Chapter 7: Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills

As I read this chapter and the following ones, I thought often of the teachers I work with.  They are follwing the curriculum they are given but there doesnt seem to be much leway in what they are able to do.  Everyone writes about the same topic, only sometimes are they able to choose (such as their state or animal reports), everyone has the same time frame in which to write, most if not all students need to be at the same stage in their writing piece, etc.  Routeman talks about using writing time to teach and apply the basic skills that are often taught in isolation.  Kids will pick up and learn punctuation, word choice, sentence structure, etc. when presented in mini-lessons then applied in writings.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/individuals-at-risk/ai-kids/more-editing-marks/page.do?id=1101358

The 'Teaching Tip" on page 152 about saving exemplary writing reminded me of my high school english teacher.  She would save each student's writing from each assignment, share some with the class, and file them all.  At the end of the year we would go through our folders, and pick the best and worst example of our work, label them with the year, 'best' or 'worst' and put the file away.  By our senior year, we could see our own progress as writers.  Also, this teacher did lots of modeling when it came to revising and editing.  She would always "bloody up" our papers causing us to produce multiple drafts.  Most of the time, however we conferenced with her while she made the changes.  When I was in high school I thought she was writing my papers for me!  In recent years, I have realized that what she was doing was giving me the tools I needed to write a decent paper.