The data revealed that students developed their identities as authors throughout the writing experience, as evidenced by an increased understanding of the writing process and demonstration of ownership for their work. Students learned that they have control over their writing and self-identified as authors who share their voices. Additionally, students described applying effort to improve their writing. Overall, students had a positive view of themselves as writers despite experiencing struggles in the writing process. These struggles helped students understand that writers work through challenges to improve.
Discussion
The findings of this study coincide with existing literature about the benefits of nurturing young writers’ voices through a student-focused writing workshop (Christianakis, 2011; Diamond, 2017; Kissell & Miller, 2015). This study contributes to current research by revealing new insights into the perseverance skills students gain through daily writing practice.
I Am an Author. Students developed individual identities as authors throughout the duration of this study. Data collected at the beginning and end of the writing unit revealed students gained knowledge about what it means to be an author. Further, students demonstrated confidence and pride in their abilities and unique voices.
Writers Do Many Things. In the pre-survey, most students identified only one step of the writing process; For example, “Writers write.” At the end of the study, students shared more detailed descriptions of what writers do (See Figure 3). Students described how “Writers go through a lot of steps” including generating ideas, writing drafts, revising to improve their stories, and editing for mechanics. This shows an increased understanding of the writing process. Further, students shared more action words (“make,” “draw,” “write,” “think,” “add,” “read,” “reread,” “gather,” “revise,” “edit,” and “tell”) in the post-survey. I interpret this to mean that students experienced being authors who go through many processes to produce a story. The first-hand experience of writing and decision-making led to increased understanding of authorship.
I Have All the Power! Students displayed the autonomy of mature, skilled authors who have the power to make their own decisions. This confidence demonstrates that students see themselves as authors who make independent choices. The positive emotions included in these expressions of independence show that students feel confident and proud of their writing abilities.
Writers Live the Writing. Writing is a challenging, complex process (Schrodt et. al, 2020). Writers of all ages experience setbacks when engaged in writing. Discovering a theme of growth mindset (Dweck, 2006) in this study reveals students learned all authors struggle, and this struggle is what helps an author produce a story. It was not unexpected that this revelation came with both positive and negative feelings.
I Get Stuck. Writers experienced challenges, as all authors do (Boscolo and Hidi, 2007), which impacted their feelings about writing. When students revealed negative emotions related to writing, it was usually tied to an expression about making mistakes or messing up. For example, one student replied to the post-survey, saying, “I feel good and bad. Good because I love writing. Bad because sometimes I mess up and I get frustrated.” It is important for young writers to experience struggle, as this helps them build resilience and grow as writers (Chavez 2021; Ruben & Moll, 2016).
Writers Never Give Up. Students learned that writers have to engage in hard work in order to improve. They also attributed their success to this hard work, evidenced by these statements: “I am confident in my story because I have been working on my story for a long time,” and “I get better at writing every day!” As a result, students learned that writers “have a growth mindset.” The young writers were excited to see their work pay off and impact their identity as an author: “I know that writers never give up and I’m a writer too!” These sentiments reveal how empowering students to share their voices helped students become authors.
Conclusion
Young authors can create extraordinary writing when we encourage them to make independent choices and honor their voices and stories. This empowering workshop environment provides a safe space for students to make mistakes and grow to see themselves as writers. I encourage teachers to seek ways to surrender power to students by giving them choices and authentic experiences. When teachers support student voice development, primary students become confident writers.
References
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Leah Koch is a second-grade teacher in a suburban public school in Missouri. She recently completed Master's of Science in Education degree from Missouri State University.
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