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I absolutely loved our first readings. Gallagher breaks writing styles/types down in such a thorough manner, which I think will be really helpful in my classroom. While I believe I am and will make a great teacher, it’s nice to have a resource with several examples to drive the point home. Chapter 2 which was about expressive and reflective writing, does a great job of explaining the difference between the two but also driving home the point that, the use of both makes for great writing. I saw on the padlet several people mentioning the 6 word memoir, I like it, but I don’t know if I am a huge fan of it. Maybe researching it further will assist me in the use of it, but it seems like a greater starter for someone with limited vocabulary. I didn’t see this mentioned in the text, but I personally think free writing does something very similar, which is asking students to write whatever they think of in a small window (i.e 1 minute). I am however a huge fan of the alphabetized existence and the exploration of how, “my favorite mistake” challenges students to go beyond asking surface leveled questions. In addition, another thing that I like, but don’t see its use in a high school room, are the sentence starters.

Chapter 3 was about informed and explained writing. This chapter, surprisingly tickled me. I love that Gallagher explains or teaches it in a way where students you “sarcastic suggestions in reverse” at the end. CLEVER!  I thought Chapter 3 tied nicely with chapter 4, “Evaluate and Judge” as both chapters are key forms or writing in the classroom and in the real world. Both are applicable in student’s everyday lives. Things like, recognizing propaganda, or teaching students to evaluate not only what they saw, but what they did not see. (Adults need this, still). The chapters covered a ton of information and honestly has challenged even how I see writing, or saw it. Writing is freeing. I appreciate the quote mentioned that, “A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” Writing, according to the text is the very teaching of how to evaluate literature that sharpens student’s ability to evaluate more important information and real world elements. These chapters were a game changer for my one day English classroom.

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On page 24 Gallagher says "writing can be used as a vehicle to express ourselves as we negotiate the journey through our lives."  Perhaps what I am most looking forward to in teaching is to allow my students a safe space to learn about themselves and those around them, so I thoroughly enjoyed Gallagher's perspective on both expressive and reflective writing.  I think often in education we view essays and critical writing to be the ones of value, as this is what we need for college, however Gallagher makes it evident that students can greatly benefit from expression and reflection.  On page 58, she tells about giving students an "article of the week" and providing them with real-world writings and on page 57 she talks about the "so what paper" which pushes students to think deeper into their lives as well as writing style and practice.  Overall, I favored chapter 2 because of the personal connection and inner growth I think these types of writing will bring to students, but one thing I really liked from Chapter 4 the section in which Gallagher talks about evaluation and connecting literature back to the real world.  On page 101, Gallagher talks about how "evaluating the news leads to a number of questions for [her] students to address via writing." I had never thought about how to incorporate news or real world happenings into deeper questions or writing prompts and really enjoyed this section as well.

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Firstly, I think it is so great that the author of this textbook shows so much emotion and connection to the themes and motifs of the text. It truly shows the emphasis for writing it ("Writing held me up in one of the darkest days of my life" (24).) The power of writing sometimes is undermined and should always be used to teachers' and students' advantage. I think that stories and expression are the key to opening up an entire new world for students. Something that I questioned or wanted to dive more into was when expressive writing verses reflective writing is more appropriate, and if there's ever any discrepancy among different writers about which one to use.  You could also ask what is more meaningful or useful to teach to students in a classroom if you had to chose one. I also enjoyed the emphasis of drafts in writing, because I have always thought that writing many different drafts of something is crucial for success. As Gallagher says, "You have to play a lot of bad piano before you can play the piano well" (32). Many students don't see the use or practicality of creating more than one draft, but the end result is so much better with the process of drafting shown in the book. The best part about Gallagher's discussion of expressive and reflective writing is that he had different examples and stories for every type of person: depressing, happy, significant, insignificant, they can all be written about, expressed and reflected upon in a creative way and I think that's important to remind your students.
Along with this, I think that Gallagher's transition into informative and explanatory writing is also just as beneficial. Students who understand and master all kinds of writing will be able to translate this into all facets of life. In Gallagher's words, "This writing skill will most definitely be called upon someday" (64). The most important element of this text is that it explains how to teach these in different, refreshing and creative ways that will spark students' attention and make them get excited about writing about different topics. Obviously, evaluating and judging writing is just as important, but for me personally, I really enjoyed the writing aspects of these chapters, since I think that writing is one of the most valuable skills one can have.

