Hello!
"What if we inquired into how to get students to feel comfortable when writing about (and reading) unfamiliar topics? How can we get students to respond positively?"
This is the big inquiry question I have come up with. This is my thought process that came up with that topic:
1. At Discovery Place, we are looking to incorporate literacy into our programs.
2. As our programs are generally only 50 minutes, this becomes difficult.
3. I have an opportunity to incorporate some literacy into my home school programs. I teach a 90-minute (to 3rd-5th graders) and a 120-minute (to 6th-9th graders) class every other Friday from September-March. This sounds like the perfect opportunity!
4. So, I tried last year to get the older students to use science notebooks. I assured them that this was their notebook to muse - write observations, questions, results, etc. I encouraged the students to continue to use their notebook every time we met. The result? Not so good. The students would write when I instructed them, but other than that they would use the notebooks to doodle. I became frustrated.
This got me thinking - is is the writing that is giving the students trouble? Or is it the topic? Even being home schooled, the students at that point should have some knowledge about writing. (I say this because I have had many home schooled students who were not at the writing level that would be expected for that grade in public schools - I had a 3rd grader who didn't know how to take a multiple choice test!) I wasn't looking for essays and paragraphs, and I didn't expect to be hit with such resistance.
I know that part of it is the motivation. I don't give the students grades, and I know at that age most students are motivated by the grade. I intend to look into both how to motivate these students, and also how to get them to become comfortable with the unfamiliar topics. If these students go off to college, they are going to have to know how to read (and write!) a scientific paper. Even non-science majors require at least one year of some science class. And it's not just science - how are these students going to handle a college-level English class? I would like to find some general techniques that the students can use, and teach them the process of "decoding" unfamiliar text.
Wow! You have lots of big threads running through this inquiry topic, Maggie, and I'm really interested in what you are doing to work literacy into the science experience of the children you work with. I think it was an awesome idea to encourage ownership and autonomous use of the science notebooks, and you've got me wondering with you about why this turned out to be a #fail. I wonder if it had anything to do with ideas and histories that children brought with them about writing. I wonder if it had to do with constraints you might have faced that got in the way of developing a writing community. And I also wonder about doodling...if this could be an entry point. I'm looking forward to see where you go with this. Awesome, important thinking. Thanks for this post!
ReplyDeleteI am moved by your quandary in terms of motivating students from an intrinsic standpoint rather than from an extrinsic "assignment-based" outcome. I wonder what elements of technology are available through which the students could write / converse / comment to each other... such as a virtual thread, tweets, or active blog. When students write for their peers and know that their peers will be responding, they may find a deeper sense of accountability and purpose. Let's face it, we (teachers) are not an intrinsic motivation. However, creating a virtual community may create a motivating factor which adult instruction may not provide.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed all of your questions. These are all questions or thoughts that any teacher has had during a moment of doubt. I think students tend to be very anxious about writing. It seems the ability to write just for fun is not something many teachers have time to teach to their students. Many students are nervous more about the end result. I love teaching writing as a process, but sometimes teachers just run out of time to teach this appropriate process. Your frustrations are felt by numerous teachers across all grade levels. I know that I worry about many of my seniors who think they are prepared for college, but will be in for a rude awakening in August when college writing is going to be required.
ReplyDelete