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Writing instruction should be fun and enjoyable for the student writers. However, I feel like now writing instruction has turned into a difficult task for students to complete and there is more focus being put on to the grammar and punctuation instead of the story itself. Thinking back to when I was in school and had to write, I remember getting my paper back and there being multiple marks from the teacher on it. Having this experience with writing made me feel like I was not going to be a good writer. As teachers, we need to show students how fun writing can be by allowing them to write what they would like and not focus so much on grammar and punctuation. We should focus on how they developed writing and what they included within their writing. We should help the students learn they are writers and help them see the potential they have. Writing is a way to express and learn more about themselves. Creating a writer's notebook is a great way for students to feel motivated to write because they can look in it for multiple ideas to write about. The environment for a writer can be anywhere they feel comfortable and relaxed. It doe not have to be sitting at a hard desk in a brightly lit classroom. It can be on a couch, outside under a tree, and so many other places.

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We continue to draw further and further away from creative pieces about fun adventures and more towards academic writing that kids feel that no matter how hard they try they cannot get it "right". Students are being forced to write multi-pages essays, no opportunity for anything else. We have instilled in children's minds that writing must be perfect, no time for mess. It is time that we step up and allow our students to see the stories they are capable of creating. Writing does not have to be for a grade, it can be an opportunity to show who you are, to show those feelings that you are too afraid to admit to the world. To even begin to change our student's relationship with writing, we have to let down the wall and show them our own process. Showing them that it is okay to misspell words, to scratch through sentences, to write about anything they please. Writing does have to happen while sitting at a desk, it can happen in a tree, lying in a field, anywhere your heart speaks to you.

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Student writers need to fully understand that writing is a process and they need to learn how to wholly submerge themselves within the process and engage with the process. Writing in school goes far beyond writing as a means for being graded on a particular writing standard. Instead, writing in school should teach students that writing is a form of expression, a form of communication; a way to make sense of the world, a way to wonder, a way to learn about themselves. It is important for teachers to let every student know that they are a writer, they can, and they will, be able to find themselves participating in the writing process and learning more and more about their identity as a life long writer. It is also important for teachers to show students that the writing process is different for everyone and that a "good writer" isn't someone who has mastered the process. As teachers, we must be vulnerable and transparent with our students about our own writing. In order to do this, we must be writers ourselves and we must write alongside and in front of our students -- modeling, practicing, engaging in the writing community with them.

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Writing is essential to life long learning. Yet, when the teacher mentioned “Today, we are going to be writing…” even before they are finished completing the sentence you can hear students groan and moan throughout the class. I can still recall the facial expressions of my sophomore students when the teacher let the class know that they will be writing a paper on Oedipus, a book they had just finished reading without any formal guidance on how to start the process. I realized that working with my students they needed the teacher’s support and to have the opportunity to talk with their classmates to collaborate or have an open discussion about the topic. What teachers can do to help motivate writers is by being there for them. Teachers need to know English may not be the first language for their students. Therefore, do not be too strict or focused on grammar and punctuation. Allow students to write in their native language and then translate the best they can to English with the help of teachers, peers, and technology. From my personal experience, the ESL class allowed for me to be myself and I was allowed to talk both in Hmong and English. It was a “safe” place that the teacher had created since day one of school. Where the class community is fostered to build relationships and collaboration among students. A writer's notebook will inspire students to have the freedom of choice when and where to write and most importantly just being able to enjoy the language.

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I believe that writing instruction is oftentimes overlooked in elementary school settings (unless there is an end of year test including writing) and frequently dismissed as stale and unenjoyable  essay writing in middle and high school. Writers need to understand that writing is a fun and fulfilling process that allows for creative thinking and self-expression. They must feel supported; teachers can support writers through praise, constructive criticism, demonstration of their own writing efforts, and allowing space for creativity in the classroom. Teachers should help writers see all that they bring to the table when they write: personal experiences, original thoughts and ideas, different perspectives, and more. Writers need motivation for writing, by seeing that the ideas in their writing are important; writing should be published, presented, and emphasized to encourage students to continue working hard and writing the best they can. Even more motivating, writers should see that they are able to write any time or place--not only in a school setting, but at home, outside, on the bus or in the car, anywhere they feel comfortable.

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I think writing instruction and time in school has been formed into something that is forced on students. Writing has become a monotonous task for students where students are more focused on asking, "how much do you want?" or "what do you want us to write about?" or "how do you want us to write this?" From personal experience, writing should allow creativity and freedom of choice to write in any medium that is not defined by conventional rules. Teachers need to demonstrate to students that the writing experience should be fluid and not set on specifics of what or how to include specific writing components. Students should be continuously given positive comments on their writing no matter their stage of understanding how writing can be a reflective and artful practice in sharing their thoughts. Teachers should motivate students that writing can be literally about ANYTHING and written ANYWHERE! Teachers shouldn't limit writing experiences to reading and writing blocks in class, but should promote students to write beyond school and how that makes them feel about how writing can influence their thinking.

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I think many young writers, unfortunately, do not write for pleasure or curiosity. I think they write to please their teacher, or parent, or anyone who may have asked them to complete some writing task. All writers, but especially young writers, need encouragement motivation from teachers to begin to learn self-motivation and independence in writing. As writers grow, they will bring more to their writing, but even from the first time they write, they will always have originality in experiences and personal motivations. Teachers can support growing writers by framing writing as a positive exercise in personal growth, rather than just a meaningless task to complete. I think teachers can also support their writers by encouraging the importance of finding the write place to write. Environment can encourage and motivate writers, so it is important to find the right type of place to write in.

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I believe that writing is important in school and important to learning. Writing is also important in learning about our students and their abilities. I think that writers need direction from us on where to begin and how to get inspiration to write. Writers bring a unique perspective to their writing that is not like anyone else's. Teachers can support their writers through being good mentors of writing and setting an example for students. Teachers can motivate writers by allowing them to take on many forms of writing and expression in their writers notebooks. Writers notebooks as a whole help to make students more motivated to write because it is personal and it is theirs. Also the environment is important to the teaching/ performance of writing. Students need to feel comfortable as they learn and also need to be encouraged to write in places that make them feel good.

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Your core beliefs about the TEACHING of writing...

What do writers need from us?

What do writers bring to their writing?

What can teachers do to support writers?

How might teachers motivate writers?

What about the environment?