Writing About Writing

     Chapter three in Grove's book, 'Why Would Anyone Ever Want to Write?', contained some interesting and truthful information in relation to students and the development of writing. This chapter highlighted the importance of instilling writing skills early within a child's education. Also, this chapter discussed the importance of making writing fun and a non-stressful experience for students. The goal is to encourage students to perform writing, rather than feel like writing is, "a sweaty business." Writing can/is a scary experience to new students. It's important to me, as a future teacher, for my students to feel comfortable within their own learning environment. I want to help my students develop writing skills at an early age, and I want my students to leave my classroom with a feeling of accomplishment in relation to the ability to write.
     Chapter three listed several strategies that could improve student's writing skills. Some of these in-classroom activities included, writing a letter to a family member, writing about their day, recording their thoughts in a journal, and even writing about the atmosphere that surrounds them. I wanted to give recognition to this part of the chapter because it provided several fun and easy activities that could encourage student writing. Also, I was able to picture my own classroom, and think about which of these activities I would include. I have concluded that I would like to use each of the activities that I have listed from the text. For example, writing a letter to a family member is a phenomenal idea. Not only does it encourage student writing, it's sentimental, it develops structure for letter writing, and it sure does beat writing a uninteresting prompt. Furthermore, even recording their thoughts into a journal is sentimental. It allows the students to connect with their emotions, and to write their feelings down on a piece of paper. I think that it is important for my future students to understand that writing is meaningful and useful in several ways. It should be performed in every day life.
    As for the classroom structure, I think it's important to include writing in several subject areas other than in Language Arts. For example, the students should be given activities in science and math, in which they have to describe data. This also practices writing skills. When I was in Elementary School, I remember that my teachers gave me several assignments that linked to writing in one way or another. By doing this, it practices repetition with writing. It reminds me of a child learning how to ride a bike. When a child begins to ride a bike, the first few times they tend to fall off the bike. However, with consistent practice, the child is able to ride a bike without falling off. That's similar to the develop of writing skills. If a child continues to have in-classroom activities that involve writing, they are more likely to lose that fear that has been instilled, and will be more likely to enjoy it. Overall, writing skills are important to a student's learning. Students should always be encouraged to write, even if it's as simple as writing a reflection of their day.