I have always felt that essay writing is a genre that is essential, yet challenging. It is not easy to teach, for sure. I feel that perhaps beginning with a literary essay may be a bit simpler than the personal essay. I'd be interested to know if anyone has developed a way in which to teach essay that offers a "template" of a sort to make the process more concrete for beginning essayists. I've approached it with: 1 thesis statement (an idea) 3 supports, each with details (textual for a literary essay, anecdotal for a personal essay) Any other thoughts out there? Leslie Literacy Coach NYC In a message dated 1/19/2009 12:06:29 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
I remind myself all the time that writing instruction is not about content as much as it is about craft. It seems silly to give a 10 year old a brand new topic to research, grapple with the new information, then write a formal essay, of which they've never been taught HOW to write an essay. Instead, teach essay writing apart from research (in the beginning). This way, the focus is on the craft of essay writing, not on the weightiness of the new content. Teachers College RWP suggests using Personal Essays as the essay unit, and this makes so much sense to me as a 4th grade teacher. I can teach students how to craft a thesis, structure their writing, make it meaning, etc without them scouring the internet for facts to plug in. Once students understand essays, then weave in the content piece by having them write a research essay. For what it's worth... Andrea -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2009 7:21 PM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies EmailGroup Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] workshop Thank you, Renee, for your ideas. I noticed that in writers workshop in all the classes I visited students were writing about themselves, which is all they seem to do in all three years at the middle school I visited. I'd like my students to be able to write a research paper. I guess that if there are not any hard and fast rules, then I can use the workshop format to teach a research paper. That's good news for me. Jan ------------- Original message from Renee <[email protected]>: ------------- > Hello Jan, > > I don't think there are any hard and fast rules about readers' and > writers' workshops, especially regarding when they should start or > which should go first. There are so many ways to run these workshops, > and so many ways to implement them, that these answers really depend on > the students involved. > > Speaking only for myself, I can say that readers' and writers' > workshops have looked differently in my classroom in different years > and with different grade levels. What I think works is for a teacher to > decide on the goals and then just give it a try. > > Having said all that, I can also say that what has worked for me in the > past is to try to keep it as simple as possible, to make sure that I > build independent work skills into the students, and be willing to > change the structure if it isn't working in some way. > > :-) > Renee > > On Jan 17, 2009, at 5:53 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > > I am some more questions about workshop. They are all related. I > > should probably add that I teach middle school. > > > > Is it necessary to start writing workshop years before a school starts > > reading workshop? Does it matter which goes first? Can teachers > > start both in the same year? > > Is it necessary to have workshop during the majority of class time? > >> > Thanks for letting me know what has worked for you. > > Jan > > > > > > "When you learn, teach. When you get, give." > ~ Maya Angelou _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. **************Great Deals on Dell Laptops. Starting at $499. (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1217883258x1201191827/aol?redir=http://www.dell.com/co ntent/products/features.aspx/laptops_great_deals?c=us%26cs=19%26l=en%26s=d hs%26~ck=anavml) _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
