Literacy Week 4: Students as Writers and Readers

Writing Essentials Chapter 2:
"All students, especially those who begin school with limited literacy skills, need to think of themselves as readers and writers, see the processes as meaningful, and have positive attitudes about literacy before they can successfully engage in literacy practices" (p. 34). How do you respond to this quote? What connections can you make between this quote, your field placement, and/or your own experiences?

My first response to this quote is that as teachers, we must be able set high expectations in our classroom for all students, no matter the child's literacy level. I believe that children will meet those high expectations and within that, build the self-confidence that is needed for them to build upon and strengthen their literacy skills in positive ways.

I have observed my MT in my second grade placement teach reading and writing in positive ways. Most importantly, she tries to get the children to think about their ideas and talk about their ideas openly with one another. No idea is too small. She teaches them to build on previous ideas, adding energetic verbs and juicy adjectives that she calls "lovely language." She conferences with each child and carries sticky notes with her to write down their ideas for them to build on in their journals. She encourages them to run with ideas and stays away from correcting grammar, sentence structure, and spelling. Each child takes turns sharing their work with each other after each writing lesson, which celebrates their ideas and builds their confidence in their writing abilities.

There is something that I have questioned: often, almost half of the class states that they have nothing to write about; they can think of nothing. I don't know how many times I went around the room to different children asking them questions that might spark an interest, which usually corresponds to a question that has to do with their daily lives, since they are, of course, experts of their lives. I wonder if this children that often don't know what to write have already had bad experiences with writing that block their creative juices. I was unaware that "bad experiences" could happen by the second grade prior to reading Routman's work.

Thus, I strongly agree that positive attitudes regarding writing must be in place before the actual practice. In my own writing, one horrible experience with a professor whom did "not like" my writing deeply changed my outlook on my writing abilities. I had always loved writing and had many great positive experiences with teachers, but that one negative experience changed my confidence. just as equally valuable, positive feedback is required to keep the meaning of the process a positive one when writing. Children are no different, they need the positive encouragement and praise that they are successful in what they do, otherwise, I believe they will shut down before they even get the chance to really shine.

I see this with my toddler. She loves to "write" and do her "homework." She will write lines, squiggly, curvy, and straight lines all over a page and proceed to tell me that this one particular part is her name and go on and on with whatever she is thinking at the time. However, at the age of two, she is praised over and over for her writing ability and letters, no matter that I can't "read it." This, I think is the beginning of a very much needed self confidence in order to master her beginning literacy skills. Nonetheless, I am a proud mama! I can only hope that I can foster within all of my future students the confidence to be proud of their own literacy abilities and enjoy reading and writing for a lifetime of learning!