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##  Writing Instruction: Current Practices in the Classroom. ERIC Digest            D156.                                                                        

Over the past forty years, the emphasis in writing instruction has              shifted from product to process. A companion ERIC Digest                        entitled "Writing Instruction: Changing Views over the Years" gives             an overview of this development during the period from 1960 to 1999.            The present digest focuses on the experiences of individual teachers            as they searched for ways to put the principles of process writing              into practice in the classroom. WRITER'S WORKSHOPSTeachers                have found that writer's workshops are effective in helping students            master the principles of process writing in particular. "The                    term 'writer's workshop' refers to an environment conceived to                  encourage written expression." Because writing is difficult and                 risky, "children need to know that their environment is a                       predictable, safe place for them to take risks" (Bunce-Crim, 1991;              cited in Bayer, 1999, p. 8). 
Even first-graders can benefit from              writer's workshops. Fisher (1995) says that "writing workshop is an             essential part of the curriculum in my first grade classroom, and               almost every morning the children are involved in self-selected                 writing endeavors." This lets students know that writing is                     important and that they can count on "daily opportunities to pursue             their own topics, work by themselves or with friends, and begin a               new piece every day or work on a story or book over time" (p.                   1). 
With young children, a systematic organization of materials is            essential. Furthermore, a predictable routine helps children get                organized first thing in the morning. Fisher also reads aloud to the            class during the day so that children can hear different models of              written language. Also, frequent mini-lessons are used to focus on              specific areas of writing such as procedures (using a folder),                  strategies (such as using books to inspire topics), qualities of                good writing, and skills (p. 2). 
Bayer (1999) evaluated a                     first-grade class to find out whether or not students actually                  became more confident, proficient writers after participating in a              writer's workshop. Children actively participated in the workshop               two or three times a week, and each session began with a mini-lesson            that focused on a specific topic such as sentence structure, correct            capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. After the mini-lesson the             actual writing began, with the teacher modeling her own writing                 along with the children. The teacher worked with individuals as                 needed, helping each child focus on the appropriate step in the                 writing process. 
Before beginning writer's workshop, students were            asked how they felt when the teacher said it was "writing time,"                whether or not they liked to write, whether they preferred to pick              their own topics, and how they described themselves as writers. The             same questions were asked during the final weeks of the workshop.               The results showed that to a great extent "writing workshops improve            the feelings and attitudes that first graders have about writing, as            well as how they feel about themselves" (Bayer, 1999, p. 6). For                example, the percentage of children who looked forward to writing               time almost doubled, and the number of those who said they liked to             write jumped from 25 percent to 71 percent. QUESTIONS ABOUT                   WRITER'S WORKSHOPSAlthough the preceding comments suggest that              children can benefit greatly from writer's workshops, there are                 questions and potential problems that need to be considered. Sudol              and Sudol (1991) discuss some of the questions that arose during the            adoption of the process approach and during a writer's workshop in a            fifth-grade classroom taught by Peg Sudol. 
In the first place,                there is the question of time. Although some recommend as much as an            hour of writing each day, it is difficult to devote this much time              when other subjects must be taught as well. Also, curriculum                    requirements may make it difficult for students to choose their own             topics because teachers are required to teach specific kinds of                 writing (Sudol & Sudol, 1991, p. 294). 
Another problem relates to             pacing and deadlines. It is true that all students should not be                expected to work at the same pace, but a few students may have                  difficulty ever completing any project. In addition, students are               often put off by workshops devoted to assigned writing types. 
In              general, the experience of Peg Sudol was positive in spite of the               problems encountered early on. "In the main, her children enjoyed               the writing. (Now they moaned and groaned whenever the workshop was             canceled.) They wrote more than any of her previous students, and               the quality of their writing was better" (1991, p. 299). Among the              most productive parts of the writer's workshop were the                         mini-lessons, in which students could address problems such as                  run-on sentences within the context of their own writing, not in                abstract textbook lessons. JOURNAL WRITINGRoutman (2000)                  points out that journal writing is a good way to begin implementing             a writing workshop because journals can "promote fluency in reading             and writing, encourage risk taking, provide opportunities for                   reflection, and promote the development of written language                     conventions" (p. 233). However, the advantages of journal writing               can be lost if teachers fail to monitor students' work and to let               them know what is expected. 
All too often, children's journals are            flawed by sloppy, careless writing and frequent misspellings of easy            words. Furthermore, they seldom show clear improvement over time                because journal writing is too often used as a time filler, not as              something the children feel is really worthwhile. In many cases,                teachers do not provide any guidance for journal writing. They also             tend to assign topics rather than letting students choose their own.            Unfortunately, students come to accept sloppy writing and bad                   spelling as the norm for journals since they don't seem to matter.              Finally, teachers too often assign journal writing as an activity               separate from writing workshop, which makes it appear that journal              writing is not as important as "real writing." 
