A Dive is a metaphor for jumping into “stream of consciousness” writing. Let me be clear: The writing practices I use in my classroom are not original. Rather, they are a synthesis of many different articles, ideas, and suggestions by other writers and teachers of writing that I have been inspired by throughout my 15 years of teaching middle school English. Currently, I teach at Presbyterian School, a K-8 private school in the museum district of Houston, Texas. With an enrollment of 577 students, the school’s mission of “family, school, and church united in the education of each child” manifests in the classroom where small class sizes of 15 to 18 students, a one-to-one iPad initiative, and an intentional focus on developing a relationship with each child and family are the hallmarks of the school. Having taught in the public and private school arenas, I can attest that writing Dives works with all ages of students from all backgrounds.
In the chapter titled “Diving In” from the book Room to Write by Bonni Goldberg, she talks about how diving into water is similar to diving into writing.1 Intrigued by this comparison, I decided to introduce it to my students, and, thus, Dives were born. We may write anywhere from four to eight Dives in a nine-week quarter. We draw our inspiration from many sources including, but not limited to, what we read, art, professional writing pieces, photos, videos, colors, quotes, music, places, and words. The first Dive of the school year should be simple. Goldberg suggests listing on the board five words for which there is more than one definition. I ask the students to find two different definitions for each word. We talk about the words and their different meanings. From there, I ask students to choose one of the words they are drawn to and write it at the top of a new page in their composition books. This is their starting point. Where will this one word lead them? This is where they must take a risk.
Although quick writing is nothing new, students find it refreshing to write freely without judgment. Why? Because writing can make us feel vulnerable. What if it’s not good enough? What if it sounds silly? What if it doesn’t make sense? These are valid concerns that should be addressed. Developing a safe environment is crucial at the beginning of the year so that students can begin to trust their writing community.
A Closer Look at Dives
To introduce Dives, we spend a couple of days talking about diving into water and how similar it is to what we will be doing as writers throughout the school year. Students discuss the question, “What are the steps one must take in order to properly dive into deep water?” They typically want to start with the jump, but I prompt them to back up and tell me what a person might do to prepare for the dive, explaining it to me as if I have never attempted it before. We brainstorm a list of steps, making comparisons to the steps we will take when writing Dives. Then we discuss the similarities:- Check your gear. (Make sure you have your composition book and something with which to write.)
- Get in position. (Get into the right mindset to write without inhibitions.)
- Once the dive starts, there is no coming up for air until the timer sounds. (Pencils or pens continue to move during the allotted time.)
- A Dive may not be interrupted. To avoid this, questions or concerns must be asked before the Dive begins.
- When the timer sounds, come up for air. (The Dive ends.)
Looking at a Teacher Piece
To introduce revising, I share one of my own Dives on the projector screen and read it aloud. We talk about the difference between revising and editing. Revising is re-visioning one’s work. It’s making changes to the content. Editing is proofreading and taking a close look at sentence construction. I confess to them that I get nervous when I share my writing with others. Writing is personal for me, so to share my thoughts makes me feel vulnerable. We discuss vulnerability and how to create a safe environment for writers to share their work. This leads to the three main types of concrete feedback we practice giving each other during revision group time: compliments, questions, and wishes. Brian Slusher writes about these three effective response strategies in his article for the National Writing Project, “Praising, Questioning, Wishing: An Approach to Responding to Writing.”2Circling back to my writing piece, after reading it aloud, I first ask the students for sincere, specific compliments. Slusher calls it praise,3 but compliment has been a part of my classroom language for so long that I use it instead. Comments such as “It’s good!” are not sincere or specific enough. It helps to give students starter sentences: “I really like the way you …” or “My favorite part is when you say …” From there, we focus on specific questions about the piece: What would you like to know more about? What could be explained in a better way? What is missing? What is confusing? Finally, we practice wish statements: What do you wish were included in the piece? What do you wish were left out? What do you wish you knew more about? This discussion practice is the model for what the students will attempt in their revision groups.
Student Revision Groups
What are my intentions for revision groups? I want students to learn how to be good listeners; how to give each other encouragement; and how to give specific, constructive feedback in a gentle way. I also want writers to feel empowered by their group and learn how to sift through all the compliments, questions, and wishes from their revision group, deciding what to change, what to keep, and what to remove. I want writers to think about what really matters in their writing piece. What is the heart of it?I have tried revision groups with two, three, four, and even five or six writers. I have tried letting students choose their revision partners, and I have also assigned groups. When students choose their own revision groups, they are more likely to feel comfortable sharing their work with each other. On the other hand, because they know each other and may even be close friends, they do not always want to give constructive criticism or stay on task. When I assign revision groups, it can cause anxiety because some students do not feel comfortable sharing their work with classmates they do not know. Then again, it can be refreshing to hear feedback from new voices.
