Musings on writing in the classroom

So, I'm teaching a Creative Writing class this semester. I have never taught Creative Writing before, and I've only done a little of it myself. It's going to be an interesting semester in that respect, but that's not what I wanted to write about.

To start the class, I asked the students to write a short piece that explores and discusses the history of their writing: where did they learn? What do they like writing about? How have they grown? What do they like and dislike about writing?

Their responses were mostly what I expected: they started in elementary school. They wrote lots of creative pieces when they were younger. They had a teacher at some point who really lit a fire for them about writing.

Another common thread was the dislike of structured writing assignments in academic classes. This is not surprising, especially coming from a group that is highly creative and fights against conformity. This is also not a problem for me as the teacher; the Creative Writing class is an elective and is therefore more flexible in terms of structure and how we go about class each day. Doing a true writing workshop structure here is not a problem.

No, my issue with the dislike of structured academic writing is in how it works in a mainstream, required English or Social Studies class where almost all of the writing assignments are teacher-controlled.

I understand the arguments from the teacher's perspective: We have standards that must be met, and to our knowledge, this is the best way to demonstrate mastery of standards and skills. Also, many of our students will be heading to college after high school, and each discipline has its own writing structure that students must work with and within. Isn't it best that they get accustomed to that now? Then there's the organizational nightmare that would result if every kid got to pick what and how and about what they were going to write. I get that. It runs through my head on a daily basis.

However, I absolutely get where students are as well. I don't like having something forced on me more than anyone else does. I know that students are more excited and interested in writing when they can choose what to write about. I know that each of them are in different places with their writing and need instruction/direction/help to varying degrees and on varying topics and skills.

So, how? How do I/we create a space that accomplishes the goals we need to without sacrificing student ownership of their learning? How do I/we do that in the traditional high school environment? What needs to change or be present to make this work? What's the hybrid?

I'm throwing this out there in hopes that someone has some good ideas to share. Please share away! I'll do the same as I come up with ideas. :)

That's it for tonight. Take care!

More practicing...

This is my awesome cast from The Crucible this past spring

Now I'm practicing how post images or pictures.

Learning how to post video...

I'm practicing how to embed videos. And I really like the Muppets. :)

Using Blogs in Learning and Everyday Life

First of all, I am really enjoying the Richardson book. It's very engagingly written and offers some very practical, applicable ideas. I also really appreciated how he encourages teachers to try the tools for themselves for awhile before introducing them in the classroom. I often feel like I immediately need to start using tools that are introduced to me, so a reminder that it's okay to take time to learn for yourself first is very welcome and reassuring.

I started using a blog, primarily for my Masters coursework at the U, about 2 or 3 years ago. I have posted several posts about more daily life, personal stuff, but most of my interaction with blogs has been educationally-based. I have received a few comments about my postings, and those comments were very cool to receive, so I understand the draw of having an authentic audience, but I've never really received the interaction that Beach and Richardson describe in their books. I probably need to write more often, with more depth, and use stuff like tags more often. :)

Educationally, I can definitely see the benefit of blogs. Right now, I'm teaching a Creative Writing elective. Each day, I'm having kids do about 5-10 minutes of writing around a journal prompt, and then giving them time every so often to go back and re-visit or re-write any journal they were drawn to. I could save some class time by posting my journal prompts on my course Moodle, and then asking each student to create a blog and do their journal prompts on their blogs. They could then subscribe to each others' blogs and comment on each others' writing. I could also require them to find and subscribe to blogs of other creative writers to provide them with models and samples. Or we could team up with another Creative Writing class in another building, either in our district or outside, and have the kids comment on each others' writing. That would be a great way for them to get authentic, continuous feedback on their work.

Whether I use blogs with my regular English 9 kids or with my mixed grade level CW kids, I would really like more instruction and practice in teaching kids how to provide quality feedback to each other. I think that's one major piece that is missing from my writing instruction in general, that would totally change what the kids and I do. I think it would be absolutely essential to teach the kids this skill before starting any online writing, as one of the purposes/benefits of online writing is receiving feedback from peers. 

I'm definitely going to have to put together some lessons on appropriate use and privacy before we go online as well. Both Beach and Richardson point out the fact that kids are using these different medias constantly, but without much guidance in terms of benefits and drawbacks, consequences, privacy issues, and all that good stuff. So, a good deal of front-loading is going to be necessary.

Very excited about this. Just reminding myself that I don't have to do it all at once, right now, this very minute... :)