College of

Education.

The

IntodayssegmentofTheCollegeofEducationpaper,our
topjournalist,PrecilliaPierrehasinterviewedandresearched
thebestwaystoteachstudentswriting.
WewilllookatRikkiRoccantiaFloridaStateProfessor
currentlyteachingLiteratureandDramainHighSchool,
howeverMs.RoccantihasalsotaughtHighSchoolstudents
forseveralyears.

Wehaveallstruggledwithwaystoencourageourstudentstowriteformalpapersandbeing
comfortablebranchingouttowardsothertopics.Thenumberonequestionthenbecomes:
How do you encourage students' to write about other topics (not sticking with what they're
comfortable with)?
Rikki Roccanti stated: I think the best way is to start small and with low stakes. Ask students to
freewrite on a topic outside their comfort zone but keep it small and dont grade the content. If you
want students to write outside their comfort zone, you have to lower as many other writing anxieties
as you can. Another method, of course, is using conferences or one-on-one talks with students to
really encourage them to take that step. Sometimes students need to hear that someone else believes in
them before they can believe in themselves.

Aseducatorsweshouldencourageourstudentswithvariouswritingactivities.AsAmy
HolthousestatesCreativewritingpromotesstudentswritingabilitiescreativewritingwillallow
thesestudentstousetheskillstheyhavedevelopedintheseotherformsofwritingandwillbenefit
fromthisskill(Holthouse,2000).Wecancreatetonguetwistersandhavestudentsexpandonthem
orhavestudentsformaninclassinclassnewspaper.Ms.Roccantialsostatedthatsomewaysto
makewritingfunaregroupactivities;Ilikeishavingstudentsremixclassicliteraturebywritinga
newendingorwritingascenefromanothercharactersperspective.Thisallowsstudentstopractice
bothwritingandliteraryanalysis.Andthen,ofcourse,Ithinkwehavetobroadenourconceptionof
writingandrealizethatwecanaskstudentstocreateblogsorwebpagesorvideosandthosetasks
arealsoactsofwriting.
Whataresomeofyourfavoritepartsofteachingwriting/harderparts?
Thebestpartofteachingwritingisthatyoucancultivatereallystrongteacherstudent
relationshipswithyourstudents.Idontthinkanyothersubjectcansoeasilybondstudentsand
teachersbecauseyoulearnsomuchaboutyourstudentsbyreadingtheirwriting.Insomeways,this
isalsothehardestpartofteachingwriting.Writingisaverypersonalactformanystudentsandyou
havetobeverycarefulabouthowyoucritiquestudentswritingbecauseyoudontwantstudentsto
takethatcriticismpersonally(Roccanti,2014).AsJoseFillaoshasdemonstratedtohisTeaching
WritinginHighSchoolclassarewardingaspectofteachingisknowingyouassistedinastudent
beingpublishedorevenchangedtheiraspectofwriting.Teacherschangetheworld,onestudent
atatime.
AsMichaelH.MarkelstatesinhisTheWritingProcessTeachingtheWritingProcess
Revision.(Sep.1988)writing[istreatedasaprocess].Theaveragetypicalwritingteacherof
writingnowthinksofwritingasseriesofrecursivestepscircularstepsratherthanalinearprocess
whereyoustartinoneplaceandthengoontoanotherplace.Mr.Markellatergoesontoexplain
howtochangeourstudentsthinkingofwriting.REVISION,severalcollegeprofessorsare
demonstratingthatarrangingthechairsinacircleisverybeneficial.DuringourinterviewMs.
Roccantialsostated,Ithinkteachingstudentstorevisetheirwritingwillbuildtheirconfidence.
Studentsneedtoseewritingasarecursiveprocessratherthanalinearoneaprocesswherethey
cancontinuallyimprovetheirwritingthroughreceivingfeedbackanddrafting.
How much does reading help writing or writing help reading?
Reading and writing cannot be separated as literacy practices. Both practices support the
other. I think reading is crucial for writing because reading provides a multitude of models (different
styles, genres, tones) of writing that students can try out in their own writing as they learn to
cultivate their own voice. Likewise, becoming a better writer helps us become better readers as it
awakens our consciousness of craft.
Just remember, first drafts dont have to be perfect. They just have to be written.
Stay tune for our next publication of how to add social media into the classroom.

ReferencePage
Holthouse,A.(n.d.).UnitLessonPlan:CreativeWriting.RetrievedNovember18,2014,
from
http://english.illinoisstate.edu/rlbroad/archive/teaching/studentpubs/Revelations/Holthouse.
pdf
Teachingwriting[Interview].(RikkiRoccanti).
The Writing Process Teaching the Writing Process Revising
Michael H. Markel
College English, Vol. 50, No. 5 (Sep., 1988), pp. 509-510
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
Article DOI: 10.2307/377479
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/377479