Entry 6

Dear Dr. Jones,

I am enjoying this class so far! I didn’t realize how in need of writing instruction I was until I began reading Tompkins (2012). Even prior to that, our reading of Tierney and Pearson (1983) illuminated reading and writing as parallel processes; many of my initial thoughts surrounding these processes were challenged from this first reading. Tomkins (2012) is enjoyable to read, and illuminates what I already knew about writing, but needed to explicitly read and reflect upon. The class is not what I expected, in that it allows flexibility and independence in completing certain tasks. This is a new approach, so I have been doing my best to ensure I am on track each week with my projects. The tables/ “status of the class” documents have been a helpful tool in this adjustment. 

I really like the reading and writing blog style. I have always found journal/reflection tasks helpful to unpack my readings and the blog format is a fun twist on that, while also giving me ideas for classroom instruction. The literacy program has really emphasized the value of technology and preparing our students to be literate across all modalities, which is why this is a great design to consider implementing in a future classroom. Beyond the reading and writing blogs, we have been introduced to a number of instructional strategies and have engaged and practiced them for our own writing. I wrote about this briefly in my previous blog post, but actually engaging in the strategy is extremely beneficial. We practiced the card strategy, which was introduced alongside the puzzle pieces strategy in Kucer and Rhodes (1986). I feel like these have shown me how collaborative the brainstorming and writing process in general can be. We also read about the question card strategy, which takes writing conferences to the next step, allowing the writer to take responsibility for their writing. Exploring various mentor texts while reading Tompkins (2012), as well as specific articles, has been extremely significant in helping me envision the classroom library I want. Additionally, I have an array of resources I can refer back to when instructing. 

I am beginning my actual draft today for the Genre Pieces Project, and this has me nervous if I’m honest! It is nerve wracking to engage in these writing tasks, which are so different from the type of writing I have been doing in college. I don’t feel there are additional supports that could be provided at this time. I am looking forward to conferencing with my writing group to support me through this process. I am also looking forward to watching the first Genre Expert group present to get an additional sample of what that can look like, as I continue moving forward with that project. 

Sincerely,

Elise Coon

References

Kucer, S. B. & Rhodes, L. K. (1986).  Counterpart strategies:  Fine tuning language with 

            language.  The Reading Teacher, 40(2),186-193.

Tierney, R. & Pearson, P. D. (1983).  Toward a composing model of reading.  Language Arts, 

            60(5), 568-580.