Entry 11: Genre Reflection

 I never realized how many genres there are in writing! Through taking time to read about and explore each one, I have developed a deeper understanding of the different types of genres I use in my daily life.  Each genre has specific features that differentiate it from another; for example, letter writing uses a specific format whereas poems can take on any form the author chooses to use.  However, some genres intertwine with one another; for example, you could use persuasive writing in a letter or descriptive writing in a journal entry.  Gail Tompkins discusses each type of genre in depth in her book, Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product.  As a result of engaging in her text, I feel more confident in teaching my students about the many different types of genres they can use in their writing.

At the start of class I thought journal writing meant students only reflected on a topic and wrote in a journal.  However I now know journal writing goes beyond this simple definition, and I have a more principled understanding of it.  There are so many types of journal writing you can utilize with students, such as double entry journals, reading logs, simulated journals, dialogue journals, etc.  These journals allow students to reflect on their learning from concrete texts.  In my future classroom, I would love to utilize some of the trade books Tompkins recommends to introduce journal writing to my students.  I really enjoyed reading Doreen Cronin’s books, and have to have them on my shelves for my students to read!  I will also gather some of the other trade books to utilize with the different types of journal writings.  It is a great way to assess and see what my students have learned through their reading.

The only genre I was intimidated by was poetry, and it was the one I was assigned to present to my peers.  I was uncomfortable teaching poetry because I, myself, was not comfortable writing it.  Poetry always seemed like a free write and there was no format to it; however after reading chapter 7 in Tompkins and several journal articles, I learned poetry can be taught in structured ways.  There are so many types of poems that go beyond “free verse” which makes me less intimidated with teaching it; for example, you can give students a topic, have them fill out a graphic organizer, and have them fill in the skeleton of a poem.  This type of poetry writing is used for “formula poems”.  Through learning about this genre and having the opportunity to teach it to my peers, I am less intimated and look forward to utilizing it in my future classroom.

Overall, I feel this class has given me the opportunity to become a better writing teacher.  I feel I am an expert on the many different genres we learned about and explored this semester.  In my future classroom, my goal is provide meaningful writing experiences to my students and have them feel comfortable writing in the different genres as well.  I think it would be neat to introduce and focus on a new type of genre each month.  I know I will definitely be referring back to Tompkins to refresh my memory, design activities, and pick out trade books. 

Entry 10: "Bless, Adress, and Press" Teaching about Genres

I have learned a lot through reading my peers’ blogs and hearing their own ideas based on our class readings and discussions.  It was hard to pick only one quote for this entry, but Jennifer’s entry about genre’s really caught my eye and got me thinking.  She said…

          “In general I have seen students learning fiction vs. non-fiction as well as poetry.  Beyond this, genres are not really introduced from what I have experienced.  With this experience, and the influence of class I plan to change this.”

Looking back on my own educational career and my experiences in the classroom, I can honestly say I do not remember teachers explicitly teaching about genres.  I believe Jennifer has the right idea as she plans to change this, and I am right on board with her!  As an educator, I think it is important to expose students to various genres and explore each one individually.  I agree with Jennifer that it is important for students to know and understand the characteristics of each type of genre, and also be able to write in their different forms.  There are so many exciting and engaging ways you can teach genres explicitly. Moreover, my main goal is to have students feel comfortable and confident when writing in each different style.

If I could teach any grade level, it would be first grade. I believe they are just as capable at learning about the various genres as upper level students.  Tompkins is a great and reliable resource to use because she provides books and writing ideas across different grade levels.  My students would learn to expect a new genre at the beginning of each month; for example, poetry would be our theme for September, and everything we read and wrote during this month would revolve around this central theme.  When working with younger students, I strongly believe in utilizing read-alouds to introduce a new topic.  I would perform many poetic read-alouds and whole group lessons to explicitly explore the characteristics of this genre.  We would read poetry books during our morning reading groups, and later in the day we would work on writing poems.  Tompkins presents many appropriate poems for early learners, such as formula poems; this would allow me to give students a topic, and provide a skeleton for them to fill in with their own writing.  By the end of the month my goal would be for each student to feel comfortable when working with poetry and be able to tell me about the poetry genre.  Then come October, we would start a new genre!

I think it is imperative, when working with young learners, to take a slower pace.  You have to keep in mind that they may not have any background knowledge and it could be up to you create it.  Focusing on one genre a month would be a great way for students to explicitly learn about each one.  They could even keep a binder with different easy-to-read genre pieces that they could refer back to and read independently.  This would also aid in their fluency and provide a fun way to engage them in reading on their own.       

