Ch. 11 Developing Content Area Writers

Conley says "writing skill benefits from direct instruction, demonstration, feedback, and practice." Students should not be given a topic and be expected to be a successful writer on their own. Teachers should take the time to actually teach students to become good writers instead of thinking that they should already know. I know for a fact that several high school students who cannot write a paper without plagerising, are receiving a grade of an A for the semester. What a short sale for these students. Writing is a part of almost every program of study in college. A great many students have discovered that they were not as hot a writer as they thought they were before freshman comp. If we expect students to be great writers, we need to show them how to become them.

Journaling is a favorite pasttime of mine. I enjoy keeping a journal in my personal life as well as my professional life. It is a way for me to keep track of what is happening in my life and also a way to vent my anger or frustration sometimes. Journals can be brought into the classroom and become a very effective tool at measuring a what students are learning or understanding. By allowing students to journal about what they learn it involves them personally in the learning process. Students who journal about their personal lives may see journaling in the classroom as way to make the learning process more personal to them. Also, it activates schema for those students that are alread familiar with this process. According to the textbook, "journal writing can be used to capture the "what" or the knowledge students are gaining from their studies. Journals, especially those that summarize what students are learning, are successful means of writing in content areas because of the way in which journals encourage engagement with a subject."

One prominent force that was mentioned throughout the text reading was the fact that teachers to model students in every thing that we do. Under almost every heading, major and subheadings, the instructions for carrying out the strategies or ideas includes the word modeling or demonstrate. I believe that modeling for students is a vital part of student understanding. If we expect students to create a project or participate in some form of activity, then we, as teachers, need to make sure that we show them exactly what and how to do the processes that are required. It is amazing how much easier it is to understand what someone is saying if they are modeling what to do along with their speech. Students will be much more successful and become better writers if a teacher takes the time to model the writing process for them. Demonstrating can be the most effective means of instruction available to students when done correctly.