I want to begin by stating the obvious, I know I am no Virginia Woolf or Toni Morrison, but I do consider myself a writer. I write for myself, for academia, and for my career. I make sure that my students see me writing, and more importantly, I want them to observe my struggle and perseverance through the writing process.

Letting my students see the mental roadblocks I face and the constant revisions I make while writing has done wonders for my student’s confidence and their willingness to take more creative risks while writing.

I am constantly reminding my students that writing for yourself and for the public is rewarding, but it can be extremely difficult because it opens your thoughts up to criticism, and challenges you to identify personal vulnerabilities.

My main goal as a teacher is to help my students become real writers and not just experts on the 5 paragraph essay. Let’s be real for a second, this type of formulaic writing will never show up in any other aspects of their lives, including college. I want my students to become writers because I know that writers use their brains in very special ways.

Qualities of a writer:

• observe the environments and people around them more closely
• a strong voice in life and in print
• are always thinking about and collecting new words
• are thinking about an issue or question long before they ever speak out on it
• pay close attention to what other writers are doing with their craft in a critical way
• are reading ALL the time, and reading a variety of texts
• are open to multiple perspectives
• foster a strong sense of empathy for the experiences of others

These are the traits I want to celebrate and foster in my students, so I aim to develop lessons that get my students thinking and acting like real writers.

 

Project Based Writing:

In my class, project-based writing allows for total student choice in a topic, it involves the students in creating the rubrics and criteria for scoring their peers and themselves, and it requires students to blend different styles of writing and skills into one, instead of siloing them into separate assessments. I have provided several opportunities this year for students to write this way: independent research, book talks, one-act plays, poetry, journaling, and blogging.

Greek Tragedies in a Modern Age:

During our study of the Greek Tragedy and Sophocles’ Antigone, I decided to forgo the traditional essay that analyzes the rhetorical and literary appeals presented in a drama and replace it with a creative writing project that would have them demonstrate their skills in the areas of poetic devices, character and plot development, composing effective dialogue, and establishing a theme through cohesive metaphors, allusions, and motifs.

I wanted my students to experience Aristotle’s cathartic formula and the elements of a tragedy by actively creating instead of just passively observing.

I charged my students with the task of writing their own one-act tragic drama concerning a topic or issue that is relevant to teens or young adults. They would need to take on the role of the playwright and compose stage directions, a script, and direct actors in a performance of their play.

Publishing and Performance:

As an additional immersive element, I proposed a contest in the spirit of Sophocles’ big break and the Festival of Dionysus, in which students submit video productions of their plays, vote on the best ones, and choose an ultimate winner.

Click here for the full lesson details

More Resources for PBLs and Authentic Writing:

• http://talkswithteachers.com/authenticwriting/
• 21st Century Teaching
• Project Based Learning: Start Here

Possible ways to introduce authentic writing tasks in your classroom:

1. Have students start a blog and encourage them to continue writing and posting once they leave your classroom.
2. Expand the possible audiences beyond the teacher. There are so many publishing opportunities available to young writers on-line, or have the students write a poem or letter do a friend of family member.
3. Involve the community. Have students choose a local organization or business to write an advertisement or review.
4. Freedom & Choice: have students explore topics and personal passions through independent research and composition. #20time