Lesson 1 - Why Adolescents And Teens Have Negative Feelings About Writing Independently
Introduction to The Writing Challenge
Understanding What Happens In The Minds of Adolescents and Teens When Writing
Welcome to the writing course. When you take this course, please feel free to reach out with any questions. Get yourself comfortable and ready to review, learn, and apply methods and strategies that will help your students become better writers.
To begin, please view the link below to watch an animated video based on the television show The Simpsons. This video will provide a foundation and understanding of what students go through before words appear on their papers. Keep in mind that these are the most typical behaviors that students display in their own time and space.
As you watch, feel free to respond mentally and determine if these same behaviors are ever displayed in your own classroom. If so, brainstorm solutions to these problems so that will benefit you, readers. How can we avoid these distracting behaviors, especially when we are not around to watch their writing?
Please click on the link to view the Simpson's Writing Episode
Lesson 1
Why Adolescents and Teens Have Negative Feeling About Writing Independently
It happens every year, kids all around the world dread independent writing when assigned by teachers for classwork, homework, and assessments. But why? What is it that makes students want to avoid the work?
Have you ever viewed a struggling student trying to come up with ideas that coincide with a topic that has been presented to him or her? The confusion in their eyes tells a story unlike any other. The story of uncertainty, frustration, and a seemingly unconfident writer. Students struggle with the writing process based on a multitude of reasons which may be different for each individual.
Below are some possible ideas of why your students struggle with writing. You may find that there are many factors that attribute to their lackluster attitude.
- Lack of practice writing
- Unclear expectations of writing
- Negative conversations about writing
- Self-confidence issues
- Emotional pressure from outside sources
- Lack of exposure and understanding of what good writing looks like
- Assignments rushed and free spirit effort
- Handwriting issues intervene
- Self-esteem issues
- Writing worthless due to spelling errors
- Fear of peer pressure when sharing writing
- Lack of fine motor skills makes writing physically painful
- Complex directions which cause frustration
- Difficulties expressing oneself in written format
- Lack of essential writing tools to fall back on when stuck
- Poor modeling
- Fear of trying something new
- Given a great task without starting simplistic
- Topics not of interest
- Lack of feedback from the writing instructor
- Lack of spark in writing assignments
- Students are afraid to ask questions for fear of being "not smart"
- Not knowing why one is being asked to write
- The writing process is COVERED but not being taught for retention and application
- Lack of voice in one's writing
- Instructors having little training to teach writing properly
- Lack of rigor in writing
- Limited free writing exposure
- The use of texting and online communication detracts from the sentence clarity and structure of writing
- Lack of analyzing others' work
- Lack of peer feedback to know what needs improvement
- Nothing to say - failure to identify a brainstorming technique
- Writing too complex - need to break into manageable parts
- Writing too long - break into manageable parts
- Lack of support when writing
Please View the Writing Video From Eutopia
In this video, one will identify another writing approach strategy. This strategy allows for the continuity of writing, yet is based on low-stakes writing. Please view the full video, noticing how motivation and naturalness in writing occur when writing is presented in a different manner.
Assignment #1
0 comments