Much of what we read in the local education section of the newspaper describes shifting tests scores or school closings. It is infrequent that we are offered a peek into the mind and heart of teachers. Our Teacher Showcase feature will give our recent ISI participants a chance to speak their mind about the teaching of writing and the need for quality professional development. Return often to read these profiles.
How has your participation in the Summer Institute influenced your beliefs about the instruction of writing? It has solidified my thoughts about the absolute necessity of writing and student-centered writing instruction from teachers who are also writers. I also thought more deeply about writing as social action and the ways in which authentic writing pedagogy empowers students as change agents.
Describe one “take-away” from the Summer Institute that you plan to share with your colleagues or implement in your classroom. I plan to incorporate writing groups in my Language Arts Methods course for preservice teachers.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Students strengthen their own identities and increase their agency as thinkers, learners, and activists. Literacy development is not complete without writing–writing is thinking, writing is processing, writing is learning.
What do students need in your school to become better writers?
TIME TO WRITE.
What is a resource on writing or the teaching of writing (book, article, website, other PD) that you would recommend (and why)?
Relocating the Personal: A Critical Writing Pedagogy by Barbara Kamler because it challenges popular ideas about teaching process writing to "find voice." I am still considering her ideas months after reading it.
Katie Cady
Grade you teach: Eighth grade Language Arts
School: St. Francis Middle School
Summer Institute Writing: The Bracelet
Teaching Demonstration: Finding Voice within a Highly Structured Form
How has your participation in the Summer Institute influenced your beliefs about the instruction of writing? Through the Summer Institute, I have had a chance to work on my own writing, consider my teaching, and refine my beliefs about the importance of writing in and out of the classroom. Most importantly, writing offers us a chance to grapple with our ideas. We start in one place, and end up often in a place we never expected. It is through writing that students are given the chance to explore their thinking and delve into a concept, belief, or idea. With this in mind, writing is relevant and critical to every grade, every subject, and every student.
Describe one “take-away” from the Summer Institute that you plan to share with your colleagues or implement in your classroom. Students should be writing daily, and they should be sharing what they write with others. This will give them the practice and the confidence to write more, hear and provide constructive feedback, and inevitably become better writers. When we all write and we all share, we are in a place where we can all improve as writers.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Writing allows students to explore their own thinking. It is through the writing process that students can work out and understand their thinking on a given subject. It allows them the time and space to arrive at a deeper understanding of their world.
What do students need in your school to become better writers?
Students need the time and space to write. This should be happening within AND beyond the language arts classroom. Students need to see teachers model their writing process. They also need exposure and access to a wide range of high quality mentor texts.
What is a resource on writing or the teaching of writing (book, article, website, other PD) that you would recommend (and why)?
Two Writing Teachers: A Meeting Place for a World of Reflective Writers. This is a blog for teachers of writing. It includes tons of research, strategies, best practices, and ways to stay connected with your own writing. Also, anything by Kelly Gallagher or Nancie Atwell cannot be recommended enough.
Chundra Cobbin
Grade you teach: Fourth grade
School: Lucy Craft Laney Community School
Summer Institute Writing: I Am from
Teaching Demonstration: Writing in Math
How has your participation in the Summer Institute influenced your beliefs about the instruction of writing? I now see myself as a writer! That's a huge deal because I teach math. I also believe all my students are writers, and that's a new concept to me. Most of all, I now have a huge toolkit of projects and writing prompts that I can take back to my classroom.
Describe one “take-away” from the Summer Institute that you plan to share with your colleagues or implement in your classroom. I will be doing the interest inventory with my students so they have topics to draw from for their writing.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Writing gives my students another platform to express themselves. Words are a great medium for students to be creative and dive into language.
What do students need in your school to become better writers? My students need space and opportunity to become writers!
Juliet Dana
Grade you teach: 10th and 11th Grade (History)
School: Marin Academy (San Rafael, CA)
Summer Institute Writing: Pantoum for Americans, quiet and otherwise
Teaching Demonstration: Predict and Reveal: Sequencing Topic Sentences towards a Thesis
How has your participation in the Summer Institute influenced your beliefs about the instruction of writing? The Summer Institute reignited my excitement about and conviction in the power of writing. By working alongside teachers who work with all grade levels and in a variety of disciplines, I got inspiration for writing prompts and lessons in a host of genres, at a wide array of stages in the writing process, and using an impressive array of mentor texts.
