Comments on: Encouraging kids to write

By: Jude Derksen

Jude Derksen — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:25:52 +0000

Hey Susan

I think we used to work together at ACT Laboratory /Media 360? If so, i’d love to hear from you. I’ve been living in New Zeland for the past 12 years!

Cheers,
Jude

By: Alison

Alison — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:02:23 +0000

I haven’t done a lot of full classroom-type teaching, but it does occur to me that you could have kids work in pairs, to discuss possible answers with each other. Let them know that they’re NOT TO USE pen or pencil until it’s fully discussed. Then their partner could write notes for them, using their vocabulary. Then they could develop their own full-sentence answers. (Full sentences always irritated me, too, in school. I’d lose my train of thought– barreling through that tunnel, as it does!–and get caught up in nothings.)
This would also fit well with the new BC curriculum’s mandate for oral language.
Great discussion! Thanks for this!

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:59:09 +0000

Thanks Alison. I was hoping a teacher would respond!

The difference is that students answer the reading comprehension questions aloud – not in writing. The parent writes the answers on paper, then the student copies them. This breaks it down into a two-part process in that: A) they get to think and answer without having to write i.e. put the thought into words, then B) the student copies what you wrote.

The author says “the student begins to master the second part of the process without having to worry about the first, difficult task of putting ideas into words. The beginning student doesn’t even know how language is supposed to look. Before he can put words down on paper, he must have some visual memory of what those words are supposed to look like…”

But really young kids are given journal writing assignments and they have to sort out both of these processes at once. I think the pressure of it may cause them to stress out and develop a real dislike for writing. My son, who is extremely verbal, hated this process – as do lots of kids I know.

It would be hard to do this process in the classroom because it’s really a one-on-one activity. During the first part, you ask the question “Why did the dog eat the pie on the table?” and if the kid gives a fragment: “because he was hungry,” you ask them for a full sentence: “The dog ate the pie because he was hungry.” Eventually, says the author, the students’ minds are stocked with properly written language and then they can visualize written sentences and put them down on paper.

You could probably ask a question aloud and then write it out and have everyone copy it, but that’s not the same. That’s only one kid’s thought process.

I’ve got to say I have a lot of admiration for teachers. I just don’t know how you can manage with so many kids in a classroom!

By: Alison

Alison — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:55:19 +0000

Thanks for sharing this, Susan! I am a writer, and it’s fascinating as both teacher and parent to see kids (and yes, adults) struggle with this.
I’m curious about this program though: in your description it does sound much like the classroom exercise of reading a story and answering “comprehension questions.” How is it different from that?
I’ve yet to meet a kid who actually likes answering these questions; for most, it destroys the joy of reading…so I tend to think the dislike of writing comes from the box we put it in so often, these comp. questions being just such a box.
So I’m interested in hearing how Writing with Ease finds a twist that causes it to be palatable…
Thanks!