Writing Analysis Strengths

     This week I gave my sixth graders a writing lesson on structuring dialogue in writing.  They were expected to correctly include quotations, line separations, indentations, and a variety of verbs to indicate that something was being said.  The group of students that I did this writing assessment with showed me a lot about who they are as writers specifically related to structure, conventions, and voice.  The students' writing taught me things I expected to see, but I was also surprised by how much I learned about them and their identities as writers.

            One of the student’s strengths was that they clearly understood the purpose of using dialogue in writing.  All of the students wrote the dialogue in a meaningful manner, whether it was realistically driven or fantasy.  With their pieces of writing, all of the students used dialogue in a variety of ways to indicate conversation.  The lines that the students chose to use in their quotations and the verbs they followed those lines with were all indicators of this understanding.  For example, one student wrote [“I’m just fixing it sides!” Kaylee argued.]  Many students wrote sentences similar to this in their writing.  Because students wrote using this variety of verbs correctly, it shows me as the instructor that they understand the connection between dialogue in writing and conversation in real life.  Their writing taught me that this group of writers clearly understands the purpose of dialogue in writing and why it is used.  However, I think that it would really benefit them to work on learning the importance of dialogue in writing.

            One thing that I didn’t expect to learn about the group of students as writers is related to their voice as writers.  The writing task that I gave them was very specific towards working on the structure of using dialogue in writing, so I didn’t think that there would be a lot of unique voice that came out in it.  However, with the students’ pieces of writing I felt I learned something about them because their writing showed part of who they were.  For example, a student wrote about an argument that he had with his group during the science experiment they had done that morning.  Many students wrote about conversations they had with friends or imaginary conversations they would have with their friends.  Although the assessment task didn’t direct them to create a really meaningful piece of writing, I was able to learn about them whether they wrote about an argument, a sleepover, a fantasy story, or a realistic experience they have had in school.  Because of this strength I’ve found in my students as writers, I would love to give them the opportunity to write in a more purposeful manner that allows them to share their beliefs or unique ideas on topics that are important to them.

            Something that I realized about the students as writers is how much their identity as readers also impacts their identity as writers.  The students who are consistently engaged as readers demonstrated a very substantial understanding of how dialogue is structured in writing.  I’m assuming that this is because the more they read and because of the higher ability novels they are reading, the more they are exposed to the correct usage of dialogue.  This connection related to my students is very important because I think that students can learn better if we directly tie the concepts together between both writing and reading.

My students' writing really surprised me and I truly learned firsthand the importance of looking at students' writing as evidence of who they are as writers.  Although I agreed with this before, now I truly see it!

Thanks!

Kate