Teaching Children to Write Theory into Practice

Preface Throughout the ages, rhetoric and writing have been significant factors in making and preserving history. Aristotle's logic and his advice about the use of the language around 200 b.c., Gutenberg's creation of the printing press in the 15th century, and the 20th century's gift of technology--all were born of our ability to use and communicate in written language. It is widely recognized that literacy is the mark of an educated person and that a high level of literacy is critical to achieve and maintain a democratic society. How, then, can it be anything but an essential part in our teaching? Teaching children to write is an awesome responsibility. Since expressing ideas in writing is a basic tenet of literacy, as teachers are obligated to help students become competent, if not accomplished, writers. The purpose of this text is to help teachers successfully accomplish this task. Other subjects such as reading, mathematics, science, and social studies have relatively standard content and methods along with a plethora of texts, how-to manuals, and directives from state and school district documents. Writing, on the other hand, is often more difficult to teach. Even though curriculum documents identify specific competencies for student success, there are few state-adopted texts, and how-to teaching manuals are almost nonexistent. Teachers are often left on their own to find the necessary resources for teaching writing. Many use trial-and-error methods until they finally settle on some strategies that seem successful, for at least some of their students. College curricula share some responsibility for the lack of teachers' preparation for teaching writing. In our experience, most preservice and beginning teachers feel far less prepared to teach children to write than they do to teach the other subject areas. Part of this difficulty may come from the widely differing theories about the best strategies for writing instruction. For .example, some theorists say that giving children instruction in writing stifles their creativity, while others maintain that students must first learn to develop accurate sentence structures before writing. In one case, children write and write and write without focus on the writing conventions. In the other case, children focus on grammar, sentence diagramming, spelling, and mechanics to the exclusion of developing meaningful thought. Teaching Children to Write: Theory into Practiceblends differing theories into an approach that provides preservice teachers with the solid content and preparation they need to enter the workshop or writing classroom with confidence in their abilities to teach children to write. At the same time, it shows them how to provide children with the freedom they need for creative authorship. Understanding and Using the Text Along the margin of each page are quotations from leading researchers and practitioners in the field of writing. These kernels of theory and practice are invaluable to instructors as well as preservice teachers for six reasons. They reinforce the content and practical application of the text. They support the research base and validity of the text. They familiarize preservice teachers with the names of leaders in the field of teaching and writing. They offer topics for discussion among the preservice teachers. They suggest topics and references for further study. They provide a format that makes the text accessible to students. The multiple intelligences (M Is) theory is introduced in the first chapter. We believe it is a strong factor in successful teaching in the writing workshop. Suggestions for using a multiple intelligences approach are interwoven throughout the book, and a list of possible applications, "Emphasizing the Multiple Intelligences," appears near the end of each chapter. We suggest that the MIs are an essenHughey, Jane B. is the author of 'Teaching Children to Write Theory into Practice', published 2000 under ISBN 9780130951946 and ISBN 0130951943.