The last few weeks we have been reading, reading, reading. This week we have been writing, writing, writing. Why? The answer is simple: we read to consider other scenarios and we write to learn.
An authentic writing process is foreign to many students because typically they are asked to churn out papers in English classes without much thought for revision, peer editing, and multiple drafts. During this week I asked students to begin to write a comparative analysis which considers their Big Questions, Of Mice and Men, "Living in Sym" - a scientific article, and October Sky. To be sure, this is no small task.
Students are required to synthesize information from a variety of texts and use the information to shape an answer to their Big Question - their arguable perspective.
It is a task difficult for AP level Seniors to manage, but something my Sophomores are handling well. I am impressed with the way they work together; dialogue; peer edit; and ask important questions of the texts. Most impressive are the conversations I am hearing when they think I am not listening. Many are seeking writing advice from one another or bouncing ideas they have off others in the room. Quite simply they are engaging in authentic practices of writers, because they ARE writers.
An authentic writing process is foreign to many students because typically they are asked to churn out papers in English classes without much thought for revision, peer editing, and multiple drafts. During this week I asked students to begin to write a comparative analysis which considers their Big Questions, Of Mice and Men, "Living in Sym" - a scientific article, and October Sky. To be sure, this is no small task.
Students are required to synthesize information from a variety of texts and use the information to shape an answer to their Big Question - their arguable perspective.
It is a task difficult for AP level Seniors to manage, but something my Sophomores are handling well. I am impressed with the way they work together; dialogue; peer edit; and ask important questions of the texts. Most impressive are the conversations I am hearing when they think I am not listening. Many are seeking writing advice from one another or bouncing ideas they have off others in the room. Quite simply they are engaging in authentic practices of writers, because they ARE writers.