The Integration of Reading and Writing

 

As we began winding down to the semester break, I had a sigh of relief as my brain began working in overdrive. Luckily, Ms. Quinn provided us with an activity that was right up my alley. The task was to design a graphic organizer that captured the stages of writing development, traits of writing, the process of writing, and suggested activities. At first, I wasn’t sure how to go about the assignment, I however still attempted the organizer. The first thing that came to mind was pizza; maybe I was hungry or had a craving but the more I utilized the concept, the more information I was able to incorporate. A pizza has many toppings but regardless of the type, the end result is one congruous pie, where the toppings, cheese, sauce, and crust become one (I’m getting hungry again). I am however not sure of the structure of my organizer, you guys can let me know what you think or what can be improved. However, overall I understand that all aspects of reading and writing in some way shape, or form, are connected. 

We were finally tasked with creating a Philosophy for teaching writing. As a guide the following questions were asked:

1. How do you think students learn to write well?

2. How can you as the teacher help/intervene/assist in this process?

3. What chief writing goals do you have for your students?

4. What specific actions can you take to implement/achieve your goals?
   
   

“A good education can change anyone, a good teacher can change everything” - Unknown.
The goal of a teacher should always be to promote learning. This can take many forms but the end goal should be to enhance student knowledge and educational growth alongside being informed about new practices and strategies. Being an effective educator involves allowing the students to play an active role in their own education, not being stagnant in teaching, and creating lessons that are both fun and engaging. Learning how to read and write is the foundation of any subject. This skill is required to get a grasp of the content that is being covered. Students learn to write well when the teacher writes with them, and also collaborates within a  writing community. Incorporating activities such as writing circles encourage students to share what they have written with their classmates and also creates a platform to learn about their friends. With this strategy, students can see that everyone can write or curate written pieces. Allowing students to consistently choose the types of books they want to read, the genre of writing, the basis of the content, and how they will be assessed creates an environment where they play an active role in their education. Being an educator, it is my task to create a platform where students are comfortable with expressing themselves through writing. The goal is to have students develop a mindset that writing is not only essential but a channel for creativity. Once they have surpassed their comfort zone, diverse writing can be introduced and students are taught to write various genres. My duty will be to stay informed about new practices and strategies and also challenge my strengths and grow as an educator.