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Great job everyone! We're off to a good start!

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Great job everyone! We're off to a good start!

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Madison Charnes Padlet 1 (Gallagher 2-4)

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Madison Charnes Padlet 1 (Gallagher 2-4)

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(I)I very much enjoyed hearing Gallagher's strategies to teaching expressive and reflective writing. Beginning with a small version of an assignment, such as the six-word memoir (Gallagher 25), and increasing the complexity and length of the assignment, such as the 140 character memoir and encyclopedia entries (Gallagher 26-27) is a very strategic way to build on the knowledge that they have about expressive and reflective writing. I also do not remember learning about these particular subjects in my high school English classes, but I think they support Gallagher's point on page 23 about students being able to use writing as a tool for coping with the world around them. If students learn about reflective writing in an educational environment, and teachers encourage students to explore reflective writing in a personal way, students will recognize the usefulness of writing. It may just begin with one assignment, but motivation to explore other areas of writing might stem from the initial enthusiasm. (II) Gallagher also comes back to student relevancy while discussing the use of review writing on page 100. While traditional English activities such as essays still play critical roles in developing ELA skills, using activities such as review writing (Gallagher 100) evaluating ads (Gallagher 103) will prepare students for very realistic situations that they will experience throughout their entire life. As Gallagher says on page 100, "[Y]ears from now our students may not be sitting at home writing five-paragraph essays, but it is quite likely they will be writing and posting online reviews (Gallagher 100)".

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Through this week's Gallagher reading, I was honestly excited due to the simple fact that writing is my strong suit. I found many valid points through the Gallagher text, and especially enjoyed the variety of examples that Gallagher displayed in regards to "spark expressive and reflective writing in your classroom" (Gallagher, A Family Photo). I found the many approaches as interesting and refreshing ways to engage my future ELA students in writing. One of the exercises that most resonated with me was the "Family Photo" approach to writing was touched on, which I personally think is an extremely intriguing exercise. Having students bring in a family photo to write about not only allows students to approach the topic individually, but also allows us as teachers to earn a glimpse into our students lives and further understand who they are and why they are who they are. In the text, Gallagher noted that he brought two photos of both of his deceased grandmothers, which I appreciated due to the fact that "family" may look different to each student. Gallagher noted that through analyzing the photos and what each person meant to him, he was able to pull larger themes, such as, "Don't sweat the small stuff," or "it's always the small stuff." This is a great outlook on this exercise, and a great way to prompt students to come up with deeper writing and analyzing skills.

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To begin, I would just like to say that I very much enjoyed the real-world example that Gallagher provides us in the introduction to chapter 2. I feel like many students treat writing as a chore, only to be done when confronted with it in class. I will without a doubt share examples like the one Gallagher provides as well as any others I can find with students who feel that way towards writing in my future classrooms. Writing is not simply academic, it can be used to convey feelings, thoughts and emotions that can otherwise be lost forever. (In this specific example, it is also very therapeutic.)

With that being said, continuing the reading I find myself absolutely in love with the idea of the "so what?" paper. (page 57) As you can probably tell, one of my major goals for my future classroom is not only to teach my students to become better writers, but also move beyond that and tie their experiences to the outside world and force a "so what?" type of moment. This exercise helps break the monotony of the academic papers that students push back against, and can open up their eyes to what writing can really be.

Lastly, within the inform and explain chapter, (3) I really enjoyed the "you should know" biographical paper. This can be a way for me to better understand my students' backgrounds and connect with them in ways that I may have never learned about otherwise. Without this background knowledge learning is difficult, due to a disconnect from student to teacher - hopefully this can bring the entire class more together and in turn help build a community of learning.

