ACCEPTING THE RIGHT TO WRITE BADLY

As one of my favorite go-to resources, Lucy Calkins, reminds us, our task is to “teach the writer, not the writing.”  I needed to accept that my students were growing as writers, and that my task was to provide them with the tools/techniques to improve.  Even though they winced at my calling their first/early draft a “vomit” draft, I think that it drove home the idea that with time/effort, they could improve.  Of course that improvement often depended upon my providing important "remedies" that we could practice.  As Micki shared in her entry, we teachers have so many ways to create minilessons that can help students improve their writing.

One strategy that I liked to use was glossing.  I don’t remember where I picked up the strategy, but I did find it written about in an old Edutopia article: 

1. Either with a highlighter, or with the highlighter function in word processing, the student highlights the changes made from the previous drafts. In some cases, it may be a line or a sentence. In some cases, it may be an entire paragraph. Either way, it is important to highlight or "Gloss" any and all changes, even conventions.

2. In the margins of the paper next to the glossed section or with an arrow pointing to the revisions, the student writes why they made the changes. If details were required to better illustrate an example, a student would write just that. "I added this detail to strengthen my example." This step is important because it requires a student not only to make revisions, but also to use the language of the revision process to illustrate understanding of why the change(s) were made. This understanding is essential for a student to take ownership of writing and move forward in the writing process, and it is important information for a teacher in assessing the next step(s) of the process and mastery of specific assignments.

3. Students must turn in the "Glossed" draft along with the previous draft for the teacher to review. The teacher can quickly browse the original draft, and then refer to the glossed draft to see the specific highlighted changes. A double check of the student’s margined explanation provides further evidence of the student’s understanding of the revision. It is not necessary to read the entire piece of writing, but rather, teachers can focus attention directly to the glossed portions of the piece.

Check out the Literacy section of Edutopia.org for some helpful writing resources.

I believe that having students reflect upon their own growth as a writer is extremely valuable.  The use of portfolios is definitely a way for students to see their own progress.  As a culmination of their work, I required students to write an introductory essay to their portfolio and highlight certain writings, or sections of writing, that revealed their strengths (or improved strengths) as a writer.  This type of assignment could definitely be modified for younger students. Several of my 12^thgraders found that they were able to use their portfolios to demonstrate proficiency for college writing courses. 

Here's a challenge for you (the teacher):  Write down your core beliefs about teaching writing.