The survey was a little more complicated than I had anticipated. The overall reason for having you all take it was to help you think about what you believe and see how that translates into practice for you. Have you thought any more about the survey you took?
I've already had some exciting conversations with some of you about ways to use a gallery walk with your classes. Please invite me or let me help you if you decide to do a gallery walk. I also want you to know that if you would like to try out some of the strategies in our textbook, I would be glad to come help you.
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I want to begin by saying that I am trying a new response process today. Instead of reading everything and then responding at the end, I am going to read and jot down my thoughts as they come to me. I guess this is my apology for not having the most cohesive blog. Thanks for understanding.
It was so interesting to read what Stephen King said about his personal writing process. I have always described my writing as a moment of panic staring at a white, blank surface (computer screen or college-ruled paper) followed by a massive regurgitation onto the page. Yeah, that’s right. I describe my writing process as vomiting, but it is true. When I write I feel the need to get the information out of me as quickly as possible for fear that the longer it takes me, the more I will forget or second guess. This reminds me of the last chapter as well (“How can I know what I think till I see what I say?”). I have a need to see all of my thoughts commingling together on a page before I can decide what needs to stay and what needs to go. (I always knew I was as brilliant as Stephen King )
My concern with the modeling process, however, is that I am fearful of giving the students too much time where they personally are not involved. I find that the students get very distracted (bored) when they are not the ones creating the learning. If I am modeling the writing process (working my way through the beginning stages of a composition, say), then how will my students remain actively engaged? I guess I would feel as if I was dominating the class, making it all about me. I do not want to discourage my students by making them feel even more like school is something that I, the teacher, am capable of doing, and they are not.
I love the quote “Don’t worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” I think that I must get that printed up and laminated so that I can hang it in a prominent location in my classroom.
Ha, Ralph Fletcher calls it “the sneeze,” and I call it “the projectile vomit.”
For some reason I have always felt confused about how to properly model writing. Step 1, however, really cleared things up. Beyond the Grecian urn makes so much sense.
I find that it is hard to convince my students to write even once. Trying to convince them to write four times as much as I can grade in an attempt to aleve any anxiety seems that it would backfire. I don’t generally believe that my students would be comfortable writing so much work that I will never grade. In fact they probably just wouldn’t do it. “If you’re not going to take the time to grade it, why should I bother to write it?” “Because the process itself will help you to evolve as a writer so that when I do begin grading, you will produce much better work that will continue to earn you good grades in class.” “Who cares?” At least, that is how I see the conversation going. Maybe I am wrong though.
I think that the idea of “Talk the Paper Out” is a wonderful process. Students could really benefit from speaking through their paper and having a classmate jot down the notes.
I can already feel that I will be revisiting this chapter for years to come. I believe that I have found, finally, the text that can help me be a better teacher of writing. In fact I feel prepared now to begin working with my freshmen (who I will get in the Spring). Bring it on. I can teach writing. I just needed it modeled for me first.
And as far as the gallery walk, I am using it to help my students review for their mid-term. Students received a study guide today with key terms, topics, themes, etc. They were instructed to go home and find one item that relates to one of the study guide bullets. They are going to bring them in tomorrow and we are going to have a gallery walk. Students are going to speculate on the various objects in writing while they peruse the goods. They will then have the opportunity to present their individual artifacts. I am looking forward to seeing their ideas.
Sorry for the long blog, but I'm bloggin' 'bout two thangs:
I would like to begin my blog by responding to Sandra’s article about the need to advocate for voiceless characters. In general, I concur with Sandra, yet I feel a need to offer my view of the character of Curely’s wife in Of Mice and Men.
In discussing the novel, we must first examine the form, which is closely tied to its limited third-person narration. Interestingly, instead of attaching this point-of-view to a particular person, Steinbeck anchors it in particular locations, so that, as we read the novel, we get a cinematic or dramatic sensation of characters moving on and off camera or on an off stage. As Sandra notes, the story unfolds largely through dialogue, thereby enhancing the film- or play-like narrative style, and because of this, we never slip into characters’ heads. In fact, our limited narrator even lacks the knowledge of characters’ names, at least until those names occur in dialogue. This provides the real formal reason we do not learn the name of Curley’s wife: most of the men probably do not know it; to them, she is simply Curley’s wife.
Yet, though her identity throughout the novel appears dependent upon Curley’s identity, while she is living, she never inhabits the same physical space as her husband. Perpetually, he is looking for her. Even though he has found a legal wife, she refuses to behave according to his traditional expectations—she refuses to remain locked up in the house as his maid and cook and prize—; therefore, his dreams, like hers, remain unfulfilled. They both represent unhealthy characteristics typically associated with their gender: his violence, her beauty—both of which mask a deep insecurity, a depressing incompleteness.
