view essay writing as something which can be exciting and stimulating and that isn't necessarily just about finishing another assignment. Helping students pick topics that they would like to know more about or which they are passionate about could help keep essay writing exciting and fun.

       I would like to encourage my students to be brave writers. As Raffaela Montemurro discusses in Constructing Meaning, great writing often requires taking risks. Writing something honest which reflects your inner self involves making yourself vulnerable to the judgement of others. It is also, however, how great works are created. I agree that modelling the writing process yourself could go a long way in encouraging students to take risks with their own writing. It demonstrates that you are not only willing to take the time to write and review something, but also that you are willing to open yourself up to the same scrutiny that they are.

       Along with the necessity of taking risks, I would like to foster an understanding that in order to create something valuable and meaningful, you must invest yourself in your work. This involves not only opening yourself up and taking risks, but also committing to a process of revision and editing. So many writers, at any age, hate editing but love the final product. Any university student knows that re-writing and editing can be a slog, but few of us would argue that it isn't beneficial. I would hope to help my students understand that if they can commit to the writing process and really make the effort, that they will be proud of their work and that I too will be proud of them.

       In Structure and Meaning Paige laments that in high school once she writes something and hands it in, she never has to think about it again and that somehow writing loses meaning because of this. In my first year of university I had a class on the arts of Southeast Asia. My professor had us write one paper for the class, but we had to re-write and hand it in three times over the course of the semester. I can't say that I remember much of the content of the course now, but I sure learned a lot about the value of revision, how to research and how to effectively support my argument. To this day, I am surprised that more teachers don't employ this method.

       Finally, I would like to instill my students with a sense that grammar and the structure of their writing are very important, even if learning these things can be a challenging and sometimes boring task. The goal of writing and representing is to be able to express yourself and this is something that is hugely compromised by poor structure and grammar. However, I would like to balance a focus on grammar with a focus on the ideas and content behind the piece of writing and the simple joy of self-expression.

       The most poignant and memorable thing I encountered in the readings on writing and representing was at the end of Structure and Freedom when the authors despair over the waste and loss of student motivation and enthusiasm for writing. I couldn't help but agree with them and hope that in my teaching practice, I will be able to keep some motivation and enthusiasm for writing alive in my students.