Catching up from 2-26

Writing to Learn

Reader Response   Chapter 2

Content Area Writing Text

 

I guess you might say that I am writing to learn all the time. As the authors state early in the chapter, the humble grocery list is a basic example of a writing to learn exercise. My memory gets a bit foggy at about five items. I have a rather vast collection of colored post-it note pads and find myself writing to learn all day long. A list here a list there, make copies of this, talk with a colleague about that. Post it notes everywhere.

 

As I read through this chapter, I felt a bit “junior high – ish” as I realized I should have read this chapter prior to our write to learn (WTL) presentations we gave to the class. My WTL was a lesson unlike any other yet I thought it held some merit. Man was I off track. WTLs need to be short little bursts of writing energy that go ungraded and need to be somewhat informal. Informal doesn’t mean that it can’t be done well. I’m also a big fan of the no grading option. Sometimes many WTL assignments with informal assessments can provide more useful information to a teacher then one large formal assessment. Students usually perform better with less stress and hence, a more accurate view as to their comprehension,

Page 27 offers an amusing view of using the review questions at the end of a textbook chapter as a good WTL practice. The point is made that while some text books represent better than others, fill in the blank under the guise of WTL is a bit ridiculous. Most students would classify this as lame busy work. As a WTL practice, I would take those questions and re-write them in a fashion that would foster healthy group discussion. Use them as chapter starters in small groups and have them record their answers as exit tickets for the day. Once the chapter is complete, revisit these same questions in a mixed group setting to see if the key topics have been understood. This would be enhanced by the use of larger post-it notes so the students could create answer maps. Stick them on the wall and discuss their findings as a larger group.