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I found reading the chapters to be enjoyable and an easy quick read because of the interest Gallagher's writing sparked in me. As a future educator I am giddy when I get to explore the passion of other educators. My immediate response to reading these chapters is that I am excited to teach! I am especially excited about writing in the classroom after reading these chapters. Gallagher gives an immense amount of resources for us to use as future teachers and I was very surprised by this. Of all my textbooks in all of my education classes thus far this one is by far the most interesting and the most useful tool for the future. I am actually disappointed that I did not buy the textbook instead of renting it because I want to have it to use a resource throughout my career. I feel like Gallagher is using this text to challenge future educators to explore writing with their students and he is doing it in a very real, very useful way. He's not only providing resources for writing lessons he uses but he is also providing insight into the lessons he provides.

My favorite part of the entire reading is the end of chapter 4 on page 112-113 titled "A Closing Thought" because Gallagher provides insight into teaching that I could not agree with more. He says "Let's move [students] through and beyond evaluating literature and into judging areas of their lives that will give them the tools to be literate citizens in a participatory democracy" (Gallagher 113). Our students do not need us to teach them how to memorize literary devices and how to analyze symbols in novels as much as they need us to teach them to explore the world through reading in order to determine their own thoughts and opinions about the world. Gallagher provides the necessary resources to help us help students do just that.

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After reading chapters two through four, I find myself thinking more inherently about the students I will be teaching in the future and the lasting impressions they will have about English/Language Arts and writing.  Gallagher does a superb job of highlighting some important concepts about how to reach students through different means of writing. Firstly, I thoroughly enjoyed her transitional lesson she created for the students as they were being introduced into writing expressively and reflectively in chapter two (location 409 of 3800). I believe that transitional teaching will be important in my future classroom because this will ensure that all students are learning and comprehending as the intensity of the lesson increases.  I am looking forward to utilizing many of the teaching points noted in chapter two as it pertains to reflective and expressive writing. Her many lessons, including the six-word memoir, life encyclopedia and more were great examples of ways to challenge students writing and thoughts. As noted by Gallagher, “The best writing comes when a student blends the two” (412 of 3800).

Chapters three and four were equally as informative and for me, gave new life to writing topics I was somewhat concerned about teaching future students. Writing informative pieces has been somewhat of a challenge for me and reading through Gallagher’s variety of ways of teaching students how to write those texts allowed me to notice there are many different approaches to giving information. My favorite lesson plans from chapter three was the “how to” lists she learned from Rick Reilly. Lastly, chapter four left me with the lasting thought teachers are going to play an integral role in teaching students about information and how they are receiving it. Gallagher stated that our students are not spending enough time in school learning how to evaluate things needed in life like newscasts, websites and commercials. I want to ensure that I am teaching my students the best way to read, comprehend and evaluate information that they encounter.

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So, I'd like to start off by expressing the importance of checking the syllabus before starting an assignment because I thought we were supposed to read chapters 1-3. Imagine my surprise when I saw everyone posting about chapters 2-4. I am also using the Kindle app on my laptop for my readings, which doesn't express page numbers, so bear with my directions when referring to specific examples out of the textbook.

I know many previous people have posted about the six word memoirs, but I just thought this concept was a cool method to introduce expressive and reflective writing because this is something I see on Twitter ALL the time. There are several accounts that are based on “Six Word Stories”, and the Twitter hashtag #6WordStory or #TellAStoryIn6Words is a frequent trend. An example of this is @sixwordshort, when they tweeted “I attempted to piece it together.” Social media has always been a concept I have pondered including into my classroom, and this just gave me another idea of how I can do that. If I had each student make a Twitter account specifically for my classroom, I could have them tweet out their six-word memoir as an introduction to expressive and reflective writing. Then, just like the example in the book, they could expound on their six word memoir in a following tweet, expanding it to a 140 character story.

If you haven’t read chapter one like I accidentally did, they go on to explain that one of the key ways to motivate students to learn to write better is to relate it to real life. I think this can be so easily done with writing, especially when we get to inform and explain. In past education classes, I have often described how I want to use my English classroom as a place where I can make sure my students are prepared not only for the tests in my class, but for their future. I have often described using job interviews as part of my lesson plans. Teaching them to properly communicate concisely is an important skill and is something that we can do in our English classrooms. I really like the “Job Hunting” activity in chapter 3. I would have them find a job they would like to do, them explain to me why they would want the job, what current qualifications they have for the job, and what they will need to do to further ready them for the job.

