What Is Primary Writing?

I will state up front that I have never taught a Primary language arts class.

So how’s this? I’m now going to write a blog post about teaching writing in the Primary grades, as an Intermediate teacher!

This is why I feel I am qualified to do so: many of those little primary learners eventually ended up in my grade 7 and 8 classes. I would have liked them to have had a “do-over”… a second chance at gaining expressive skills, and building on success from year to year.

My reason for writing is to muse and wonder about the use of technology in day-to-day writing classes in the primary grades:

• At what age or grade do we start supporting students with technology as an integral part of their program?
• What is the value of restricting children to printing or writing by hand, especially those with an identification?
• How much time should be spent on that, relative to learning effective technology-based writing tools?
• Considering the the SAMR model, is writing in primary something we should measure against SAMR? Or not?
• Is it time to go multi-modal in all aspects of literacy? Will that help us as teachers foster the 6Cs of 21^st century learning?

In writing this post, I got interested in comparing the SAMR model (substitution, augmentation, modification, redefinition) to the way we foster writing skills in the continuum of grades from K to 8. Can we re-define writing, and still have it count as writing?

Here are some results of a simple definition search for the word “writing.” They range from very limited, to definitions that are open to 21^st century interpretation.

Here are two old-school definitions:

·      Google: the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text.

·      Merriam-Webster: the act or process of one who writes, such as: the act or art of forming visible letters or characters.

But personally, I was intrigued by the following definitions.

·      Free Dictionary: The act or process of producing and recording words in a form that can be read and understood.

·      Wikipedia: Writing is a medium of human communication that represents language and emotion through the inscription or recording of signs and symbols.

I know that for some teachers, this topic is old news, and something they have examined in their own practice over a period of years. For example, one of Aviva Dunsiger’s posts that I have cited below is from 2010… However, I believe there are many other teachers who have not reflected on this, or who hold strong beliefs on methods of teaching writing without technology. This means that our schools are taking a wide range of approaches, and I’m not sure that students en masse benefit.

Is it still a valid teaching strategy to have a whole class of grade 1 or 2 students write a journal entry in a notebook every day? Is it really necessary that young, identified students struggle every day with their pencil and paper? I know they certainly struggled in grade 8, in the years before classroom technology.

Based on my Grade 7 and 8 students, my observation is that this kind of routine is not the best way to build a confident writer. It builds a school-hater instead.

I frequently saw the results in Intermediate - the students arrive still unable to formulate a written piece longer than a sentence or two, or maybe a paragraph. Even worse to me was what I called "self-limiting" or "self-censoring." This what occurs when a student who struggles with written output learns how to write the absolute minimum to avoid having the teacher tell them to complete their work. These well-informed, articulate and opinionated young people would simply write the shortest sentences in the shortest paragraphs, in order to pass under the radar. And then be able to shrug off any suggestion to extend their thinking. As they were also moving into grades where marks count and permit access to some careers, this was heartbreaking on a number of levels.

These were bright kids, full of creative ideas. In Grade 1 or 2, we might say that they were unable to get this onto the paper. By grade 8, they are unwilling as well as unable.

I found it extremely difficult to reverse this mindset and raise ability levels in the course of one year, for the following reason.

For me, the worst realization of all happened when we began to see the availability of SEA laptops and iPods and audio recorders for some students, combined with more computer lab time. Even with new tools available, the self-limiting was so ingrained that they still struggled to express themselves in a grade-appropriate manner.

So my final question is: why are we waiting "until they are older" to provide daily tech support as an integral part of our students' programs?

I think it would be great if primary students were able to use speech-to-text apps or audio recorders as a matter of course, to support not just their day-to-day learning but to build patterns of thinking and expression that are a true reflection of their capabilities.

Not to mention the wide range of multi-modal apps such as Adobe Spark that truly open up the “writing” experience.

Here are a few inspiring and thought-provoking sources:

Beth Holland, Redefining the Writing Process With iPads

Edutopia, November 26, 2013

With what we'll call Writing 3.0, students and teachers can:

·       Organize and draft through handwriting, drawing, text and voice

·       Collaborate and incorporate multimodal feedback

·       Create a final product that demonstrates mastery and communicates understanding beyond the literal confines of paper

Dr. Kristi Meeuwse, Using the iPad for Writing in Kindergarten

 iTeach with iPads Blog, February 16, 2016

Aviva Dunsiger – Is It Writing?

