Results:
Previously I blogged about administering my first survey to the students where they were able to use highlighters and mark their answers for how they feel about writing. The options were:- not at all
- a little
- some
- a lot
- a whole lot
The results are as follows
I found that the majority of students who enjoyed reading, also enjoyed writing. I have often heard reading and writing go hand in hand as long as I have been teaching! In a study done by Furgerson, it was noted students awareness of print drastically increased with interactive writing. Not only did this process make her students better writers, it also increased their reading, (Button, K., Johnson, M., & Furgerson, P., 1996, p. 451).I have seen this in my students, almost the entire class is reading on a Level G/H or higher. On grade level right now is H. The highest is reading an N level....that's 8 kids!!! This survey also gave me the opportunity to see not many students enjoy writing at home.
Question:
Maybe this means most students only see writing as a "chore" or something to do as "work"..this response has been a common theme when talking to students. I wonder if this impacts their writing. What if students could see writing as a leisure activity...
You see post-it notes to the side...these are the things students
said they enjoyed writing about in their free time. Notice the post it that says, "I like to color"...this comes from the student
who could not stand to write- my "Tea Cup puppy" girl. :) She
couldn't think of ONE thing she liked to write about when we
did this survey. My boys LOVE to write about wrestling. Some students (who also only write at school) said they like to write about weather.
From this survey I gathered the majority of the students do have positive thoughts about writing. One question asked:
Writing is fun...students responded:
25% said not at all
6% a little
19% some
0 % a lot
50% a whole lot
I feel this survey is going to be beneficial when I write my findings!
Button, K., Johnson, M., Furgerson, P. (1996). Interactive writing in a primary classroom. The Reading Teacher, 49(6).
I have also heard from my students that their favorite part of working on writing is coloring! Agh! Don't they know that's not writing!
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note, I definitely agree with you that reading and writing go hand in hand. As one improves the other usually does too. I think students seeing writing as a chore is right on. As teachers we need to find a way to make it more real world and engaging to make them want to write outside of school.
Exactly!! I will keep trying to find a way to do that!!! :) In the meantime- if you find something that is working, please share!
ReplyDeleteHm I know that coloring is not writing, but creating and writing are so linked and these kids are so young--perhaps they relate coloring to writing because they are creating a literacy product--think of photographers who often relate the "story" behind the picture. Maybe they are on to something we have forgotten?????
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