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As has been a common theme in these posts thus far, I also found the reading intriguing and exciting. Reading about each different activity gave me idea after idea of ways that I could intrinsically motivate my students to become better and more reflective writers. My biggest takeaway from this reading was the importance of expressive and reflective writing. Gallagher discusses how technology and testing can cause a lacking of student creativity and reflectivity in their writing and I could not agree more. I was never asked to dive into my life and reflect on my choices in a standardized test. I think Gallagher is correct in saying that we as English teachers have a responsibility to form reflective and expressive adults by giving students writing prompts that they will not see in any other classroom.

Gallagher's writing prompts force students to ask important questions, for example "So What?" and "Why Should I Care?" make students look at the WHY rather than just the WHAT. They make students see the real world connotation and effects of what is happening to and around them. One of my favorite lines in this reading was "you have to play a lot of bad piano before you can play the piano well," and it spoke to me because throughout my schooling a lot of teachers expected students to be amazing writers from day one. They did not allow a growing period at the beginning and they hit us right away with heavy analysis essays with which I could not relate. Gallagher's writing prompts allow students to express and reflect on things that have happened in their own lives while also allowing students a chance to pace themselves as they grow to be reflective writers and hopefully reflective adults. Once again, I found this reading to be extremely helpful as a future teacher and I am excited to hear what other advice Gallagher's book has in store for us.

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Kaitlyn King #1 (Gallagher, Chapter 2-4) 

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Kaitlyn King #1 (Gallagher, Chapter 2-4) 

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Like many have you have expressed already, reading this book also got me excited about teaching and excited to one day soon be able to put these ideas into practice with my own students. I think sometimes as we take all of these classes on how to be teachers we forget how much creativity and flexibility we have in making our ELA classes our own. I love how throughout the chapters, Gallagher often uses humorous examples (either his personal writing or others) to introduce the writing activates to his students. I think showing students that writing about your life can and should be humorous gets them not only interested but thinking about how they can write to no only be informative but entertaining, which I think is a huge part of fostering creativity.

One of my favorite things in chapter 2 was how Gallagher introduces the expressive and reflective writing slowly and builds on each activity starting with just the 6 word memoir. I think this gives students a place to start where they feel comfortable and they don’t go into writing feeling overwhelmed because they are starting with short assignments and gradually working into longer pieces of writing. I also loved how he talked about standing in the front of the class and actually talking his way through the writing process so that they can see how its messy, confusing, and difficult. I don’t think I had teachers do that very often in the front of the class and I think it is really helpful for students to see an experienced writer struggle with the brainstorming process and show how it should be done and also how it is ok to be confused and have jumbled ideas in the beginning. Another idea I really like is the Article of the Week and having students reflect on one each quarter and think about it affects their lives. I think that this is one way to expose students to real life pieces of writing and also show them the value and importance of it and why we need it in our lives.

In chapter 3 I was impressed with both the variety of the prompts and how interesting they were for lessons on how to inform and explain through writing. My favorite one of these prompts was Square Peg/Round Hole. I liked this prompt because it not only related to characters from the books they had read in class but then they take this square peg round hole idea and either relate it to someone in the news or someone in their lives. I think this is a great writing assignment because it is not only informative writing but it connects with the student’s lives, the world, and the books they have covered in class.  I also really liked the real world examples of informative writing that he gives throughout the chapter in order to show his students that no matter what their future career is they are going to have to sometimes write informative pieces. I think students like to know that what they are learning will matter in their future.

I think chapter 4 makes a really important point about how our students need to understand a world that is becoming more and more engrossed in consumerism. I think learning how to read and write reviews is a great way for students to learn how to evaluate and judge through writing because it is something they are all used to doing and they can use it to look into anything they are interested in which will make them more likely to be engaged and enjoy learning this writing style. Most importantly Gallagher  talks about how students need to learn how to evaluate and judge things like commercials, adds, and websites because as we talked about in class, students are going to have to learn what credible information looks like especially in a time when there is so much influence from the media.

