Entry 1

Writing is a topic that I rarely feel comfortable about.  I am the writer who fears that her work will be judged and I will be punished because of what I have written. I am the writer who hates sharing her work.

This is sometimes reflected in my teaching style. As a young adult, I loved writing my opinion down and this is reflected in my lessons.  A typical day in Ms. Nielsen's social studies class is a warm-up activity  Most of the time it is a writing prompt.  I would ask my students their opinions about a certain current event or something we were learning in class and how they felt about this event in history (ie: the French Revolution). At some points I will have a painting or some type of art and I ask the students to write about what do they think it means.  My favorite was a painting from the French Revolution that was actually the cover of a Coldplay album.  Some of the students thought that was great because it was one of their favorite bands and they could connect it too what they were learning in class. Instead of just telling me this outloud, they had the chance to write it in their own words. Sometimes it might be completely random for example...who do you want to win the Superbowl and are you going to do anything special that day.  My goal was not to have my students write steller essays but more getting them to express their thoughts and opinions in writing.  Writing especially in secondary education, has become a task that students loath.  Usually you get the couple of kids who moan and slam their heads on the desk.  I did not care if they wrote in their "street" language or formal English, this was not the point of the writing assignments I gave.  I wanted the students to feel comfortable writing and not be scared to share their opinions in writing. I have had to slowly overcome this fear of my own writing and the feeling of being judge and I wanted my students to also overcome any fear they have about writing as well. 

These writing prompts only take about 5 minutes to write and 5 minutes to discuss and yes in a 39 minute class that leaves less then a half and hour for direct instruction, but I think its important to engage the students and these writing prompts do just that.  It also allows for students to connect to other ideas other students have.   I believe in creating a community of learners which means my students have to be comfortable to share their ideas.  In other words they have to be comfortable in sharing their writings as well. 

My generation was one of the first that really started using the Internet as a form of writing and expressing their ideas.  One of the first new forms of writing was email, then AOL instant messenger, then Myspace and Facebook etc. all  in which opened doors for a new style and type of writing.  This is an important aspect of any curriculum and I wish I could incorporate this more into my classroom (budget and lack of money are some of the reasons technology in the classroom is over looked) But as we create curriculums we cannot over look the importance of writing and technology because no longer do student just word process or write on a piece of paper.  Writing can take many shapes and sizes and they way we perform our writing is ever changing.  I wish I could add wikis or blogs to my lesson plans.  I think this gives students an enviroment where they can really express themselves.  Many already do on Facebook.  Many will rant and rave about their days in statuse...why can't we have a blog for students to rant and rave about what they are learning in a safe enviroment?  The reality of the matter is that some of students especially in the urban and rural districts might not have access to the internet and this might enable some from doing an assignment.