Last year I wanted to try free writing, and I remember, vaguely, setting up the free write with some lively topic ideas. When I said, "go," students dug in. But Paul just sat there, like usual. I could have predicted it. But I had a strategy in mind--I asked Paul to write the words, "blah blah blah..." until something came to mind. Eventually, something did come to his mind, and he was able to write three or four sentences.
As I read some of Lane's suggestions for struggling writers, I was struck by the notion that many kids--maybe even our future writer--can not or do not like to free write. For that matter, I don't really care for it either. I want my words to count, even if no one but me reads them. And most times, having time to think before putting pen to paper helps me sort out my ideas. That's the kid of writer Paul was--one of my best, too.
I will probably try the roller coaster strategy Lane lines out in chapter, with the proper set-up, of course. But if a student looks off into the distance for a bit, I won't panic. And as for having a student write "blah, blah, blah,"--I'm going to stick with giving think time instead.
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4 comments:
I also appreciated this chapter very much. As long as they are eventually producing writing...staring off into space can be productive. I also liked the Vonnegut example. Some people just have to slog sentence by sentence.
Warren,
I think your "blah, blah, blah" strategy was a good one. Middle school kids who are reluctant to write would see your sense of humor in it, as well as it being non-threatening. I think you would win their trust in this way. Sail on, sailor boy.......
I often had to catch myself when tempted to reprimand a student for "goofing off" during a writing assignment. I too often assumed that they were legitimately "doing nothing" rather than thinking about something. (I'm sure there were a fair amount of times when they were actually doing nothing.) There was a lot of stalling which, I think, was a sign of fear, fear of failure.
I don't know about using "blah, blah, blah," but it's worth a try. At least it's an alternative to my getting hot under the collar when I think they may be wasting precious time...
I remember playing pictionary with my Dad and brother one day. They were teamed up. Kev kept adding detail after detail after detail to his drawing until the timer was almost out. Then he pounded his pencil on the image and finally broke down and demanded that Dad at least guess. Just before the last grain of sand slipped through, Dad said, "it looks like a pregnant golf bag." Of course, that's not what it was, but what a precious precious memory of them playing as a team! My point being, that sometimes if the topic just isn't relevant to someone, it's hard to write anything.
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