To emphasize their shared emotional traits, Steinbeck has given both a shared physical one: curly hair. We see this same relationship between name and physical appearance in another minor character—Crooks, who seems to have been named in honor of his crooked spine. And when they speak, both Crooks and Curley’s wife see right through George, Lennie and Candy’s dream of living off the fat of the land. Though Steinbeck chooses to withhold from them voluminous speech, he grants them incisive vision. They see what others do not: a landscape populated by people whose dreams either are dead or are doomed to remain unrealized. Yet, Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Lennie (who has the physical power to take what he wants but lacks the necessary perception) all share a deeper sadness because they share a station even lower then that of the lower class men among whom they live.
Even though I disagree with the interpretation of Curely’s wife as a voiceless character, I do agree that, as educators, we must teach our students how to read marginalized characters in realistic fiction, who often criticize the traditional roles they seem to reinforce. Students must learn that, just as there are different types of families, there are different types of voices. And good readers try to hear them all.
Now for something completely different: the blog. Like Maria, I will type my marginalia from this chapter (but not all of it).
ABOUT COMPOSING “ALONGSIDE” THE STUDENTS…
Page 48: The key thing I must remember here is “writing alongside” rather than “writing in front of”—somewhere along the way, my interpretation of modeling ahs become synonymous with overhead projectors. It may be just as effective to work in writer’s notebook and then to photocopy my draft to transparency or to scan it into a PowerPoint presentation. AND THEN…on page 53: Thinking aloud and this method [of composing on a screen or overhead as students watch] seems to eat up a lot of time [when I have done it] and to create a “writing for” rather than “writing alongside” scenario. I suppose one could think through the opening aloud—the craft goals, the writing purpose, the hopes, the limitations—and then continue to compose in silence while the students are writing. It might be nice to stop students and have them reflect in writing about decisions they have made [so far in their drafting, to solidify for them all the thinking that goes into writing].
ABOUT COMMINGLING (Maria’s word) OF BEST AND WORST WRITING...
Page 51: I wrote a poem called “Note to My Father” in undergrad, then, years later while in grad school, wanting to revise the poem but unsure how to [proceed], I shared it with poet Rodney Jones, whose collection Elegy for the Southern Drawl was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and after reading it, he told me this: “There are some really sophomoric places in this poem, but there are also strengths you’ll spend your whole life trying to recapture” That was it. Typical Rodney. Indirect but true. I still haven’t revised the poem.
ABOUT GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS AND MY AMBIVALENCE TOWARD THEM…
Page 56: In theory I agree with this [“when introducing them, I complete the organizers myself], but in practice I have trouble overcoming my own process—to write a whole lot and then cut and rewrite and to write some more... I’ve never like outlines and such, but I was also never taught to use graphic organizers. Maybe if I had been, I would feel differently now.
ABOUT “PIMP MY WRITE”…
I just had to type “PIMP MY WRITE”—page 58: Hilarious!
ABOUT “MODELING STRATEGIES…”
Page 58 [after reading about how Gallagher has his students write a single sentence and then revisit over the course of a week]: This whole process can work wonders with Noden’s brushstrokes [as well], then cumulative and periodic sentences. [I’ve never done this and will have to try it.]
ABOUT “MODELING DEEP REVISION BY CHANGING CONTENT”…
Page 69: This exercise [with one general and one specific piece about the same topic] would also work for teaching the following rule in creative writing: writers achieve the universal through the intensely personal; general writing, though universal in tone or scope, never achieves a universal connection because it lacks the specific human experiences from which true universality arises.
Blog #4
I enjoyed and appreciated what Mrs. Pound had to say about the silent female characters in literature. Not being an English teacher and all of my teaching background being in math, I had not idea that there was this type of numbers of instances where a silent female character existed. I certainly agree with Mrs. Pound’s conclusion that it is our role as responsible educators to ensure that we provide balance and plenty of opportunity for our students to read about females in significant and meaniful roles.
The article “Learning Through Engagement” provided plenty of thought about how learning takes place and the differences in learning techniques that have occurred in our lifetime. The idea that schools are here to prepare our students for the future is not a new concept. What is new that maybe for the first time, educators today can not be sure what the future will be like, technology or society wise, when our students get there.
A friend of mine told me that November is "National Writer's Month". The goal is to write a 50,000 word fictional story. I'm glad to know that there are many people who enjoy writing so much!
