Reflection on Memorandum

The memorandum was an interesting assignment. I enjoyed reading the articles in my section and synthesizing all of the information. At first, the memo seemed daunting because I had so much other school work due at the same time. However, once I got into it, it was fun. I imagined myself as writing a real memo and already being a teacher. I hope you enjoyed my Principal's name, Seymour Skinner! I'm greatly looking forward to putting all of these writing methods into play and teaching youngsters how to understand the writing process.

Until this class, I never fully realized the depths behind teaching writing. It is an art form and a process. Not everyone can teach students to understand, appreciate, and enjoy writing. Being knowledgeable and passionate about writing is key to successfully teaching writing. I learned a lot from these articles and composing the memo.

Importance of Correctness

I enjoyed our discussion this afternoon about the importance of correctness. I discovered that I had more struggles than triumphs. However, my group shared many of my struggles and this was quite comforting. My writing stuggles include APA style format, paying attention to tense, the use of semi-colons, and apostrophes. Another struggle for my group were the different uses of affect/effect. I have found that I've had problems with these two words as well. However, that's when my handy dandy Thumb book comes into use.

A common struggle among the class seemed to be spelling, however, this is one of my triumphs. I can typically spell very well and am aware of capitalization. I'm not really sure if I have any other triumphs.

Synthesizing Articles

I found it very helpful for my group to collaborate our key ideas from all of our articles. I discovered that there were many common elements throughout our articles. Most notably, the notion of teacher modeling and prompting. "The teacher, through modeling, takes a strong lead in helping students envision using what they are learning in their own writing" (Ray, p.239). This proecess is essential to teaching writing to students because it enables them to first-hand experience the collaborative writing process. Sharing ideas, hearing what other students have to say, and reading aloud all help reinforce the writing and learning process.

Another prominent theme discussed was that of free writing. Free writing, op-ed pieces, and journals allow students to express their feeings, thoughts, fears, and experiences on paper. The importance of sharing and reading aloud was also displayed in all of our articles. Learning to write is a highly social experience and a sense of community is important to students. Kids play many different roles in their lives and having a positive learning experience is essential to good writing. In Rowe, Fitch, and Bass's article, they discuss literacy as a pathway for social actions. The teacher, Joanne, "...wanted children to understand that 'writing is power' and that they could use print to further their social purposes"(p.427). Empowerment and boosting a student's confidence level is key to successful learning and writing. It seems that all of our articles shared these themes in one way or another.