Reading/Writing Blog Entry #5

Writer’s Craft is a difficult concept for me to wrap my head around even as an adult learner. There are so many aspects that need to be considered when composing a piece. In chapter 4, Tompkins does an excellent job of laying out the foundations and individual steps writers need to take into account when one is composing a successful written text. As a writer, there are some steps that I often overlook because I assume I have already mastered that trait. For example, I am very confident when it comes to implementing my own personal voice within my pieces. Even in more formal or research based writing, I find myself incorporating my own opinions on the research and experimental findings I have read about. My voice seems to be with me in all stages of the writing process. Even when I am revising, I try to look for ways to alter my writing to have it’s own unique style.

Another trait that I feel I am close to mastery in would be my idea development. Luckily for me, I rarely struggle to come up with ideas to write about. I really enjoy being able to play around with my writing using different genres. Sometimes, I use a trial and error process within the prewriting/drafting stage to see what genre would make the most sense for my audience depending on the given assignment. Often times, I come up with way too much to write about which can lead my ideas to become scattered and unorganized. This is why I find myself struggling within the traits of organization and conventions because I am so concerned with getting all of my ideas down that I fall short in other dimensions of writing mechanics.

I know how difficult it can be for myself to learn and improve within each of the 6+1 traits of writing. That is why I think it is crucial that when I am teaching writer’s workshop that I am explicitly modeling for my students how to develop and grow within each of these traits. I think it is beneficial to have students learn these traits at early grades then they can continue improving and building upon those writing skills as they increase in grade level. I appreciate that Tompkins (2019) took the time in chapter 4 to provide her readers with mentor texts that would work in various grade levels but also hit on specific trait skills. Students learn so much about writing from the stories they heard and as a result they enjoy adapting specific traits to fit their own stories. Another aspect I found beneficial from this chapter was the instructional overview that Tompkins (2019) provided for each grade level. Because I do not know what grade I will ultimately end up teaching, this overview allows me to see what is developmentally appropriate for a student’s writer’s craft at each level.

Before reading chapter 4, I did not know much about the procedures I could use to assess writer’s craft. I loved the idea that Tompkins (2019) presented about the checklists as a way for students to monitor their own crafts (p. 93).These checklists are awesome because they provide students with the exact skills to look for within their texts. I think it would also serve as a powerful tool for peer reviews because students would be provided with direct feedback to give based upon what was missing from the checklist. Philippakos (2017) discusses the importance of providing students with specific goals that can guide their revision efforts when it comes to peer reviewing (p. 20). These checklists allow students to practice evaluating their peer by using given prompts but also allows them to identify areas for improvement which leads to the beginning stages of goal setting process.

References

Philippakos, Z.A. (2017).  Giving feedback:  Preparing students for peer review and self-evaluation.  The Reading Teacher, 71(1), 13-22. DOI: 10.1102/trtr.1568

Tompkins, G. E.  (2019).  Teaching writing: Balancing process and product (7^th ed.).Upper  Saddle River, NJ:  Merrill.