Chameleons I. Assimilation Color Codes- Teacher vs. Learner
“A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood. The writer wants to be understood much more than he wants to be respected or praised or even loved. And that perhaps, is what makes him different from others” - Leo Rosten
Color Code 3 Write About Everything
I may be wrong, but students these days do not like to write. They do not choose to write, at least. Writing to them is a foreign concept that is only useful when one texts on an electronic device. Most students write off topic, produce incoherent paragraphs, and feel quite comfortable staying that way if not challenged. When I first received my students this past year, they loudly proclaimed that, “We HATE writing!” The interesting thing about it is that, when kids were young, they were always doodling, scribbling, making up and writing stories as toddlers. Then school happened. If I did not know better, I would think that the institution of education is what stripped children the passion for writing in the first place. A kindergartener gets
dropped off at the front step of a school. Throughout the day, she was drawing, making up stories, while the teacher keeps reminding the child to “stay within the lines”, and “make a complete sentence”. Then the ensuing grade levels emphasized grammar, spelling, sentence structure, metaphors, similes, and on and on. By the time children reach fifth grade, they hate writing. These children started their school career likely with a “voice” in their writing. By the time I get them in the upper grade, I have to help them find that “voice” again. In Taiwan, the national exams place a tremendous weight on students’ ability to write. Parents send students to cram schools just so they can catch up on writing skill. There has to be a better way to get our young people to write purposefully, intentionally, tactfully, and as a result, joyfully.
Our Right to Write I believe writing is a part of life, not a “task” that one only studies when it comes time for tests or exams. If students write every day, then it becomes a part of their routine. When we cultivate that passion, students naturally pour out their thoughts and frame their ideas in a way that makes sense to the reader. Writing happens.
To assimilate the students so they love writing as much as I do. I model the type of writing that I want them to do before allowing them to try it. For students in grades four through six, they are responsible for Information writing (explain how and why), narrative writing (tell a story), Response to Literature (share their understanding about a story read), and opinion writing (present an argument to convince readers to
take their side). To write well, students must have content. To get content, they must read or have extensive life experience. This is what I do: 1. For any given topic, whether it is about current event or natural wonders, I give students both fictional and non-fictional texts and multimedia sources to view. On the topic of volcano, for instance, I would start out with the textbook story on how volcano got its name. Then provided students with at least two excerpts from books or magazines to read about volcanoes. They then watched videos about volcanic eruptions and the anatomy of a volcano. To really bring it home, I showed them news report of recent volcanic activities in locations around the world (Iceland and Hawaii, for example). By the time we started to write, students have had multiple exposures to topics on volcanoes. I then modeled the writing depending on the week’s focus (Informational or narrative). 2. I had students bring up their writing to be projected under the document camera to be critiqued. At first, only a few students volunteered. I projected the writing, made comments and correction, offered ideas to tweak the expressions, and then gave the essay back to the student author. In front of the entire class, the student author was able to see how an ordinary piece of work, through careful editing and fine-tuning, could become a well-structured masterpiece. Students’ attitude started to change. They knew that I pushed them hard, and I would not pretend to like their writing. If I made a positive comment about a paper, that was because I saw real efforts to write a great paper. Many more students started to crave the opportunity to have their work
projected and read aloud, and did not want me to stop doing so. Eventually, the entire class would be begging for me to show their writing under the camera to receive criticism. We do not laugh at others behind them. If we laugh, we do so with the student authors and let them know immediately what needs to be edited to become a stronger piece of writing. Students appreciate knowing the constructive truth and they know truth makes them better. Everyone wants to be better. 3. When presenting the truth, I always share with the group the strengths in the writing first, then go relentlessly at the content to make sure that we stress the importance of structure and technique of writing. Once the writing is fixed, we make a huge deal of the new success. Ultimately, students appreciate the truth. With that process in place, I can entrust the editing step to the students. They start doing peer editing, following the guide that I have created for them. They often take half of the writing block to edit another student’s writing. Once edited work is returned to the author, everyone types up the final work and I read the selected pieces in front of the group. If the piece of writing meets or exceeds my expectation, both the editor and the author were praised with the highest remarks. Quite opposite of that would be, if a piece of work continues to suffer after the editing process, both the editor and the author would be required to remain in class to work with me to better that assignment.