Living Avivaloca, April 11, 2015

Aviva Dunsiger – Redefining Writing

Living Avivaloca, January 16, 2010

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#Haiku

Grackles are flocking, night shelter in marsh alders, wings rushing at dawn.

Better planning for better writing

Despite my enthusiasm for multi-modal literacy approaches, I am still looking for an  effective way to give my students more writing practice. And for lack of another term, more meta cognitive personal reflections on their development as writers.

Sometimes it seems that those who are most in favour of allowing students to always choose alternatives to formally written answers are those who are ultra-literate thinkers and writers, themselves. I disagree. I think we should be introducing our students to many modes of expression and communication, but written English should be right up there at a the top of the list.

The alternative is distasteful and patronizing, to me. It is paving the way for a class of citizens who will find certain doors closed to them: medicine and health, scientific research, law, politics, business administration, municipal planning. Real life is about more than presenting insights via multiple modes. Key fields that create, support and enhance society and quality of life involve years of study, in part in traditional modes.

So back to my goals for the coming year... I know that no matter what tools the students are using there is a real need to get them to acknowledge the editing step. So often I am just really happy to see them engaged in a project, so interested in their thoughts, happy to see them making personal progress. However, I am not recording much of this explicitly, and thus the students are not really aware either.

I am usually pleased with the amount of assessment that I end up with at the end of each term, and that it is often spanning several subject areas and genres, and showing skill development on the part of each student. But I would like to approach the teaching of writing this year with more of a plan in mind.

Or use the board idea garnered from Twitter (reference to be added later!) and put up more work from various subjects to show the students in a graphic way their progress from level to level, post more info about what work at different levels looks like, give them the chance to write often, and "allow" them to to edit and move up a level. I can use the CASI marking exemplars as well as the curriculum to draft up some posters.

I will also reinforce one of my existing approaches which is to tell them "Level 1 is not wrong. But improvements can be made." 

Another goal is to get them to edit and correct basic things on their own - and the board might just be the catalyst to move them into this new writing stage. I have found that other methods including marking, written feedback, examples, rubrics and conferences have had minimal impact.

I can also see how portfolios would be helpful, ultimately, to collect all of this material. A system of colour coding levels to show changes and improvements would also be useful.

Somehow this approach would have to encompass the blog as well, as there is a real need for the students to post more professional looking writing at this age. I hate to say it, but it might involve printing out the blog to display on the board...

A couple of factors will make this possible this year, only one English class instead of three, and the possibility of not sharing the room with multiple classes.

Travel plans

I just realized that when I go online now the first three places I check are all social networking sites: Tweetdeck, FB and Yalitchat. Then probably Google Reader. There are a few factors at play here. Most importantly, my email now goes directly to my phone, so the step of logging on to check mail is eliminated. Tweetdeck has CBC news headlines on it, so that's helpful. And, I can see what's shakin in the world of educational technology and writing. Joining FB has been a great experience, for two reasons, reconnecting with friends from the past, and a challenging online tres literary book club. And Yalitchat is an extremely active writing community with everything from contests to practical advice to moral support.
So now I am going to try to take this on the road. As we travel, I want to post updates and pictures every day. For a non-routine person such as me this will be a true test. Is it easy enough? Is it fun? Will I remember? I am well aware that, for the first time since Tom was little and we kept a journal when camping, I will have a written record of memorable travel notes. I hope.
So if you are interested, I will be posting to Twitter which have set up to feed to FB as well. (And maybe separately to Peter, our housesitter, on his phone!)

G8 Paranoia?