Describe one “take-away” from the Summer Institute that you plan to share with your colleagues or implement in your classroom. The more opportunities I create for students to write, the more I can encourage student voice, choice, and awareness of other perspectives. I will emphasize that authentic writing includes writing for many purposes.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? By providing them the time to experience their own writing process, I think we can apply that to remember that all the writing we read -- often framed, in my class, as primary and secondary sources -- was crafted by someone, who had choices and limitations in how they shared their ideas, as they do.
What do students need in your school to become better writers? I think we ought to pivot towards prioritizing revisions, working on finding several ways to express a main idea and then evaluating which is the most effective for the audience and message. Especially in social studies, I would like to spend more time teaching that a thesis-driven paragraph (or essay) can take several forms and still be powerful, persuasive writing.
What is a resource on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)?
The National Writing Project, of course! Reading A Good Time for the Truth:Race in Minnesota this summer inspired me tremendously; the anthology is filled with masterful storytelling, and each piece takes the genre of essay or memoir and offers a lesson on craft. I was raised in Minnesota but live in California now, and every essay rang true to my knowledge of Minnesota and also bore resemblance to my knowledge of California. I believe these essays are relevant for readers anywhere in the United States.
Waleid Hassan
Grade you teach: 6th-8th grades
School: North View Middle School
Summer Institute Writing: Burden
Teaching Demonstration: Addition Segment Postulate and Congruent Segments
How has your participation in the Summer Institute influenced your beliefs about the instruction of writing? Everyone is a writer and has an amazing story to tell. "Good writing" is so abstract. It goes beyond proper grammar, big words, and a standard five-paragraph paper. "Good writing" is meaningful, creative, deep, and personal.
Describe one “take-away” from the Summer Institute that you plan to share with your colleagues or implement in your classroom. Just try to figure out meaningful ways to incorporate writing in math.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Writing gives students the opportunity and space to pause and think about what they have learned, what's going on in their lives or the world.
What do students need in your school to become better writers? It all start with teachers. If teachers (including myself) learn about the impact that writing can have on students and their learning, then we would be prompted to implement writing in our practice.
Jacob Juliar
Grade you teach: 7th grade
School: Valley View Middle School, Bloomington
Summer Institute Writing: What Does a Seventh Grader Know?
Teaching Demonstration: Little Roja Riding Hood: Using Non-English Words in Writing
How has your participation in the Summer Institute influenced your beliefs about the instruction of writing? A math teacher in the Institute encouraged us to think about how we can integrate math writing into our Language Arts classrooms. My seventh grade students write in a daily journal at the start of every class, and during the next year I'm going to work with the seventh grade math teachers to see how to best combine writing and math into our daily journal.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Many of the students in our school have experienced trauma, and by building trust and relationships throughout the year, our students have found a space to experiment with using writing to work through some important ideas they think about in their daily lives.
What do students need in your school to become better writers? They need to read poetry written in the last 20 years. They need to read pieces written by people who talk and live like they do in the 21st century.
What is a resource on writing or the teaching of writing (book, article, website, other PD) that you would recommend?The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop.
Shana Kwatampora
Grade you teach: 1st grade
School: Evergreen Park World Cultures Community School
Summer Institute Writing: I am from...
Teaching Demonstration: I am from...
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? After the summer institute I have been inspired to integrate writing in a multitude of ways in the classroom. I have discovered how important it is to allow "free write" and plenty of time for reflection and writing. Student choice is necessary for commitment to the writing process.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Writing is one way which you can powerfully express yourself and your experiences without the risk of being judged. It is therapy, can help you sort through the tough stuff and celebrate the awesome moments in life. I believe that writing can build students' self esteem and belief that their stories matter. Writing is also a process where you can physically see your own improvements which allows students to be reflective and committed to bettering themselves. Many of my students' identities are distorted or deleted from majority of texts within classrooms- the writing process allows them to write themselves "into existence" as it should be.
What do students need in your school to become better writers? Students in my school need more time to write and books written about and by people who look and live like them.
Sarah Lorntson
Grade you teach: 9th-12th grades
School: Mahtomedi High School
Summer Institute Writing: Agate Picking
Teaching Demonstration: Revising Personal Essays for Clarity and Style
How has your participation in the Summer Institute influenced your beliefs about the instruction of writing? Writing does not have to be a mindless academic task that is all about meeting standards and passing tests. Writing can be a rigorous and educational activity that is filled with joy and purpose. Writing is a way to build community, hear the voices of all students, and find power and purpose in telling our stories.
