Entry #9 - Open Entry

While preparing my genre pieces project, I have been working diligently on my poetic piece which is an acrostic poem. Since my topic is my wedding, it evokes an emotional response when I think and/or write about it. I decided that one of my individual pieces was going to be written in my own personal voice, and I wanted it to be emotional yet light and funny as well. For that reason, I decided to use the poetry genre to voice to my audience my emotions on the topic.

When I began thinking about this piece, I realized quickly that there were many forms poetry can take. I started researching acrostic poems, simply because I was most familiar with them. When I was in elementary school I remember learning about poetry, but for some reason none of the other poetic forms really stuck with me. Because of this, I knew I wanted to research acrostic poetry by reading mentor texts but search for complex, emotional driven acrostics. Once this was established, I found myself turning to the writing process that Tompkin's (2012) described in chapter one.

After researching I used a variety of different methods to prewrite. On 4 different occasions, I opened a microsoft word page and just wrote. I wrote words, sentences, and phrases, some that made sense and some that absolutely did not. I used different colored fonts to differentiate between events and/or time periods, and I used bold font to distinguish between the ideas I wanted to use in my actual piece and those I did not. This process was extremely time consuming, but during it, I changed my writing piece drastically for the better.


Once I had ideas written down, I was able to better organize them. I drafted 3 different acrostic poems, each varying slightly structurally and emotionally. These drafts did not use standard conventions, rather they took my previous prewriting ideas and organized them into the form I wanted for my final piece. This was the easiest part of the process for me, since the original thoughts were already written down elsewhere. During the time spent on this task, I realized the importance of prewriting and how informal it can be. My organized chaos helped me to create first drafts that were the beginning of the individual piece.

Back before we were asked the read the very first chapter of Tompkins (2012), I never distinguished the difference between revising and editing. I grouped the editing into the revising stage, and used revision time to look at grammar, mechanics, and spelling as well. Because of this, I often did not have a specific purpose for editing my own text. It was unclear as to what exactly I was looking for, since I was attempting to accomplish so much at once. While working in this course with my poem, for the first time I was very conscious of what I was looking for each time I reread my piece. I was able to revise with my writing group, as well as with friends and family at home. My fiance's input was extremely helpful to aide in my own reflection and discussions. Before I began the editing process, I realized that the people I revise with and the people I edit my writing piece with may be very different. For example, my fiance was perfect to aide in revisions for my project where as he would make an awful editor! I honestly cannot believe I thought of these two processes as one.

During the publishing stage, I contemplated form many times. Dr. Jones' voice came into my head often, since form and format were the very first things I wanted to think about before this project was even fully developed. I was told specifically to save form until the very end, and I learned why... the hard way. I pictured this piece being published electronically, or at the very least typed and printed, however once I wrote it I got a very different feeling. With a trip to JoAnn Fabrics I was able to publish a piece that was completely unique, and VERY different than what I had originally anticipated. The learning I have gained in this project alone are indescribable. Thinking back now I cannot believe I had so many misconceptions on what I thought was a seemingly simple task!

Entry #4 - Open Entry

In the beginning of class last session, Dr. Jones posted the quote for consideration:

"When people write about something they learn it better" (Toby Fulwiler, 1987, p. 9) as cited in Tompkins (2012, p. 107). 
 
 While reading chapter 2, Developing Strategic Writers, I thought a lot about the impact the writing process has on students. The section on writing strategies really stood out to me since it was full of information I could use in my own classroom or as a college student at Nazareth. 

When I first entered the literacy program at Nazareth, I was asked to write a literacy autobiography in the course I was in. This was a semester long process, and allowed me to reflect as a person first, and then as an educator/writer/literate person. I was asked to think about three literacy events that stood out to me and made me the person I am today. One of them was an on going event happening from birth to about 3 years of age. This event consisted of my mother reading me the same text before bed every night. The text was written by Robert Munsch, titled "I'll Love You Forever". This book had such an impact on my life, and my relationship with my mother in general. However, I never really sat back and thought about that impact! last year, when taking the course, I was asked to reflect and think about why the literacy event was so meaningful to me. In doing this, I was able to draft a lengthy paper regarding all three of my events and their meaning. During the semester, I spent a large chunk of time monitoring while I wrote. I had a hard time not 'blabbering' about life in general when discussing something so emotional. I spent a great deal of time narrowing my paper itself, and getting rid of the 'fluff'. In doing so, I really found out what was the MOST important part of my life story to me, as well as what would be important to another reader. Every time I proof read this paper, I was able to get a different take on this event in my life. That really struck when group members would proof read my writing. Although it was difficult at first, to allow someone to read emotions and ideas that were so close to my heart, getting another opinion or a different take on the event only allowed me to understand more about myself! Every time I sat down to work on this project, I questioned the event, myself, the project, my audience, the purpose, etc. This helped to clarify the meaning of the literacy event every time I sat down to work. 

Although this is just one example of an extensive work I produced while in the Masters program at Nazareth, it proves the point that while I was involved with the writing process, I was able to learn even more about myself. Day one of the class I took an event that I knew meant a lot to me, and through writing I was able to learn more about it. You would think if it is your own story, your own emotion, and your own relationships you would know all you can about the event, but I learned quickly that that was not the case. For the first time in my life I was encouraged to take a step back and analyze that situation from multiple standpoints, and not only did I leave that class understanding more about the text I used, but I learned more about myself and my wonderful mother as well :)

Entry #1 - Introduction

Thinking about prior experiences with teaching writing and reflecting on graduate school principals, what "feels comfortable" for me to teach is not always best practice. 

My writing practices as a student and the writing practices I have seen used through subbing, student teaching, etc, model a writing process with only one direction: forward. The time spent on writing is usually limited, and students find themselves needing more time to finish work. This is normally the most comfortable practice because I often find I need to fit so much into the school day, writing cannot take as much time as the students need. Viewing the writing process as a one-way-road is a more familiar practice for me simply because it is how I was taught, although I know this process is not beneficial for students and not one I want in my own classroom. Allowing students free range throughout the writing process and encouraging them to plan, draft, and revise continually adds complications to the classroom and is not always comfortable for the teacher. Rereading this paragraph, I understand it sounds extremely negative, and that was not the intended view. I have learning through prior experiences that when teaching, easy concepts and comfortable teachings do not always bring about best practices. It often takes me stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new things with my students I may not be 100% confident with that leads to them expanding their learning and using higher level thinking skills...

As a graduate level college student, I have had the opportunity to become familiar with a variety of technologies that aid in the writing process. Word processing programs are used on a daily basis in my classroom, whether it is to write a letter to parents or create a graph/chart to track student work. Programs such as Microsoft Publisher and Excel have allowed teachers to easily create documents to be used in the classroom that look innovative and professional. Online writing spaces allow students of all ages to learn, explore, and publish text that otherwise would not be a part of the learning process. I have had many courses at Nazareth that use Wiki's or other means of communication between other course members as well as the professor. These online 'forum' type websites allowed us to communicate fast, easy, and share new findings and knowledge with eachother. They also allowed a 100% online course to take place where I was able to perform assignments, communicate with my professor, and share ideas and notes with peers. These new literacies have given me the opportunity to learn at my own speed, using my own techniques to obtain information.

... TO BE CONTINUED