Jodi's Article-Narrative Writing

Hi Ladies~

Well well-this article was much easier to read through than the one I had originally picked and I'm sure you all feel the same way. My initial thought as I read this was how interesting it would be to get involved in a case study of my students through a school-based research program. If you think about it, we already analyze our students' writing on a weekly basis. But if we were using that analytical approach and applying it to research, we would be that much more knowledgeable about our students and children's learning styles in general when discussing writing.

Because I found this article confirmed my own feelings about using the writing process in the classroom, I could relate to a lot of what the findings in research were. I think the biggest factor that affects how children grow as writers is having the ability to reflect on what they've written through discussion. I found a connection with what I do in my classroom as students work through the writing process. Before I edit a piece of their work, they have to revise with a partner and work down a checklist of items. In paying attention to those literary devices that make a piece stronger, they in turn become stronger writers. Any thoughts?!?

Jessica's Article- "The Art of Persuasion"

The Art of Persuasion

When I first saw this article I wasn’t sure that it would help me in my instruction. After reading it, I found that there were many things about teaching persuasive writing that I did not think much about. Students really need to be able to see a purpose and create a piece that reflects their thoughts and opinions, not just a teacher generated topic. Our district does not have a writing unit of study dedicated to teaching persuasive writing so this will fit nicely into my science unit. I think it is important that students have exposure to this form of writing.

Some of the main points in this article that captured my attention was the idea that students are constantly being sucked into a world full of persuasive, peers, adults, new technologies, advertisements, etc. In teaching a student how to write persuasively you are not only preparing them on how to write, but also how to see beyond persuasion that they face. As mentioned in the article, “persuasive writing is a powerful form that affects the lives of our children and is a component of many state standards.”

So I pose this question: where in your lives are you faced with persuasion? What seems to persuade you into doing/buying/saying something?

These are the things that we need to teach our students about. The ideas in this article will actually help me integrate persuasive writing into my unit about water and global warming effects. I can tie in the ideas of adding facts to help someone see things your way.

Jen's Article: Increasing Student Engagement Using Effective and Metacognitive Writing Strategies in Content Areas

This article caught my eye because of the keyword "metacognition" in the title. This is an area that my reading curriculum devotes a great deal of time teaching, so I was curious to see what it had to say about integrating it into the content areas, especially through writing. I was glad after I completed this article that I walked away feeling validated and invigorated to share it with the curriculum facilitators of science and social studies at my school.

Although it starts off densely with a lot of research, I had to chuckle when it explained the definition of metacognitive knowledge. I can certainly connect to the person that never finishes a task at work because I become so distracted! My excuse is that I'm multi-tasking! But I see the point and how it works with students...focusing their thinking with metacognition (or what we quite often call Talking to the Text) gives them a purpose in reading. The research provided in this article is a valuable tool to use when defending the use of this strategy with content area teachers that are afraid of losing valuable time to teach their curriculum and are wary of becoming "reading" teachers. Many times I have the discussion/debate as all teachers are becoming teachers of reading due to the demands of today's curriculums and texts. Realistically (and proven through this reseach) metacognitive questioning and journal writing will lead to success as students are self-questioning, monitoring their understanding, and posing questions when they are confused. Ultimately, this type of journal writing keeps the students engaged and leads them to make connections between the content being studied and their own life. How many times do you teach a lesson in your classroom and become exasperated when the students walk down the hall and "forget" the strategies that you have taught them? By having all teachers on the same page and using metacognitive strategies in their lessons, students will constantly be reinforcing the skills being developed in the Reading/LA classroom and will lead to increased understanding of the content of the specific subject areas.

A few questions I would like to pose are:
Do you think your content area teachers (or you yourself if you teach all subjects) would "buy into" using the metacognitive journals based on the points provided in this article?
How would you go about assessing their knowledge based on the information provided in the journals?

I look forward to hearing from you -
Jen

Lauren's Article-"That's online writing, not boring school writing": Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project

"'That's online writing, not boring school writing': Writing with blogs and the Talkback Project"

I chose this article because I feel, at this time, that technology is lacking in my classroom. And while I have some resources at my fingertips, I still feel that I could do a lot more. This article is about writing online using a blog--just like us!

I really enjoyed this article because it didn't sugarcoat the idea of blogging. The author was very honest in noting what worked and what didn't. I think that because of this, it gave me a realistic view of the ups and downs of online blogging. I appreciate when authors do not make everything seem to perfect and "Disney," but are honest with their struggles.

I believe that I need to incorporate more writing in my classroom; however, I feel that because my students are totally bogged down with persuasive/prompt writing that giving them the opportunity to write creatively may intimidate them. However, I think that incorporating online blogging may make them more comfortable becuase they are at least using a vehicle that they are comfortable with--the computer!

I was wondering what you all thought about the idea of middle school students "talking" to preservice teachers. I think that, as an undergrad, I would have really enjoyed doing this because it would have given me a chance to read, interpret, and assess student writing. However, somewhere in the back of my mind, I feel that there is some underlying issue with adults speaking to middle schoolers that I can't put my finger on. Maybe that is me being paranoid, but what do you all think?

As you read, there was the idea that online blogging concerned administrators because of the potential for harm. I completely understand this concern--it scares me to think who my students may talk to online--however, I think the solutions they (teacher, administrators, etc.) came up with were excellent. I think that integrating online blogging is also a great way to educate students about online danger so that they can be aware not only while blogging for school, but also in their everyday computer life.

Bottom line: I think that online blogging is a great tool to use in the classroom, but I still believe that there are kinks that need to be worked out.

Questions for you all: How can we prevent online bullying with the blogs? How do we involve our students who do not have computers? Is online blogging safe?

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