Blog Post # 8: Chapter 11

       I liked the idea of writing about anything nearby. That way, students do not feel pigeonholed into writing what they know nothing about. For example, we had  an old coal pot at home and my mom would reminisce about all the things her mom made using just that pot. She would talk about how the food tasted so much better than what I might get at some of these food places.

       If a person has writer’s block, she could start writing about say, the howling wind. Like on some days, the wind is so strong, everything rattles outside. Other days, it can be so quiet and then the neighbor dog starts barking. She could then talk about whether she prefers the quiet or the noise. In one of his books, Ernest Hemingway was at a café and starting writing about a girl who had just sat down. He described her and wrote about why he thought she was there. It is like observing people and creating a story from our surroundings but this time it is all written down. I think it is a good way for students to be creative and learn descriptive writing. I plan to teach science, but it is important for students to observe and record their observations. I think if I let students spend five minutes of classroom time just writing about anything, it would help.

       I also liked the idea about writing into the fact that the present contains the past and the future. A good example is the cell phone; most kids have one. They could think about how life must have been for their parents who did not have cell phones in school. I remember, when I had gotten a cell phone, other people had a smart phone, and I had a dumb phone. I had to hide it when I read my messages. Then they came up with blue tooth and a watch that you could use to call and text. People are inventing things everyday because of science. For a lesson on types of energy, students could write about how things were before say gas vehicles. They could add how it could be if most vehicles were electric or hydrogen-powered. I believe this would help them to think and write creatively. It would also be a good way to hear what students think about the different forms of energy.

       ‘Intentional Strategies Versus Assignments’ – I believe the author wants teachers to not just have students do meaningless assignments. Students should instead create a notebook of their own ideas. The notebook entries can be different styles of writing for example, poems, articles, and blogs like a multi-genre project but different topics. The student can then choose a topic from his collection of ideas, that not only appeals to him but will to others as well. The student adds more entries related to the chosen topic before creating a draft of the future piece.