Describe one “take-away” from the Summer Institute that you plan to share with your colleagues or implement in your classroom. I can't wait to have my students write frequently, using a variety of prompts. Writing does not always have to culminate in a summative assessment, but it can be a way to recall memories, reflect on learning, and bridge connections between the classroom community and the individual.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Whenever I have my students do personal writing (essays, narratives, etc.), it opens the gates for what I call "Big Life Talks." As a whole class, or in one-on-one settings, I am able to get to know my students and the issues that affect their lives. They open up to me and are able to see me as an adult ally and advocate for their needs and interests.
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Writing is one way which you can powerfully express yourself and your experiences without the risk of being judged. It is therapy, can help you sort through the tough stuff and celebrate the awesome moments in life. I believe that writing can build students' self esteem and belief that their stories matter. Writing is also a process where you can physically see your own improvements which allows students to be reflective and committed to bettering themselves. Many of my students' identities are distorted or deleted from the majority of texts within classrooms---the writing process allows them to write themselves "into existence" as it should be.
What do students need in your school to become better writers? Time and space in the school day and the curriculum to explore the writing that matters to them. A safe and supportive community that values all voices.
What is a resource on writing or the teaching of writing (book, article, website, other PD) that you would recommend (and why)? I love Button Poetry (website and YouTube channel) as a resource to bring in contemporary voices that students can relate to. The poets featured often talk about issues that affect my students' lives, and they can see the way that language empowers these poets to express their truth and to find community and validation.
Jonathan Nelson
Grade you teach: 7th grade
School: Minnetonka Middle School West
Summer Institute Writing: Expired Candy
Teaching Demonstration: Thick and Thin: Crafting Research Questions
How has your participation in the Summer Institute influenced your beliefs about the instruction of writing? The Summer Institute really made me a believer in the power of a strong writing community and writing group. I think writing is a great opportunity for students to confront themselves, and their writing groups help them to process and understand their own thoughts and beliefs. I hope to alter my writing instruction to allow students to be reflective and critical of their experiences as they grow into adult learners.
Describe one “take-away” from the Summer Institute that you plan to share with your colleagues or implement in your classroom. My take-away from the Summer Institute that I plan to share with my colleagues is the power of a writing group. With thoughtful planning, a lot of great professional development can emerge from teachers simply thinking, writing, and talking with other teachers (especially across content areas!).
In what ways does writing positively impact your students? Again, I think writing positively impacts students because it gives them a snapshot of their thinking at a particular time in their life. Writing is a process that is both easy and difficult, but the opportunities to grow as an individual make it an extremely worthwhile process. In addition, giving students the opportunity to share their work (and to hear the work of others) also helps build up communities and learners.
What do students need in your school to become better writers? Time. I wish I could give my students all the time in the world to work on their writing and find joy in their writing.
What is a resource on writing or the teaching of writing (book, article, website, other PD) that you would recommend? Write Like This by Kelly Gallagher.
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How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? MWP has impacted my teaching in so many ways and at so many levels. I was blessed to have the opportunity to be among talented and dedicated teachers and educators. I was exposed to different styles of teaching and many different strategies and ideas for impacting students, empowering students, and reaching out to the diverse and multilingual backgrounds of our 21st century classrooms.
What are your beliefs about writing? My beliefs about writing have changed for the better. I feel more comfortable and deserving of writing my thoughts, fears, desires, and much more. The MWP encouraged sincerity and a space that all thoughts, beliefs, and connections were permissible in a safe and educative environment.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? A book I recently read is by Carl Anderson called How's It Going? A Practical Guide to Conferring With Student Writers. One important aspect about the book I enjoyed was how the book encourages meeting the student at his or her level. It guides the educators towards the importance of using mentor texts as a teaching tool. Since I work with newcomer students, I see the benefit of such texts at various levels as a tool to assist the students' writing process. The book is practical and provides various ideas, strategies, mini lessons, and much much more.
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? I have enjoyed being a part of the MWP community and meeting with like-minded teachers who are passionate about education as well as writing. The teaching demonstrations, writing groups, book study groups, and ongoing thoughtful conversations have inspired many new ideas that I plan on incorporating into my teaching practice in the fall.
What are your beliefs about writing? Writing is equal parts art and craft. As teachers, we have the complex role of teaching the craft to our students in the hopes that they will be able to add their own voices and tell their own experiences to make the art.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? I would recommend Crafting Writers by Elizabeth Hale because it breaks the task of teaching writing down into small, manageable teaching points that Hale labels as specific craft. The book contains many examples of specific craft as well as how to teach them to students. I have found her explanation of the mini-lesson and how to use it routinely in the classroom to be especially helpful.
