We are FAMILY....

Wow...Overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel today. I have been researching on the effects of establishing this community, this little family, of writers in my classroom today and am blown away by the amount of writing research I have found through the National Writing Project's website. Article after article filled my browser with information on the positive impacts seen by other teachers who established these tight knit communities of writers in their classroom. Many teachers across the U.S. and our little state of Mississippi claim that there just isn't enough time to write in the classroom. There is not enough time to teach the skills necessary to prepare students for state tests and teach writing. I am there with you. Teachers who are teaching upper elementary through high school all feel the pain of tight schedules and an overwhelming number of skills to be taught, but it can be done and research shows it is vital to our students. Deborah Dean and Adrienne Warren, NWP teachers who have established writing communities in their classrooms, state in their article "Informal and Shared: Writing to Create Community": "As a teacher you have to evaluate the benefits of what we gain against what we give up." Another famous educational mind, Sam M. Intrator, states in his article "The Engaged Classroom"," Classrooms are powerful places. They can be dynamic settings that launch dreams and delight minds or arid places that diminish hope and deplete energy." These words ring so true to me. As an educator I am solely responsible for establishing what my classroom will look and feel like for my students. I will have a community of learners engaged in conversation, writing, and the sharing of those works or a basal reader and worksheet based classroom that is monotonous and boring. Judy Willis, neurologist turned teacher educator, is famous for her brain research on particular educational strategies. In an interview with the NWP entitled "Writing and the Brain: Neuroscience Shows the Pathway to Learning", Willis states "Greater activation throughout the brain occurs when information is acquired through the diversity of experiences provided by peer collaboration." Peer collaboration in my mind equals a community. A community in which I am very anxious to begin creating with my next group of students. The Institute of Education Science and the US Department of Education paired up to create a book found online entitled: Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers. In the chapter entitled "Establishing a Community of Writers" there are five steps that an educator can follow to create this community of writers. The steps are:

1. Teachers should participate as a member of the writing community- I feel this is vital. Students need to see you write. They need to see your process. Students need to witness you share your experiences through writing so they can feel comfortable doing that as well. 
2. Give students writing choices- This is important as well. Students feel like their writing is relevant and purposeful if they determine the direction they want their writing to take. 
3. Encourage students to collaborate as writers- This is imperative for a community of writers to form.If I am stuck I go to a friend, a peer, a colleague to help me kick start my brain. We need to give students opportunities to do this within the classroom.
4. Provide students with opportunities to give and receive feedback throughout the writing process- Students need to learn to work hand in hand with their peers. They have to learn effective ways to critique and encourage.
5. Publish students' writing and extend the community beyond the classroom- Make your students feel like the authors they are. Publish writing in the hallway, in a blog, in a portfolio....something! Students need an audience! 

My journey has just begun! I am excited to see where else my research leads me and begin deciding where my personal research will need to go in order to add to the field of education. The anticipation of August is building! :)