Writing Chapter 11

As stated on the very first page of Chapter 11, “writing is indeed a critical tool in any school subject.” Writing is a required skill that every student should possess. It allows thoughts and emotions of individuals to be expressed without using actual spoken words. I consider myself to be a much better writer than a speaker. I would rather write my thoughts and feelings out on paper rather than verbally communicating them with other. This is simply my personal opinion and experience with writing although I am sure there are plenty of other students who may feel the same way.

Writing styles have evolved throughout the years both inside and outside of the classroom. “Cyberspace writing” has played an influence on how writing has changed throughout the years. Page 306 has a nice little Research Brief chart that entitled How the Internet Is Changing Writing in Many Classrooms. It describes how students’ writings are affected by the internet. With the high demand of writing within school and the workplace it is important that all students learn to write clearly. When I say clearly I mean that students should be able to express his/her thoughts with no error making sure that their audience understands exactly what they mean. If students are not able to write clearly and or effectively then they may be unable to fill out applications for jobs or apply for much needed scholarships or financial aid in the future.

But how do teachers teach students how to write? There are many different strategies that teachers can use to help students to write well. The writing workshop that we recently completed in class is a great tool in helping students to write. It first gets them to think about writing and is a structured process that each can undergo in order to complete a final product or written piece. When students are required to write I believe that they should all be given time to brainstorm their ideas. Brainstorming helps me to narrow topics down and allows students to briefly jot down ideas that they may have to later write about. The book gives an example of brainstorming in Figure 11.2 on Page 316. Teachers should also remember that each student is different and may have problems with writing that requires differentiation. Page 315 lists qualities that support Special Needs Learners with their Writing. Writing should be included in any subject area in order for students to later become successful writers. In order to incorporate writing in the classroom teachers can use journals, learning logs, reports, etc. in order to help them to practice their writing.

Technology Experience

Each day that I come to class the professor uses the Smart board or the Promehtean board during his/her presentations for the day. I have had the pleasure of using both during presentations as well, and that's about it. I understand how to use them but I still need a little more practice to master them.

Conley Chapter 7

Activating Prior Knowledge and Increasing Motivation

Like what we have been talking about since Intermediate block, Chapter 7 highlights the importance of prior knowledge. With prior knowledge students are able to connect what they already know to what they are learning. Therefore making learning more authentic. Page 191 in the text describes the three phases that teachers should go through to activate prior knowledge and increase motivation.

During phase one the teacher should interview an adolescent about his or her prior knowledge and motivation. Phase Two involves observing and interviewing teachers. Last but not least phase three calls for the teacher to compare results of the student interviews with results from the teacher interviews. Everyone should check this out because in order to successfully engage our students in learning we have to activate their previous knowledge and understandings. I believe one of the best ways to activate the students prior knowledge is to have them to complete a KWL chart. This informal assessment is wonderful when you want to quickly take inventory on what the students already know.

Every teacher should be aware of their students’ strengths and weaknesses. As we have discussed in one of the previous chapters different students may have multiple literacies so it is important to be aware of each literacy and to motivate students to succeed through each literacy.