As a teacher, I understand there are too many standards for kids to master in grades K-12. In fact, if a teacher were to truly teach each standard to student mastery, we would need to change K-12 to K-22 before sending them off to college. As the leader of my classroom, I choose which standards need our attention, and for how long. Sure, we have a pacing guide, but I'm not tied to it. During a quarter that focuses Reading Literature standards, I can choose how long my students need to spend on narrative writing in that time frame. And as long as I have an option, I will always teach narrative writing because I see a great value in it. Narrative writing is the most undervalued element of the ELA classroom.
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| Student works on autobiography portfolio unit. This student stated it was her favorite project of the year, and her favorite assignment since starting middle school. |
Narrative writing is still important in grades 6-12 for a myriad of reasons. Narrative writing and storytelling is something our students do everyday, from telling friends what happened over the weekend to describing the cafeteria food fight to the dean. Narrative writing and telling a story in a logical sequence is a relevant skill students - and adults - use daily, whether school officials want to believe it or not.
I think one of the reasons for narrative writing's bad rap in grades 6-12 is that the wording of the standard doesn't drastically change, leading some to believe that narrative writing is just a repetition of previous years. In middle school, it isn't. This is a time for students to explore with structure - start with the exposition or the climax? It is a time for students to play with the timing - do we slow down time with lots of description of the short time, do we use a technique like a flashback? Basically, the standard becomes as rigorous the teacher makes it.
Most importantly, though, is that this is a time for students to find their voice. Our kids see and experience so much in their lives. Writing about it, processing it, working through it is therapeutic. The creative release of narrative writing is something some kids seek and relish during their school day.
I've been reading Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers and Bob Probst (expect a book review on here soon). If you've read anything else from Beers, you'll remember her anecdotes from Marcus, an 8th grader in 2008. His story is very haunting for me because I know his story is very similar to some of my students. When asked about his spiral notebook, he replies "its kinda private" and that the writing he does in his notebook is the "wrong kinda writing for school" because it doesn't have topic sentences. With his full notebook, it is obvious Marcus is a writer, yet he doesn't see himself as one. In fact, when asked if likes to write, he responded with "No I don't think so. I got a D in writing last year. I turned in this one paper about the time my dad came for a visit and the teacher says it was good but it had agreement errors and that was why it had to get a D."
Have we really reduced good writing to nothing but topic sentences and subject-verb agreement?
I've been reading Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers and Bob Probst (expect a book review on here soon). If you've read anything else from Beers, you'll remember her anecdotes from Marcus, an 8th grader in 2008. His story is very haunting for me because I know his story is very similar to some of my students. When asked about his spiral notebook, he replies "its kinda private" and that the writing he does in his notebook is the "wrong kinda writing for school" because it doesn't have topic sentences. With his full notebook, it is obvious Marcus is a writer, yet he doesn't see himself as one. In fact, when asked if likes to write, he responded with "No I don't think so. I got a D in writing last year. I turned in this one paper about the time my dad came for a visit and the teacher says it was good but it had agreement errors and that was why it had to get a D."
Have we really reduced good writing to nothing but topic sentences and subject-verb agreement?
Similar to Marcus, I have a student who lost a parent this fall. Just two weeks ago, we worked on a visual I Am poem. Students wrote the poem, then created a slideshow of images to go along with the poem, and then used Screencastify to record themselves reciting the poem over the images being displayed. The student chose to write about her mother's death, and what her life is like now without her mother here with her. She is a reluctant writer on most days, but spent a week on this project, perfecting every line, every word. When recording, she rushed through the poem because she didn't want to start crying. She stopped the recording and then started to tear up. "Moman, that's the first time I've said any of that stuff out loud. You know, I think it all the time, but I thought saying it would just make me more sad. It didn't though. I liked remembering my mom." Narrative writing that allows for reflection - on an life event, on yourself, anything - helps our students grow in ways that we can't fully understand
Common Core's push for more argumentative and informational writing has made several administrators and Language Arts teachers question how much time classrooms spend on narrative writing. Topic sentences, claims, good evidence,and attribution are all important, don't get me wrong. But in real life, argumentative writing is best when supported with a strong narrative. Kelly Gallagher urges us to think to about it in his book, In The Best Interest of Students. Gallagher states that during the State of the Union Address, while the president is convincing other legislators the importance in his initiatives, he stops to point to at the crowd, illustrating the story of everyday Americans whose stories support his agenda. We have to balance the writing genres our students are exposed to in order to make sure we have a well-rounded student.
While argumentative and informational writing are important skills, our students having a voice and the opportunity express themselves in our classrooms should be the forefront of our teaching. Forget the subject-verb agreement. Narrative writing that gives students an outlet for creative expression is the "why" in my classroom.
Common Core's push for more argumentative and informational writing has made several administrators and Language Arts teachers question how much time classrooms spend on narrative writing. Topic sentences, claims, good evidence,and attribution are all important, don't get me wrong. But in real life, argumentative writing is best when supported with a strong narrative. Kelly Gallagher urges us to think to about it in his book, In The Best Interest of Students. Gallagher states that during the State of the Union Address, while the president is convincing other legislators the importance in his initiatives, he stops to point to at the crowd, illustrating the story of everyday Americans whose stories support his agenda. We have to balance the writing genres our students are exposed to in order to make sure we have a well-rounded student.
While argumentative and informational writing are important skills, our students having a voice and the opportunity express themselves in our classrooms should be the forefront of our teaching. Forget the subject-verb agreement. Narrative writing that gives students an outlet for creative expression is the "why" in my classroom.
Love and Sparkle,