Routman suggests               that journal writing can become more worthwhile if teachers                     encourage students to write for several days on a topic they care               very much about and if they teach students how to write with detail             and voice. Furthermore, students should realize that journal writing            is only one type of writing they are expected to do, and they should            maintain high standards for legibility and neatness (adapted from               Routman, 2000, p. 235). WRITING INSTRUCTION IN THE UPPER                      GRADESWartchow and Gustavson (1999) analyzed writing instruction            in the upper grades by interviewing some high-school students from a            large urban school and others from a private suburban school. They              were immediately "struck by the modernist picture that the students             painted of their schools" (p. 3). The modernist view is based on the            belief that "there is a 'natural order' or 'best way' on which all              methodology is based. Once discovered, this best way should be,                 indeed must be, followed" (Doll, 1993, p. 45; cited in Wartchow &               Gustavson, 1999, p. 3). 
In both schools, analytical writing was               stressed above all else, with emphasis on the customary pattern:                introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and conclusion. "Once            the students write their five paragraph essays, often choosing                  theses created by the teacher, the teacher can easily grade them                because there is an identifiable structure" (Wartchow & Gustavson,              1999, p. 5). This forces students to accept the format and procedure            prescribed by the teacher. Furthermore, students come to rely on the            teacher for topics and motivation; they are not shown how to develop            and explore ideas on their own. They are also put off by                        the "simplicity and pettiness of their writing assignments" and the             knowledge that teachers "only expect a sentence or two" when                    students respond to various readings (p. 7). 
As for personal or               creative writing, many students question its worth because it is                given no value in school. They also believe that creative writing               must necessarily lack coherence because it does not follow the                  five-paragraph pattern. Finally, some students realize that teachers            view creative writing as chaotic and therefore worthless because it             does not fit into a "required body of quantifiable, systematically              constructed knowledge" (Wartchow & Gustavson, 1999, p. 11). When                asked what kinds of creative assignments they would prefer, students            provided some valuable insights. One told of rewriting the end of a             Shakespeare play and then performing it for the class. Another was              challenged by exploring what might happen if "Wuthering Heights"                were set in the present day. Students also suggested that assigned              topics could be turned into thesis statements, encouraging students             to argue their points and take a more active approach to                        writing. 
Students also find it difficult to reconcile the conflict            between what they are required to write in school and what they want            to write for themselves. Time constraints often cause students                  to "go through the motions" to complete a school project according              to a prescribed procedure. Also, students realize that they can be              intellectually lazy as they churn out school writing according to               the required format; on their own, their writing leads them to probe            below the surface and try to think things through. 
As a result of             the findings summarized above, the authors have been led "to argue              for an aesthetic, post-modern orientation in the teaching of                    writing. Within the students' frustrations and desires lies the                 question: Why do many English teachers not engage their students in             a discourse on the aesthetics of writing?" (p. 20). A modernist                 writing curriculum fails to encourage proficient writers because it             does not allow students the chance to experiment with various                   approaches beyond the five-sentence paragraph structure. In addition            to advocating a clearer connection between the process and the                  product, the authors "also strongly believe that the power for                  understanding writing lies in the actual doing of the art, not in               the exclusive observation of it" (Wartchow & Gustavson, 1999, p.                20). 
"Too often in English classrooms, teachers expect students to            critique the writing they read with little or no understanding of               the craft, the historical context, or the personal nature of that               writing. Essentially, students must write about an art of which they            have no experience" (p. 20). By encouraging students to move beyond             convenient structures and to enter into the intricate process of                creating what goes into those structures, teachers can help them                discover that what they have to say is important and that there are             many ways to organize their thoughts to form convincing, coherent               arguments. REFERENCESBayer, R. A. (1999). The effects of a                first grader's participation in a writer's workshop on their ability            to become more confident and more descriptive writers. Kean                     University: Master's Research Project. 41 pages. 
Bunce-Crim,                  M. (1991). What is a writing classroom? "Instructor", 17(1),                    36-38. 
Doll, W. (1993). "A post-modern perspective on curriculum".            New York: Teacher's College Press. 
Fisher, B. (1995). Writing                 workshop in a first grade classroom. "Teaching PreK-8", 26,                     66-68. 
Routman, R. (2000). "Conversations: Strategies for                     teaching, learning, and evaluating". Portsmouth, NH:                            Heinemann. 
Sudol, D., & Sudol, P. (1991). Another story: Putting              Graves, Calkins, and Atwell into practice and                                   perspective. 
Wartchow, K., & Gustavson, L. (1999). "The art of the            writer: An aesthetic look at the teaching of writing". Paper                    presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research            Association, Montreal, Canada. 
Digest #156 is EDO-CS-00-07 and was            published in November 2000 by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading,                English and Communication, 2805 E 10th Street, Bloomington, IN                  47408-2698, Telephone (812) 855-5847 or (800) 759-4723. ERIC Digests            are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced. Additional               copies may be ordered by contacting the ERIC Document Reproduction              Service at (800) 443-3742. 
This project has been funded at least              in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education                under contract number ED-99-CO-0028. The content of this publication            does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S.                  Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial             products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.         **Title:** Writing Instruction: Current Practices in the Classroom. ERIC Digest            D156.                                                                        **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication, Indiana              University, 2805 E. 10th Street, Suite 140, Bloomington, IN                     47408-2698. Tel: 800-759-4723 (Toll Free); Web site:                            http://eric.indiana.edu.                                                     **Descriptors:** Class Activities, Elementary Secondary Education, Instructional                 Effectiveness,  Journal Writing,  Process Approach (Writing),                   Writing Attitudes,  Writing Instruction,  Writing Workshops                  **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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