Reply to Tammy -- Wow, I love the song! It does a great job of discussing
metacognition. I also liked your table to connect metacognition with writing.
It is well thought-out and easy to understand. When
students can work on a "paper" as several "mini" parts,
it makes the process a whole lot easier. They do not feel so overwhelmed to
face the writing task.
Reply to Deborah -- I like your comment ... "No student can remain
passive when asked to put their ideas to paper." One of the statements
that I use to "convince" my students that writing is a great thing
(they tend think it is stupid, boring, and a waste of time) is that writing
is very active. Just a few well-written sentences can change a person's mind
about a specific issue. Teenagers often feel that the world is unfair, and
that they are getting the short-end of the stick. By focusing the energy that
is usually wasted on complaining on writing, they can do something about it.
Writing allows students to express there beliefs and ideas (hopefully in a
calm manner). This action is less likely to get the students in trouble than
the usual arguing, yelling, non-compliance, and violence. If students really
feel something is unfair, they should research the topic and write a persuasive
report to convince their teachers/administrators/parents that they are right.
If nothing else, at least the adults will be impressed enough with the report
that they might be willing to listen to the student's positions and attempt
a compromise.
Reply to Mary -- During my first year of teaching, my district also required
periodic writing essays to be turned in to the administration. All teachers
(in all disciplines) were required to do a writing essay each week. Then we
had to turn in four of those essays each quarter. This was required after
low ISAT writing scores. Soon, students and teachers, both, were worn out
from so much writing. The constant long essays took time away from other necessary
activities. This was especially evident in the lower grades, where most of
the writing tasks took an entire week to complete. The students were constantly
writing. This project seemed to be yet another example of a great idea in
theory, that was not so practical to implement. Needless to say, the project
did not last past that first year. Your idea of monthly writing tasks seems
a whole lot more feasible. I have tried to adapt my districts original concept
into my curriculum in the form of weekly journal entries. The difference is
that even though students are given weekly opportunities to express their
ideas in writing, they are not required to create "perfect" (double
and triple checked and corrected for fluency, clarity, and mechanics) essays
every week. We still do the "perfect" essays every month or so,
but the students are under less writing pressure.
