Hi guys, I'm Back!!! I'm still trying to get the hang of this 'blogging thing'😟. I have been having some challenges getting back on stream but nevertheless, I'm here 😊. Today we will be chatting about 'The Writing Process'. Have you ever heard about the writing process? Were you exposed to this process while at school? If memory serves me correctly, I only came across this writing process in teaching back in 2017. As a primary or high school student, I never heard of it. My experience with writing always came from sharing our summer vacation experiences, or to talk about your favourite food or pet, or something that happened to you and how you had overcome it. I never liked writing as a child especially when it involved essay writing. To me it was a boring experience and I always had trouble generating my thoughts much less to organise them.
As a teacher, when I was exposed to the writing process, I had to learn more about it in order to get my student to follow through. It was a tedious task, but it got easier with the passing of time. At teacher's college doing Communication II, we were taught more about the writing process and followed the steps involved to create different expository essays. I must say being taught how to develop an outline really helped me in organising my essay correctly. However, this week was when I really encountered the bombshell.
Though I was familiar with the writing process before, it never once occurred to me that the first stage, the prewriting stage was so important. This is where you get the students to generate their ideas. In order for this to be done successfully, I've come to the realization that teachers must give students plenty of time to plan and generate their ideas. If I was taught this at school or was given the opportunity to see how to generate ideas through examples and demonstrations, man I think I would have been an excellent writer back in my days. From what I gathered; teachers must really take time to model the prewriting stage. They must use a variety of activities such as discussions, drawing, graphic organisers, brainstorming, video presentation, that can paint a vivid picture in the minds of the students, thus enabling them to come up with ideas. In other words, teach students how to think. In light of this, teachers must not give students boring topics to write on but can let them choose topics of great interest to them. Let them choose what they want to write on, but in order to do that, some form of dialogue must occur. My teacher Mrs L was so passionate in her explanation that I saw how important and useful it was to spend time teaching students how to come up with ideas.
I also understood that the writing process was also a messy process. Sometimes you write and have to rewrite or write in a part you think was missing, but the beauty of it is that it is a recursive process. You can always go back no matter what stage you are at. It is possible to be drafting and editing as you go along, but it is important to follow through with the process. After the prewriting, move on to the drafting, then revising, editing and then publishing, but we must always remember, we can always move back if needs be. The writing process is not a one-shot thing; it takes time, and the beauty of it is, if students spend plenty of time planning, then the end product will be a successful one.
Having acquired additional information on the writing process, I am quite excited to return to my school to demonstrate and model to my students the correct way of engaging in the writing process, especially the prewriting stage. I will spend sufficient time in the first stage, teaching them through the use of various activities, how to generate their ideas. I believe as teachers we fail our students by not providing enough support, yet we expect them to write. When they have come up with their ideas, I will teach them how to organize these ideas. I will also promote to teachers in my school the importance of the prewriting stage of the process and share some activities they can use to stimulate the generation of ideas.
What are your thoughts and experiences about the writing process? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
hello Rowann,
ReplyDeleteI am having the same issue in navigating this page, despite this little hiccups we will overcome this too. I enjoyed reading your post especially the part about pre-writing stage, I can also recall generating my ideas based on summer vacation or my favourite pet and then I was told to write. imagine no story map, now that we know it is critical for us as teachers to take time for students to generate their ideas. Since our students come in our classroom with a wealth of knowledge so I believe we can give them the opportunity to share topics they would like to write about. I am happy to hear that you are excited to try it with your students upon your return to school. Also, there are some YouTube videos and concept map that you can used in your classroom in teaching the writing process. I shared a video on my blog you can add it to your collection if you are interesting.
Thank you so much for your comment and suggestions. I believe the concept map and YouTube videos will be excellent ways to help the students remember the concept for real. I will definitely check it out. Thanks again
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ReplyDeleteHi Rowann,
DeleteWell if my memory serves me right, back at elementary school prewriting felt more like a "touch and go exercise" not much time was spent guiding us through the stages of the writing process. Added to that, my teacher back then spent way to much time focusing on grammar and spelling, so I was always left feeling unfinished in getting my content out. Like you, I had to teach myself the writing process, so I would be able to guide my students. But unfortunately, based on what I've learnt during this course, I don't feel like I provided the students with the right preparatory activities to initiate their writing journey properly. Hence the reason am gratefully for the opportunity to learn, understand and get it right this time in the class room with my kids.
Your blog post on "The Writing Process" is both relatable and informative. Your personal touch, sharing your own experiences and struggles with writing, makes the blog relatable. Many readers can likely relate to the challenges and growth you've experienced in your writing journey. You effectively convey that writing is a recursive process where revising and editing are integral, and writers can go back to earlier stages. This provides an essential understanding of the flexibility of the writing process. The personal anecdotes and passion for teaching writing shine through in your writing. It's evident that you're dedicated to helping your students become better writers. Keep up the good work, and your readers will likely appreciate your guidance and experiences.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is very relatable, especially to me. Back in my school days I had problems in generating my thoughts and the teachers never saw it fitting to provide assistance in generating ideas. Also much time was not given in the prewriting stage but as you rightfully said more time should be spent at this stage. This course really opened my eyes on the writing process and how it is very important to teach it properly, in order for our students to feel comfortable and write better pieces. Happy to hear that you are willing to use it to better assist your students in the area of writing. However, you can start by using it with your children at home. Please let me know if you tried and what was the result at the end.
ReplyDeleteThe Writing Process seems like a long process however I find it very important in helping students and even adults become better writers.I have not really untilized the writing process in my class mainly because I was ignorant to the process and how to implement it. As I jog my memory I cannot even remember using it in my school days. Just like you Rowann, I remembered we always had to write some sort of essay especially in High School. Although I was not fond of writing stories and I was not that good at it , I had a very good English teacher. She made us write alot. Needless to say I am a better writer now. The sessions we had on the writing process had shed much needed light.
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