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 #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. 

Reading/Writing Blog Entry #2

Ever since I became a teacher, I have developed a greater appreciation for authors and their personal crafts. Now, I actually take the time to evaluate authors' various writing styles and take note on ways I can improve my own craft. On page 13, Hicks (2013) offers the idea of “studying craft by slowing down.” I find myself carefully examining an author’s craft based upon the mood or genre an author as chosen to write in as a way to determine an appropriate meaning for a particular text. Often times, I study an author’s craft as Hicks (2013) would consider as ‘starting small’ as I evaluate traditional texts. I am the type of learner that needs to study material in an step by step order. I cannot multi-task while looking for multiple features or strategies an author uses all at once. Therefore, I must take the time to read through a text multiple times, looking for different features used to solidify my understand of an author’s personal craft.

I rarely interact with digital texts because it is hard for me to read educational texts online. I feel like my eyes often skip around while I read. I get easily distracted because I usually only read digital texts if they are on a media platform; for example, skimming a news article or scrolling through my social media feeds. I have never considered the digital tools that Hicks (2013) discussed on page 15 by using graphs, maps or tables as a way to represent or summarize a digital text. In today’s society, I think digital texts can be valuable as traditional texts as long as they are used in a purposeful way. Students need to be taught how to interact with digital texts appropriately so that they are not wasting their time wandering on something else offered in the text like unnecessary videos or hyperlinks.

On page 16, Hicks (2013) suggests many combinations that can be implemented to aid students to successfully understanding an author’s craft or how to develop their own crafts. Essentially, there is no perfect recipe on how to teach author’s craft. As a teacher, I am always looking for best ways to instruct my students to fully grasp a concept. I think it is difficult to teach author’s craft because it is a essentially a ‘trial and error’ process to see what strategies your students will actually understand and implement within their own writing.

Tompkins (2019) presents the ‘six plus one’  traits of writer’s craft developed by researchers at Education Northwest. These traits include: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and presentation. Within my own writing, I tend to focus the most on the 'idea' element. Before I begin writing, I consider my topic and brainstorm ideas that would communicate my topic effectively. I know I need to think about the type of genre that would support my chosen message. Another trait I consciously consider when I write would be the 'voice' element. When I am given more freedom within my writing, my personal voice is always stronger. In almost every piece of writing I develop, I find that the tone of my writing always shines through. I usually make it very clear what my opinion is on a particular topic. The rest of the traits are usually secondary steps I take to improve my rough drafts. For me, I have always struggled within the organization of my writing. I am the type of writer that ‘brain-dumps’ my thoughts so my ideas are often scattered and incoherent. This trait is something I am always working to improve.

References

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

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