Writing to Learn

Writing to learn in an English classroom is probably much simpler to implement than in others. I use a variety of writing methods to engage students in both high and low stakes writing experiences. There is this really cool photo blog presentation that Ms. Payseur and I (and several other English teachers in the county) use for warm-ups (here's the link). Some of these journals, which I evaluate purely on completion, have led to hilarious stories and deep conversations in my class. I love the ones that require students to make up a story based on a picture because everyone interprets it differently and the stories are so diverse. One of the lessons I try to impress on my public speaking students is that speeches are very much like writing and to apply the organizational and research skills we develop in class to English 10 in the spring. I've found that many students are much better speakers as a form of communication than writers, so I try to use their strengths to help them bridge that gap. While we do not do much high stakes writing in public speaking, I make them adhere to organizational structures (outlining) that they can then apply to future writing assignments. It is really cool to see how they develop as communicators over the semester.