Chapter 5 & 10: Public Writing: Process and Product

The reading for this week focused on the concept of "public writing" in secondary classrooms. Private writing, or writing to learn, is writing that is intended for the individual. It is used to explore ideas, and the focus is on content, not on grammar, vocabulary, spelling or punctuation. For this reason, private writing can be extremely useful in a language classroom, as it lowers students' affective filters and allows them to develop their thoughts. In an earlier post, I presented a lesson that could be used in an ESL classroom. Public writing, on the other hand, is writing that is intended to be viewed by others. As Daniels, Zemelman & Steineke explain, public writing is "intentional, highly polished pieces that can go out into the world, connect with real readers, get some work done, and stand up to scrutiny" (p. 112).

Often, language teachers are afraid to incorporate substantial writing projects into the classroom for fear that students do not have the skills to write extended pieces and they will be overwhelmed. However, students who are supported through the writing process will be motivated to write and through writing, students can develop their language. The Spanish teacher at my school uses a technique called TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling). She has taught with various methods over her 50 year career, and she swears by the effectiveness of learning language through writing stories.

In Chapter 5, the authors list a number of strategies to make the writing process for manageable for teachers and enjoyable for students. The first is choice; when students can explore a topic that is relevant to their lives, they are more motivated to create. Second, students should be given time to write in class. This is part of providing support during the writing process; students can do much better in class with teacher and peer support than they can at home by themselves. The third is feedback: all writers, even professionals, need feedback during the writing process before they present a finished product. Feedback doesn't have to only come from the teacher, but students can work together to help develop each others pieces.