12.08.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 8:17 am by gvannest
Ok, so I said I’d get back here in a few days and discuss what I’ve been doing to teach writing this year. It’s been more than a few days, I know. I should be grading a mountain of papers, but I’m in a bad mood and I know it’s not a good idea to grade when I’m in a bad mood. So I’ve just been taking them for a walk the last few days.
As I mentioned before, I’ve been working pretty hard for a few years to teach writing better. I know that what I have done in the past isn’t enough to really teach good writing skills, so I’ve done as much as possible to address that. A couple years ago I was a fellow at the National Writing Project at Rugters. While the NWP is eye-opening for many people, it was only part of a gradual shift for me from a teacher of literature who sometimes talked about writing to a teacher who deliberately thinks about how to teach writing. I’m still not where I want to be, but I think I’ve made some progress.
One of the things that I have to emphasize (to whoever might be reading this and also to my own students) is that I’m not trying to “unteach” what students have learned prior to my class. Nor do I think that what they’ve learned is wrong. Students need structure, they need form, they need those things. The 5 Paragraph Essay teaches them these things. But at some point those useful structures can become stifling and they can actually hurt the students they are intended to help. They become so infatuated with the form that they actually cease saying anything interesting. Their own teenage voice is lost in thesaurus-itis. It’s a problem. Their essays sometimes are mechanical to a fault. I want students to, as Tina Blue so clearly puts it, “say something interesting and useful about the literature and to do so in prose that can be read and that actually makes some sense!”
Yes, the good writers can do this. But in my sophomore honors English class the bad writers substitute the “form” or “structure” for good writing. My task is to help them learn how to write well, not help them learn a form. It’s clear they’ve learned it already!
So… how have I addressed writing this year? First, I couldn’t spring anything crazy on my students. I needed them to feel comfortable as writers and get them willing and ready to take risks. I also wanted them to actually see other students’ writing. I think that too often students do not read essays, which is just weird. I can’t imagine teaching students to paint, yet not showing them many sample paintings. I can’t think of how to teach someone to sing without them hearing other people sing. Yet we sometimes do this with writing. Students read literature–novels, nonfiction, poetry, drama–but how often do they read essays? I don’t mean the heavy-duty professional essays in a textbook. I mean other students’ words. How often do we provide them with the opportunity to read a variety of essays and discuss what is effective and what is ineffective? I don’t know about other teachers, but I know I don’t do enough of it.
So I set my students up with blogs. I use a free service called 21publish. What I like about 21publish is that I can have all the blogs set up in a “portal” which I can control. When a student posts to his or her blog, they can choose if it is viewable to all the portal members or just me. It’s pretty neat stuff.
On the blog, I have students write a bunch of “one-pagers,” a term I stole from a former professor of mine at Colorado State Unversity, Cindy O’Donnell-Allen. I’m beginning to recognize that a number of shorter, more focused essays are much more useful than one or two larger essays. I grade one-pagers based on Organization, Support, Mechanics and something else specific to the assignment, such as their analysis of diction, the clarity of their argument, etc.
The first essay I had them do was pretty benign; I just wanted them to get comfortable writing for the blog and for each other. The assignment was:
Explain how something works. You should not have to research your topic—write about something you know. It can be a physical item (like a machine) or a process (like an event).
I got all sorts of great responses–how to listen, how a track meet works, how to compete in mixed martial arts–but the best part of the assignment was that they didn’t resort to their stock 5-Paragraph Essay format. The confines of the paper (one-pager) and the topic didn’t lend themselves to that. Instead, what I got was true voices of sophomores. They were lively. They were fun. Some were more successful than others, of course, but overall they were a success. Most writers stopped thinking about what they were taught to do as writers and just wrote.
I often relate the writing process to other acts that require practice, such as playing a musical instrument or playing a sport. Yes, you need instruction. Yes, you need practice. Yes, you need to think about the rules. But there is a point at which a talented musician or athlete just plays. It’s at this point that we say they’re doing what “comes naturally” to them, but it’s just the opposite–they’re doing what they’ve practiced doing many, many times.
That’s where I want my writers to be. But I almost have to trick them to get it to feel that “natural” to them. And yes, some are more “natural” than others, but that will always be the case, so how can I help them do better, too?
