The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
September 5, 2009
The Problem with Prompts
Nobody can make us write what we don't want to
write. We get to keep intention.
William
Zinsser, in On
Writing Well
Do you love writing prompts? Despise them? I
suspect most of us fall somewhere between these extremes, which can
make for some lively discussions in the teachers' workroom. I
have to admit I do sometimes long for that golden decade awhile back
when story starters were out, and we hadn't yet injected so many
prompts into writing workshops.
Yet there is no question writing on demand is an essential skill for
anyone to master. Just ask any high school student completing a
college application essay. Beyond the obvious high-stakes prompts we
face a few times in life, there are so many other good reasons to have
everyone in a classroom occasionally write about the same thing at the
same time. Writing about the same topic makes it easier to
explore differences in opinion. Or to be amazed at how
quickly many students produce fine drafts, when they are freed from
finding a topic on their own. Or to get a broad sense of how
your class is progressing as writers, without so many variables of
topic, length and time that might make it impossible to compare,
contrast, and analyze.
So how do you know if you are over-prompting students in your classroom
or school? I think it all comes down to intention.
As Zinsser notes, writers (and teachers for that matter) get to keep
intention. If the intention for most prompts is only a
distant "to perform well on the test," if the writing curriculum is
only prompts, or if there is no room for experimentation or play with
the prompts, then chances are the intention for most students will only
be to write something (anything) that can quickly be set aside and
forgotten.
This week we're featuring a couple new articles to get you thinking
about the use and misuse of writing prompts. These short
essays could also provoke some thoughtful conversations in staff
meetings. Plus more as always - enjoy!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
In The Over-Prompting of Young Writers, Heather Rader shares strategies
teachers at any grade level can use to become more thoughtful and
flexible in their use of prompts:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/968.cfm
We linked to Grammar Girl's fun podcasts of quick grammar tips a couple
years ago in the newsletter. Since then, the broadcasts have
been enhanced to include print transcripts. Teens and adults
alike enjoy these weekly broadcasts, and it's very helpful to have the
text available to reinforce the ideas:
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/
Do you know any readers who are fans of middle grade and young adult
fantasy? The Enchanted Inkpot is a hopping community blog
chock-full of reviews, writing advice, author interviews, and monthly
book clubs:
http://community.livejournal.com/enchantedinkpot/
Warning - this next link won't be every teacher's cup of tea. Mrs.
Mimi's It's Not All Flowers and Sausages Blog is written by a teacher
who loves children and learning, but gets frustrated by the daily
dramas among adults in schools. She's funny, irreverent,
joyful, and often painfully honest. I like the courage of any teacher
willing to write in August to the world at large, Let's be honest with
ourselves here for a moment, shall we? Sometimes it is hard to psych
yourself up for a new class at the beginning of the year. If
you can relate to those feelings, you'll enjoy her advice on how to
dwell in "Happy Memories of Successful Teaching Past":
http://tinyurl.com/lndjng
The final Choice Literacy Workshops in 2009 will take place in
Rockland, Maine October 17-18 at the beautiful Samoset Resort. Topics
include CAFE Assessment with The Sisters, Assessment with Clare
Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan, Delight in Words with Franki Sibberson,
and Literacy Coach Jumpstart with Jennifer Allen. If you have
never been to this venue on the rocky Maine coast, you are in for a
treat. Workshop descriptions and a registration form are available at
this link:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department22.cfm
For Members Only
Heather Rader has advice for literacy coaches dealing with teachers who
rely too much on writing prompts in her essay "No More Flying Pig
Prompts":
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/967.cfm
This week's video is Part II of a small group of intermediate students
setting goals for improving their reading logs with Clare
Landrigan. If you missed Part I last week,
we've included a catch-up link:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/971.cfm
Shirley McPhillips finds the mentoring that helps her most as a poet
includes principles that are useful in any teaching situation:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/969.cfm
Finally, just in time for the fall datapolooza festival in schools (are
you having fun yet?), we've opened our new Assessment Tools
department. You can find it in the lefthand column
of the homepage under "Resources." With over 70 articles,
videos, templates, and surveys available now with more added monthly,
it's sure to be one of our most popular destinations:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department25.cfm
That's all for this week!
|
About
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
GoogleBookmark
Technorati
Furl
Jennifer Allen