Excursions into writing

Teaching Pre K-8, Oct 1994 by Cook, Jimmie

I know the value of Friday afternoon to teachers and students. It leads to Friday night and Saturday and Sunday, a break from the regimen of school. In my early days of teaching, I saw this time as "us" waiting for the bell. The human being in me said this was acceptable; we needed to wind down. But the teacher in me said at least two hours of instruction time was wasting away.

In my third year of teaching, I began to think about where my students were most deficient. In every case, it seemed to be the ability to take pencil in hand and place coherent thoughts on paper, and further, the ability to persist in writing something of reasonable length.

"Egad!" I exclaimed, "Why not make Friday afternoon an excursion into writing? I can make it a leisurely jaunt, not heavily structured, and certainly provide opportunities for the children to interact with each other."

So we began our trip.

Trial and error. My idea was greeted with groans, grimaces, growls and moods that bespoke of rebellion. Undaunted, I told my students we were going to do it--and that was that.

I told them to write a paragraph or two on any subject they wished... boy, did that lead to total despair! After an hour on that first day, most had nothing on paper despite my cajoling and protestations. So I said, write a paragraph on your pet. "Which one?" many asked. "Your choice," I replied.

This produced some lame paragraphs which I read that evening. Clearly, this was not going to work. I thought about giving up my languid Friday afternoons, but then I reconsidered. What else could I try?

Group writing. I selected many issues that sixth graders could contemplate and presented that list to them on Monday. I asked them to choose and record two topics that they would write about on Friday. I collected their lists and looked at them. I couldn't have done it better. Unknowingly, with their choices, they had broken themselves into groups.

On Friday, I said that they were going to spend the afternoon writing but that we were going to do it in groups of six. They moved with reluctance to their assigned areas and I explained the rules:

* Write a paper of two or three paragraphs (not to exceed 100 words). Proceed as quickly as you can and do not stop to ask me how to spell a word.

* Once you've finished, exchange papers with one of your seatmates.

* Read each other's paper and correct any spelling or grammar errors.

* Return the paper and confer with each other on how the paper might be improved. I will join in as I can.

* Turn in your paper by end of the day next Friday. It should have no spelling or grammar errors.

* It should be written in the proper form. If you don't know the form, ask me.

* If you disagree on spelling, check the dictionary, or if you disagree on grammar, call me for the final word.

We continued this activity for 21 weeks. Sure, there were Ups and downs and arguments between children, but as we progressed, the children came to respect each other's judgment and special skills. I even found them talking about the upcoming Fridays several days in advance.

I often took 10 minutes to instruct the class at large on punctuation or certain rules of grammar, but mostly, I floated between groups. Spelling became important. Children used the thesaurus to find synonyms because they didn't want to repeat words, and they often gave advice on how an article might be improved.

By the end of the year, every student wrote with certainty, and spelling and grammar errors were minimal. They were proud of their efforts and didn't hesitate to seek advice. They learned to say, "Do you think it might sound better this way?" rather than, "That sounds dumb."

Worth the wait. In the years that followed, I used the same process for every child in any grade I taught (two, four, five, six, seven and eight) with uncanny results. It led me to believe that if you want your children to write, then have them write, write and write some more, but always end with a product that they, their seatmate and you feel is credible. The finished product is the objective--a product they display with pride.

What I perceived as a leisurely afternoon activity didn't materialize. As the children became more involved, I had not a moment's peace. Their excitement intrigued me beyond belief and I was swept away with them. I've always been grate to those wonderful children because they led me to see that any deficiencies they left my class with could have probably been mitigated by me. Today, they call it writing to learn, cooperative learning and building self-esteem. By any name, it works.

Children become better writers by writing and I have many memories of frenetic Friday afternoons to prove it. Take a moment to think of the most glaring weaknesses possessed by your children and turn your Friday afternoons into frenzy.

For a list of suggested writing activities, send an SASE (business-size) to me, Jimmie Cook, at USCS, 800 University Way, Spartanburg, SC 29303.