STUDENT RESPONSE:
As I found through my research in ED 795: Narrative Inquiry, middle school students lack identity when it comes to determining brainstorming strategies that work for them on an individual basis. This could be for many reasons. One could be that they were not taught several different examples of how to brainstorm before writing. Or maybe students have not been given ample time to work with multiple strategies to get a feel for what works best for them. Another reason could be that they do not remember the different ways they were taught. Either way, the skills have not been developed to a level that gives students the confidence to choose their own path.
When students entered my class, they knew what brainstorming is and that it happens at the beginning of the writing process. However, students were not able to list different brainstorming methods and could not say what worked best for them individually.
When students entered my class, they knew what brainstorming is and that it happens at the beginning of the writing process. However, students were not able to list different brainstorming methods and could not say what worked best for them individually.
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN WRITING:
Over the past couple of years, I have noticed that my students writing has become stronger and their confidence in their writing has also grown. After conducting a survey at the beginning of the year, 3% of my students (a total of two students) considered themselves writers. Included within this percent were advanced and regular education students. When we started writing at the beginning of the year, students struggled to begin. Frustration was high because they lacked the confident and the strategies to make them successful. After they began trusting the brainstorming process, and themselves, their ideas started developing more clearly. Students become more excited about writing. At the end of the year, 80% of my students considered themselves to be writers and 100% of my students felt that their writing abilities had grown throughout the year. Through conferences, I asked my students two questions: 1: What motivated you to write? and 2) What prewriting strategies were helpful? Here were some of their responses:
FINAL PRODUCTS:
Below are a few of my students' final pieces. There are several pieces of poetry, a few flash fiction pieces, as well as a few infographics.
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