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? The MWP experience has impacted my teaching because it allowed me to work with writing teachers across all grades. We shared ideas, triumphs, and struggles. It also allowed me to better understand the challenges of teaching writing at all grade levels and in all contexts.
What are your beliefs about writing? I believe that writing is hard work and that it is never finished.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? I would recommend What is "College-Level" Writing by Sullivan and Tinberg. This book is geared towards high school writing teachers and First Year Writing instructors and provides multiple viewpoints surrounding the problems with college-ready writing.
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? I have a bag of new tools to take with me to my new teaching position thanks to my Reflective Practice Group and the book Crafting Writers. I also have a lesson plan grounded in a social justice theme that incorporates best practices in writing.
What are your beliefs about writing? To be an effective teacher of writing, one must engage in the writing process. I have come to believe that everyone is a writer.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Crafting Writers by Elizabeth Hale is the book I would recommend. Teaching craft is essential in writing and this book has lots of ideas for practical application.
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? The MWP experience has renewed my resolve to slow down and allow my students to experience a higher volume of writing, rather than focus solely on making sure I am covering all of the Common Core State Standards requirements. We are building minds, not checklists, and in order for our students to be fully engaged in the learning process, we need to honor their stories, connections, and idea test drives.
What are your beliefs about writing? Writing is both a personal and communal expression of who we are as human beings. It is one of the finest dualities in existence because it has the power to:
• rip us apart and put us back together
• connect and alienate
• build and deconstruct
• celebrate and critique
• solve and convolute
• organize and make a mess
• reveal and disguise
• shout and whisper
• be simple or complicated ...often at the same time and in the same place.
Thank goodness for this beautiful paradox!
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Write Like This, by Kelly Gallagher, is a practical guide for exploring a wide range of writing styles in the classroom that is both accessible to teachers of all levels and grounded in the lives of their students. Gallagher shows us how to use mentor texts to help students grow into the idea that they are writers—and when they understand that they, themselves, make choices as writers, they better grasp that professionals do the very same thing. Seeing that lightbulb go off for them is one of those perks of being an English teacher!
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? It has been delightful to be around a host of other educators who have influenced my practice with their insights and ideas. With so many great examples of lesson plans, I have a host of new plans to use in the coming months. My technical literacy has been strengthened as well, and I hope to stay in touch with these fabulous people!
What are your beliefs about writing? It should be done daily. Everyone is a writer.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Stephen King's On Writing
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? I've collected many new strategies to use in my classroom. Also, the writing process has helped me ground myself in what people actually need to have in order to be successful writers in a workshop context.
What are your beliefs about writing? I believe that writing is one of the most important things that we can do as human beings. I believe that access to writing means access to power; that writing gives us the ability to speak our truths and our experiences to a wider audience; and that those who write (and are published) are those who get to define the world.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is probably the best book I've ever read about writing. She is funny and approachable and honest about the writing process.
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? It has made me a better writer, which will help me be a better teacher. I believe I can write and I like to write. MWP has also given me many tools that I can take back to my classroom and use with my students.
What are your beliefs about writing? Writing is hard, but I believe all students can write; they just need to be taught the process, helped through the process, and given the time to write every day.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Crafting Writers by Elizabeth Hale. It is a very practical, easy-read book. A lot of ideas you can take and apply to your classroom.
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? MWP has benefited my teaching in multiple ways. First of all, it has allowed me to be both mindful and reflective of how I approach writing in my classroom. I leave ISI with many new ideas and resources. Secondly, the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers from other schools was valuable. I now have connections across the Twin Cities, connections that I plan to use when I'm feeling stumped or disenchanted. Finally, I leave with a renewed sense of the power of writing. Having gotten to write so much myself, I now remember just how much I love it, and I am inspired to pass that love on to my students.
What are your beliefs about writing? I believe that writing is power. Writing is a way of making sense of the world, others, and ourselves. Thus, it is something that can empower anyone.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Kelly Gallagher's In the Best Interest of Students gives a lot of bite-sized ideas that one can implement easily. He also gives really powerful reminders of the importance of modeling alongside practical strategies on how to do so.
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? Conversations with colleagues from across grade levels and the districts in the Metro has been wonderful! It's been nice to be provided the time and space to think about, discuss and practice my own writing. Our writing group was inspirational. It is amazing how fast we got to know each other on such an intimate level. Seeing what other teachers do in their classes via the demo lessons sparked lots of practical ideas I will bring into my class room this year.
