Write the World in the Classroom
If you haven’t discovered it yet, check out Write the World
Write the World in the Classroom
Write the World in the Classroom
Guest Post by Jodie Scales, high school English teacher
One of our biggest challenges in teaching writing to high school age students is getting them to
recognize the authenticity of themselves as writers. Younger students love writing stories, then we
get them into high school and introduce them to the world of academic writing and if we are not
very careful, strip the joy of writing right out of them. They still have stories to tell and opinions to
express, but too often writing becomes a task instead of a joy; an assignment rather than a process;
an in class activity rather than a real world experience.
I start each school year out with a program on understanding and using Writer’s Notebooks, teach
writing in a writing workshop environment with mini-lessons, writing partners and small groups.
Students in my classes write daily and they see me writing daily in my own Writer’s Notebook. Some
of our writing is private, some shared within the class, some put on our school district web
discussion groups, and some published on Internet wide sites. Choice is also a significant component
of any successful writing program. It is sometimes difficult as a teacher to keep prompts and writing
activities fresh while providing that element of choice that sparks a writer’s personal motivations.
When I discovered the Write the World web site it seemed too good to be true. I posted a link to
the site on my English 10 My Big Campus group and offered the students a choice between our
normal quick write activities and the Write the World platform. Over sixty of my eighty students
elected to use the Write the World platform. Jumping on the enthusiasm and momentum building in
the students, I did a mini lesson using the peer review suggestions directly from Write the World to
encourage the students to respond to the writing of others. As the students published their writing
I followed them so that I could keep an eye on their participation, but never graded their writing.
It was so rewarding seeing the students get excited about other people, from other places following
them and commenting on their writing. This is exactly the kind of real world writing experiences that we want for our students.