Recently, revision groups in my classroom consisted of six students chosen by me. Each writer shared his or her writing piece with the group in Google Docs, an application all students at our school have on their iPads. Some students had never used Google Docs to share writing, so it took more than half of one class period to explain how to use the application. Students typed their chosen Dive in Google Docs and shared it with their revision group members so that they could view it on their devices as well. Once all group members were in a writer’s document, the writer read his or her piece aloud to the group. From there, each member typed a compliment, question, and wish at the bottom of the writer’s piece. Finally, the writer decided on at least three revision changes and wrote them down on his or her Revision Guide. This is a document created by me that includes the steps the group should take when looking at each other’s work and asks the writer to list the changes to be made. Throughout this process, I circulated and joined groups to see how they were interacting. I also joined as many writing pieces as I could to give writers a compliment, question, and wish.
Some groups were frustrated during this step because students typed over each other or typed silly comments. Others complained that some of their group members were not listening to the writers read their pieces or were simply “not taking it seriously.” After using this revision group method twice, I asked students what they thought of it. More than a few said that they thought it was too chaotic. They would like to choose their revision partners. They wanted the groups to be smaller. They wanted a simplified method.
The truth of the matter is that there is no perfect revision group technique. Teachers have to know their classes and get student input in order to figure out the best practice for that particular class at that time. Presently, I'm trying a new method based on my students’ feedback. It will look like this: The writer has 10 to 15 minutes to share an already printed first draft with a revision partner of choice. The partner writes at least one compliment, one question, and one wish on the piece. When the timer sounds, the writer chooses another partner and so on until the writer has shared the piece with three people. I will circulate as usual and participate as much as I can. The writer reviews the responses to his or her drafts and then meets with each partner if clarification is needed for the compliment, question, or wish. Finally, the writer will decide on three to five changes to make to the draft and list them on the Revision Guide.
Finding an Audience
Students need their voices to be heard in a variety of ways. When writers know they will have an audience, they develop a sense of ownership that naturally motivates them to care about what they are putting out there for others to see. This is a powerful way for student writers to communicate with the world. After all, what is the point of writing a final draft if the writer’s only audience is the teacher?Student work can be published in many ways. I have had students create class anthologies and individual portfolios, read a piece aloud at a Reader’s Theater (the 6th graders choose one of their own writing pieces to read aloud to an audience of parents and peers), submit to writing contests, and display work at a school exhibit or installation. There are myriad avenues to share student work in front of others that I would like to try. Typing blogs, writing screenplays that are performed in front of an audience, and exploring self-publishing are at the top of my list right now.
Finally, students should be mindful of what they choose to present to an audience. A piece chosen for a Reader’s Theater might be something that is powerful to read aloud, whereas a piece for a printed anthology might be something more personal or intimate. A work for an exhibit or blog post might benefit from a visual aid component. A writing portfolio could be a collection of pieces that represent genres of writing or best practices of writers. It could be shared with classmates and parents on a special day set aside to celebrate the body of work the students created that year.
Many former students have told me that they still have their writing portfolios or class anthologies. The collections are reminders of a specific time in their lives when they were exploring their identity, searching for their voice, and realizing that writing is a way to connect with others.
What Matters?
I want students to leave my classroom as confident, honest writers. During their 13 years in school, I know that they will experience triumphs and defeats when it comes to the craft of writing. I also know that my sixth-grade English class is a small part of all they will learn and accomplish. If I can share with them my own writing experiences and show them that I am a part of our writing community, still discovering and evolving as a writer myself, then maybe this will resonate with them down the road. A teacher sharing her own vulnerability as a writer breaks down the walls between the teacher and her students. She is no longer seen as the one who grades or evaluates. Instead, she is seen as a human being who can empathize with her students and therefore be a mentor they will not forget.1. Bonni Goldberg, Room to Write (New York: Penguin Putnam, 1996).
2. Brian Slusher, “Praising, Questioning, Wishing: An Approach to Responding to Writing,” National Writing Project, 2009.
3. Ibid.
2. Brian Slusher, “Praising, Questioning, Wishing: An Approach to Responding to Writing,” National Writing Project, 2009.
3. Ibid.