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Christy Hill Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2-4) 

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Christy Hill Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2-4) 

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I identify very strongly with the power of learning through expressive or reflective writing, as mentioned at the beginning of chapter 2. I feel that I learn best through expressive writing because it makes me really think about the topic at hand and it draws out fresh insight. I remember writing 6 word memoirs when I was in school. I greatly appreciate how Gallagher shows us the different steps in which he uses to build upon lessons like the 6 word memoir and the twitter post. I think many of the examples from the students show how powerful words can really be. I also like that he used his own examples to show the students because it lets them get to know him a little bit better, while also modeling the assignment. It's a good way to introduce writing because too often, I felt like all we were doing was professional writing (essays, reports, etc.) This kid of writing may be therapeutic, like in Gallagher's case with his coach, or just keep a student engaged with the material. I think one of the most important things a teacher can do is connect the lessons to the students and their lives; I appreciate that Gallagher gives us step by step tools to do so in this chapter.

Chapter 3 really gets into the importance of writing in professional settings which is also very important. Many of the examples he used in the chapter are pertinent to what the students will eventually go through as growing adults. I feel like in my experience in education, we never wrote a letter to an editor, a politician, or any of the creative prompts that Gallagher comes up with. Our professional writing was strictly essays about novels, or research reports. This chapter is especially important to me because I want to be able to teach writing in a way that interests students. Instead of dreading their writing assignment, I want them to find them interesting and pertinent to their own lives. One of my favorite examples from this chapter comes from his use of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. I like how he took a small chunk from that novel and created an assignment that his students could use to inform their peers about something important to them (75-76). I could definitely see myself using this in my classroom because that novel was very influential for me. I also really liked Gallagher's connection between the real world and literature in chapter 4. He uses novels like Animal Farm by George Orwell to compare events in the novel to real life situations (101). This connects literature to the lives of the students so they begin to understand that they can draw connections to their own lives even through classic literature.

Overall, I think Gallagher does an amazing job of giving us examples and tools to show our students the importance of writing well. I think he also shows us how we can utilize many different activities to keep students of all levels and interests engaged in the material. Writing can take on many uses for many different people. It can be therapeutic, reflective, inspiring, insightful, and it can make a difference in the world around us. I will use many of the activities that Gallagher mentioned throughout these 3 chapters to help my students connect with their writing on a personal level, because I believe that is when writing is the most meaningful.

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Emily Walters Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2-4)

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Emily Walters Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2-4)

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I went to high school in a very rural area where I feel the teachers were good teachers who were doing their best to give us each the education that we needed to graduate and go into our respective future fields, and then I read the first few chapters of this book.

One thing that really struck me came at the beginning of chapter two, where even though we are within the same reading category (Expressive and Reflective) we still need to break that down more to get the students to really understand what we are getting at, what we want them to write. We need to show them, literally show them the difference and model that so they can become better writers. Later in the chapter it also goes into the difference between recalling and reflecting. I never felt completely comfortable in my writing because a copious amount of my assignments were given to me in the fashion of "Here is a prompt for a persuasive essay...go nuts!" Gallagher emphasizes the necessity of showing your students what you do when you write, how you come up with ideas, and how to put those ideas to paper.

Gallagher's chose each writing prompt to have a specific purpose, and most of the prompts build off of the last one so that we can build the writers in the classroom (which is each and every student) toward a larger and finished product. My favorite example of this also comes from the Expressive and Reflective Chapter. Gallagher introducing this style of writing by modeling his own six-word memoirs and sharing other authors' as well. He ups the ante by expanding each person's memoir to the size of a tweet, and then allowing them to explore encyclopedia entries. Only after all of this prewriting does Gallagher find it appropriate to move students on to a project, and even that has various levels of prewriting in and of itself. The "Favorite Mistakes"    (Gallagher, Kindle Location 486), is still wildly up to the student's interpretation as to how deep to go, and what direction to go, but there is a lot of guidance from he instructor--us. We start with a graphic organizer and work toward an essay that has real-life value. This rang through in the "Forgive My Guilt" (Kindle Location 595), again, learning from the past. My other favorite prompt from the assigned reading was "My Favorite Words" from the Inform and Explain chapter, (Kindle Location 1006),  in which even those 'against' English class can have fun and show interest while analyzing words.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like the assigned textbook for this class, and I'm looking forward to gaining other recourses that will aid me in aiding my students' writing.

