Today, I really enjoyed exploring the connections between revision and creative writing activities. I think that allowing students to discover their identity as a writer is an important part of the writing process. Younger writers frequently do not understand when and why they produce a successful piece of writing and why it doesn't work out at other moments. The inconsistency appears to frustrate them and me! I think if I ask some of the questions from Mary Ellen's presentation about where you like to write and follow it up with questions about sources of inspiration that it will help students create a writer's identity. Helping them to create their identity as a writer should give them the ability to quickly tap into successful writing mode when they are presented with different assignments. I think this will give them a go to process for starting a project instead of having no idea where to begin.
The concept of using infographics appealed to me as a teacher in two ways. Initially, I believed the use of an infographic would be a good assessment tool for understanding if a student comprehends a difficult piece of writing like a historical text. With the full-scale implementation of Common Core we are required to up the level of students' reading because of the now higher lexile levels. After working with the new higher lexiles and discussing with social studies teachers their struggles with using more difficult primary sources and historical documents, I wondered how we can simplify the text in a way for students to remember what they read. I mean, yes we technically read that piece aloud, but did students retain anything from the reading and could they use this text to study for a test? More often than not, the answer was no. They read without understanding and definitely didn't see how the text applied to what we were studying. I think if we used the infographic as a type of graphic organizer, students could refer to it as a notes for studying or referencing for a paper or project without having to re-read a complicated piece.
Additionally, I liked Cindy's comment about using the infographic as a method for revision. I think the infographic could help us to map out and compare different drafts of writing. It would be a good way to quickly see if our piece of writing had the same focus as the original, and if not, we could quickly consider whether we liked the revision or wanted to throw it out. An infographic would also help us to pull out the important points of our writing, and compare that to our draft. Did we include everything in the draft that we wanted to include? Did the piece come across to readers like I saw it in my head?
I love your idea for using infographics to simplify a difficult text. I think getting students to really pinpoint the "meat" of a document or piece of literature is one key to understanding its significance and broader relevance. I may try to use them in my classroom, creating one with my students as a model then later allowing them to work in groups to create their own. Any time a student can visually represent a text you know he/she has some understanding of it!
ReplyDelete"Younger writers frequently do not understand when and why they produce a successful piece of writing and why it doesn't work out at other moments. "
ReplyDeleteDude. I don't always understand why something I wrote kicks total butt. (Not a frequent phenomenon)
I do like using infographics as a tool for the writer to see if their writing came across to the reader the way they (the writer) envisioned it. I will also say that, after using piktochart last night, that particular platform for infographia is not exactly...user friendly. But the theory stands.
I like the two ways of using infographics, as a way to help understand a difficult text (something my students have to do with Common Core as well), and as a method of revision. I think the body biographies we did today with "Envy" are definitely a kind of infographic applied to a text.
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