One of the best things about the whole UIWP experience has been the demos. They have shown me so many different approaches to engaging students in writing and analyzing that I hadn't thought of before.
As an ELL teacher, I may not be able to use every strategy exactly as it was presented with my students, but I have always seen pieces that I can take to improve my process. The story maps presented by Mikel could be very helpful for my reluctant writers. It forces them to really plot out the relationships between the characters and settings before they write. It also allows them to get excited and invested in characters before they start their stories. I also love the way it forces the students to be intentional about their writing choices because they see how everything needs to fit together. Further, it demystifies the writing process. While I do believe there are times where ideas just strike us, a huge part of being creative is working hard and thinking carefully. This allows students to see that all the work has a larger goal. I have really enjoyed the text so far. It has resonated with me as an educator and writer and I even included it in my presentation research.
As far as questions I'm thinking for Wednesday, this is what I have so far... 1. In regards to interest driven learning--I struggle to allow students sufficient time to explore their desired topics because of the pressure to either keep up with what is happening in their classrooms or other outside requirements. How can I find a balance? 2. Did you ever come up against people who do not agree with a connected learning approach and how do you address their concerns? 3. How do you balance student privacy/safety with the need to familiarize them with technology? Somethings really cool started happening today.
As I was walking into the building this morning I was suddenly struck by what I wanted to write. My mind was racing with ideas as I quickly put my stuff down in the cold basement room, grabbed coffee, and chose where I would write. The words poured out of me in a way they haven't in at least 7 years. And when I was done I was really happy with what I wrote. Again--something that hasn't happened in at least 7 years. I'd say that shows that this first full week as a success. Going forward I really hope to continue exploring myself as a writer and getting to know the other writers around me. Everyone has such great ideas regarding writing and teaching and learning from them this week has been fantastic. I'm really excited to continue exploring using writing to promote empathy in students in a way that they can bring with them when the leave me. I wasn't originally excited about my inquiry project but now I am really enjoying what I'm finding. I'm also excited to walk out with all of the strategies and knowledge that the others are sharing. My writing still feels very helter-skelter.
It doesn't help that the only notebook I have readily available has my toddler's scribblings in it which act as the Red Queen from The Manchurian Candidate and force me to regress into a babbling caretaker. Today during our free-write time I wrote about my dad. Father's day is coming up and he has been on his mind. I didn't share it because it was too hard, but without this time I would still be carrying that around with me. So I am thankful for that. I haven't had a chance to engage in this kind of writing for years so my brain is still in the process of readjusting to it. However, the fact that I am able to write more than yesterday where, if memory serves, I basically only wrote that my brain was mush and I was tired tells me that my brain is still capable of engaging in this crazy writing process--even if it takes a while to get back into the swing of things. Day 1 is coming to a close. My brain feels like mush and also like a large animal is sitting on it.
But in a good way. While I was initially very nervous to share my writing this morning, everyone was wonderfully supportive. It was a nice reminder that while I may be a very harsh critic, others will see my successes along with--if not before--my failures. It is wonderful to be surrounded by people who are excited to learn about writing. I am still feeling a fair amount of stress because of my upcoming demo presentation on Wednesday, but I am also glad to be getting it out of the way. I don't have much left as far as brainpower and cognitive thoughts. So. There we are. That is all. Until tomorrow. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategoriesThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. |