Reading and Writing Project
This past June I was given the opportunity to attend a weeklong workshop at Columbia University in New York City focused on Lucky Calkin’s approach to literacy learning called The Reading and Writing Project. The workshop that I attended was geared towards teaching writing to primary-level students, specifically students in the lower grades. I was placed with other first and second grade teachers from around the United States and other countries to participate in lectures offered by various writers and educators, join my assigned small group to partake in hands on activities, model lessons, read, and, most importantly, write!
Throughout this workshop, not only did I learn different strategies and approaches to teaching writing, I also was given the opportunity to see the value behind each students’ piece of writing, no matter their level or skill. We, as educators, should view all our students as writers and give worth to their pieces. I learned the importance of conferencing with students in order to meet them at their developmental level and push them to go further. During the workshop we were given various opportunities to read and study student work and our workshop instructors would ask us, “What does this student already know about writing?”
Too often, teachers look at writing through the opposite lens and question, “What is this student missing?” Or even, “What are they doing wrong?” Of course this is valid and helps us guide our students to become better writers, but maybe, first, we should learn to praise students for what they already do well and change our rubrics and assessment tools to match this practice.
One of the things that stood out to me the most during this workshop was the idea of celebrating writing. When student writing is celebrated, praised, and valued as an integral part of our classroom, our students will carry this with them throughout their lives.
Lauren Rajabi
Profesora de inglés
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