Entry 8: "Bless, Adress, and Press" Expository Writing

Lately I have been feeling extremely overwhelmed between my three classes.  It seems that all my projects and papers were due within the past two weeks.  However, I have taken this past weekend to re-group and get back on track with my blog.  It was nice to take time to read through my peers’ blogs; they have so many interesting stories and ideas to take in and think about.  After reading several entries, I was hooked into Caitlin’s blog about expository texts. Her opening sentence drew me right in…

            “Looking back to my years as an elementary student, I found that much of my reading and writing experiences revolved around fictional pieces. In fact, while currently working at the elementary level, I still see this taking place. It usually isn’t until students are at the middle/high school level, that they begin to incorporate and encounter a greater amount of expository text/writing experiences” (Entry 9, 2012).

            This statement inspired me to reflect on my own experiences with expository texts.  Like Caitlin, much of my reading and writing in elementary school revolved around fiction.  I cannot name one expository text that I read when I was little, but I can name many fictional pieces.  This could be due to the fact that I enjoy reading and writing fiction more than non-fiction.  As a result, I find myself more comfortable utilizing fictional pieces in the classroom.  I feel students are more engaged and able to relate to these types of stories.  However now after reading Caitlin’s blog and listening to the presentation on expository text, I am more comfortable and better equipped to utilize it in my instruction.

Primary students are just as able to read and write non-fiction as middle and upper-level students; it is all in how you teach it.  There are several ways students can organize the information they have learned through reading an expository text.  This can be achieved through writing descriptions, sequence, compromise, cause and effect, and problem and solution of a text.  In order to utilize these expository texts structures with elementary students, I would introduce one structure a month to focus on.  For example, let’s take the pumpkin cycle as way to teach sequence writing.  First, I would introduce a nonfiction text based on the pumpkin cycle and read it aloud as a whole group.  As I read, I would ask many engaging and probing questions to spark students’ background knowledge.  Together, we would take the reading slow and explore each page of the text critically.  Then we would review what we’ve learned from the text by filling out a graphic organizer.  I would model how to put the stages of the pumpkin cycle in order.  We would continue reading about the pumpkin cycle and practicing these steps in smaller reading groups.  At the end of the month, students would be assessed on what they’ve learned about the sequence of the pumpkin cycle.  They would need to write each stage of the cycle in order, tell what takes place, and draw an illustration to go along with it.  This could be differentiated based on the learning needs of a student.

The next month, we would start a new expository structure with a new common core topic.  I think these types of lessons, like the one I described, would be best for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd graders because they break down the reading and writing process into steps.  The more practice students have interacting with and writing expository texts, the more interested in and comfortable they become with them.   

Entry 6: Assessing Writing

“What is the best way to assess my students’ writing?”…This is a question I have struggled to answer since I began teaching.  It is hard to decide on the appropriate assessment when there are so many to choose from.  My goal as a teacher is to always be fair and support my students as growing learners.  Therefore, I believe it is important to utilize a variety of writing assessments in order to “…improve the reliability, validity, and fairness of classroom assessment” (Tompkins, 2012).  What is fitting for one writing piece may not be fitting for another, which is why I have difficulty choosing which type of assessment to use.  However after reading chapter 4 in Tompkins, I have developed a better understanding of how to appropriately assess my students’ writing.

As a student myself, I also struggle with writing, and it is important to me to not turn or scare my students away from it.  Currently, I am working towards finding a balance between correcting students’ errors and letting them write freely.  I have come to the conclusion that it depends on the piece of writing as to whether I should mark it up or let it be.  I no longer grade their journals based on writing conventions, but rather on the development of their ideas; however, I do correct their published writing pieces as a way to guide them in their writing.  As a teacher I strongly believe that you have to make mistakes in order to learn and grow.  I continuously stress this idea to my students in order to make them feel comfortable to take risks in their writing.

Tompkins (2012) discusses the importance of having students create a portfolio of their writing pieces.  I think they are a beneficial tool for teachers because they clearly document each student’s progress.  Portfolios also allow students to reflect on their growth as writers and compare where they are now to where they started, which I believe is a very rewarding experience.  I agree with Tompkins, that “reflection is part of the writing process itself…” (p. 100).  You cannot expect your students to become successful writers if they do not take the time to reflect on the mistakes they have made and learn what they need to work on.  Therefore, it is essential to provide multiple opportunities to conference with your students and discuss their writing pieces.

There are many assessment tools that I am taking away from this chapter and hope to utilize in my future classroom.  First and foremost, I will informally monitor my students’ writing progress, by observing them and keeping anecdotal records, as a way to guide my instruction and provide effective teaching.  Secondly, I will differentiate my forms of assessment in order to give my students clear expectations and support them in their writing.   Lastly, I will make time to conference with them in order to get to know them as individuals and guide them in their writing.  I strongly believe every person is a writer inside, and it is my aim to bring that out in all of my students.  

References

Tompkins, G. E.  (2012).  Teaching writing: Balancing process and product (6th ed.).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill