The Right to go Beyond Formula
"We buy pre-packaged food because it satisfies our need for calories in a convenient manner..but is predictability something we're willing to settle for in our students' writing?" - Spandel p. 115
We are trained to follow the formula, but how can good writing be formulaic? How can it include voice and substance?
I am guilty of teaching formulas for writing. I remember teaching opinion writing to my fourth graders using the OREO structure (Opinion, Reason, Example, Opinion). When I stopped to ask myself why, I rationalized it by giving many of the same reasons Spandel dismissed. I always found formulas and the accompanying graphic organizers an effective way to help my special education students organize their thoughts. They seemed to internalize the framework enough to help them create the product. But for what purpose??? Spandel says ""we are missing the whole point of teaching writing, which is not to crank out pieces of writing but to teach thinking." I don't want to limit my students to the formula.
ReplyDeleteI believe we all want our students to become critical thinkers, but we get so caught up in satisfying curriculum requirements and in testing that we put what we know to be right on the back burner.
So I wonder, how should we teach writing? Spandel gives us lots of great ideas that I agree with - exposure and connection to reading, observing, questioning, anticipating, etc. But those are big ideas. I am wondering what a writing curriculum that embraces these conditions looks like. I imagine it would follow a structure similar to Writers' Workshop, which we did for a very short time in Fall River. But teachers lacked the training and, more importantly, the understanding of why we used the workshop model, and begged for a curriculum. They had no idea what the mini-lessons should consist of. The result was a canned curriculum devoid of creativity.
Is there a way to provide teachers the structure they need for planning purposes and still inspire and instruct our students? What is the role, if any, for the strategies we know to be helpful yet not restrictive?
I like that this book both validates what I know to be true, and pushes me to think in new directions.
Rebecca -- I think we're all guilty of teaching the formula. It seems as if every workshop I attend has a new acronym to try, and they all have some validity, in that they help students to develop some structure, but we are all trapped by standardized testing that requires us to push the formula or risk losing funding, independence or our jobs. It's crazy that we have to sneak good writing instruction into our curriculum and hope that we won't get caught doing the right thing.
DeleteI think we need to go back to teachetraining and insist that all teachers take a Philosophy of the Composing Process and The Teaching of Writing Class. They could then study teh cognitive and affective development of children along with ideas and suggestions for develoing writing lessons that prod thought, develop voice. All the formulaic writing seems no more than a pyramid scheme. Or should I say funnel?
DeleteSpandel Chapter 8 Reflection
ReplyDeleteThe Right to Go Beyond Formula
I LOVED the soup analogy and I think that would be something easily relatable that I can share with my students when they ask me (and it never fails that a student does ask me) “How many paragraphs? Five?” at the beginning of a semester. My answer is always and consistently, “However many you need,” which admittedly bewilders them at first. In fact, I’ve gone so far as to write “5x5=“ on the board and after students repeatedly respond that it means “Five paragraphs of five sentences each” I write “25” and tell them that 5x5 has no place in our writing and they will never hear me tell them them to write a 5x5 essay. It’s very hard to change thinking when teachers in each classroom (across the curriculum) have different writing requirements, expectations and philosophies.
Spandel makes a passionate argument against formulaic writing, and I find myself WANTING to agree with her; however, in the “real world” of my classroom, it seems difficult to reconcile this point of view with the required assignments. When persuasive writing is required, there are certain elements that need to be present to make it effective, providing students with an outline of those elements does not necessarily prevent them from thinking, it does provide a sense of organization. I usually refer to these elements as the “skeleton” of the piece and tell students it is their job to add meat to the bones to fill it out (admittedly, this is not quite as appetizing as the soup analogy). Is this too formulaic? Does this stymie student thinking? I didn’t used to think so, especially for very reluctant writers or lower level students who need a gentle nudge in the right direction to kick-start their process.
As I thought about what stuck out after reading the chapter, my mind kept circling back to journal writing and the complete freedom available there. I think I will be spending some time this summer planning strategies for using journaling more effectively in each of my classes. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Debbie -- I also liked the soup analogy, and I identified with the mother who changed it up a bit each time she cooked. I've been accused of holding back ingredients from recipes, because the ones I share never taste the same when other people make them. As if they could! I also do some of my best work in the classroom making it up as I go along. I fly way more by the seat of my pants than my administrators are comfortable with, and it's hard to explain to someone how magic happens when I fly off the radar screen, and it doesn't happen when the essential question is connected to the student learning goal that includes an activator and a summarizer that provides data to measure exactly what happened in my classroom on any given day. As much as we are exhorted to encourage creativity and independent thinking, we aren't often allowed to use the tools that accomplish that goal.
DeleteI agree that some of the best work is unplanned! I also tweak and change depending on what new knowledge I bring to the table, or the students in front of me. Much like writing, when an idea is flowing you need to follow through to see where it leads - they are often the best ideas.
DeleteHi Deb,
DeleteI definitely can relate to wanting to agree with the author. I think you make a good point in saying that formula gives students a chance to organize their thoughts and give them structure.
On p. 124 Spandel explains, ”The place to being teaching informational writing is not with a statement—here’s your formula—but with a question: What are you curious about?“ I think the best place to ask this question is to the teacher! What am I curious about? What do I like to write or read about? I think right now in education the voice that is being silenced is the classroom teacher’s voice which is so important! Everything has become so formulaic with all the acronyms-DDM and PARCC and PBA and EOY and MCAS and NAEP.
ReplyDeleteI am taking this summer’s opportunity of teaching summer school to try some new things. I am writing with my students and we are sharing our responses. I am teaching a new subject—history, so I have to find ways to help students learn on their own. I am encouraging them to ask, “What am I curious about in United States History? What do I want to know more about? What are primary resources I can study to get the best information?” It’s an experiment, and I hope students will think and write about it!
The one question I have about this process is “How do I grade this experiment? How do I grade the writing process?” Although it sounds fabulous to get rid of formulas and outlines and rubrics and use class time to explore new ideas, the reality is that not only my boss but also students and parents also seek a label or rating to put on their effort. How is that done? Do I grade a heart map that a student completed during a classroom prewrite? Do I only grade the final project—the mini-memoir that was not turned in on time? Do I take points off for being late? Or not typed? I would like some discussion about this. Thanks!
Heather, using the question for ourselves is a great idea. And grading will be a concern as well. Maybe we could dedicate some time to discuss ideas for how to resolve that?
DeleteI agre that it would be a great idea to disuss assessments of student ritng. Maybe we could think about portfolios or something along those lines. Maybe we coud develop with our students an assessment that focuses on slecting the good writing and discarding the bad--allowing them to develop some self-evaluation. I keep thinking of the scene in "Freedom Writers" where Mrs. G refuses to accept the self-evaluation of one of her students.
DeleteNo Surprise here that I’ve bought into Spandel’s latest Right, the Right to Go Beyond the formula. She writes I know the argument: formula is better than no organization at all. This is like saying that thinking in a confused way is better than not thinking at all. Is it? (120) Then she connects this with the question - So we must ask, are we teaching formula so that our students will be better writers – or so that we can read what they write effortlessly and quickly? (120)
ReplyDeleteI agree that formulaic writing limits creativity but sadly, I also agree that in the past I have been looking for a certain kind of writing from my students. For me, it’s not so much about the ease of correcting, it’s about getting everyone on the same page. Now that I’m thinking of it, getting everyone to write in the same style or formula. It’s crazy. I wish to be a teacher like Stephen Kramer who writes about the negative effects of writing assessment and seems to run his class like the Spandel text suggests. I laughed out loud at his comment - I know of teachers who have taught their students to cram sentences full of adjectives and to sprinkle similes indiscriminately through paragraphs in the belief that this practice will help students score higher on tests. (127) Guilty! It connects me with a line I can’t get out of my mind from the beginning of the chapter – A reader can only handle so many images (118).
I’ve got to start teaching writing so that my students have the reader in mind. No more formulas.
I would like to do the same, but honestly I am not sure how we do that and still meet the demands/requirements before us. Maybe politicians and administrators need to read Spandel's book?
DeleteI agree that my use of formula writing has been to get my students on the same page as well. I do encourage my gifted writers, but my struggling writers cannot seem to function without step-by-step instructions of what should be included in the essay. I wonder, though, if I am underestimating my younger kids by not giving them the opportunity to explore their own skills. Following the suggestions in chapter 8 might be the way to go.
DeleteI keep wondering, doesn't teaching students a "formula" help them organize their thinking? If we look at the formula as a sort of scaffold, and not an end in itself, maybe it's not such an unholy thing as Spandel suggests. Maybe we just need to be honest with students and explain that a formula is one way, but not THE way? Know what I mean? I appreciate Spandel's point of view but I think she's an extremist and I'd honestly like to shake my finger at her a little. Everything in moderation.
DeleteJeri, I like the way you put that! Yes, I know what you mean...and I find myself agreeing with you - everything in moderation : )
DeleteI got the sense as I was reading chapter 8 that the author was taking a good deal for granted when it came to students. I agree that formulaic writing is boring, but it is a necessary evil. I see it as training wheels for students. It is easy to abandon formula once you have acquired the basic skills of writing. However, what do you do when you have a class of thirty in front of you that cannot write? Times that by three, and I'm only on block scheduling. What happens when you have six or seven classes? We do not have time to individualize writing instruction for students. I do not think that formula writing was born out of some
ReplyDeletedesire for 1984-esque conditions, but rather a way for one person to reach a large group of people. However, there comes a point where we need to transition students to write without their training wheels. I teach freshmen and seniors, and treat writing differently with each grade level. With my freshmen, the wheels are still on. When it comes to my seniors, though, I encourage more of what is outlined in chapter 8 because the majority of them are at the point where they can handle it. I also have more freedom with seniors because they have passed MCAS and as long as they graduate, administration is not concerned with them. I think to encourage voice and free thinking in writing students need to write as much as they can, and in as many variations of witing as they can. Much of what we do is formal writing, I feel there needs to be a focus on informal writing. I loved Deb's and Corinne's demo lessons for this very reason. Students were writing in a low-pressure situation where they could push their own boundaries, receive feedback, and have fun. More of that, I feel, will lead to students abandoning the formula in favor of their own voices.
bahahahaha - love the 1984 reference. But isn't that what it feels like sometime? I like your comments of getting them to write without their training wheels. Yet I also agree they need a foundation to build from.
DeleteWhen I was a table leader for correcting the Long Composition for MCAS we would set aside particularly good essays to share with the entire room right before lunch. Not one of those essays had five paragraphs or as Debbie wrote the 5 x 5 mentality but they had strong voice. One student wrote about the cross-dressing J. Edgar Hoover pursuing nonconformists across state lines, leaping from a helicpoter in an ankle length callico dress. (He ws adressing--pardon the pun--the prompt about conformity.) The author used supplied many details, varied his sentence type and structure and ended his essay brilliantly. Some teachers wanted to fail him for he digressed seriously and they felt he was satirizing MCAS itself. Of course he was and he did so well. The state rubric didforce us to award him n 18/20 total score for his digresion that many of us thought he earned a 21. I bet that kid earned a 5 on his AP exams. Maybe we shouldn't worry about acronyms or take literally DDMs. If we teach them writing then they will do fine, for they will be able to think through any prompt and that thinking will afford them success.
ReplyDeleteSpadel's advice for letting go of formula gives us some general strategies for avoiding the tedium of assigning and assessing those formulaic writing assignments. Maybe those five areas could become a checklist for students to evaluate their own writing and the basis of our assessment for "final drafts".
I desperately want to agree with you that if we teach writing (and not how to write for a particular acronym), they will do fine on all of these assessments! It is an uphill battle that means changing the way most people think about writing and testing. When I'm here with all of you I feel so ready for that fight, but we are so outnumbered when school starts again!
DeleteThat's a great story about J. Edgar Hoover. I would love to read that essay. It's too bad our formulaic assessment penalizes creative digression.
DeleteIn Chapter 8, I was first intrigued by the idea stated in the introduction of the chapter that we should be teaching students to write what they want to read. It's just a simple idea really, but one that I think could be really great in beginning writing instruction for the year. When I assign a writing task, I will often try to engage students by saying things such as "make it exciting," "surprise people," "make it sound like you," and my favorite, (which I found funny after being drawn to Spandel's statement), "write something I'M going to want to read."
ReplyDeleteEven though it is important to know what audience you are writing for and what kind of tricks you may pull out to impress them, i realized that I'm sending a different kind of message when I say "impress me." I am ALWAYS the audience! How ridiculous is that! So I like the idea of "impress yourself" more, but of course there still needs to be room to write for different audiences and different purposes. But having students write something they want to read makes that final product something they can truly take ownership of. It makes me think that when I begin this year and have my conversation with my students about what they like to READ, we should also connect that to the author's craft so they can embed some of that in their own writing and recognize what kinds of WRITING they enjoy reading.