What are your beliefs about writing? Writing is a way to express ourselves, discover ourselves and get to know the world.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Don't Forget to Write for the Elementary Grades: 50 Enthralling and Effective Writing Lessons (Ages 5 to 12). Engaging, outside-of-the-box, simple-to-complex activities to inspire writers!
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? My colleagues and facilitators in the MWP are invaluable resources. Their ideas and feedback help me to be more reflective in my own practices of teaching, reading, and writing. I look forward to implementing some of their books, projects, and strategies into my classes in the coming year.
The MWP has been most impactful in the space it gives us as writers and teachers. I will return to teaching in the fall with a renewed sense of who I want to be as a teacher and as a more empathetic writer along with my students.
What are your beliefs about writing? Writing is messy and sometimes really hard. Most of us don't do nearly enough of it. Our students need to see us write—even and especially when we're struggling.
Writing is really a practice in generosity—generosity to self as someone in the midst of the neverending process, generosity to others in the form of thoughtful listening and feedback, generosity to the reader in the sharing of perspective and experience.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott has been brilliant to share with my students; she is candid in her discussion of the frequently painful process of drafting.
Teaching for Joy and Justice by Linda Christensen encourages us to lean into our students' lives and perspectives to create writing lessons that are meaningful to the community and to bring our classrooms into spaces of social justice.
How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? Writing is every bit the equal to reading in developing literacy in students. Rather than being surreptitious about teaching writing ("should I really spend this amount of time on writing when we have an MCA test coming up?"), I can be more confident that writing is supporting my students, in all necessary ways. My own writing has shown me how journaling provides clarity I could not have achieved anyway else.
What are your beliefs about writing? Writing is essential in developing adolescent students—they want to know the "why"—and writing helps them. They want to know who they are—identity—and writing helps them. They want to more deeply understand their world—and writing helps them. It is a way to deepen critical thought in our students, our future citizens of this world.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. Writing is demystified in this book, and her humorous and practical advice provides a novice or experienced writer the feeling of freedom "just to write." Reading her book is like entering into a Zen meditative state as she describes her own cerebral journey of being a writer.
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Writing can be hard,
Writing can be scary,
Writing can be fun,
Writing can be fulfilling,
It all depends on support and scaffolding,
and your ability to let go and to try.
Writing can be serious,
Writing can be light,
It is way more than journal prompts,
Prose and nonfiction,
Poetry and creative writing
Open your mind to the possibilities,
Find colleagues to help you out and share ideas,
Open a book,
And start a writing notebook!
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—Students need to believe that they are writers, no matter their level of technical skill or perceived experience.
—Students need meaningful reasons to write.
—Students need to read others’ writing to become better writers.
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In Teaching for Joy and Justice, Linda Christensen uses writing as a means to empower her students, young people who often come to her feeling as though they have very little power in the world.
My Reflective Practice Group book for the summer institute was Kimberly Hill Campbell and Kristi Latimer’s Beyond the Five Paragraph Essay. While the title is maybe a bit misleading (Campbell and Latimer don’t quite take readers all the way “beyond” and into what an alternative formal summative assessment might look like), they do a good job of pointing out the flaws in the 5-paragraph essay, as well as providing resources for teachers who are interested in creating a real culture of writing in their classrooms. They talk about writing to explore ideas, something that’s not often taught. Most interesting to me was their reworking of the writing process, which placed thesis generation near the end.
The Minnesota Writing Project has also given me an opportunity to research best practices in meeting the needs of individual students. Talking with colleagues in reflective practice groups, along with reading Crafting Writers by Elizabeth Hale, has answered all of my questions in regards to conferencing with students. I now have the tools I need as an educator to enhance my students’ writing on an individual basis, and for that I am incredibly grateful.
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How has the MWP experience impacted your teaching? MWP has shown me the scope and sequence of K-12 writing, as I continue re-focusing the role of writing for students as it shifts from paper content to digital. Also, I have been recharged with more focused lesson planning that impacts my teaching and community building.
What are your beliefs about writing? Writing gives people a voice to communicate their story.
What is a book on writing or the teaching of writing that you would recommend (and why)? I recommend The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy Calkins because it lays down the basic framework of how we want to give students a voice at their level using a love of storytelling and literature as a base, rather than to focus on grammar and what is correct and what is not.