These are steps for formal writing instruction. I incorporate writing into every part of the daily process including math, arts, science, and social studies. Another “big deal” in my classroom is that, I also use writing as part of my discipline structure.
Write When Everything Was Not Right One of the consequences that I installed in my classroom was for students to write a five- paragraph essay whenever they failed to perform well or to complete their work. If parents wrote me a note to try to “bail out” the child, I also have the child write to explain what happened between them and their parents. Either way, as long as students do not have homework, they are writing something for me.
The reason that I started doing this years ago was that, I spent so much time listening to students’ excuses for not having homework, it was almost like I was the one that did wrong and I needed to have consequence. At the fifth grade level, students own the basic understanding of the structure of five-paragraph essay writing. By having them write about everything, it takes the pressure off of me to have to listen and document what the students were telling me. At the same time, it gives students that added practice to tell an idea well.
First, for students who are not verbal (most of them are not), it is a challenging task to explain themselves on a moment’s notice to tell an adult what caused them not to have homework, especially when they are already in trouble. By
giving them time to think, they produce much thoughtful results, and sometimes surprise me with a heart-felt explanation. A little girl once wrote in her letter:
Dear Dr. Huang, I am so sorry that I did not do homework. I did not do it because I did not get it. The reason I did not get it was because I did not ask you questions in class when you were teaching. Sometimes, it is hard for me to get something the first time, but I was too scared to ask in front of everybody. I know I should raise my hand, but I have problem getting words out of my mouth right away. I hope you will forgive me. I will try to ask more questions. It was truly my fault. I promise not to miss homework again.
My heart sank. I have allowed a child to go home feeling so lost and helpless. How did I not catch that? I brought the girl to my desk and offered a solution, now that I knew she was too shy to speak in front of the class. I told her that, if she ever got confused and did not know what to ask in front of the group, she would wave her hand three times. That would be a signal for me to come by after I finished the instructional part of the lesson, so I could answer her questions personally. I also told her that, when I drew her card to answer clarifying questions in class, I would always go to other students before coming back to her again. By then, she would have had many chances to listen to others’ answers to gain insight into the questions. She agreed and thanked me. By her writing, I was able to catch a potentially irreversible problem with this child falling further behind. Writing brings clarity.
Secondly, writing is a great way to communicate personality and underlying feelings without students detecting it. There had been times when students did not do homework due to a family issue, ranging anywhere from death in the family to parents fighting loudly and frequently. They will never verbally tell an adult, “Oh, I did not do homework because my parents are going through a divorce.” However, when given the opportunity to express their feelings through writing, even the most simplistic use of words can tell me so much about the child’s unspoken pain.
A boy who hardly ever talked in my class missed several days of homework. He would say, “I am sorry,” each time, but I could not get a reason out of him. In one of his letters to me, he wrote:
Dear Dr. Huang, I know you must think that I am lazy. Well, I am not. I cannot focus when I go home. My mom and dad talk so loud to each other every night. Sometimes I get so scared my hands are shaking. And I have to cover my ears with my hands. My friends told me that their parents do that sometimes, too. But my parents do this every night and I saw my dad almost hit my mom one time. I know this sounds like an excuse, but they are really, really loud. I am very afraid. If you think of me as a bad kid, I get it. But I am really not. I don’t want people to think that I am lazy. But I missed so many homework already. I will accept any
punishment you give me, because I deserve it. But, Dr. Huang, can you talk to my parents? Please? I am very afraid.
