By this time, Michael, the “Are you serious?” teacher, had embraced freewriting in his class. He had observed significant growth in many of his students’ writing, and he attributed it to the practice of regular freewriting:
The repetition of writing does nothing less than allow students to practice their writing skills and techniques, and, most times, fosters a love for the art of writing. The idea of writing and sharing without judgment increased student motivation and self-esteem, allowing them to take pride and ownership in their writing pieces.
As a student shared, “Freewriting allows me to tell my story.” Michael developed a PowerPoint presentation for the two-day building professional development. He included excerpts from Elbow’s (1998) work, student writing samples, and video and pictures of students. He shared how he incorporated freewriting in his class including the frequency, length of time, and types of writing he saw from students. At one point a teacher asked, “Don’t your students mock the ‘thank you for sharing’ phrase?” He replied, “ I don’t let them.” His simple response stifled doubts about the value of using freewriting with students.
I began the school year as I did the literacy institute. Writing was incorporated in every team meeting. I met weekly with teachers for approximately 25 minutes. Our time to write was often short, and the time to share was also short, but I continued the regular practice and the same response. I even provided my principal with a literacy journal so that when he joined our team meetings, he could participate in the writing as well. He did! He wrote, he shared, and he gave non-judgmental thanks. The principal wrote the following and shared this:
I've enjoyed the time that I have been able to sit with my staff and write. Aside from the personal fulfillment and the greater understanding I have of the writing process, I feel that by seeing me 'put myself out there' my teachers have been more willing to write and share. Freewriting and sharing promotes a transparency that is vital to staff cohesion and growth.
The Next Steps in our Journey as Writers
Author’s chair. Freewriting and sharing our writing led us naturally to author’s chair as a practice of our professional development time. Our building initiated a new literacy incentive program to celebrate all students in their journey as a reader and writer. One key feature of the Celebrate Literacy incentive was encouraging students to participate in the author’s chair in their classrooms. At the Summer Institute, we had experienced the author’s chair. Each teacher shared a piece of writing with the group. Before we read our work aloud, we described to the group what kind of feedback we wanted. Based
on the NWP E-Anthology, we framed
our responses with “Bless,” “Press,”
or “Address.” Over the years, a
few teachers in our school dabbled
with author’s chair with students,
but because so few teachers saw
themselves as writers, the teaching and promotion of writing was scarce.
As part of Celebrate Literacy and the growing comfort to ask students to write and share, many teachers designated Friday as author’s chair day. Students signed up to share their writing with the class on these days. Offering an appointed time for sharing writing was a significant milestone for our school. At first, many teachers did not see the reason or need to allow students to share. Many thought the kids would not like it. Once teachers created opportunities for kids to share writing and the kids knew they would not be judged, even the most reluctant of students wanted to participate.
Click here for more information about this type of response!
Once teachers created opportunities for kids to share writing and the kids knew they would not be judged, even the most reluctant of students
wanted to participate.
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