Learning Blog 7

I really enjoyed reading Chapter 8 in our book, Reading to Learn in the Content Areas, and how it talked about writing to learn in the different content areas. The quote at the beginning of the chapter “To read is to empower, to empower is to write, to write is to influence, to influence is to change, to change is to live", by Jane Evershed, really made me see the impact writing to learn can have on my students.

Writing is one of the most complex communication processes. It’s easy to express yourself verbally because people can see your body language and gestures but it’s another thing entirely express yourself in written form using careful word choice and organization in order for the reader to comprehend. It requires the students to understand thinking in abstract terms, synthesize information coherently, and their ability and skill to apply other abstract skills. Writing truly complements to reading, if it allows the students to clarify and think critically about what they encounter in reading, and because of this it should be included in all content areas Writing is a process. It’s a process that includes: drafts, grammar, spelling, revisions, formatting, etc.  In writing especially I think rubric are important because they allow for students to write for a purpose and know exactly what is expected of them for each assignment.

I think computers and technology can not only keep the students engaged and spark their interest but, they can be a very helpful tool in the writing process. With computers and technology students are able to write drafts quickly, revise them easily, and save anything they have written. It also makes things easier for the teacher because they are better able to look at students drafts early to see if they are going in the right direction with the assignment as opposed to paper and pencil drafts.

Writing fits right into every stage of the P.A.R. Lesson Framework and this chapter has some really good writing strategies for each stage of PAR. Some strategies to use in the Preparation phase are Cubing and Brain writing. Those in the Assistance phase include: Learning logs and poetry/bio poem. Those in the Reflection phase include: Guided reading procedure and GIST strategy.

Writing and reading go hand in hand with each other and depend on each other. They are both just as important. Reading to learn is just as important as writing to learn. The author says in trying to explain writing to learn, it is a “catalyst for further learning and meaning making” (214). It is a complex process that you can discover a lot about the world around us and the same for our students. The book states “When writing is viewed as way of discovering rather than as merely an avenue for testing knowledge, learning is the result” (214). As a future teacher I want my students to investigate, explore, and discover all they can about themselves and the world around them through reading and writing.

Overall this was a great chapter and I learned a lot of different strategies that into every stage of the P.A.R. Lesson Framework that I could definitely use in my future classroom. I also learned a lot about how complex writing can be and as a future teacher I want my students to become great writers and develop the desire writing just as much reading. I want them to see the impact that writing has on their daily lives and the world around them and in all the different content areas. One of my favorite quotes from the book sums it up best “Writing is a skill, an art, and a tool that can be effectively used for learning in all content areas” (251).