My gosh, if the clichés aren’t true after all! So they’ve been advertising that the Town of Huntsville now has a staff person to answer all of our questions about the G8 Summit planned for next June. For my novel, I wanted to know if they had decided where the Free Speech area might be, or where protestors might be allowed to camp. The woman in town said curtly that they wouldn’t know because they weren’t running the G8 Summit, and gave me a toll free number to call the Summit Management Office. At least I hope it was toll free. It started with 819. Here’s how the conversation went.
Voice: Hello.
Me: Hello.
V: How did you get this number?
M: What?
V: This is a private number. How did you get it?
M: The Town of Huntsville.
V: They gave you my private number?
M: I don't know.
V: I don’t usually get calls on this line.
M: I don’t know your private number. I called a number and they put me through to you.
V: Oh. I’ll have to speak to them about that.
M: I’m writing a novel for young adults that is set at the G8. Do you know where the Free Speech area is going to be?
V: No, you’ll have to call the ISU (Integrated Security Unit.) Here’s that number.
M: Look, I just want to know if it’s been announced yet or am I wasting my time.
V: Well, I believe it’s going to be announced really soon.
M: Thank you.
... Wow, that was almost enough research for me for one day.
This was one of those times when I wish I was quicker with the responses. I could have strung her along for quite a while. I also wish I had had the presence of mind to tell her she is paid with tax dollars and does not actually have a "private" line.

25 Words

High concept - an original story and sympathetic characters. Sound easy?
I went to a workshop a couple of years ago. It was led by Lori Wilde, whose own novels embody high concept. The event came at exactly the right time for me in the writing of my own book. I’m always looking for tactics to improve structure and give characters more depth.
But high concept, originally a film term, also means that your story is so universal in its theme, at the same time as being completely unique, that it can be summed up in one sentence. Lori was strict. 25 words.
I have to tell you that after you’ve struggled to give a mystery or romance twists and turns, sub-plots and fascinating secondary characters, 25 words is, um, a little limiting.
Near the end of the workshop, she asked us to volunteer our own high-concept summaries. I got about half way, before rambling off in incoherent details about what I considered the fundamental plot of my novel. I couldn’t do it.
But before you get too sympathetic, think about it. Any of your favourite movies lend themselves to a high concept summary. Lori uses several examples. Think Brad and Angelina in Mr and Mrs Smith: “Embattled husband and wife assassins end up hunting each other.” Or “Teenage girl discovers she’s princess of a small European country and must endure princess lessons from her grandmother.”
I worked on this task for over a month. Here are 25 words about Green Sky.
“A beautiful, ambitious meteorologist must team up with her storm-chaser ex to stop a killer in the torrid days and night preceding a deadly tornado.”
Now, Lori said she would occasionally consider 28 to 30 words. I love this.
“A beautiful, ambitious meteorologist must team up with her storm-chaser ex to stop a killer and expose an ecological disaster in the torrid days and night preceding a deadly tornado.”
So there you have it. Now, would you read this book?

Zoning In

There are so many aspects of The Element (Sir Ken Robinson) to comment on but I will zero in on The Zone to start with. I first heard this term nearly 10 years ago during the inaugural Muskoka Three-Day Novel Marathon. As the event name would indicate, you go to a venue – empty storefront, coffee shop, community centre, it changes from year to year – and try to write a novel in three days and three nights. One of the founders, writer, poet and teacher Martin Avery, used the term to describe the state of mind you had to get into in order to speed-write your story. In The Zone, you are able to concentrate and block out distractions. But even more importantly, you are in a region of the imagination that enables you to gather momentum, generating the forward movement of your characters through the world of your plot, and pushing your writing to snap out images, description and evocative dialogue, hardly aware of the pages scrolling in front of you on the computer screen.
Sir Ken describes this as being, “deep in the heart of the Element." (p. 86) He adds, “We become focused and intent. We live in the moment. We become lost in the experience and perform at our peak… our minds merge with our bodies and we feel ourselves drawn effortlessly into the heart of the Element.”
I realized the other evening when I was writing to the TLLP team members about ideas for our final report that, once again, I was in the zone. I had not ever made this connection before – that the zone of fiction writing is similar to the zone for project planning. When I think of how much I enjoy writing proposals and reports, and devising new unit plans, I now realize that it’s the zone that makes me feel that I have transcended even the other enjoyable aspects of my job, and there are many. But for me, trying to set out the big ideas and map out the progress of projects or units is a special pleasure. It’s the zone, for sure!