Effective Writing Instruction 

(Originally titled “What Writing Is and Isn’t”)

“Let’s keep this in perspective,” says writer Jeff Anderson in an article in Educational Leadership. “The Common Core State Standards are a guiding document. Educators must look beyond the artificial boundaries assumed in such a document and dive into pedagogy, process, content knowledge, and research that reveals best practice in teaching writing… The art of teaching writing standards of any kind blossoms from a full understanding of what writing is and isn’t.” Anderson believes it isn’t:

• A kit or a program – Worksheets, scripted lessons, and textbooks don’t teach writing.
• Test prep – It’s a shame that so many students think school is all about passing tests.
• Memorizing parts of speech – Actually, the Common Core will assess whether students can apply their knowledge of the parts of speech.
• Separate from reading – Anderson says that close reading, grammar, and author’s purpose need to be taught as part of a unified meaning-making endeavor. For example, when students read the lyrics to Beyoncé’s song, If I were a boy, they can learn about the subjunctive mood, which conveys something that’s contrary to fact. “And this new understanding that students gleaned from their reading will surface in their writing,” says Anderson.

He then turns to what writing is:

• A transaction – “As writers of text – as humans – we desperately want to be heard,” he says, “to receive a response, to connect… Groping for power, young writers long to connect to audiences.” Students need the chance to free-write, instruction in how to take ordinary sentences and make them sing, and the time and space to experiment, share with others, and rewrite. “Writing is alive and messy,” he believes. “It involves taking risks, which means making mistakes. And mistakes are necessary for growth.”

• A skill that can be learned – All writers struggle to find a focus, include pertinent detail, and create cohesion, and the standards are an excellent guide. Students also benefit from reading, analyzing, and emulating mentor texts. “As students note what a writer does well,” says Anderson, “they are, at the same time, creating a menu of options they can use in their own writing.”

• A stimulus for passion and freedom – Teachers’ job is to “ignite students’ passions and let their souls, thoughts, fears, truths, experiences, and arguments shine on the page,” says Anderson. “Writing should be a joyous act and, frankly, so should the teaching of it.” This happens when teachers create a supportive writing community, expose students to a variety of genres and styles, and suggest assignments that link to students’ obsessions and concerns. “Meet them there, and no list of standards or high-stakes test will be out of reach.”

“What Writing Is and Isn’t” by Jeff Anderson in Educational Leadership, April 2014 (Vol. 71, #7, p. 10-14), http://bit.ly/1eaJojA; Anderson can be reached at jeff@writeguy.net.

From the Marshall Memo #531