Crafting Writers Chapters 7, 8, & 9

          In chapter 7 of Elizabeth Hales, “Crafty Writers”, she talks about teaching craft lessons. I thought it was interesting how she related good teaching to thinking about the person on the receiving end. I totally agree with this concept as I think about how I am training with a new member of my bike team. Since I was new to the team last year, I can understand exactly what she is going through, and what I found difficult to understand about riding. She recently told me that I was a great teacher and that she really feels comfortable with me rather than Caroline (our bike captain) because I can relate to what she is going through and explain things better. It is important for the teacher to think about how she would take in these new concepts that she is teaching and what others may find difficult to understand.

              I also liked how she talked about using lessons to actually teach new things. I think it will be important as I am making up lessons to ask myself: What exactly am I teaching, and how will this lesson help students to become better writers. I can relate to what she said about having students do something with what they are learning. From my own experience as a student, I listen much more when I know I have to do something with the material. My favorite “try-it” method is the writing journal. This way they will have a written list of exactly what they have learned.

       In Chapter 8, Hales focuses on looking at strengths in a writing conference. When I think about conferences, I imagine my teacher pointing out and circling all of my spelling mistakes. I think Hales approach would be a much more beneficial for students. I love how the boy, Jonathan, ended up choosing writing for his favorite class. In the beginning he dreaded this class but because his teacher saw strengths in his writing, he did as well.

          I  like how she pointed out that students use craft methods they have never been taught (like the echo method). They use these crafts because of the types of literature they have been exposed to. This shows that it is beneficial for students to be exposed to all types of reading material.

          Finally, it is important to point out something good about the students writing. It doesn’t matter how primary it may be. Even if it is a craft that you have never thought of before, pointing out something will help the student to feel good about their writing and continue to grow.

Finally, in chapter 9, Hales talks about what issues teachers can address in conferences. Working in a school right now I can see that children in the classroom are not all at the same level.  I am guessing that within my own classroom this will also be the case. It is important for the teacher not to teach on where the student should be. By this I mean it is not beneficial for the teacher to throw 50 things at the child to fix in their writing.

         I really like how she emphasizes to use the Childs writing as an actual starting point and to look at situations where you can introduce craft because it would fit in perfectly. It is also beneficial to look at all the things that could possibly be taught and to focus on one.