Well, here I go. My first official blog entry. Somehow I thought it would be scarier. Jumping into the 21st century wasn't so hard.
My journey as a reader and writer started at a young age. From as early as I can remember, I've been reading books. I can picture myself being surrounded by them on the floor. In fact, even if I hadn't remembered for myself all the books I owned, my mom saved them all and "blessed" me with them when I got my first house. Now, I have been able to share all my favorites with my own children. It's been so fun walking down memory lane with them!! I have such fond memories of each of them. Some are so worn, it's obvious I loved them dearly and practically wore them out! It's been important for me to pass on that love of reading to my kids. Thankfully, all three of them devour books, just like I do. I still love to read. I get obsessive about certain books to the point that I neglect certain elements of my household. I'd MUCH rather read, than say, do laundry, clean bathrooms, etc. You get my drift. :) I read "fluff" books, historical fiction, biographies, nonfiction, poetry, popular fiction, mysteries; I'm an all inclusive obsessive. I think my love of reading was one of the reasons I decided to become a teacher; more specifically, an English teacher.
I can't really comment well on the subject of my classroom. I don't currently have a classroom. I was a Jr. High English teacher for 6 years after graduating from college. During that time, I taught 7th and 8th graders in a small school in rural MN. I used a form of writing workshop that I developed after learning about Nancie Atwell in my Middle School Block in college. She inspired me to start a new way of writing instruction. I didn't actually implement it until my second year of teaching, though. I had a hard time just keeping my head above water that first year. I followed the direction I was given by the seasoned English teacher in the building. I needed all the help I could get. Once I felt a little more comfortable, I found a kindred spirit in another English teacher and we formed Writing Workshop. That first year was a total experiment. I let the students write what they wanted and really tried to keep it "real." I didn't like the results I got. They either didn't "get" it, or I wasn't presenting it well. I don't think I really tapped their potential. They were doing the bare minimum to get by. The next year, I added some direction and gave wide open "prompts" to get them going. I also came up with an end game project for the last quarter. During the year, we practiced different types of writing; we had mini lessons formed from problems I saw in their writing and everyone seemed to really be enjoying their writing time. For the last quarter, they looked over all their stories they had written so far, chose one, and we worked on expanding it, revising it and publishing it. I had them make their own book. It was 16 pages. They worked on breaking their text to fit it on 16 pgs. They illustrated. They made the book jacket, which I had laminated. They sewed the pages together, we put cardboard on the front and back and wrapped it with their jacket. That was most of their English grade for the last quarter. We then spent a few days sharing them with in our classes. I had them prominently displayed in the school library for their other classmates to see and read. They were all so proud. That remains one of the favorite activities I've ever done with a class. I still am in contact with some of those students, and they've admitted to me that they still have their book from 7th grade.
I feel it's essential for the students to own their writing. They need to have a purpose for it; they need to see that it's important. But, they also needed to know that sometimes, you just have to write something because a teacher told you to, but to really take advantage of those times you get to write what you love. It makes you a better writer. Reading and writing are so closely tied. I would read them parts of books to show different styles of writing. Sometimes they would try to emulate that style. The more you read, the better writer you become. You can't help but internalize that which you read. If you SEE good writing, you will know what you should strive for. Good writers aren't born. It's a craft you have to practice. Just like baseball, just like piano, just like fishing.
My classroom for this class project is going to be the conference room in the public library. It's going to consist of 7-8 5th grade girls. At the moment, it just has tables and chairs. I'm going to have to think harder about how I can make this environment condusive to writing. My old classroom had desks which students could move around to face each other, or move away to have some privacy or quiet time. Each student worked differently. I had pictures, books, posters, all around the room to act as inspiration if they needed it. I let them have the freedom to write. I didn't enforce "quiet"; the room had a little hum going on all the time. At that age, hum is the norm. Quiet is not. I think the class itself has to dictate how the atmosphere should be. Seems counterproductive to what we learn as teachers..... always have control, always have quiet. Quiet was boring. Maybe that's why I preferred jr. high. I liked the drama. If kids came in talking about a problem with a friend...... what did I do? Tell them to write about it!!!
So, that's me. The end of my first blog. To be continued..................
