Hypothetical Letter to an Administrator

I interviewed some teachers at my school about our literacy program, then wrote a hypothetical letter to the principal. I'd like to present it to one of my administrators, but I'm wondering if it's too critical. Your thoughts?


February 3, 2012



Dear Administrator,

I am writing to voice a concern I have about the K-5 literacy program at our school. In the six months that I have taught at High Point Academy, I have observed a disconnect between reading and writing instruction that I am afraid may not be benefiting our students. Although classrooms across our elementary school have a set amount of time for reading each day, there is very little writing that is incorporated into the reading program. Further, very little writing instruction is set aside each week. With a few changes in teaching practices, and some changes in the school-wide schedule, students can benefit from complete reading and writing instruction, which is synergetic in nature (Nagin, 2006).

I propose that teachers be provided with continued professional development in the areas of reading and writing. This professional development could focus on the complementary nature of reading and writing. For example, both reading and writing encourage phonemic awareness and phonics skills in students. Further, teachers can help students make connections between what they write and what they read. Literature, from picture books to newspapers, to novels, can be read in class and viewed as writing that students can model after. As these synergies between reading and writing become more evident in the classroom, we will also see growth in students’ ability and eagerness to read and write.

Finally, the Leadership Team at High Point Academy should consider making some changes to the school day schedule in kindergarten through 5th grade. Currently, all classrooms in the elementary school participate in a one-hour long reading block in the morning every day. However, not every classroom has set the same standard for writing. Throughout these classrooms, there is very little consistency regarding when and how writing is taught. If a writing block could be scheduled into the school day, teachers would be able to teach writing skills with more consistency (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001). Also, students would start to feel that writing was a more routine part of their day, much like their reading block.

Thank you for hearing what I have to say. If you are interested in discussing any of these suggestions, please let me know. I would love to bring these concerns and solutions to the Leadership Team at this month’s meeting. 

Sincerely,



Lauren Haug
Learning Support Team
High Point Academy  

Reference List



Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: Teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.



Nagin, C. (2006). Because writing matters: Improving student writing in our schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Authentic Writing- Persuasive Essay

Writing is a classroom activity that can often cause students to be apprehensive. It involves several components such as ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions (Fisher & Frey, 2003). Balancing all of these components at once can be daunting for a student. As an educator, teaching these writing elements in a formulaic way can cause confusion for students, sometimes discouraging students from wanting to write. However, if teachers provide authentic writing experiences, they will see their students attempting a number of relevant writing experiences outside of required classroom based writing. Allowing authentic writing also gives students the opportunity to express their creativity through writing. Finally, students who are provided with authentic writing opportunities learn to become better writers.

Often, when students are asked to approach writing in a formulaic way, they are usually asked to write about things they experience within the classroom. For example, students are often asked to write about a book they read in class, or a science or social studies lesson. Since classrooms consist of a variety of individuals, it is wrong of teachers to assume that every student will take away the same message from the same lesson. When teachers formulaically narrow writing down to a few aspects of a topic that was taught, they limit the students ability to show their real learning of that given topic. In other words, “teachers decide what is taught, students decide what is learned” (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001). With authentic writing, students have the opportunity to show what they understood and found important in content lessons. Collecting authentically written pieces from students can also help teachers get an idea of how well classroom lessons were learned. Using authentic writing in this way benefits both the teacher and the pupil.

Authentic writing experiences also help foster creativity within students. While formulaic writing causes young writer to conform, authentic experiences allow students to explore their interests and exercise their creative ability (Angelillo, 2006). When students write about things that spark their own imagination, they begin to build confidence in their own unique writing style, and begin to develop their own voice. Teachers can encourage this creativity by providing motivation and materials that spark the creative flame within their students. Through authentic writing, students can be introduced to new topics and new literature that they otherwise would have missed in a more formulaic model. Authentic experiences can create an interest in writing, and also allow students to take ownership of the things they write.

Finally, when students are given authentic writing experiences, they learn to become better writers. Sometimes, an authentic writing approach is identified as an approach with minimal instruction. However, both authentic and formulaic writing approaches come with an instruction component. In both approaches, students learn about writing processes, different types of writing, and editing skills. Authentic writing, however, allows for teachers to reinforce these skills based on student needs (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001). In authentic writing, students are given a small amount of whole-class instruction each day, and during writing time, students engage in conferences that can reinforce skills that they learned throughout writing class. During these conferences, individual writers meet with a teacher or a peer to review their writing, and discuss ways to revise it. Teachers can use these authentic experiences to provide individualized writing instruction to a student based on her needs.

When teaching writing, teachers should strive to provide as many authentic writing opportunities to their students as possible. Authentic writing opportunities allow students to explore their school-based learning, display their creativity, and learn to become better overall writers. By allowing authentic writing experiences rather that formulaic ones, students will be more engaged in writing, minimizing apprehension, and fostering a healthy classroom environment for young writers.


Reference List

Angelillo, J. (2006). Prompt writing vs. workshop writing. In Writing to the prompt. Retrieved from http://www.davidson.k12.nc.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=28230

Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (2001). Writing workshop: The essential guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2003). Scaffolded writing instruction: Teaching with a gradual-release framework. New York, NY: Scholastic.