In the Teachers as Writers course I had the opportunity to read the book shown to the right, Writing Instruction for English Learners. This text proved beneficial to my learning because many students that are just starting to learn English have initial difficulties with writing, and this is not always the case, but some learners hesitate to practice writing because of lack of esteem they have for themselves as writers (Booth-Olsen, Scarcella, & Matuchniak, 2013). Eugenia Mora-Flores expresses this point in her book by saying, "English learners will need lots of opportunities to practice their oral and written language as they work toward a piece they will want to share. In addition, they need ample opportunities to talk with classmates along the way at every stage of the process" (Mora-Flores, p. 3).
This text stuck out to me because of the way it was organized. Each of the chapters Eugenia Mora-Flores wrote were organized into the specific genres of writing— narrative writing, expository writing, persuasive writing, and poetry. Each chapter started with an overview of the type of writing style, what types of pieces are involved in the genre, and ways to scaffold the writing practices specifically for English language learners. The most intriguing part of this book for me was the fact that the author also included 2 or 3 detailed lesson plans (including student example pieces in each of the chapters! Below is an image of a lesson on Found Poems given in the poetry chapter of the book, along with a student's work example.
Mora-Flores, E. (2009). Writing instruction for English learners: a focus on genre. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press.
This text stuck out to me because of the way it was organized. Each of the chapters Eugenia Mora-Flores wrote were organized into the specific genres of writing— narrative writing, expository writing, persuasive writing, and poetry. Each chapter started with an overview of the type of writing style, what types of pieces are involved in the genre, and ways to scaffold the writing practices specifically for English language learners. The most intriguing part of this book for me was the fact that the author also included 2 or 3 detailed lesson plans (including student example pieces in each of the chapters! Below is an image of a lesson on Found Poems given in the poetry chapter of the book, along with a student's work example.
Mora-Flores, E. (2009). Writing instruction for English learners: a focus on genre. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press.
For this course, we were asked to use what we learned from this text to develop a lesson we planned to teach. I decided to modify a lesson I found in this text on teaching Haiku poetry, and I taught it to a student I tutored once a week in the Wolfpack Reader Program. This worked out well because the student I tutored was an English language learner that I was working on engaging and motivating in reading as best I could. The lesson used an "I do" "We do" "You do" format to help the student learn the unique format of the Japanese styled poem. The multicultural text, A Days Work by Eve Bunting was also incorporated in the lesson to intrigue the student further, and together we used the information in the text to create a Haiku together. I was very impressed with how the lesson went and how well the student participated in the activities of creating his own Haiku poem. I could tell he was proud of his work creating a Haiku and that he felt more confident in his abilities as a writer. He had also not yet been introduced to Haiku poetry, and had also never written his own poem before, so it felt meaningful and worthwhile that I incorporated this lesson to give him that positive experience! Below is our "we do" poem about the story A Days Work, and his final Haiku poem that he created independently.
"Establishing a community of writers where students feel safe trying out language and making errors along the way is necessary for second language development. With careful attention to the role of structure and talk when writing, coupled with a cyclical approach to teaching writing, teachers will be better equipped to address the needs of their ELs." -Eugenia Mora-Flores
Standards Aligned:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.9.A
Apply grade 4 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions").
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.9.A
Apply grade 4 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions").