LEXP 5: Writing Instruction Analysis

Julie Aldrich
CIL 607
Dr. Scott

One of my greatest ah ha moments in taking classes at UNLV has come in light of how
teaching practices, expectations, and curriculum are so vastly different at schools across the
valley. Although writing is not the top priority at my school, we are required to teach it every
day for 30 minutes. We also integrate writing into every other subject throughout the day as
well. It baffles me to hear that other teachers or schools will admittedly have no formal writing
instruction in their classrooms. It is no wonder that we are failing our students.
State mandated testing has put pressure on teachers, administrators, superintendents, and
students across the nation. Expectations are high and the hours that students are sitting in
classrooms are still low. According to our reading, A lack of sufficient time to teach writing is
a common complaint among teachers. Faced with a growing number of curricular demands on
the available instructional time and with standards for each subject, teachers are likely to think of
each subject separately. (Strickland et al., 2001, p. 395). I agree with this quote completely.
Many teachers are overwhelmed by the vast number of standards that need to be taught over the
course of the year. With writing instruction, some schools do not have a set program to follow,
making instruction in this area ambiguous for teachers. Additionally, the writing proficiency
testing currently does not take place in elementary schools, so it is easy to sweep writing
instruction under the carpet and worry about it later.
It is my belief that we need both, explicit writing instruction as well as time for students to
write in other subject areas. When I taught third grade, we were required to have a 30 minute
minimum writing block daily or 45 minutes three times a week. We used Writers Workshop or
Write from the Beginning during this time. Additionally, we would write in other subject areas
daily. During science, we used science notebooks, in which students would write about their
predictions, noticings, questions, claims, and evidence regarding what they were investigating
that day. In math, we wrote constructed responses or explained how we solved a problem. It
was authentic practice of our writing skills. In my mind, this is the best of both worlds as
students are gaining the necessary skills and standards through the explicit instruction and are
also practicing their writing authentically throughout the day.
In the library, I continue to have students write almost every time they come to class. We
write in response to books we read, take notes as we research, or record information we are
learning. I do not focus so much on the conventions of writing, but rather the purpose of the
writing. Just as I did in the classroom, I notice that the writing ability of students across one
grade level can vary broadly. Last week I had students write a response to a book that we read
together. I modeled an example and listed sentence starters on the board along with some words
that they may need to know how to spell in their writing to assist them. Some students produced
4 sentences or more, whereas others only wrote 4 words. Because I only see students for 50
minutes, once every seven school days, I am unable to make a huge impact on their writing.
However, I hope that by showing them that writing is important in every classroom they visit and
that I share the same philosophies and values as their classroom teachers in our reading and
writing practices, I am helping to build their writing skills.


Reference
Strickland, D. S., Bodino, A., Buchan, K., Jones, K. M., Nelson, A., & Rosen, M. (2001). Teaching Writing in
a Time of Reform. The Elementary School Journal, 385-397.