Writing is an integral part of the classroom curriculum. To be effective in writing instruction, a teacher must make it consistent, important, and exciting to the students. Teachers must make sure that the students have the modeling they need to make their writing successful. The teacher must spend a great deal of time modeling for the students what they need to do in their writing before the student understands and can produce what is expected of them. After modeling for the whole class, then the teacher must individualize instruction to students that need extra help. After the child has completed the “sloppy copy” of the work, then the teacher must make sure that the student is pushed further in his ability so that the student and the teacher are proud of the finished product. The teacher must make the expectations clear to the students before the writing process begins. The best way to do this is have a rubric which the teacher will grade each writing assignment by. Each student is graded on their improvement on the rubric and not as a whole group. This way each child can feel accomplished. The finished products are displayed on the classroom boards, in the bookshelves, and in the halls of the school. This way the students know that they have accomplished something that others would want to look at.
I think that all of the ideas in the chapter are things that teachers should know, but as time constraints are always present, some things are just passed by in order to get other things completed. It is also difficult to know exactly where your students should be compared to other grades and classrooms unless you work closely with other teachers. Again, that takes time that teachers feel they do not have. Reading this made me have some great reflections on my classroom and my process of writing. I do not like a whole lot of things on the wall to clutter the room. I have never really thought that all students writing should all be up at the same time. Now I am revising that thinking and wondering where I am going to find the room for all work.
