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Posts tagged ‘writing’

Aug 19

Why I Love Teaching

By Jolene Borgese

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of teaching a ten day writing course to middle school students at the PAWLP Youth Writing Project. I had run the first Youth Writing Project on campus with about 50 writers and six teachers. We weren’t sure what we were doing back then but we knew we were on to something big! It was a success that bloomed into a huge project for 30 years.

This summer, my 12 writers were a mixed bag of pre-adolescents who wanted to come to writing camp, and others whose parents had signed them up.  They all made the best of it. They caught my enthusiasm for writing, and, in their preteen coolness, actually showed they liked my activities. Read more

Jun 15

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Creating a Writing Identity

By Lynne R. Dorfman

Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery.

– Henry Miller

We all want our students to think deeply about their writing and reading, learn how to assimilate information, and in some way take the new learning and make it their own.  In writing workshop, the teacher becomes the facilitator of creative options and the students become innovators, applying knowledge in new ways.

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May 12

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On Stephen King: A Reflection

By Gaetan Pappalardo

I circled the neighborhood looking for a place to park that wasn’t too, well…suspicious? I wasn’t breaking the law, even though I felt a little mischievous.  Bangor, Maine in April is pretty desolate. I couldn’t hide in a crowd or park in a lot.  The streets are wide. It’s quiet. I drove around the block a few times trying to gather the nerve to park, excitement growing with each pass.  There’s no mistaking his house. He’s definitely not hiding from the public’s eye.  The black gargoyles perched atop the wrought iron fence were a dead giveaway.  Stephen King has lived here since 1980. He’s spent time in various locations in Maine throughout his life and also did a stint in Boulder, Colorado where he wrote The Shining, but Maine is his home.

When asked, “Why Bangor? Why did you pick this place to settle down and write?”

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Apr 28

How to Get Research Started in the Elementary Grades

By Lynne R. Dorfman

           I have always known that research begins with a burning question – one that needs to be answered to satisfy that “Curious George” persona in all of us.  As my students have engaged in content area learning in the past, I now realize that I was perhaps too quick to send them off on a journey (not always a journey of student choice either).  We all know how important the three Cs are to student learning – choice, challenge, and collaboration.  But what if your students don’t have a burning question to ignite their quest? Read more

Apr 6

Updating the Research Paper (Part II)

By Tricia Ebarvia

      Last week I explained how I help students discover an inquiry question through independent research.  Below, read on to lean more about our drafting process and the final products.

 PHILOSOPHY

      At the core of the inquiry paper is Kenneth Burke’s contention that writing is like “entering a conversation.”  No doubt others have written about music and feminism, for example, but I encourage students to think of their final paper as their way of adding their voice to the ongoing conversation about their topic. Read more

Mar 30

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Updating the Research Paper (Part I)

By Tricia Ebarvia

       I vividly remember the pile of 3 ½ x 5 index cards I used to collect information for the dreaded junior year research paper.  I also remember my teacher, Mrs. Caum, telling us exactly how our paper needed to look, from the in-text citations to the footnotes.

      While the type of academic writing I did that year was valuable—I did, after all, become an English major—I’m not sure how authentic that experience was, then and especially today. The fact is that nothing screams “school” more than a traditional research paper, double-spaced in 12-pt Times New Roman font with an MLA heading and works cited page.  No doubt that students should know how to do that type of academic writing. But now that I find myself as the teacher who assigns that dreaded research paper, I’ve thought about ways to make the experience more meaningful for my students. Read more

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