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Annie Fowler Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapter 2-4)

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Annie Fowler Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapter 2-4)

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Gallagher explores a lot of creative teaching strategies that I could see myself using in my future classroom. Each strategy is engaging and could play to different strengths shown in different students. Gallagher recognizes that not all students are necessarily overcome with excitement by the idea of writing but through sharing his writings he is attempting to provoke the thought that "writing can be much more than a school task" (Gallagher, 24). These different strategies help to combat the often lackluster attitude students will have toward writing.

One of the strategies I really liked in particular was "The Bucket List" idea (Gallagher, 35). This is a good way to model writing for students as you show them how to do it first and then let the activity on their own. It also attempts to get students beyond surface level writing.

At the end of chapter 3 after explaining the "how-to" writing styles, Gallagher explains that "it is doubtful that our students, as adults in the real world, will ever be asked to write an analysis of Conrad's use of symbolism in Heart of Darkness. More likely they will be confronted with a job application that asks them to explain why they should be hired" (Gallagher, 89). I really enjoyed this statement because teachers are constantly getting the question "how does this relate to real life?" and it is important to be able to have an answer to this question, such as Gallagher's, so as not to lost the interest of the students. Writing, as Gallagher says, is a tool that our students will constantly use in their day to day lives when they leave the confines of our classrooms so it is important that we equip them with the best possible skills to do this.

Gallagher's writing was a good reminder of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher. In chapter 2, when reflecting on the letter he wrote to his local newspaper after the death of his coach, this truly reminded me of the impact a single teacher can have on the life of a student.

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Tim Jones Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapter 2-4)

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Tim Jones Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapter 2-4)

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I really enjoyed how the lesson plan from Chapter 2 worked to close the gap between student and teacher. It is important for the students to see their teacher as a resource for knowledge, but it is also important for the teacher to help the student feel as if the knowledge is obtainable. "I want my students to see that I, too, wrestle with getting words down on the paper (pg.33) I can remember being in the classroom thinking that I wouldn't be able to read and write like my teacher because she was so much older. Letting students know that it's ok to make mistakes is apart of the teaching process.

The activity "My Favorite Mistake" takes this another step further as the teacher recalls actual times in their life when they made a mistake. I like how this ties in to reflective writing because it gives students a chance to realize that all mistakes aren't permanent. The teacher is able to show how they can grow from reflecting on their mistakes. Not only is this valuable when it comes to things like proofreading rough drafts or answering questions wrong, but in the urban setting that I want to teach in, students need to be conditioned towards the idea that one mistake does not define you.

Question 1 to the class: When dealing with students who have a fear of failure (with academics or in general), what are some ways you could use writing to help them face those fears?

Question 2: Many of the lesson plans seemed to rely on openness from the teacher. Is it the teachers responsibility to be open with their students, and what should be considered too much information?

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Hanna Ledford Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2-4)

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Hanna Ledford Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2-4)

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This reading has absolutely re-enthused me to become a teacher. I think it is easy to become burnt out, even before fully entering the classroom.  So many of the writing exercises and assignments that Gallagher details are things that I could see myself using in my own future classroom, and honestly on my own as an independent writer just as “prompted” writing.

A few of my classmates have already touched upon this particular writing activity, but one idea that Gallagher proposes in “Chapter 2: Express and Reflect” is the six-word memoir (25).  This is an idea I’ve personally experienced as a student in a classroom, and one I absolutely love as a future teacher.  Similarly, I like moving from this idea into a “tweet,” 140-character version (Gallagher, 26).  Not only does this allow students to be creative and expressive in a way that resonates with their “real” lives, it also teaches the power of concise writing.  Often times, I think students tend to write too much because they feel like they’re not getting their point across or they feel like the teacher wants length over quality, and that’s not the case. Ideally, I would like to use this writing activity at the beginning of the year to get to know students. However, I could also see this being a great way to open class with just a quick writing activity, or as a prompt for a writer's notebook writing session, which students could later choose to expand upon (or other prompts they've written on).

