The Importance of Reading and Writing

This Message from Penny Kittle is a problem in each grade. As teachers we need to be willing to listen to our students when we are creating lessons in mind for their education.

 

Penny Kittle mentions we can not create writers without having students read.

  Through the reading and the powerpoint in the module for this week we learned many techniques that can be implemented in the classroom. The two things that were important to me was the thoughts of writing does not need to be perfect and having students read a book of choice then write about the text. Through having students practice the levels of writing and analyzing reading we can lead students to becoming life long learners.

In reading in the text about English writing it discusses where teachers did not find an importance for students to write creatively this to me is heartbreaking. How can we help students enjoy writing if they can't be creative? Part of helping students understand learning is making mistakes are great because without making a mistake learning could not happen. Modeling brainstorming, rough drafts, peer review, and editing papers helps students see there is more to writing then putting thoughts to paper. 

Reading as we can see with what Penny had to say goes hand in hand with writing. Reading is the model of writing. Giving choice can help encourage learning. "...once a month eighth graders chose independent reading books from a focal genre or category of literature (e.g., award-winning novels, biographies, or historical fiction)." ( Dawson, p. 33)  After reading students then took a timed test which discussed the book the students read. This was to help simulate district timed tests. Teachers used this privilege to model brainstorming and analyzing text to help students learn the skills to become successful in the type of tests that were required. As teachers we need to be willing to model the same skills that students will need to be successful in the future.