Week 4 Challenges

Say something nice writing mentor text & Prompt 2 Writing territory: Things that annoy me at work

2nd Challenge

Week 3 Challenges

Prompt 2: A thank you letter to my mom.

Miss this friendship, you have changed.

6 Word Memoirs  

My dogs are my greatest joys.

Challenge 2: The role that I envision my writing playing in the classroom

            As a future teacher I imagine that the role of my writing in the classroom will be much like the way’s that Reif and Kittle’s approach is to writing in their classroom’s. I aspire to be involved in every aspect of the writing process alongside my students. As Reif describes, “All teachers must be writers and readers, because we must share and demonstrate our passion to understand the challenges, frustrations, and achievements they face” (Reif 11). I want to be a model for my students, and this cannot be achieved without writing alongside my students. I plan to participate in quick writes with my students, and to write alongside my students during all prompts. As a teacher that writes it would be much easier to motivate students based on their interests and to create a safe space for vulnerable topics.

            As a teacher that writes I think that written feedback for students is also important in improving writing skills. If a student does not understand what they are being assessed on they cannot improve their skills. Ideally written feedback would help students understand what they need to improve on, and it could also help as a teacher to track progress in each students individual writing skills. Based on the evaluation of these papers and the feedback needed a mini lesson could be formed in order to go over areas that students are struggling with at the time.

            As Kittle describes in her book another way to be a teacher that writes is to participate in the themes that your students are working on. Kittle explains, “I also teach through the thinking by providing vision for how to get the work done and teaching students how to respond to each other” (Kittle 76). Providing demonstrations of how to draft certain genre’s is a way of modeling for your students. I hope to include demonstrations like this in my classroom as well as other models of writing.

            As a future teacher I will write in my classroom in order to connect and grow with my students. At this time in my career I believe that a teacher that writes is an educator that understands that students need options, and that every person is unique in their writing process. As a teacher that writes it is also easier to understand what motivates a student or frustrates another, and as a writer you can help them through tough obstacles.

Works Cited

Kittle, Penny. “The Opportunities in a Writer’s Workshop.” Write beside Them: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in High School Writing, Heinemann, 2008, pp. 62–95.

Reif, Linda. “Read Write Teach.” Heinemann Publishing, Heinemann Publishing, 2014, pp. 8-12

Letter to Teacher

Dear Penny Kittle,

            I have thoroughly enjoyed reading chapter 6 The Opportunities in a Writer’s Workshop of your book Write Beside Them. The vulnerability that you describe in the opening of this chapter about the many emotions and fears that were affecting your own writing process is admirable.  In the beginning of this chapter you state, “There is a deep connection between art and fear” (Kittle 63). I agree with this statement, because just as you have shown in your opening writing is a process of putting fears and anxieties into words. I also have a question about demonstrating vulnerability to your students as a teacher. Do you share your vulnerability with your students? If so, how do you determine what is appropriate to share? I have always connected to a teacher if they were real and honest with the class, but I also understand that there are boundaries on what is appropriate or beneficial to share with students.

            While it was not clear to me from the chapter on whether or not you share your own fears with your classes it was apparent that your classroom is a safe space. I like that you exhibit all of your expectations in a clear and concise way for the students to understand what is expected of them on the first day. You also inform the students of what they can expect from the teacher in the classroom which I think is very important. In the student guide for the first day you clearly tell the students that you will always write with them, and that as a writing community you expect trust and respect (Kittle 65). I found the informational guides for students and for parents to be helpful in understanding how to include everyone in the classroom. As a future teacher this is an aspect of teaching that weighs heavy on my mind, and the informational guides that you have provided are amazing examples of how to do this.

            As a future writing teacher it was also beneficial to read your personal experiences and challenges of teaching the writing process. It was interesting to see the rehearsal, rereading, and revision process that you outline for your class. As a prospective teacher it was important to see the process and what works for you as a teacher, but I found it very beneficial to read the challenges you faced with meeting the needs of individual students. The excerpt about Kayla was insightful to see a student struggling with the editing process of her paper, because you found that she was attached to the words she had created (Kittle 79).  This was a big help to me in understanding that as a teacher we are going to have students that exceed in some areas of the writing process and that struggle in others.

I have enjoyed this chapter of your book, and I look forward to reading and learning more from you.

Sincerely a future writing teacher,

MeKay Mitchem

Works Cited

Kittle, Penny. “The Opportunities in a Writer’s Workshop.” Write beside Them: Risk, Voice, and Clarity in High School Writing, Heinemann, 2008, pp. 62–95.