I liked that you mentioned your own personal strengths, and how learning from the various methods of how to explain the writing process hones in on your strengths and makes them accessible to your students. I like your idea of the daily page, but would this activity feature a topic? I know that it definitely depends on the grade level and writing experience of students, but some students balk at the idea of a "freewrite", so to speak, and may require a little more structure. I do admire your ability to use the time as a cathartic experience, combined with a little counseling, to let students unload their outside pressures and then move on with the rest of the school day.
Forming a daily ritual of free writing is great idea, and it would give kids a possible starting point when they are starting a more focussed writing assignment. I can envision kids naturally writing their feelings on their daily page, which could help build their ability to write about what is meaningful and consider how intense feelings mark the stories that are important to tell.
Like Hilary said, some kids may have trouble with the free writing idea at first, but I think they would adjust after doing it a couple of times. Free writing lends itself to that natural writing process that was illustrated so well in GNYS At WRK, giving kids an uninhibited time to decode language through the writing process. It could serve a similar purpose to writing that SSR serves for reading. Good thinking, Meagen.
I love the idea of free writing for students. In the school I work at, we have daily "writing workshop" where the kids write stories about whatever they want. Many kids choose to write about what they did last weekend or about playing with their friends. After they write their story, they can draw a picture to illustrate their story. I think it is beneficial to let the students have this time to work on their writing skills while writing about something that interests them. Eventually, after they write many stories, they get to choose one to "publish". This means they go back and edit their stories, rewrite them nicely, and redraw and color their illustrations. I think the kids really get more out of writing this way.
How lucky to be in a school that uses writing workshop! I like the idea of "The Daily Page'" (especially as a tool to use for generating writing ideas). The challenge is to keep it interesting and meaningful for them so that it doesn't become something they dread. Additionally, the teacher has to help them to generate writing/ideas for that page. Some can have such challenges thinking of things to write. For the teacher it is a balance between giving them freedom and helping them to see what they have inside of them to write. Thanks for sharing that quote.
I liked that you mentioned your own personal strengths, and how learning from the various methods of how to explain the writing process hones in on your strengths and makes them accessible to your students. I like your idea of the daily page, but would this activity feature a topic? I know that it definitely depends on the grade level and writing experience of students, but some students balk at the idea of a "freewrite", so to speak, and may require a little more structure. I do admire your ability to use the time as a cathartic experience, combined with a little counseling, to let students unload their outside pressures and then move on with the rest of the school day.
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ReplyDeleteForming a daily ritual of free writing is great idea, and it would give kids a possible starting point when they are starting a more focussed writing assignment. I can envision kids naturally writing their feelings on their daily page, which could help build their ability to write about what is meaningful and consider how intense feelings mark the stories that are important to tell.
ReplyDeleteLike Hilary said, some kids may have trouble with the free writing idea at first, but I think they would adjust after doing it a couple of times. Free writing lends itself to that natural writing process that was illustrated so well in GNYS At WRK, giving kids an uninhibited time to decode language through the writing process. It could serve a similar purpose to writing that SSR serves for reading. Good thinking, Meagen.
I love the idea of free writing for students. In the school I work at, we have daily "writing workshop" where the kids write stories about whatever they want. Many kids choose to write about what they did last weekend or about playing with their friends. After they write their story, they can draw a picture to illustrate their story. I think it is beneficial to let the students have this time to work on their writing skills while writing about something that interests them. Eventually, after they write many stories, they get to choose one to "publish". This means they go back and edit their stories, rewrite them nicely, and redraw and color their illustrations. I think the kids really get more out of writing this way.
ReplyDeleteHow lucky to be in a school that uses writing workshop! I like the idea of "The Daily Page'" (especially as a tool to use for generating writing ideas). The challenge is to keep it interesting and meaningful for them so that it doesn't become something they dread. Additionally, the teacher has to help them to generate writing/ideas for that page. Some can have such challenges thinking of things to write. For the teacher it is a balance between giving them freedom and helping them to see what they have inside of them to write.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that quote.