I have continued the blogs through the year so far, although I have to admit they’re only on their fourth post so far. Each one-pager has had a different focus. The second assignment was to analyze diction in a poem. The third was a film review. The fourth was to write an argument about television. Each of these tasks ties in to other work we’re doing in class. Each of them has a different “something else” that I look at while grading.
After students post their one-pager, there is a follow-up assignment where they read at least one other student’s writing and leave a comment on their post. Now they are reading each other’s work, which is what I had in mind all the time. Now they are considering what makes each piece effective or ineffective.
Of course I’m doing other things with writing, too, including much more formalized instruction. I’ll write about that in a few days.
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11.05.10
Posted in Writing tagged five paragraph essay, thesis statement, Writing at 8:57 am by gvannest
The five-paragraph-essay is a time-honored writing strategy that has been taught to countless students in our educational systems. Most students are introduced to the concept of a thesis statement in late elementary grades, but by middle school they learn the five-paragraph-essay as a way to structure their ideas. Teachers have been using this form for…
Gah! I can’t do it. I really was going to try to write this post as a five-paragraph-essay, complete with a three-point thesis and that stupid not-quite-passive voice that dominates much of my students’ writing. But I just can’t do it. It hurts too much. I honestly did try.
It should be clear to you by now that I’m frustrated by my students’ writing, but it’s not their fault. They’re doing what they’ve been taught to do. As I explained to them the other day (in large words scrawled across my chalkboard), “You’re doing it right. Now I want you to do it better.” They are doing what they were taught to do, which includes:
- Writing a clear thesis statement, preferably one with three points
- Having a specific structure for their introduction (some teachers here are big on the “funnel” introduction)
- Three body paragraphs
- At least three quotations
- A conclusion that restates the thesis
My students are nailing this form, especially the sophomore honors. They have been taught that there is one way to write a composition for school and that it has a specific set of rules. They are following those rules, but do these rules make their writing good? Does it promote good writing? Really? It depends on how you judge “good,” of course. The graders for the SAT or the New Jersey high stakes test, the HSPA, might think so. Many teachers might think so. But honestly, is this the kind of writing that anyone wants to read? Teachers and the graders of standardized test are paid to read this drivel. How about we work towards getting students to actually say something interesting and say it in interesting ways?
But have you ever tried to get students to question the value of the five-paragraph-essay? My students react as if I’ve slapped them across their faces, like I’m telling them that everything they’ve been taught is wrong. If not the five-paragraph-essay with a three-point thesis, then what?
And that last question is the biggest of them all. I want my students to think bigger thoughts, original thoughts, that won’t necessarily fit into a simple structure. Yet all they (seem to) know is that one simple structure. So how do they move beyond that? What should their writing look like? I’m not sure, but I’m going to work to create a better answer for them.
I think it starts with getting them off of the right/wrong path. Too much of our lives is dominated by binary thinking. Something is good or it’s bad, right or wrong, liberal or conservative. Sometimes there are gray areas in life. In fact, those gray areas are often the most interesting areas of our lives and are the parts that deserve the most attention. Younger people, to be sure, are less capable of understanding nuances and shades of meaning, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t help them try. In fact, I have a new goal for the year: I’m going to try to get my students to start replacing the writing rules they have been taught with more complicated language. Instead of things being “right” or “wrong,” we’re going to talk about how decisions a writer makes are “more effective” or “less effective.” I’ve started using this language with my students; perhaps they will start using it as well.
I just looked at the links to the right that point to the archives of this blog. I started this blog in January of 2006. That’s almost five years ago. In those five years I’ve posted 26 times. That’s pitiful. I’m trying again to make blogging a habit, but this time I think I have a clearer purpose. Rather than just blogging about stuff as it comes to me, my new goal for this blog is to chronicle my attempt at teaching my students to write. Yes, I’ve always taught writing to some extent, but this year I have a clear goal of breaking them of the stock structures they have been taught and pushing them to see writing as an art. The form needs to match the purpose, not be an arbitrary set of rules and restrictions. Many of us do call our field Language Arts, after all. Maybe we should be approaching it as an art.
