Carol's Reflection on Graves, Chapters 2 & 3

Chapter 2 is a great little manual for the writer's workshop that could reassure the most hesitant writing teacher. Again, it reinforces the practice of a teacher showing the writing process instead of lecturing about it. I’m certain that the students in my fifth grade class would be so much more motivated if they were able to watch and learn how the teacher decides on a topic, verbalizes as she begins to write, and then visits them to let them know that, yes, she sees what they are communicating with their writing, and then helps them reveal more information. I appreciate the troubleshooting guide, especially what to do when faced with a student who has a blank paper. Questions always seem to cure a lack of inspiration!

We are given tools to help our students find topics in chapter 3. The idea of really knowing our students is central to many different areas of the teaching experience. Here it allows us to help them realize what they can write about with some confidence that they are experienced and knowledgeable on the topic. Another tool to help them find a topic is having them listen to their peers. I’ve seen my students get an idea for their daily writing prompt by listening to what their peers are writing about and then saying, “Oh yeah! I remember something like that happened to me once.”

Graves ends both chapters with encouragement that even though the process may not go smoothly in the beginning, students will eventually learn to write this new way and trust their judgments when looking for topics. My job as a teacher of writing is to believe in the process, offer support, and be patient while I wait for my students to take off on their own.