Until Next Time

Whether we realize it or not, writing is a huge and very important part of our lives. We write every day, whether it be a grocery list or the next great American novel, writing is writing. We would not have gotten very far without it. This semester I realized just how important writing is to me, and how much I actually enjoy writing. I used to be an avid writer, keeping journals about my personal life or writing stories to pass the time. But as I got older writing became a mere assignment instead of an enjoyable way to relax. This class, through the time we spent free writing and participating in the writing demos, helped me rekindle my love of writing. 

Digital writing is interesting. I learned that it is a great tool to have in your classroom, and that a lot can be done with it. However, I also know that it is something that takes time to develop and cultivate in the classroom. Creating one class blog site will not result in 150 students that become authors. In my future classroom I will definitely be open minded about having students use digital writing, but I also need to make sure that I have the tools to keep them moving forward so that they do not become bored and their writing is stagnant. That is my advice to other teachers, pre-service or veteran, make sure that you are knowledgeable about digital writing before you ask your students to do it. There are many opportunities for digital writing in the classroom, but choose one and try to master it before introducing your students to it!

I love to read and write, and I love to teach literature and not writing. So this semester was a bit of a challenge for me, to create both a writing demo and mini lesson. However, I felt that this was both my challenge and success. This class made me do something that I would not normally want to do (create lesson plans centered solely on writing) and enjoy it! I also felt very successful just listening and watching my classmates experience the class with me. Although it was a lot of work, I enjoyed everyones writing demos and learned from them. I also got a few awesome lessons that I would love to replicate in my classroom one day! 

All in all it was a great semester, so until next time...write on!