I have always believed that writing plays a fundamental role in the learning process, and I plan to use writing as an integral learning tool, in my history classes. The power point and readings for this week strengthened my views on the absolute need for a well thought-out, varied, and deliberate approach to writing in the classroom.
I found many aspects of the power-point helpful. One idea I found especially powerful was the concept of "establishing a climate that fosters writing." This really hit be because I believe that the environment we create in the classroom is one of the most influential aspects of our teaching careers. If we construct an atmosphere that encourages writing as a positive and creative process, our students will embrace writing and learning. Contrarily, I believe we can harm our students perceptions of writing, if we use it as punishment, or if we treat it as a negative activity.
I also liked learning more about the different level of writing assignments, and how we need to make sure that we are using a variety of assignment often. I like the lower level writing activities because they give students opportunities to practice writing, with the worry of having perfect conventions.
I am going to use what I have learned by making sure that I am continually instructing students to develop their writing skills. I really enjoyed some of the activities presented in the reading on writing in the social studies classroom. I will emulate the idea of having students use concept maps and journals, to build towards larger writing assignments.
