Rubrics

I loved Elbow’s hypothesis on “If you like what you are writing, you will get better at it.” I think this is a great attitude to take when going over the practice writing, daily writing prompts, and even some minor projects. Just taking the time to enjoy where their writing is going will give the students a receptive enough audience to write more for. I also approve of his method on shared writing. Where a classroom atmosphere is created that encourages and supports students to share their writing with one another in order to appreciate their own writing while having a receptive audience that can comment on it.

I think this idea matches up with Routman’s ideas of what it takes to make good writers happen in the classroom. Where the focus is on effective writing, and once that concept is mastered, then writing for tests and standardized tests is second nature. If the kids have the skills down, they will be able to meet the rubrics criteria innately.

Elbow’s main thought is that he has to like the writing to be able to help the student go further. Whereas, Routman’s thoughts are on the topic of getting rid of nearly all the rubrics, in favor of teaching the students to be better writers. I like Routman’s thoughts on how to make students better writers through the elimination of “All rubrics, all the time” and the encouragement of bringing joy back into writing. However, I think Elbow’s points are more precise, where he gives a list of thoughts on HOW to enjoy and encourage a writer’s work.

Now the real test is how to put this into practice. I have some limited experience on reading third grade work and telling the students what I liked, or answering questions on what should be in an “About the Author”, or giving prompts of “give me more detail”. However, I have no real practical experience with the further steps of Routman’s writing process of “sharing and celebrating” student work. This concept is almost entirely alien to me, and I need to see it in practice to figure out how it works