Teachers have a lot of material they need to cover in the course of a short span of time. I had a sheet given to me by my mentor that had a list of terms and grammar concepts that would most likely be on the EOC, and I would stare at that sheet and freak out over how much I needed to get through. In my second semester I was given a co-teacher to help me with some 10th grade-English One-repeaters that were pushed into my 9th grade-Strategic Reading-English One-class. From that day forth it became this battle between my mentor and my co-teacher on how best to view the list. On the one hand everything needed to be covered, but as my co-teacher would say, “what use is covering everything if they don’t learn what you taught?” I ignored my co-teacher, and ironically, I still didn’t manage to cover everything.
The point of that lengthy story up there is to show that students need to be writing in class in order to show their learning. There are all kinds of writing that students can do in any classroom: list making, newspaper articles, and essays. Writing showcases that students are using higher order thinking and not just utilizing test taking strategies to pass a multiple choice test. Yes, I loved giving multiple choice tests because they’re so easy to grade, and it does help prepare them for their giant, multiple choice EOC, but writing is still one of the best ways to showcase that actual learning has taken place.
I enjoy writing, but I realize colleagues and students might not always share this passion. I’m not saying students should have huge writing assignments all the time, but there should be a few times in the year where students need to think and write critically about science, math, history, or whatever the case may be. I love comic books and my understanding of comic books grows deeper when I start to write and organize my thoughts and feeling s about particular subjects and themes. Students will appreciate their subjects and what they have learned if they must put deeper, more structured thought into what they have learned.
There are struggling readers and writers out there, so it will take extra work on the part of instructors to help them, but that is why they pay us the big bucks. Struggling readers may need extra attention, graphic organizers, and specialized grading. All students, strugglers or not, prefer when the task of writing larger projects is broken into pieces. Making this a step-by-step process can show teachers where students are at in the process and can help with content or grammar. Make sure to provide time to let students peer edit, and help each other through the process.
Motivating students can always be problematic, but providing students with an audience can give them the desire to work harder. If they know more than the teacher is going to read their paper, they’re more likely to put more care into their work. This could be something as simple as a mandatory science blog instead of just writing a journal in a single subject notebook. Don’t forget, students love to see their work on display, so it never hurts to hang their work up on the walls.
In the end, seeing those that struggle the most is worth more than a monthly paycheck. Maybe I can’t buy a can of beans with good feelings and cheer, but I love telling people about the students that experienced success under my tutelage. Including writing, working with those that need it most will make sure that teachers go to bed at night knowing they’ve done their job.
Love the picture! I agree that writing is a practice. The more students do it, the less intimidating it is and the better they get. You can also add an essay to a multiple-choice test. That way you are catering to all needs and expectations.
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