.

3: Becoming a writer - student's perspectives

Activities

Activities 1, 2, 3, and 5 may be done simultaneously.

1. Read Atwell Ch. 3, “Making the Best of Adolescence” 

2. Observe the students in your mentor teacher’s classes, in the halls, in the cafeteria. 

3. Survey students in two classes about writing. Try to get two different grade levels, and students with a mix of writing abilities (i.e., don’t survey students in two AP English classes). Use the Writing Survey in Atwell’s Appendix D (p. 494) or create one that asks similar questions. Ask the teachers if they will allot class time for students to complete the survey (if students take them home you won’t get as good a return). When you get the completed surveys, look for patterns of response (“typical responses,” frequent responses) and surprising answers (what did you read that you didn’t expect?  Limit your discussion to one meaty paragraph. Post your results in Blackboard at the beginning of the week to the discussion labeled "Lesson 3".

4. Read everyone’s postings. Do others’ survey results reflect or differ from yours? What do you make of the entire body of data? Take notes in your journal for the discussion and reflection paper. 

5. Read, with your mentor teacher’s and students’ permissions, samples of student writing for a variety of assignments (creative, expository).

1. What strikes you about the range of abilities?

2. Are there characteristics of writing that writers at this age tend to share? Do they match characteristics Atwell describes? 

3. Find some writing that you consider “good.” What does it do? Why do you rate it highly? Conversely, find some that you think is in need of improvement. Why? 

4. The great waste-basket hunt: I once pulled a student’s crumpled up love poem from a teacher’s wastebasket. It seemed obviously not written for class. See if you can find similar examples of “non-class” student writing. Any difference from the writing done for class? 

6. Discussion:  

“Middle school students shuttle back and forth between naiveté and world-weariness. They shuttle back and forth between everything. They are self-confident and self-doubting; they think I’m funny and they think I’m pathetic; they take responsibility for the younger kids at our morning assembly, then run them over on the soccer field at recess. They never know—and I never know—what they’ll be when” (p. 56). 

From your observations of students, their writing, what they say about writing, and from your reading of Atwell, what is your impression of adolescent writers? Do you see evidence that corroborates Atwell? Any surprises in what you discovered? Post your response in discussion labeled "Lesson 3" in Blackboard by mid week.