Writing and Representing: What do you think is important to teach students about writing and representing? Please provide support for your views from the IRP, the course readings, and discussions.

Writing and representing are skills that develop over time and can be improved through proper instruction and varied exposure. It is important to teach students how to write in a variety of styles. Students should also learn the importance of assessment for their own writing and of others. Finally, students must be taught through methods that promote individual creativity and independence. Writing and representing are insights into a student’s mind. As a teacher, there is incredible value in nurturing these language arts because they allow students to effectively express themselves through the creation of meaning.

A variety of life exposures are paramount for the middle years student who is yearning to discover new passions. Within any new exposure there are a variety of subcategories to investigate. Writing and representing is no different as there are several different ways the written word can be represented. Teachers must find a way to provide their students with the opportunity to experience as many forms of writing as possible. Students need direction on what to write and through effective prompts and modeling, they can be inspired to create. The BC IRP for Middle Years Language Arts lists prescribed learning outcomes (PLO’s) of:

“Write a variety of clear, focused personal writing for a range of purposes and audiences that demonstrates connections to personal experiences, ideas, and opinions,…

Write a variety of effective informational writing for a range of purposes and audiences that communicates ideas to inform or persuade,…

Write a variety of imaginative writing for a range of purposes and audiences, including short stories, passages, and poems modeled from literature,…”

These PLO’s provide direction for teachers on styles to scaffold effective writing techniques and bring out creativity in a student. Whether it is poems, formal prose, or picture books, students must be encouraged to explore each medium by teacher directed exercises. Atwell says that “…records of individuals’ writing and reading activity comes in handy, in pointing me towards lessons that address what’s happening, or not happening, within the group.” Through monitoring her students, Atwell is able to deliver lessons based on their needs. As student’s work develops, revision and reflection will help to hone the quality.

Students understand the difference between good writing and bad writing, but if they are not exposed to versions of each, it becomes difficult for them to assess their own work. Teachers must model the quality of writing they desire to see from their students and instruct on effective editing and revision strategies. The four cueing systems for comprehension, pragmatics, semantics, syntax, graphophonics, become a critical foundation for effective writing and revision. As students develop a better understanding of these conventions their individual assessments become increasingly more refined.

When students write from the heart, creativity often follows with ease. It is the teacher’s role to determine how to touch the writer within each student. From Teaching Writing from the Inside by Tom Romano, he states, “I teach students to hearken to emotions, images, ideas, and stories, that are strong in them.”

Through triggering ideas inspired by personal passions and experiences, students can explore writing and representing with freedom. The IRP emphasizes the importance of employing the strategy of Gradual Release of Responsibility. In the initial stages of development in writing and representing, students need a higher level of direction to help encourage creativity and provide a basis to work from. Once the student has freely explored varied genres the teacher must release their influence and let the student independently create.

Writing can be an incredibly rewarding experience if taught within an environment that is non-judgmental, and promotes creativity and independence. Varied genres provide students with outlets for their diverse interests and engagement is increased through this freedom of choice. Teacher scaffolding of topics that speak to individual emotions and experience further direct student work. Once engagement is achieved, teachers can help raise quality through modeling and demonstrating effective assessment and revision techniques. As students increase in confidence, teacher influence through scaffolding techniques decreases to promote student independence. Ultimately, competence with writing and representing is the prescription, but a positive experience is a highly desired outcome.