making the most of opportunities to strengthen learners’ writing paora howe
TRANSCRIPT
Making the most of opportunities to strengthen learners’ writing
Paora Howe
Overview of webinar
• Key ideas:– Learners need to see themselves as writers &
understand what motivates them to write and work on their writing
– Practice is critical, so it’s important that learners find things to write about and get started
– Learners need to be deliberately taught to transfer their writing skills from one context to another
Seeing themselves as writers
• Emails, texts, notes – what else will make them see themselves as writers?
• Compare lists• What in common? What different?• Proud of what?• What is ‘good writing’ to you?• Appreciative enquiry process.
You’re a writer too
• Educators are writers too.• What’s your list look like?• Start writing with them – model a process• Talk aloud• Ok to make mistakes
Understanding what motivates them
• Explore potential topics to write about• What do they like doing?• Provide contexts for writing• Acknowledge real life experiences first
Understanding what motivates them
• What interests?• Build group topic lists to refer to• Provide good contexts – good readings and
writings mena what?• Acknowledge real life skills and knowledge
Making connections between reading & writing
• Narrow writing lists reflect narrow reading interests?
• Start suggesting broader ranges of reading
Questions & answers
• What questions do you have about getting learners to see themselves as writers?
Getting started
• Finding something to write about• Take the brakes off• What will spark internal debate?• Write oodles without fear of red inking
Getting it down
• Start where the learners are at• Creative vs functional writing• What is ‘creative memory writing’?• Write first. Talk later.
• Deciding what tools they like to use
Getting lots of practice
• Use social network sites
• Understanding writing as a process
• Importance of publishing
Questions & answers
Fit for purpose writing
• Writing with purpose• Start from the pieces they have enjoyed
working on that they have controlled from start to finish
• Your role is to know when to intervene – to show that all writing requires the use of the same rules and regulations
• Some have different rules because the audience or style or purpose is different
Authentic writing tasks
• Building on what they know they can do already
• Use their longer pieces• Introduce different kinds of peer review• Focus on different areas of skill improvement
– refer progressions• Take every opportunity to teach the
metalanguage of writing
Developing their awareness
• Using the text to teach• And to make them aware of their knowledge
and skills so that they can apply them to different tasks
• e.g. writing sentences
finally
• Learners confident about themselves as writers with a repertoire that includes:– a process for getting started– a process for review– an awareness of the writing knowledge and skills
they draw on when they write, so that they can apply these to other writing tasks
Questions & answers