Spandel's ideas about formula writing also lead me to think about many thoughts I've had after a writing lesson and many of the conversations we have had in the institute thus far. It is always difficult to figure out how to truly teach voice to our students. Have we been handicapping ourselves by providing all these instances of following a formula for every writing assignment our students are given? Is there really enough leeway for our students to write using their own voice when we have scripted so much of the assignment? Not using a formula style for teaching writing frightens me a little bit only because it is a concept that has become so engrained. As I look towards Fall, I am excited about trying some of these more open ended prompts and lessons that we have been participating in so far during the institute. I am eager to see where my students will take it and then try to find my role in helping them produce writing that really speaks to them and shows who they are as individual writers.
Marina, as I read your comment about always being the audience, I wondered if you've ever tried a RAFTS assignment with your students? Those can be a fun way to give students different audiences to work with.
DeleteAlso, I like the connection you made to reading...your thoughts tie together students' independent reading and their writing process in a meaningful way. I always tell students that the more you read the better you'll write (and independent reading is part of my daily composition classes), but having them (at the beginning of the year) reflect on what kinds of reading/writing they are drawn to opens up new possibilities : )
Hi Marina - I don't think it's ridiculous, I think it's reality that we are mostly always the audience. I'm interested in the RAFTS assignment Debbie mentioned and will look into it for my class. I was wondering if you could ask your kids to write to: favorite authors, the principal, each other, their parents, etc. and model how different audiences would beget different writing. I plan to do this for my 4th graders as well.
DeleteDebbie, I do not know the RAFTS lesson but am interested in learning more.
DeleteColleen, I like your analogy of training wheels! I am a fan of structure and I think graphic organizers can be helpful. As students mature we can expect more creativity and less guidance from teachers. I also see that there is a lot of pressure and many formal writing assignments and assessments. One area to prepare them for that and a place to let go of the training wheels is to include more of those informal writing sessions where students and the teacher have more freedom.
ReplyDeletemarina, I like your idea of changing the message we send out as teachers and encourage students to impress themselves. I agree that we will have to apply these strategies for ourselves and see which ones work or help us express our voice as teachers. It would be formulaic for all of us to adopt all of these strategies because it wouldn't be authentic, but if I can find one or two things to implement, student writing and classroom community is bound to improve.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter, like all of the others, has me both cheering for Spandel and feeling frustrated. I know that being free of a formula can lead to better writing and thinking. Of course we want that. But at the same time, so many of our students really need the structure of a "formula", at least for a little while. This goes along with the "training wheels" analogy that Colleen mentioned. Maybe our students need the structure until they've reached a certain level of comfort and proficiency…that's when it's our job as good writing teachers to take off the wheels and see where else they can go. However, I can see how in the process of "training" we risk losing something important and natural (an authentic voice? a sense of wonder?) that students might have a hard time finding again after writing with recipes for so long.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well Jeri. In some instances students need something to grab a hold of so that they can get started. I think it's important to use organizers or structures that can easily be made into something the student wants to use and that it is flexible. Mid students can add to an existing structure it gives them an opportunity to show their own voice.
DeleteWhen I first read chapter 8, I was on board with doing away with formula writing. But, then when I really thought about it, I felt a bit torn. I think that students need both, especially younger students. Not equal amounts, but both. My students are still required to take state tests, and write for specific purposes. So maybe a 90/10 ratio, with creative, independent writing winning? Not truly sure what the answer is because I know formula writing stifles creativity, but I think a certain amount is needed.
ReplyDeleteI liked Spandel's statement about being honest with students, and telling them the truth. Writing is difficult. There are so many things to consider while you are writing; audience, purpose, information, presentation. Don't worry, I wouldn't just tell them how difficult it is. I always tell my kiddos that to become a better reader, you need to read every day, and to become a better writer you need to write every day.
I will explain to my students what it means to write as a reader, and read as a writer. One thing that I did start doing a few years ago was to have the students read their responses into a Tubaloo to confirm that it says what they wanted it to. It has helped with editing, a bit.
Hi Tracie,
DeleteI agree that students need both. The question, I guess, is how do we fit it all in? Maybe through student blogs or independent writing dialogue journals?
As I look towards Fall I am also trying to figure out how to fit it all in. I'm thinking that I have to keep some of the formalized instruction I have always done because as you said it is important to prepare students for assessments we have no control over. I want to try to fit in more writing like the writing we are exploring this summer. I want to put my dialogue journals into play but I also want to try to pull some more creativity out of students. The creativity will only help to enhance the writing they already have to do.
Delete