We ‘dived’ back into another session involving the writing process in our LIT102: Promoting Writing in the Primary Grades. I was fascinated by the way in which our lecturer Mrs. Lazarus, demonstrated how one can use a cluster, which is a graphic organizer, to effectively generate ideas in the pre-writing stage. We were further informed by Mrs. Lazarus that one can generate ideas using this tool. This class further gave me the realization and understanding that the purpose of the pre-writing stage is to gather ideas pertaining to a specific topic.
Additionally,
we were also notified that the ‘key’ area that should be focused on during the
pre-writing stage is one’s audience. The understanding that audiences can vary makes
me reflect that my students can write composition pieces with the intended audience
to be not just me as the teacher but also their peers, parents, principal and
even the general public. I am now more intent on making my students aware that
they are not specifically writing to please me as the teacher because this may
put intense pressure on them mentally and, as such, diminish their love for
writing.
As a
teacher, more aware of the importance of the pre-writing stage, I will encourage
my students to select topics that interest them based on their own experiences. I will,
however, provide a series of topics that they can choose from as well. This knowledge
that it is recommended that I do so encourages me to provide them with
activities such as drawings that may even lead to picture discussions, brainstorming
exercises, and a video that comes out of a story or read-aloud activity that can
enhance their writing abilities. I will also introduce my students to different
formats of writing, such as brochures, letters and even posters, to get them
excited and interested in writing.
The following
video portrays how effective brainstorming can be used in the prewriting stage
of the writing process when students are given the option of choosing a topic
of their interests and based on the choices given by the teacher.
Hi Denisha, it is fantastic to hear about your engaging experience, exploring the intricacies of the pre- writing process. Your insights into the use of clusters as graphic organizers and the emphasis on considering the audience during this stage are particularly noteworthy. Empowering your students to choose topics based on their interests is a very powerful approach as it not only fosters a genuine passion for writing, but also encourages creativity and self- expression. Your dedication to creating a stimulating and supportive writing environment is inspiring. It is educators like you who make a significant difference in nurturing the next generation of confident and proficient writers. You go girl!
ReplyDeleteHello Andrea,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement! This motivates me to think of different ways to use the writing process to engage my students effectively. Using the writing process requires teachers to consistently revise and re-tweak their methodologies to observe what works best for their students and what does not.