Writing Instruction Reflection

As I reflect on the writing instruction I received when I was younger, I would definitely say it was geared more towards the Traditional Writing format.  I remember my elementary years were spent in a source book working on how to write sentences with a subject and predicate, the parts of speech, and how to properly punctuate sentences.  We also spent a significant amount of time on handwriting and spelling.  I remember my teachers would always give us a topic to write about and we would work on that piece of writing for a day or two, turn it in, and then a few days later our teacher would return it to us with corrections and we would spend time copying it over into a final copy.  I was never really exposed to creative writing or given the opportunity to craft a story of my own choice.  I feel that because of this, I am intimidated to write creatively.  I am much more comfortable writing when given a topic and a clear structure or format for how it should look and sound.

Now that I am a teacher myself, I find that I lean more towards Process Writing.  I believe that writing should be authentic and engaging for kids.  I believe that this is best done when students have choice and when writing is taught through mentor texts, modeling, and discussions with others about the craft of writing.  I believe this approach goes beyond just teaching and instead inspires students to be writers.