Entry #12: Celebration of Knowledge

This written expression course digs deeper into the purpose of each type of genre. I always knew that the different reading and writing genres existed but I didn't know how in-depth and the specific details each genre had to offer. Through the works of Tompkins (2019), I was able to broaden my knowledge on the techniques and strategies that could be used to successfully read or write in a wide variety of genres. Tompkins (2019) provided me with a number of mentor texts that could also be used for strong examples or instructional supplements that could be help students understand how to produce writing that would convey a particular genre's purpose. Hicks (2013) has also taught me how to advance my own reading/writing experiences by using digital media. Hicks (2013) provided me with checklists and rubrics I could use to analyze and evaluate online resources to determine their value of using them in my own classroom. 

In the beginning of this class, I thought I had a solid understand of the biographical genre. After I was required to study this specific genre more in-depth, I came to the realization that this genre actually had 4 different writing types or styles. I was convinced that biographical genre was just the process of writing about another person's life. Biographies are actually able to provide their readers with details that are often left out of textbooks. Biographical writing also includes autobiographies where the author writes about themselves and the writer touches upon their entire life story. There are also memoirs and personal narratives included in this genre. These written stories are more specific to a single life experience in someones' life (Tompkins, 2019, p. 195). Tompkins offers a number of engaging ways for authors to write about life experiences including using life boxes, hot seat activities and bio-poems (p. 204). Being able to actually engage in these writing techniques helped me to develop a better understanding of what this genre's purpose was. 

https://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson185.shtml

Poetry was another genre that I learned a lot more about throughout this semester. I believed poetry had to include rhymes or use similes/metaphors that I truly did not understand. I was unaware of the beauty poetry has. I was also unfamiliar with the diverse ways you could invent a poem. Tompkins (2019) presented me with different formula poems that anyone could follow to help them develop authentic poetic expressions, for example, color poems or 'I am...' poems (p.148). These formulas or outlines are a wonderful way to introduce individuals to specific poem styles that will fit their purpose and match their intended audience. Learning about the various poetic devices also helped me to understand how to improve my own poetry writing. These devices help writers to make their poems 'come alive', they provide readers with strong images where they can mentally experience what the author is writing about. 

https://www.poetry4kids.com/activities/poetry-activities-for-kids/

Hicks (2013) allowed me to make the connection between author's craft and digital media. Hicks (2013) presented different types of digital texts including web texts, presentations, audio and video texts and social media texts. I learned how to view these online texts through a more concise and beyond-the-text point-of-view. I was exposed to a number of mentor texts where I was provided the opportunity to be critical of the text to see if it met the needs of what that particular text was intended to convey. For example, using Hicks' (2013) Table 6.2 found on page 114, I am now able to take note of the steps necessary for composing a digital video text. I can use this same criteria to help my students become successful in creating a video text that actually enhances their learning experiences. 

References 

Hicks, T. (2013).  Crafting digital writing.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

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

Entry #11: Keeping Up With The Blogs

Throughout the course of this semester, I was required to write blogs as a way to document what I had learned about written expression and the ways to keep my students engaged in a writer's workshop. Before this course, I had no experience with creating my own blog. It was very much a trial and error process. I was required to learn how to navigate this website, Blogger. I was able to write about the thoughts, questions and ideas I had about the weekly readings I was assigned to read. Through this writing process, I was also able to add images to support my thinking and create labels that would connect the previous blogs I wrote that discussed similar themes and ideas. I was able to change the roll-over font colors to make reading my blogs more meaningful and an exciting experience for my readers. Lastly, I was able to add hyperlinks to websites that would provide my viewers with additional information and resources about a specific educational topic. 

https://holmessp19writing.blogspot.com/

Keeping a blog was a new way to organize my learning. I was able to put my personal input on the information I was acquiring. I was able to examine a wide variety of genres that readers and writers can use to communicate for a specific audience and purpose through a digital forum. Through this forum, I was able to view my classmates' posts and give critical feedback about what I enjoyed about their posts. This peer feedback experience was difficult for me because it is hard to pinpoint what you enjoyed, critiques, and thoughts I was still wondering about on posts that were written by individuals I know. Learning to provide feedback is also a wonderful tool that is necessary for me as an educator to present for my students. Giving students purposeful feedback is crucial so that my students know what kind of changes or improvements must be made to led to more successful learning experiences. 

In each of my posts, I had to consider who my audience was and the purpose of my blog. My audience was specifically my fellow classmates, my professor and anyone else who was interested in reading my blog, in order to learn about my writing journey to becoming a stronger reader and writer. This process also helped me to become a well-rounded educator because the various strategies and techniques I acquired throughout this course can be used in my classroom as a way to improve the reading and writing experiences I can provide for my students. For example, the use of revising centers as a way to differentiate my writing instruction (Tompkins, 2019, p. 12). These centers can help students become more consciously aware of changes they can make to improve their writing pieces.