I’m a little behind in the blog, of course. The first marking period ended yesterday. But I can write up what I’ve done already and continue on wherever I go through the rest of the year. The first thing I can say I’m doing differently this year is I’m working to make writing much more important in my class. My goal (which I have achieved so far) is to spend at least one class day each week as a writing day. Students will either be writing, thinking about writing, or talking about writing at least one day per week. It doesn’t sound like much, but even creating one writing lesson each week has pushed me to do new and different things with writing this year. I hope that it will make a difference.
During one of our frequent discussions about writing, my colleague Dan Ferat said we should write a book about teaching writing. I don’t know if I have the time or knowledge to write a book, but maybe at least I can blog about it. In the next few days I’ll tell about the things that I’ve done so far this year with writing, and I hope to continue through the year. Who knows? Maybe by the end of the year I’ll have enough content for a book.
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05.26.10
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:29 am by gvannest
You know it’s been a while since I’ve posted to my blog when I have to go to my friend’s blog just to remember my address. And then I have to request a password reset because I can’t remember that, either.
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06.08.09
Posted in Uncategorized, Writing tagged Fordham University, Graphic Novel at 8:23 pm by gvannest
In January I presented at a conference at Fordham University on my graphic novel research and activities. Someone from Teacher Magazine picked up on it and asked me if I’d like to do an interview about graphic texts. I agreed, and they published the interview. You can find the interview here.
I’m almost done with the school year–only eight more days until final exams!
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02.10.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:59 am by gvannest
So I guess now I’m officially a Teacher Consultant for the National Writing Project. I presented my demo at the Midwinter Conference and am one of them now. All of my cohert from the summer was there and most of us presented. I heard good things about many of the sessions and also saw some good presentations myself. I think that we, as a group, did well.
One thing that struck me as interesting was how nervous many of the other presenters were. They were very stressed out about the whole thing, looked forward to it being all over, and were clearly relieved when it was over. Throughout the day many people asked me if I was nervous. I really wasn’t. Perhaps it’s because I’ve presented this demo twice already, or maybe because this is not the first conference at which I’ve presented, but I really was comfortable with my role as presenter. Actually, I’ll go even farther than that–I had fun presenting.
Perhaps it’s my ego–maybe I’m just arrogant–but I enjoy presenting at conferences. I like it when I am well-informed, even an expert in one area, and am allowed to share that expertise with others. I like being on stage and being smart. I like sharing what I know with a group, fielding questions, showing the hard work I’ve done. I really think it’s fun. It is nice to be done, and be able to focus on other stuff, but I really had a good time.
But I find, once again, that the best part of the conference wasn’t actually the conference itself. It wasn’t Will Richardson’s keynote. Nor was it the sessions I attended. It was the community. Meeting up with professionals that I enjoy talking to and who are doing great things with their students. Going out for a few drinks afterwards and catching up on both our personal and professional lives. These are the same things that I enjoy about NCTE. It’s not just the conference, it’s the network of great people.
Anyway, if you have the chance to go, the Midwinter Conference is really good. NCTE is still my home, and I’ll always look forward to the November conference, but this is a nice pick-me-up in the middle of winter. I look forward to continuing to be a part of NWP.
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02.07.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:29 pm by gvannest
I just listened to Will Richardson speak to the Rutgers NWP Midwinter conference. I’ll write more later, but it was very good to hear him. It was interesting to see and feel the reactions of people in the audience. I’m not sure many of them are keeping up with technology and he may have frightened them a little bit.
I’ll post more later, I hope.
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02.05.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:19 am by gvannest
If I ever had an audience for this blog, I’m sure they’re long gone by now. I haven’t posted in such a long time. I really want to develop a blogging habit, but I just don’t ever make the time to do so. I have too many other things going on.
Anyway, I wanted to post because something neat happened today.
I’ve begun a unit on Ender’s Game with my 9th graders. It’s a fun unit, filled with good conversation about interesting concepts. One thing that is difficult is that while it’s easy to find things to talk about, it’s sometimes hard to find things to actually teach from the book. But that’s a discussion for another time.