I don’t know about you, but I was already tearing up half way through that note. Often times, parents who are going through a divorce are too busy and too exhausted to sift through their own emotions, burdens, and financial struggles (one of the top reasons for divorce in 2014), they do not have time to care for their children’s emotions. So children suffer in silence. That is something to keep in mind when we work with children. Some of these youngsters in our classrooms may come across totally “normal”, but they struggle with their issues. Left unchecked, these emotional wounds may linger into adulthood. I was grateful that the child trusted me enough to ask for help. I made calls right away. As predicted, parents had no idea what the child, or any of their children were going through, and the trauma that their fights had impacted these kids. I asked them to avoid having these fights in front of the children and to also explain to them about the inevitable.
I brought the student over and told him that I had talked to parents. I let him know that, while I could not begin to understand what he was going through, I would be there for him. Anytime that he needed to talk, I would make time for him. If he lost attention during class, I allowed him the extra time to come back. However, I also let him know that I expected highly from him. For these kids, they do not need sympathy. They need strong guidance, understanding, protection, and someone that they can trust. His parents eventually got a divorce, but continue to be sensitive to the
children’s needs. This young man never did miss his homework again. His self image remained intact, and he began to speak in class.
Finally, when children are given time to write and get used to putting down words on paper, they learn to organize their thoughts. They learn to carefully select their words instead of speaking out of impulse. They understand that writing is a tool for communication. Everything they say is to get their ideas across to the person who is reading the essay, letter, or note. My chameleon colors are most insistent when it comes to crafting a piece of writing. Students approach writing as a “craft”, a masterpiece that takes careful planning and meticulous execution. While their vocabulary is yet grow, students know that, if they use their words well, they can move the audience and cause actions on the readers’ part. It takes continuous guidance. I constantly share with students what they are doing right in their writing. No false compliments are ever given just because students wrote something down on paper. They knew that, in order to earn these specific announcements of adoration, they must output writing according to the framework and rubric given.
We write about everything. In the end, students become young debaters, researchers, and writers who make sound arguments to defend their viewpoint. This does not happen by accident. It is a tactful journey of assimilation for them to fall in love with writing.
Suggestions for Parents: Most parents do not have the time (or patience) to read each piece of writing produced by their children. Kids recognize that; sometimes even expect that. Very few things cause a student to give up on writing than having him/her find out that no one is reading their creative work. If your child comes to you with an essay that he just wrote, be sure to take time to read at least the opening and ending of the essay. Give precise and concise pointers or suggestions as you read. It will take but five minutes of your day, but you will be able to see the child’s personality and voice in the writing. You may even find out a whole lot about yourself by reading your child’s writing.
Action Points for Teachers: Students should write to defend, argue, explain, influence, and give opinions. Each day, schedule a designated time block for students to write. Sometimes you can give a prompt for the writing, other times can simply be them writing a journal entry in their writing book. The key is to give students constructive and immediate feedback about their writing. Be sure to let students know that the purpose of you reading their paper is not to “grade” the paper, but to offer responses and comments to help them improve writing.
If You Happened to be a Student:
If you like to write, be sure to practice expository writing by reading on a variety of topics. When the time comes, you will be able to present a sound argument that is anchored in the plethora of reading material that you have included in your personal reading hours. If you do not like to write, choose a topic that truly interests you and read widely about it. Take notes on what you observed during your reading. You will soon find that writing is simply a well- structured written record of your thoughts.
Chameleon Dialogues (變色龍互動區) Informational writing is to explain why and how, narrative writing is to tell a story. Opinion writing is to present both sides of the argument in a powerful way, which, consequently, redirects readers to take action on your viewpoint. Take at least three months to teach each type of writing because students need multiple topics and exposures to perfect their craft in writing. Not every piece of writing has to be “complete” from beginning to end. I often have students write just one paragraph to show that they understand the formation of writing a powerful opening, a thoughtful conclusion, or a sequenced argument, for example. Unless you intend to read five paragraphs from 30 kids everyday, do not assignment five paragraphs. Too many teachers give writing assignments, but never have time to read them. I prefer to read short snippets of stories and give constructive criticisms and have students revise their writing on the next day. I don’t spend five hours reading, they don’t spend days wondering what happened to their assignment. Win-win.