The Writing Workshop Podcast Hosted by Prakash, Eugenia and Jaylene

 

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A Teacher's Writing Philosophy by Eugenia Davis

 

The philosophy of teaching writing covers the parameters of understanding, improving and reflecting on writing. No definite rule to its effectiveness but a broader General of language which encircles the nature of meaning, the relationship between words and the difference between literal and figurative issues of language.

To understand teaching of writing, it must be instructed in a way of importance and interests so that students can value their writing and exercise active involvement in any writing processes. It is not what you write but learning to write which will result in a liking to write.

Moreover, any academics writer improves by working towards their goal so therefore when teaching writing there should be a goal set to improve your writing skill and become a better writer.

Reflecting on writing is another way of creative writing, our expressions of thoughts, ideas and emotions are imaginable. According to EB White" A writer who waits for ideal conditions on the witch to work will die before putting a word to people." This is the sole reason why teaching writing should be of pique interest meaningful and efficient.

References:

“E.B. White Quote: “a Writer Who Waits for Ideal Conditions under Which to Work Will Die without Putting a Word to Paper.”” Quotefancy.com, 2024, quotefancy.com/quote/27262/E-B-White-A-writer-who-waits-for-ideal-conditions-under-which-to-work-will-die-without. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

A Teacher's Writing Philosophy by Prakash Seebarran

 

Before developing writing skills in students, a teacher must first understand the potential of writing itself. Writing is an expression of thoughts, a way to communicate with others to relay emotions. Writing is not just what is produced on paper but is also a tool to express thoughts of a topic, writing always has a purpose, even for recreation. One must think of it as a systematic tool meant to be used in discovery. Society can be built and destroyed by the stroke of a pen. In the early stages of development even children communicate with the written word an like them their writing skill is in its infantile stage. This is the role of the teacher, to instill the love of writing in their students so that they can use it to make interpretation of their world for their writing is the expression of their minds as they reflect on experiences. Therefore, a teacher must teach their students how to organize their thoughts with writing as a tool of expression and reflection.

Writing is a Journey not a Challenge!!- Jaylene Peters Teacher of Writing Philosophy

 

Sharing the Pen!

The importance of an educator having a teacher philosophy for teaching writing is that it provides them with a sense of direction which will eventually impact how students view this particular task. It helps us determine the best strategies to engage students, foster critical thinking, and promote active learning. Students should be given an active choice through the use of writing prompts allowing students to explore concepts rather than relying solely on teachers. The primary purpose of writing is to help students be able to communicate and express their thoughts verbal or nonverbal, ideas, and emotions. In order to effectively teach a writing program that consists of story elements such as plot/s for narratives or expositions and arguments for persuasive writing, teachers must also be creative in making the learning fun and valuable. This can also include the use of technology perhaps in the form of interesting images as prompts for writing.

I hope to create an inclusive writing environment by:

Ø  Using writing prompts that both genders enjoy (phones/ animals).

Ø  Reflecting stories in the form of pictures.

Ø  Allowing learners to curate pictures through drawing and coloring 

Ø  Role-play or read stories through different characters. 

A way in which I once differentiated my instruction was by accepting fewer sentences from students who did not have the mental capacity to give the amount which I asked for originally. This is something I hope to keep alive. An effective teacher of writing must also be a writer in order to enable members of the class to become successful writers themselves. This course has allowed me to become better at writing in the sense that I am able to create short stories and hopefully books for the learners of my class in the future. 

 

References 

“The Open University.” Open.ac.uk, 14 Nov. 2017, www.open.ac.uk/blogs/news/education-languages-health/education/7-ways-teachers-get-kids-writing/. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

The Six Traits of Writing Strategy:

 

This Strategy uses the consideration of six traits as steps to evaluate the strengths of a written piece. It also serves as a guideline to writing an effective written piece. It is an effective system to use when improving writing skills in students.

These traits are as follows:

1.      Ideas: depending on the purpose of the written piece, the writer is encouraged to brainstorm ideas to be used as content.

2.      Organization: the writer strategically places the contents in the appropriate order to allow for smoother flow of reading and for comprehension.

3.      Voice: the voice should be considered to convey the thoughts of the writer. It should reflect the writer’s passion for the profession.

4.      Word choice: the author strategically chooses the appropriate words that allow for description and contribute to the tone of voice in the written piece.

5.      Sentence fluency: the writer carefully constructs each sentence to not only make sense but to allow for smooth reading and carry the tone of voice that contributes to the overall written piece.

6.      Convention: the writer should make sure the aspects of the written piece are correct not just for the sake of being correct but to make sure that the sentences can be read accurately. This means paying attention to spelling, the use of punctuation marks, and other aspects of grammar.

7.      Presentation: the additional trait, this involves presenting the written piece complete with illustrations such as pictures, diagrams and charts to strengthen the purpose of the piece. It also relies on overall legibility which includes neatness for it to be well received by the readers. It coincides with the other six traits to make sure that the information is effectively conveyed to the intended audience.