Something that Gallagher talks about continuously throughout the entire three chapters for this week is the idea of modeling for students.  I love that he takes this a step further and doesn’t just model the brainstorming or graphic organizer part of the writing process, but also the initial words-to-paper part, as well.  He suggests that it is important for students to see that we, as teachers, also struggle, that we also have good and bad days of writing, and I absolutely love this.  It has always been so important to me that my students see that I am not a perfect person, that like them I’m human.  This makes a teacher much more ‘real’ and approachable, in my opinion.

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Alex Milano Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2,3,4)

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Alex Milano Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2,3,4)

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Gallagher is an amazing writer, one that can transform instructional text into language that is fun and enthralling to read. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I opened my textbook to complete the chapters, but I certainly wasn't expecting to be so eager in reading about the writing activities Gallagher has his students complete. Every idea Gallagher introduced I found myself wondering how I could incorporate into my future classroom.

One of my favorite activities mentioned was "What is the perfect blank?" (Gallagher 85). I think this could be incorporated during the first week of class as a way for students to explain what they hope to get out of my class. They could write what they believe the perfect teacher is, or what the perfect English class is. This way they will be able to have practice
with writing, and I will also be able to gauge some of their expectations for the year.

I also really resonated with a quote of Gallagher's in the beginning of chapter two. Gallagher says "writing can be used as a vehicle to express ourselves as we negotiate the journey through our lives" (Gallagher 24). I believe this idea is something teachers need to try their hardest to instill in their students. Most kids have such negative feelings towards writing, because to them it is synonymous with lengthy, dry essays. But, as Gallagher showed over these chapters, writing can be fun, and really can help you work through feelings or unexpected instances that may occur in life.

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Mikaela Kussmaul Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2, 3, 4)

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Mikaela Kussmaul Padlet #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2, 3, 4)

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With three rather large chapters assigned to read, I thought that they would be very difficult to get through. As I sat down and began to read I found myself immersed in the author’s words. I kept turning the page in anticipation for the next activity in which the author had completed with his students because I found them so unique. Almost all the activities I had not heard of before or completed myself. I think it is very inspiring that he uses the writing activities as a means give his students experience for when they navigating their future careers, consumer sites, and everyday life. So many times, such as my own literature and writing education, students are prepped for college level analytical essays that do not pertain to them. Many do not feel ready for life when they leave school because they were prepared to write a perfect essay over Shakespeare or novel they read in class. Gallagher is preparing his students with the necessary tools, such as the ability to express, reflect, inform, explain, evaluate, and judge, all of which will be useful to students as the enter the real adult world.

I also really like the fact that he writes in front of his class going through the process aloud for them to see the stages of writing. He mentions this many times throughout his writing examples, such as in chapter four when he is comparing his favorite war films (pg. 91-95). He initially shows his students the process of how to transfer from a chart to an essay. Not many students are fortunate enough to experience this. I know that I never had a teacher go through the process of writing like that. They basically just threw us into the activity. Of course we received help along the way, however, I believe what Gallagher is doing with his students provides a deeper and fuller experience for a student’s development of writing skills. You as the teacher can show your students that they are not alone in their struggles with writing. It’s a process and it takes time to produce a strong piece of work that requires editing, drafting, and reviewing.

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Stephen James Padlet #1 (Gallagher 2,3,4)

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Stephen James Padlet #1 (Gallagher 2,3,4)

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In these sections I was amused and impressed with the writing prompts that Gallagher gives. They vary greatly in the length required to answer from the “Six Word Memoirs” on page 25, to the “My Favorite Mistake” on pages 33-35. These differing lengths give a teacher flexibility when trying to slot assignments and activities into the available time. In addition the activities and the way he presents them in the book feel like they would be fun and hold the interest of students while at the same time requiring them to think. I especially appreciated the twitter memoirs from page 26, as it is becoming a common form of communication and practice in consolidating your thoughts into a single tweet is no easy task.