Author's craft is a multi-faceted concept that I used in every experience I had within this course. For example, while creating these blogs I was able to practice using a number of elements found within an author's craft. I began my coming up with the ideas and I had to determine how to organize these thoughts to make them sequential and understood by all of my readers. This organization was improved by my word choice, sentence fluency and conventions that I chose to use for each piece. Because these blogs are to meant to be used to display personal thoughts, my personal voice was often found in each of my written posts. Lastly, the presentation is especially important for these blogs. It is crucial that my blogs are digitally enhanced to make each post accessible and entertaining for all of my viewers. 

My habits of mind towards writing have developed throughout these blogs. Curiosity and creativity were especially present while writing these posts. The purpose of most of my posts were developed based upon my desire to know more about a particular topic. I also had to be creative in the way I presented the information within my blogs. I had to find images that would enhance one's understanding of what I was trying to present.  Metacognition plays a big role in the process of creating these blog posts (Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, & National Writing Project, 2011). Sometimes, I have a hard time brainstorming what to write for each of these posts because I struggled to compose my thoughts and think critically about what I have just read. During this course, I have become more conscious to the process of thinking about what I read in a way that will be memorable and can be applicable to my future teaching career. 

References 

Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, & National Writing Project (2011). Framework for success in postsecondary writing.Retrieved from http://wpacouncil.org/framework/

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

Entry #10: Something Worth 'Blessing, Addressing, or Pressing'

Thinking back to Hicks (2009) model for peer response, I have found another post that I found would be worth blessing, addressing and pressing. Peer feedback has always been difficult for me to provide to my classmates. This process can be extremely helpful and something I need to get used to because of my chosen teaching profession. As a teacher, you are always required to give feedback whether it be to myself, my coworkers or my students. This concept is always something I could work on improving as a way to become the best educator I can possibly be. In this post, I have chosen to give feedback on 'Entry #9: How can teachers promote biographical writing in the classroom setting?' written by my peer, Catherine Tighe (https://catherinetighe-lted618-spring2019.blogspot.com ). I think Catherine did a wonderful job discussing the power of teaching the genre of biographies to improve students' reading and writing skills. In this Written Expression course, each class member was required to teach a workshop on a specific genre. The genre I was required to teach about was biographies. Because I consider myself an 'expert' on this genre, it was so interesting to see how others viewed this particular genre. 

Bless 
I enjoyed that Catherine began her post by bringing in her own personal insights on the biographical genre. She discusses how young children are egocentric as they explore the world around them. She goes on to state how teachers can use this to their advantage to teach their students about creating their own autobiographies pieces. Also, I agree with Catherine on her stance that early writers should spend lots of time writing about themselves to create an authentic and developmentally appropriate experience. I liked the connection that Catherine made between Autobiographical Life Boxes and Show and Tell experiences. Both of these activities are a great way for students to become more comfortable with learning how to share their ideas and their writing pieces to others appropriately. I thought it was beneficial that Catherine took the time to pinpoint which elements of Author's Craft (ex. presentation and organization) could be developed or strengthen throughout Tompkins (2019) concept of creating Biography posters. Lastly, I loved how Catherine added a link within her post to an outline that could be used to create 'Me' quilts, another instructional activity students could use to support their understanding of autobiographies. Overall, I think Catherine's post was well-thought out and organized as she continued to integrate Tompkins ideas with her own opinions. 

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/unit-plans/teaching-content/unit-plan-writing-autobiography/

Address
It would be interesting to find out the ways the Catherine might use these biographical instructional strategies/activities in her own classroom. In what ways might you implement these learning experiences? Are there any strategies that Tompkins offered that you believe would not be beneficial for helping your students farther their understanding of this specific genre? Catherine's post talks a lot about autobiographies. I wonder if Catherine would spend time teaching her students about the 3 other types of life stories including: biographies, memoirs or personal narratives or just autobiographies? Would it depend on the grade level and/or students interests and strengths? When considering author's craft, like Catherine did for the Tompkins biographical activities, could you make an argument that most of these instructional methods offered in the biographical writing chapter could touch upon developing all of the different elements found in an author's craft? 

Press 
I thought Catherine did a fantastic job being a critical thinker while she wrote about the importance of learning about the biographical genre. It was hard for me to brainstorm possible critical questions to help Catherine move toward a stronger version of her opinion because I feel like she already stated it very well. One thought I had for Catherine would be to compare and contrast the biographical genre to the other genres she has previously learned about. What strengths or weaknesses does this genre provide that others do/do not provide for diverse readers and writers? 

References 

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