The RAFT Strategy

 

R.A.F.T is considered a useful writing strategy for students in Grades 4, 5 and 6. It is mainly used at the beginning stage of writing (brainstorming/ prewriting) to guide young writers. R.A.F.T stands for Role, Audience, Format and Topic. The video below explains this strategy better along with examples.

 

These subsections play a crucial role in a child’s writing as they act as a guide for them to know who they are writing for, the purpose of the writing piece, the outline of the writing piece and lastly the title or the focus of the overall piece. Below is a sample of how the R.A.F.T Strategy may be used in Science classes at the Grade 5 level.

Role A student writing to inform the officials about the filthiness of our school community surroundings. Leading to the creation of insects and wastes carrying harmful diseases.	Audience Environmental Officials
Format Letter	Topic Littering in our environment.

  

 Next Level Writing. “RAFT Writing - the Ultimate Planning Strategy.” YouTube, 11 Jan. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB9VV02Cmas. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.

By Jaylene Peters 

 

Double Entry Journal

Double entry journal is a reading comprehension technique that help students to improve their critical thinking and active reading skills. These skills are improved by reading texts that will broaden their understanding.

It is important to enroll students in reading because students can easily ask questions, give opinions, interpret and reflect on the text which they have read. Reading comprehension and vocabulary are two ways in which grade four students can improve when reading texts. 

Journals are very useful so incorporating such strategy allow students to be motivated in becoming good readers and writers. They grow academically because their sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary improve significantly. 

By: Eugenia Davis

Teachers Conferencing with Learners

This is a one-on-one small discussion or conversation between a teacher and a student to discuss the student’s behavior or progress. It allows the teacher together information about what learners know and what they understand, what they are struggling with and what they need to work on.

There are benefits in teachers conferencing with learners and includes the improvements of students’ outcome, the practice of teachers conferencing with learners articulates students’ performance in which a better outcome results.

Another strength in teachers’ conferencing is collaboration. Teachers and students collaborate with each other and a level of connection develops. It also fosters a sense of belonging and an exchange of ideas. Information gathered allows a deeper relationship between teachers and students. Such activity as building relationships fosters a sense of engagement by teachers listening to them and offering some sort of encouragement.

By: Eugenia Davis

Goal Setting for both Teachers and Students

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/art-goal-setting-achievement-your-roadmap-success-dr-shynee-martin 

Goal Setting is the process of identifying and planning how to achieve specific objectives within a set time frame. It can help both teachers and students to be more engaged, motivated and accountable in their achievement. Students need to set goals to achieve knowledge in a specific timeframe whereas, teachers need to set goals to advance their professional skills in so doing, instruction will be more effective and have an enduring impact on students’ performance.

An acronym, SMART is used as a checklist for successful goals which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. Teachers can set goals for students or incorporate goal setting in their lesson plans.

Hence, goal setting should be practiced by all grades but using the smart technique to grade 4 will enhance their learning capability.  Students should be encouraged to set goals and be specific and stay focused on goal settings. Also, their goals should be geared to a specific timeframe and be measurable.

 

Reference: “The Art of Goal Setting and Achievement: Your Roadmap to Success.” Www.linkedin.com, www.linkedin.com/pulse/art-goal-setting-achievement-your-roadmap-success-dr-shynee-martin.

By: Eugenia Davis

 

Motivation When Writing

                                   https://captainslog.gr/the-importance-of-motivation-in-ism-code/ 

Motivation when writing is writing done with much interest, inclination and energy.

Writers usually write their piece with a goal set, exercising such enthusiasm that the reader is motivated to keep reading because that text captures interest and therefore can picture exactly what the text is all about.

Motivation is an internal driving force that propels one’s willingness. When used in writing, it changes students’ behavior in writing by allowing them to develop academically and creatively. Students become expert writers and even aspire to publish their text.

Incorporating motivation when writing to students of grade 4 is very important in that students will develop a sense of interest in writing, improve their academic performance and to be independent. Using techniques such as collaborative learning enable students to share what they know with others and grow effectively and therefore master literacy skills.

 “The Importance of Motivation in ISM Code.” Captainslog, 15 Jan. 2021, captainslog.gr/the-                                    importance-of-motivation-in-ism-code/.

 

By: Eugenia Davis

 

  

Writing to a Prompt

 

Writing to a prompt is where students draw from prior knowledge and experience to continue a writing piece that can be started topics or scenarios to choose from which sparks their interests.  They decide what is relevant information to incorporate in the piece by thinking critically. They must be interested in the topic for them to produce information and the teacher may have to provide experiences in by showing pictures videos or taking them on a field trip. These pieces of writing are generally meaningful as they involve real world experiences. Teachers can provide structures to guide them in this process and also use this to develop research skills as they can be given topics to research and write on. The writing is completely up to them as they write based on their interpretation of the subjects.

 Teachers can provide grade four students with topics to write on as prompts that are of interest to them as they can write short paragraphs based on their experience with a topics. This can also be incorporated in journal entries after a lesson.

By Prakash Seebarran