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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Concepts of Learning and Teaching,
This review is from: Writing: Teachers & Children at Work (Paperback)
As a doctoral student, an elementary school teacher, and a researcher, I read Writing: Teachers & Children At Work. Although I occasionally focused on the practical advice, especially the particulars of documenting children's development, this review highlights Graves' theoretical insights on how children learn to write and how teachers can support this learning.
Graves conducted an ethnographic study of first and third graders at Atkinson Academy in New Hampshire 1978-1980. Despite some criticism for not implementing experimental methods, Graves held that no meaningful knowledge about how children learn to write could be separated from the context and interaction (Smagorinsky, 1987). Graves organized this text with vignettes of particular students to highlight how teachers can successfully respond to various levels of development. Some of the issues include spelling and handwriting, self-confidence, task-avoidance, revision, skewed calibration, and student voice. The teacher should not try to focus on all aspects of writing at one time. Skills taught in the context of the child's own piece will last longer, especially if students are given frequent opportunities to write. With each lesson, Graves stresses that students have 'funds of knowledge' (Moll et al, 1992) that teachers must tap into to further understand students' journeys as writers. The teacher must know the child and his/her process well enough to know which skill to select to help the child's intention in the piece (p. 314). With this awareness of their background knowledge and in a respectful, playful atmosphere that includes plenty of models of literature and tools for writing, teachers should allow students to choose their own topics. Graves repeatedly stresses both choice and time for writing. Some children, however, will feel the after-effects of "learning" in a different kind of atmosphere. Students bring their experiences with them, which can aid or hinder their progress: "... Many children have had it knocked into them by parents, other children, and a succession of teachers that there is little significance to their lives" (p. 27). During the writing conference, the teacher should set up clear expectations for the child. Teachers should be intensive listeners, providing plenty of wait time for the child to express true intentions. First the teacher can ask questions based on what he/she is sure the child knows, and then follow-up with more challenging questions. This scaffolding supports the child's learning. The process questions help students to realize how they function as writers, not in the abstract, but through their own experience with the process (p. 110). The child leads; the teacher intelligently reacts (p. 127). As an active observer, the teacher records student progress, a formative assessment that drives the conferences (p. 247). During these individual and small-group conferences, students become aware of the language used by the teacher and peer, which means gaining greater perspective on his/her text (p. 138). While these psychological tools are gradually being acquired, the child is adopting the discourse of writing. He/she begins to use words such as details, information, draft, lead (p. 279). Students need to be aware of their processes and own what they know. "When the semantic domain is heightened, children gain meta-cognitive skills, that is, they are able to talk about what they are doing with greater precision" (p. 279). Issues of identity also surface in Graves' theoretical insights. Writing is described as finding one's own voice, an identity. The child begins to feel: I know this! I felt this! This happened to me! "There is only the need for the persistent, aided demand that the child may become what he wants to become" (p. 281). Graves even addresses students who refuse to write, which he describes as a counter-ownership (p. 167). The student loses control and needs to establish it through these counter acts, which can be described as his or her sense of agency (Holland et al, 1998). The issue of control appears in sections on revision and students' aversion to completely starting over, erasing, and altering the aesthetics of the piece. To understand the student writer, Graves feels that teachers must be writers and learners themselves. "Teachers can answer children's questions only if they know the writing process from both the inside and the outside" (p. 220). Graves encourages teachers to video record the conferences to learn more about his/her role. The title states that teachers and children are at work, suggesting a continual, mutual learning. As indicated by the fact that is has been cited over 2,000 times, Graves has provided a timeless handbook that puts the child before any other aspect of teaching and learning to write. References: Holland, D, Lachicotte, W., Skinner, D. & Cain, C. (1998). Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Moll, L.C., Amanti, C., Neff, D. & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Qualitative Issues in Educational Research, 31(2), 132-141. Smagorinsky, P. (1987). Graves revisited: A look at the methods and conclusions of the New Hampshire Study. Written Communication, 4(4), 331-342.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Grandaddy of them all,
By O'MacFarlane (Hayward, California USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Writing: Teachers & Children at Work (Paperback)
This is the book that first popularized the Writer's Workshop approach to teaching writing in elementary schools. I'm shocked that it is apparently not in print.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Writing: Teachers & Children at Work (Paperback)
If you are using Writer's Workshop in your classroom, this is the book you need.
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