Standard W.4 (grades 6-8) ask students to:
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Wow. Thats pretty loaded, huh? As I went through the unwrapping process with one of my teachers recently, we pulled out nine explicit targets - and that was before we thought about all of the targets involved with Standards W.1, 2, and 3! Before diving into the standard as a whole, it helps to focus on just a few aspects of the standard. I'm starting with two: Audience and purpose.
Carl Anderson (2005) says that lifelong writers initiate writing. What does it mean to be an initiator of writing? According to Anderson, two of the characteristics of initiators of writing are:
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Wow. Thats pretty loaded, huh? As I went through the unwrapping process with one of my teachers recently, we pulled out nine explicit targets - and that was before we thought about all of the targets involved with Standards W.1, 2, and 3! Before diving into the standard as a whole, it helps to focus on just a few aspects of the standard. I'm starting with two: Audience and purpose.
Carl Anderson (2005) says that lifelong writers initiate writing. What does it mean to be an initiator of writing? According to Anderson, two of the characteristics of initiators of writing are:
- writing for various purposes
- writing for real audiences
Varied Purposes
"It is the good reason to write that will propel the experienced writer forward through all the processes necessary to move an idea to publication."
-- Katie Wood Ray, 1999
Katey Wood Ray, Carl Anderson, Nancie Atwell, Don Murray, and many others all understand that the "good reason to write" can inspire writing, even when it's difficult. And they also know that people write for many, many good reasons. Carl Anderson (2005) provides us with this list:
You might consider sharing a few of the ideas from the list with students, and then generating a class list of reasons why students write. Then, when you confer with them, ask them why they've chosen a specific topic or genre. If you see a student writing for the same reason over and over again, talk with them about other reasons to write, and encourage them to try writing for a new reason.
Real Audiences
"Without readers, a text is nothing more than a series of symbols. For a text to fulfill the purposes intended by its author - for it to do something in the world - it must be read by others."
-- Carl Anderson, 2005
If we're honest with ourselves, most of us would admit that we don't ask students to consider an authentic audience very often. But in the real world, outside the walls of our schools, writers write for different types of audiences.
Sometimes writers write for a specific person. I've written letters to my grandmother to fill her in on my life; I've written proposals for initiatives for my principal to consider; I've written journal entries to help me remember and reflect on significant moments in my life.
At other times, writers write with a specific subgroup of people in mind. For example, I write this blog with teachers in Rapid City in mind. As a classroom teacher, I wrote welcome letters to the families of my students.
And finally, sometimes writers have a general audience in mind. Writers for the Associated Press write news articles that may be read by anyone.
You might find that a student isn't able to name an audience for his or her writing; when you confer with the student, ask them to brainstorm a list of people with whom the student might share his writing, or possible outlets for publishing.
Implications for Practice
If you're running a writing workshop in your classroom, you should expect your students to write for a wide range of purposes and for real audiences. But don't assume that just because you've provided the conditions for initiative that students won't need support.
For years, students have been used to the idea that teachers are the ones who set the purpose for their writing (to finish the assignment), and that we will be their only audience. But, "writing to an assigned topic, no matter how 'good' the teacher thinks the assignment, is, from the writer's perspective, largely if not entirely an act of compliance rather than a linguistic doing meant to alter the world." (Bomer and Bomer, 2001) As students struggle to become initiators of writing, we'll need to provide direction and scaffolding.
Resources
"It is the good reason to write that will propel the experienced writer forward through all the processes necessary to move an idea to publication."
-- Katie Wood Ray, 1999
Katey Wood Ray, Carl Anderson, Nancie Atwell, Don Murray, and many others all understand that the "good reason to write" can inspire writing, even when it's difficult. And they also know that people write for many, many good reasons. Carl Anderson (2005) provides us with this list:
- To celebrate an important person or event in your life
- To persuade someone to think like you do on an issue
- to bear witness
- to show how fascinating a subject can be
- To teach someone how to do something
- To improve society
- To disagree
- To make someone laugh
- To be understood by others
- To teach a moral or lesson
- To complain
- To tell what happened
- To share a passion
- To make plans
- To make money
- To remember
- To heal
- To leave something behind
You might consider sharing a few of the ideas from the list with students, and then generating a class list of reasons why students write. Then, when you confer with them, ask them why they've chosen a specific topic or genre. If you see a student writing for the same reason over and over again, talk with them about other reasons to write, and encourage them to try writing for a new reason.
Real Audiences
"Without readers, a text is nothing more than a series of symbols. For a text to fulfill the purposes intended by its author - for it to do something in the world - it must be read by others."
-- Carl Anderson, 2005
If we're honest with ourselves, most of us would admit that we don't ask students to consider an authentic audience very often. But in the real world, outside the walls of our schools, writers write for different types of audiences.
Sometimes writers write for a specific person. I've written letters to my grandmother to fill her in on my life; I've written proposals for initiatives for my principal to consider; I've written journal entries to help me remember and reflect on significant moments in my life.
At other times, writers write with a specific subgroup of people in mind. For example, I write this blog with teachers in Rapid City in mind. As a classroom teacher, I wrote welcome letters to the families of my students.
And finally, sometimes writers have a general audience in mind. Writers for the Associated Press write news articles that may be read by anyone.
You might find that a student isn't able to name an audience for his or her writing; when you confer with the student, ask them to brainstorm a list of people with whom the student might share his writing, or possible outlets for publishing.
Implications for Practice
If you're running a writing workshop in your classroom, you should expect your students to write for a wide range of purposes and for real audiences. But don't assume that just because you've provided the conditions for initiative that students won't need support.
For years, students have been used to the idea that teachers are the ones who set the purpose for their writing (to finish the assignment), and that we will be their only audience. But, "writing to an assigned topic, no matter how 'good' the teacher thinks the assignment, is, from the writer's perspective, largely if not entirely an act of compliance rather than a linguistic doing meant to alter the world." (Bomer and Bomer, 2001) As students struggle to become initiators of writing, we'll need to provide direction and scaffolding.
Resources
- Anderson, Carl. 2005. Assessing Writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
- Atwell, Nancie. 1998. In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Bomer, Randy, and Katherine Bomer. 2001. For a Better World: Reading and Writing for Social Action. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Murray, Donald M. 1996. Crafting a Life in Essay, Story, Poem. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
- Ray, Katie Wood. 1999. Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
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