After watching the videos on Language and Reading, how does
this information impact you as a teacher?
I am planning a career as a secondary teacher with a
specialization in Language Arts and possibly other writing-intensive subject
areas. These chapters reinforced for me
that for many students, reading and writing-intensive subjects are their worst
nightmare. Sometimes students are just wired to be more analytical and don’t
enjoy long writing projects. Other students misunderstand the writing process
and think it is all about grammar and punctuation and get stressed out about
that. And some students may have undiagnosed or inadequately addressed learning
disabilities that are making writing torturous for them. After many years of
writing and learning about writing, I am eager to share with my students all
the many ways to tackle a writing assignment.
Even the most analytical, writing-phobic student may be surprised to
learn that there are ways to tackle writing projects that appeal to their
sensibilities. And students who love
writing but might find other subject like math/science challenging, it could be
helpful for them to learn how to apply writing strategies to tackle these
harder subjects (ie, using a math journal to write about and reinforce what
they are learning in class is often the best way for right-brained students to
absorb analytical information). In the
event that trying different approaches doesn’t help a student, I need to
research and consider when a learning disability might be interfering with my
student’s ability to learn and perform.
Hi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very thoughtful response. You have identified a number of reasons that students may avoid or dislike writing. I appreciate your enthusiasm for teaching writing to your future students. I believe that students need truly capable writing teachers to help them discover the joy of writing. In addition, I agree that students struggle to understand that writing isn't just about grammar and punctuation - it is a process. Nice job on this post.
Wanda