Reflection on Writing Instruction

I find it difficult to reflect on my writing instruction during my formative years in elementary school.  There is not much to reflect on.  I remember practicing spelling, and being pretty good at it.  I remember handwriting, and always trying to may my letters look “cute” like the other girls.  We frequently used worksheets to practice the rules for punctuation.  As for how to write, I do not remember any formal instruction.  We were given opportunities to write.  Our efforts were judged and graded but, other than my mother, no one ever pulled me aside and explained to me what good writing looked like.  Writing was just putting our thoughts down on paper.  We were never shown what good writing was and how it was different from the writing we had produced.  I managed to get through high school and college with very basic writing skills.  Nothing spectacular.  It really wasn’t until recently, when I took a writing class, that I learned how to use words to not only make a point, but help people feel what I feel, help them see what I see, and understand the world around us the way I understand it.  I suddenly felt that all those years of trying to express myself in writing had been disturbingly inadequate.  So the question then becomes, how can I instruct students so they are able to write? 

Earlier this year at a parent- teacher conference, I spoke to a parent about her bilingual son.  I said that I wasn’t sure he understood exactly what he was supposed to do during independent work time.  I was assured that the boy had a lot of friends and he knew how to talk to his friends so he understood it all just fine.  What this parent did not understand was that the language this boy uses with his friends, and the language he uses when reading and writing in the classroom, are not entirely the same language.  In Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning, Pauline Gibbons writes, “…the development of the spoken forms of language are essential for second language learners as a bridge to the more academic language associated with learning in school, and with the development of literacy.”  (Gibbons, 2002).  One way to bridge this difference  is to encourage activities in the classroom in which students talk  with each other about the topic at hand.  Students can then begin writing the highlights of their discussion on paper, and eventually create written responses.  As students create written responses in the classroom, it is imperative that the teacher provide guidance that will not only help students create work that clearly defines their thinking, but help them do so using correct and appropriate writing skills. 

Additionally, writers must be helped to careful ly select words that accurately describe their thinking.  Gibbons describes how a student could write “Put it there.” (Gibbons, 2002).  That may reflect their thinking, but it may be unclear to the person reading their writing.  The sentence “Put the plant on the shelf across the room by the television.” would create a clear picture for the reader.  For students who are learning a new language, creating writing that not only describes their thoughts to their own satisfaction, but also clearly describes them to a reader may be quite a challenge.  This is an another instance where guidance from a peer pal or a teacher would certainly help a student as he develops this skill. 

Reference

Gibbons, P. (2002).  Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching Second Language 

             Learners in the Mainstream Classroom.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.