After reading Chapter 3, I reflected on my efforts to teach writing. Most writing tasks are expressive instead of research based. Students are required to follow a model. They change it according to their own preferences. In reflection, I've noticed that students don't really like to follow the model. They try to create their own structure. So, I think that most students enjoy expressive writing.
As for Mrs. Pound's article, I related it to my choice of reading in French class. For my content area, reading is more about cultural stereotypes. I do not like for students to read works that promote classic French stereotypes because they will think that all French people are like that.
I liked Mrs. Pound's comments on Steinbeck. As a high school student, I really enjoyed his works.
I have been educated in the time period when it is a given to question gender stereotypes as well as anything else considered traditional. For me, any portrayal of a character or culture is open for debate. But, as Pound notes, students must be taught this kind of questioning and how that gives them power in their learning. Students want to stop with responses such as, “This is so gay,” and, honestly, when they say things such as this, I myself want them to stop. But, aside from the deliberately unengaged, apathetic student, a student can have a valid reason for his/her response. We as teachers must draw it out and teach students the tools—reading, speaking, and writing tools—they need to support and express their responses in ways that are more publicly acceptable, academically sound, and promote further discussion.
Regarding Gallagher’s chapter, my quest this semester has been how to “grade” or give credit for daily or first draft writing. What kind of score or grade is used? What amount or kind of writing earns a particular set of credit? How does a teacher push students to increasingly write more on first drafts as the semester progresses? How does a teacher grade the revision process?
Gallagher writes that he establishes in the first week that there is no “I-wrote-it-I’m-done” mentality in his class. The expectations we establish in the first weeks of school are so important—not only in behavior and management, as was drilled in me as a preservice teacher, but also in quantity, quality, and effort in assignments.
We must model what we teach. All too often, we forget how we learned what we know and how difficult it was at that time. After reading the chapter, I am looking forward to having students write promotional material using the one sentence per day and revising each day, until you get a great sentence, with a lot of action and detail! This should make for great advertisements.
While I enjoyed reading Mrs. Pound’s article on silenced characters, I do feel this applies more to an English class, in the fact that it is not too often that we would read a novel one of my classes. However, I do think it is important to consider having a mix of gender and ethnic backgrounds for students to read, no matter if it is a novel, article, or simply test questions.
My favorite part of Chapter 3 is the modeling strategies Gallagher offers. Some of these I can use with my ESOL students, starting Tuesday as we discuss the "essay" questions from their mid-terms. Basically, the students answered the questions I asked, but only a few continued to use those answers in essay or even paragraph form. We have a lot of work to do!
For many of these writers, the essay question is out of reach at the moment, but I'm going to use some of Gallagher's strategies for surface revision to help them gain some confidence. The other issue may be working more diligently with graphic organizers to help them settle thoughts, check dictionaries before they begin to write.
Teacher modeling is obviously critical, but I also want to look at some excellent writers such as Sandra Cisneros to show them that good writing does not have to be terribly complex - but you do have to have something to say.
Ciao!
Nancy Rollison
After reading Mrs. Pound’s article I begin to question the amount of books that I have read that have the silent female character. In almost every general English class that I took in college we focused on literary works that were dominated by strong male characters. The only class that exposed me to strong female characters was cross listed with women studies courses. I was completely amazed by the students’ response to question one in chart c. The female students had a very strong negative response. I have often noticed that when a female character has strong opinions she is also viewed in negative way. I think it will take awhile for teachers to make sure that the silent female is heard but it will happen eventually. I have noticed that more and more teachers are trying their best to show that the female voice/accomplishments are heard and acknowledged.
This is Lynn's post
BCDIVA said...
I did the gallery walk with my Teacher Cadet students it was a success. They actually thought up lesson plans to go with the different items and matched the standards with them.
Sandra Pounds article was a interesting view into gender and using different techniques and strategies to teach writing. Some are easier to manage than others.
I know that my problem is a timing issue. Some of my students just fight the write and some love it.
October 19, 2007 1:17 PM
Lendy said...
Beyond the Grecian Urn
Chapter 3
I suppose the grecian urn is how I learned to write and also the reason I don’t do much personal writing. I was given an “A+” term paper as a model and told by my teachers that if I wanted an “A” this is what it should look like. I wanted my paper to look just like the model, so much so, that I often would find sentences in the paper that I could switch around and include in my paper. I don’t ever remember learning a true writing process. I did write a draft and then revise. I was also told some rules like don’t start sentences with “And”, and each paragraph should have at least three sentences.