His closing thought on page 112-113 is something that I’ve been mulling over a lot recently especially with the 2016 presidential race in mind. In this section he says “Our students are not spending enough time in school learning how evaluate those things we want them to critically judge for the rest of their lives.” During the presidential election it felt like there was a lot of information floating around and things being said, especially on the internet, without a lot of critical examination. I was also at a placement last semester tutoring students who felt unprepared to examine their own thoughts and writing, where they had done the informational research themselves. To expect them to be able to examine media where the sources of information aren’t always obvious or even present seems overly hopeful to me. Thus writing exercises such as those presented in chapter 4 are going to become increasingly crucial to students.

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On page 25, the six word memoir reminded me of when we wrote them in my Adolescent literature class. I thought it was a simple exercise at first, but it really shows how powerful it can be in expressing yourself. You can take the direction of your memoir anyway you want. I remember my memoir was, "I know there's more out there". Simple, short, concise but also powerful. I think this is a good expressive form of writing and is a easy ice breaker activity for class. Following that when it talks about tweets less than 140 characters, incorporating a social media site extremely prevalent in today's generation is a good way of incorporating a different kind of media.

In chapter 3, I really enjoyed the section of FaceBook.  I have one, and reading the questions provided about it made me think about yet another form of media that is a part of my life and something I take the time to browse and contribute to.  Answering the questions in your head, it really makes you think about the things you post and why you want your peers to see them and what you want them to think of you.  It really makes you think.  Having your students dig deep into how they portray themselves on social media can lead to thoughtful discussions and revelations.

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Alysha Shobe: Post #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2, 3 & 4)

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Alysha Shobe: Post #1 (Gallagher, Chapters 2, 3 & 4)

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First, I was surprised by the entertaining quality of the writing prompts and activities detailed in the Gallagher chapters, and I appreciate the degree to which the activities allow for choice, individuality, freedom, and creativity. On one level, I can see the educational purpose of doing a writing activity such as “My Favorite Words” (69), and, at the same time, I can see my high school self wishing that we had done fun writing activities like that. It felt like my teachers tried to make it as boring and impersonal as possible, but learning to “inform and explain” (or to “evaluate and judge” and so on) does not have to be boring.

Second, one particular writing activity that stood out to me was “Why Should I Care?” on page 58, which introduces students to Articles of the Week (A.O.W) and allows them to reflect upon those articles in writing. While reading this page, I realized that my cooperating teacher in FEEP did this with her eighth grade students, and I really like the idea. It keeps students connected with relevant current events, and it helps them work on their writing skills. My cooperating teacher even used the articles to teach argumentative writing. Also, the Gallagher chapters stress the importance of teaching writing through teacher modeling, and my cooperating teacher did this with her students on the overhead projector. I noticed the students trying to structure their writing to fit the teacher’s mold, and it seemed to help them (but could it also hinder their writing abilities?).

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I enjoyed this week's reading a lot more than I thought I would. The three chapters we were assigned to read incorporated an incredible amount of writing activities that can be applied in our English Language Arts classrooms so that every student would be able to write about a topic that interests them at some point in the year. Some of the prompts that Gallagher suggested in his book are prompts that I have actually written from myself in my EDUTL 2367 class here at OSU. I've always been more of a reflective writer, myself, and have always grasped the prompts that lend themselves to that genre of writing. For example, in the writing class I took, I remember writing on similar prompts to "The Neighborhood Spot" (35-37), "Forgive my Guilt" (39-41), and "A Family Photo" (50-51). These prompts helped me think of memories that I hadn't thought of in years. It's important for me to remember as a future teacher, that providing my students with topic guidance in writing will help them just as much as it helped me.
I also found chapter 4 very important, as it encourages the skills it takes to be a successful evaluative writer. Reflecting on my high school experience, I don't recall doing much writing that would have been more or less "useful" in my adult life. As Gallagher iterated in this chapter, along with supplying many more helpful activities and prompts, it is imperative that students exercise their abilities to write critically, as they will likely be demonstrating those skills at some point later in life, whether they plan to or not.