Decmber 11th 2020~Treasure

 During this class, we were asked to read up on Creating a Climate for Writing. 

This article shines a light on the fact that a differentiated classroom provides a  climate which is favourable to writing. It is a comfortable, exciting place for any student author. Students are comfortable in this classroom because they have developed the mindset of seeing mistakes as opportunities to improve and grow with the help of constructive feedback from the teacher. The establishment of the physical and psychological environment caters to students’ individual needs. Motivational activities and lesson activities are provided with the intent to challenge student authors in a way that will help them to develop into competent and skilled writers. 

 The article outlined self-efficacy which is cultivated and instilled when positive comments provide recommendations for improvement. Writing experience develops the student’s self-efficacy or belief that he is a successful author. This ties into self-motivation where students begin to believe in themselves due to that learner’s enthusiasm, effort, and energy used in accomplishing a task or participating in an activity. This is of course developed through continuous positive feedback which aims to help the student improve as a writer. Teachers must help their students to become self-regulated where they are able to monitor and control their own thought process which is also referred to as metacognition. 

As teachers, it is crucial that we provide a safe and exciting writing environment.  In a safe writing environment, the authors’ work is accepted and the uniqueness of each individual’s writing is emphasized (although writing can be hard to comprehend teachers must teach students to have pride in their work so that they can develop and do even better). Students look forward to the anticipated classroom activities. The use of 'cool tools' can help the lesson go a long way and keep students engaged and active. Teachers must also 'find the right spot for the write spot' by creating writing areas that correlate with units of study. Teachers can do this by designating and labelling a special, comfortable, and appealing area for writing and also by posting directions, rules, or guidelines as expectations.

Lastly, teachers should plan and provide writing opportunities for the student who has little confidence in his /her writing ability. This will help to develop writers' ownership. The provision of choice in his or her work will help to boost motivation and willingness to learn/participate. When assessing the writing climate, teachers can identify student strengths and weaknesses so that they are better able to help them improve. 

This article taught me a lot about developing a climate for writing that is fun, safe and exciting. The information gathered from this article will indeed help me to develop as a writing teacher who is able to effectively cater to each and every student so that they are able to become great student authors.