Writing Instruction

When I reflect on writing instruction in my own schooling, I have a hard time remembering any instruction.  I remember assignments and teachers explaining the parameters we had to follow, such as topic, how many pages or paragraphs, number or type of resources, but I remember very few lessons about the craft of writing.  A few teachers did explain how to organize a paper; writing a thesis with precisely three supporting items always located at the end of the sentence so that each of those items could translate into a topic sentence for the three supporting paragraphs in the paper.  Always three paragraphs, even if one paragraph stretched across more than one page. I enjoyed writing and, looking back, I think that I learned to write mainly because I found magic in words and arranging them so that they expressed ideas I found important.  Most of my writing instruction felt constricting and I remember thinking of ways to appear to follow the rules of the assignments while allowing myself to express my creativity. 

The instruction I received in writing most closely matches Freeman and Freeman’s (2004) learning view of writing.   As they describe, the teacher directly instructs students and teaches them how to create the whole from parts, which reminds me of the instruction to use the parts of the thesis to create the whole of the paper.  They also explain how in this view “writing products must be conventional from the beginning” (p. 29).  I was not encouraged to experiment and, at least in elementary school, my writing seemed to be graded more on how closely I followed conventions than on the quality of what I had to say. 

As a teacher, I prefer the acquisition view (Freeman & Freeman, 2004), which seems to honor the message more than the conventions.  The purpose of writing is to communicate and share one’s unique view.  I feel that students respond more enthusiastically to this approach.  It also reminds me of the workshop model (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001), (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001) where students have more control in the writing process.  One of my favorite quotations about teaching writing, John Poeton’s “choice leads to voice” (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001, p. 23) also pertains to teaching ELLs writing.  The more choice students have in what and how they write, the more they can express their voice.  When limited by vocabulary, ELL students who can choose their topic can express so much more because they can choose a topic about which they feel comfortable in their writing abilities. 

Ralph Fletcher’s site http://www.ralphfletcher.com/tips.html also offers advice for young writers that fits within the acquisition view.