I think the suggestions Gallagher offers teachers are beneficial. Now that I think about it, my daughter often talks out a paper. I always thought of her talking as a way of procrastinating. I never thought about it as a writing strategy. I can hear myself saying to her “quit talking about it and write it down.” I will have to temper my words next time with “make some notes as you talk your paper out." I mean if Sidney Sheldon does this, there has got to be some merit to it!
The idea of giving students some choices within the topic is an interesting strategy for student writing. I see its value, but I also think of this strategy with caution because of standardized testing. When those essay topics are given on HSAP or SAT there is not much choice in the matter. Students must be taught to write for certain audiences. That good ole formula writing is still needed in these cases.
“Pimp” your writing is great way to gain students’ interest in writing. Any time that you can relate a television show to the classroom, more interest is created. Another word of caution though, some of those pimped rides are way over the top if you know what I mean. Students must be careful not to over do their essays by making them too flowery or grandiose.
One last note. Isn’t it wonderful to be a part of such a talented faculty? I just marvel at people like Sandra Pound who write words of wisdom to share with others. Her article was right on point. As I select titles for the collection I must be aware of the population we serve, not prescribe titles but to at least find titles that our students can relate to.
October 21, 2007 11:00 PM
jvick said...
Revision, revision, revision. The part of teaching writing that I just never got a handly on teaching or showing. So...I tried to use one of the techniques in this week's chapter. On page 60, Gallagher shows the S-T-A-R revision plan. I used a modified version C(hange) A(dd) R(earrange) P(roofread). I had my freshmen choose one of the writings from their folders (a writing from this most recent unit), and first do the CARP revision plan. After looking over the revisions, those students who took it seriously, did really good work on their revisions. Those students who wrote "none" on each section--well, they generally just copied their same papers over...
I think this exercise still probably qualifies as a 'surface revision' versus a deep revision, but I think it was a place to get started. )The entire exercise worked well after Ms. Miller's visit to talk about HSAP rubrics, by the way.)
The biggest road block, though, is getting my freshmen to turn in their papers. I might have had a better idea of how the exercise worked if I had more papers returned. But that frustration is a topic for another blog.
Gallery Walk---I'm going to try a version of this at the end of this week with some student projects--letting them see each other's projects in response to some Emerson/Thoreau work we'll do this week.
October 22, 2007 11:33 AM
kate said...
I utilized the Gallery Walk in my Laureate classroom. The students narrowed a list of given themes down to "music." Each student then brought in one artifact representing music. I laid the artifacts down throughout the room. We had a few interesting items--a book of arias, a flute, a guitar pick, etc. However, I soon realized how monotonous this walk could be--attack of the iPods! At first I worried that my students would find nothing inspiring to write about. However, I was suprised by my students observations. Many of them saw the multitude of iPods as a glowing proclomation for the preseravation of individuality in a common denominater. Everyone has an iPod--yet the playlists are all different. Each person has his/her own style--his/her own taste...but the linking quality is the music. Music drives us, calms us, excites us, inspires us! I probably won't leave the gallery walk theme so broad next time--however, it was comforting to read my students astute reactions.
October 22, 2007 2:35 PM
This is Nancy Meares's Post...
Thursday, October 18, 2007
My first comment is about Sandra Pound's article, which I think is an excellent reminder of the importance of our choices in what we teach and to be cognizant of silenced characters. Gender and race are and always will be factors considered in my choices for literature selections. As Sandra pointed out in her reference to McCracken, " ...examination reveals that despite ...the majority of [female] authors and illustrators..., the books consistently portray men and women in traditional sex roles and feature male characters far more prominently." This male emphasis , i.e."books for boys" and male themes has merit as a means by which to engage male readers as we saw in our last winter literary conference. However, a problem arises when females are marginalized and/or diminished. The following statement resonated most strongly with me : "By bringing to the surface the grime of injustice and allowing the light to shine upon it, we help our students to connect to the inequality they see in a global world... and in their own personal lives."
"Beyond the Grecian Urn" gave me much to ponder and to employ in my practices. I found "talking the paper out" very interesting, and my classes will definitely learn about the STAR method of transforming an essay. I think my students will respond to the "question flood" method of revision because they will understand how that can be useful to them in revision. There are so many valid methods presented in this text to produce better writers. The fight I face is time. As English teachers, we are confronted with so many facets of learning for which we are responsible: writing, reading, speaking, listening, media analysis, research, etc. Sometimes I get very frustrated in trying to get to all of it, but that could be another blog!
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