Reflections

• What did you learn about yourself as a writer?

I learned that I would not be a very good professional blogger. It is tough to stick to schedule of posting, and I would have trouble creating content on my own. I do better with microblogs, like Tumblr. If I were to use this blogging exercise in a class, I would try to let the students vote on weekly topics or provide multiple topics for blogging each week. This is only because I am a new educator, and I want to see what works for my classes and me.

• What did you learn about digital writing?

I learned that it a whole new beast! There is a whole new set of rules when it comes to writing online. Does the writer want to remain anonymous? How does the writer want to interact with their cyber audience? I think this is what makes digital writing more complex than traditional writing. There are many factors that play into publishing works on the internet, and I think it could tough to navigate. 

• What lessons can you take to classroom or share with future teachers about integrating blogging into instruction?

Experiment with it! I think all kids will take to it differently, and it is okay if this challenge doesn't succeed at first. As we heard in class, this is one of the various incarnations of this assignment for LAE. It makes sense that each educator will have to fine tune it for their needs. I think that is the biggest lesson for me. I prefer to go into a situation knowing exactly how it will play out, but now I understand that I can't control this type of exercise in the same way as a quickwrite exercise in the classroom.

• Challenges?

Personally, my biggest challenge was finding inspiration to write. I have an easier time creating essays or research papers because they are very structured. While the prompts for blogging provided guidance, I still struggled to produce content. I put up my posts in a timely fashion, but it took my a bit of planning to figure out what to say. To translate this to the classroom, I would have "volunteer" blogging weeks where the kids didn't have to post something but could if they wanted. I think that would help take the pressure off of them.

• Successes?

To be honest, I think my biggest success was completing this project. I haven't had the best track record with blogs or journals, so I didn't come into this with high hopes. However, I did it. I think what helped with this was how we could make up for missed posts or add extra comments to other students' posts when necessary. I felt like it was okay to slip up, which helped!

Final Insights

The second-to-last theory chapter of "Adolescents on the Edge" opens with the importance of writing's role in critical thinking. I liked that the authors touched on the history of writing in relation to how educators' view of it has changed. Now it is seen as a cognitive process, although leftovers from the sequencing viewpoint are still present. I think that while the simple sequencing view is hurtful, parts of it are helpful. A lot of my kids need guidance when it comes to writing, and sometimes they just don't get it as a thought process in the beginning. The kids who are especially unconfident in their writing love having basic guidelines. The authors do a great job of explaining how the writing process expands into a cognitive process, which now will help me guide those above-mentioned kids.

The final theory chapter focuses on performance and writing. The authors share fun suggestions for in-class performances, from reader's theatre to turning a classroom into a coffeehouse. I especially loved the coffeehouse suggestion. It is a fun way to continue the oral tradition of poetry. Students will break into teams to "plan" their coffeehouse show in class. They have a publicity team, a decorating team, and a logistics team. It is an engaging way to enjoy poetry and practice life skills.

I would definitely recommend this book as a classroom necessity for any teacher. It is full of fun ideas that are easy to do, and many could be worked into existing lesson plans. The authors show how to make writing an experience rather than a chore, and their focus on social justice is especially welcome. My only issue is that it lacks suggestions for ELL students and ESE students. Many of the activities are not hard to adjust for all types of learners, but I would have liked more perspective on it from the authors.

Golden lines:

"Writing is a complex activity; more than just a skill or talent, it is a means of inquiry and expression for learning in all grades and disciplines." 

"If even one student walks out of the schoolhouse doors for the last time and has not experienced what it means to care for and connect with peers in a community or become involved in meaningful, challenging learning, that's one too many."

Strategies:

• The Freeze Frame: Students act out a scene but freeze at the climax. They then share their characters' thoughts and feelings with the audience.
• Panel Discussions: A group of students reads the same text and discusses it in front of the class.

Resources:
Linked below is a fun and tech-friendly poem creator. It's basically fridge poetry for phones or tablets. 

• App site here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/poetry-creator-verses-poetry/id371925480?mt=8
• Video explanation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7TrtQzpDUM

Professional Book Response 2

Chapter 3

This chapter of "Adolescents on the Edge" introduces the reader to how to effectively challenge students. Teachers should aim to complement their students' abilities while stretching their work and showing them they can accomplish tasks they didn't previously think the could. What teachers should not do is just load on more work. Of course, teachers should take a look at their classes first and decide what the best fit is for their current students. The authors provide many suggestions for challenging students, and my favorite is the following: "During collaborative work, have students take on a role that is challenging for them, such as creating an illustration if they think they aren't good at art, suggesting, for example, that they create a graphic or symbolic representation instead of a realistic picture." (p. 28). I like this suggestion because it pushes students but takes off pressure by suggesting an alternate route to the end goal.

Next, the authors tackle self-efficacy. To begin, students must be challenged to approach an issue or problem through critical or creative thinking. This is done through critical questioning. For example, students should question the validity of sources they are considering for a research paper. They should asked themselves if there is a bias present, what information is not present, and so forth. In writing exercises, students need to be challenged to understand their own talents. They need opportunities to see that they can succeed.

Golden Lines

"It is realistic, however, to believe that students' experience in your class can lift them onto the first few rungs of the ladder that will give them a renewed, positive sense of self." (p. 32)

Strategies

• Have students create different genres of writing to stretch their abilities and expand their comfort zone
• Keep the creative spirit alive by encouraging students to embrace their gifts through individualized writing assignments

Chapter 4

The authors take on collaboration. One huge aspect of successful collaboration is a school-wide collaboration environment. Teachers should be collaborating with each other successfully in order to implement successful collaboration opportunities in the classroom. By including group work opportunities, students have the opportunity to develop discussion skills and other group-based skills. To help create effective dialogue, teachers need to assign group roles. I wish the authors would touch on how to better include ESOL or ESE students in this section. 

A major issue is organizing for group work. Teachers need to create a balance. This can take time. The authors recommend that teachers keep trying new approaches to find what fits for their classrooms. It won't work in a day, which is important to remember. To get closer to successful organization, teachers should make sure structure has a major presence. This can be as simple as having students group by sounding off numbers. While in groups, students should have roles and create rules to follow. For example, a group could decide that everyone must participate in discussion. This puts more ownership on the students while lending itself to the overall classroom organization. 

Golden Lines

"Simple changes such as moving desks into pods for group work, allowing partners to sit on the floor for discussions, bringing in furniture that encourages community, or finding unused larger spaces...for performance practice can facilitate systemic change that embraces twenty-first century learning." (p. 36)

Strategies

• Group students by similar or varied abilities, learning styles, or interests; change it up the next time
• Employ literature circles, where students choose their own books and the teacher is a facilitator for all groups

Resources

This is an excellent source or writing prompts that would appeal to a wide range of students: http://creativewritingprompts.com/

Questions

• What is something specific I can do on day one of school to show that my classroom is collaborative?
• For striving readers, would it be intimidating or helpful to be in a literature circle with avid readers? How would that compare to being in a literature circle with other striving readers?