Today, though, the kids had just read Chapters 1-3, where Ender decides to leave behind his family and go to battle school. A six-year-old boy leaves home to set out on an adventure. Card writes:
There was nothing to pack. No belongings to take. “The school provides everything you need, from uniforms to school supplies. And as for toys—there’s only one game.”
I read that bit to the class and talk about how we all carry stuff with us. Our possessions show something about ourselves. I then go into the lesson I read about one time for Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” dumping the personal belongings of my briefcase and pockets onto my desk, talking about each one and share a short bit of writing with them about it.
Of course I then have them do the same thing–make a list of what it is they carry with them and then write about how the “stuff” they carry often reveals something about the internal “stuff” they carry inside. It’s a neat lesson and I get some awfully good writing from them.
After the lesson, I wrap up class, and talk again about Ender. He’s leaving his home with no “stuff.” Nothing personal. No clothes, toys, not even a stuffed animal to cuddle when he’s scared. And I ask the students to think about the internal “stuff” he brings with him. And that’s a neat conversation.
It was a great day and a great lesson, but here’s the really neat part. As the kids are packing up to go, one of them says something like, “Mr. Van Nest how come all the things in your class always come together like that?”
I’m caught a bit by surprise by this statement and tell him that I work hard to plan lessons like that so that things come together nicely, but another adds, “Yeah, but it’s like everything just flows together, one thing to the next. Like even if you think about the whole year, everything just flows. Not all teachers do that.”
A couple other students agreed, and I’m touched that they noticed. I’m thrilled that they’re thinking on a level that they see the connections throughout the lesson and the year as a whole. What a nice day.
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11.23.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:59 am by gvannest
This is my last night at the NCTE conference. It’s been a good time, and I’ve had some great conversations with many friends and colleagues. Tomorrow I fly home–I’ll work on a more complete post then.
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08.06.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:35 am by gvannest
Ok, so my last post talked about how I wasn’t disappointed with the NWP. At that point I wasn’t. Then I was. Now I’m not. Clear as mud? Good.
Yes, I was diasppointed. Like I said, I had be looking forward to this for years and it just didn’t meet my expectations. But I’m not discouraged for this one reason: the four weeks I spent there were just a small part of the overall picture. I know that the best thing about the NWP is that it is ongoing professional development. I know that at the national level, the NWP is a very strong group and has a lot to offer me. I know that I’ll be getting much more involved in the local site. I know that I have a lot to offer the NWP and know that there’s a lot that it has to offer me. So I’m not discouraged any more.
Speaking of being more involved, I’ll be going to NCTE this year as part of my NWP site. Cindy and Bud have been involved in the NWP stuff before the NCTE conference, and I’m excited to be part of this now. It’ll mean that I’ll have to scale back on my involvement in CEL, which is too bad. But the NWP is on Thursday, the day I usually travel, and CEL is Monday and Tuesday. I just can’t be gone that many days. And I’ve been to CEL for the last nine years–it’s time to branch out a bit.
So now my summer vacation has actually begun. No papers to write, demos to create, books to read. Well I have a stack of books I want to read, but that’s a different story.
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07.22.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:26 pm by gvannest
I’ve posted in the past how excited I was about going to the National Writing Project. I’m sitting here in the project now, waiting for it to begin for the day. So far I’ve been happy with the program. We’re in our third week, so we’re certainly on our way to working towards our demo. I’ll be doing mine on using graphic novels in the classroom.
I’m also finishing up my online course on the Renaissance. I have to get the final paper for that class done before I can really focus on the demo for this class, which is due next week.
I have to admit, though, that my expectations were a bit high for this class. It’s not that I’m disappointed, but Cindy, Bud, and others have talked up the NWP so much that I was expecting something that would be the most inspiring, useful professional development that I’d ever done. And I’m not disappointed, really, I’m not. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a part of NCTE and CEL for so long that I’ve been part of the “discussion” of professional development for so long that the NWP isn’t something new or radical or mind-blowing.
But I’ve met some great teachers though this project–even one who lives in my neighborhood, literally. We carpool, which adds another two hours of professional conversation every day. And I’ve had the chance to do more writing, which is great, too. I’m hoping to start a new writing group at my school, but if I can’t get that going, at least I know other people I can get together to do some writing and talking about writing.
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