Tompkins, G. E., & Jones, P. D. (2012). Teaching writing: Balancing process and product. NY, NY: Pearson.

Personal Experience:Throughout my years in school I always found this stage to be very challenging to select a topic or idea to begin writing about. Having students complete an activity like the top ten moments is a great idea, so they can refer back throughout the year. 

Observation from the classroom:I have been able to observe students during this stage of the writing process. My mentor teacher explains to the student’s what type of writing they will be completing and then the student selects the topic of interest. For example, the students completed a narrative piece and many of the students discussed what they did over the summer or an exciting moment that they had recently experienced. 

Personal Experience:Personally, I have always enjoyed the drafting process of writing because I was able to just write and record all of my thoughts and ideas about my writing without worrying about making mistakes. In elementary and middle school, I would use many pieces of lined paper during this stage to write as detailed as possible. I would also focus on my transition sentences and “leads” (Tompkins, 8). Opening sentences are very important to emphasize in your writing because they should grab the audience and draw them in to continue reading (Tompkins, 8). 

Observation from the classroom: The students within the classroom that I am observing work on the drafting process during multiple classes to ensure that they have enough time to really elaborate on their topics and ideas. The students complete their drafts on lined paper, skipping lines between. Tompkins discusses that skipping lines is important to help make corrections and revisions (8). 

Personal Experience:During my elementary and middle school years the revision stage of writing that was, popular was peer editing. We would bring our papers or writings to class in hard copies and share them with a classmate or two and they would read and provide feedback about our drafts. This was a great strategy to implement because it allowed another set of eyes to read the paper and provide constructive feedback to make the writing stronger. 

Observation from the classroom:A common revising strategy that is used in my classroom is the use of a checklist provided by the teacher regarding the necessary information that needs to be included within the writing. My mentor teacher prints out writing checklists for all the students that they must complete and turn in along with their rough draft before they receive feedback from the teacher. The writing checklist includes areas like content and conventions, and along each statement is a checkbox. The student must read through their writing and check off the box when they have met that goal/statement. This is a great strategy to help students become stronger editors of their own writing

Personal Experience:The editing phase is important because, the corrections have now been made to the writing, and the strength of the writing increases. I remember vividly having class periods assigned to editing because it is such an important part of the writing process. We would bring in our rough draft and work on the final writing piece by making corrections based on the revising feedback that was received from peers, as well as our teacher. 

Observation from the classroom:The editing phase for writing within my classroom looks similar to my own experience because this is the time for students to make corrections and edits to their writing. My mentor teacher provides another checklist similar to the one provided during the revising stage that the student  completes prior to turning in their final writing. The students are always required to read through their writing three times before submitting it, to ensure that they have caught all errors and mistakes. 

Personal Experience: During the stages of writing the most exciting part for me was the publishing stage, because it solidifies the hard work that you have put into this assignment and you now have a tangible item to represent that work. I remember my elementary school would select students writing from all grade levels and submit them to a book and they would print the book at the end of the year. I also published many of my writings by typing them and sharing them with family and friends. 

Observation from the classroom: The students in my classroom have published their writings in a variety of ways from typing them on GoogleDocs, to creating a photo to match/support their writing and mounting them on paper to display in the hallway. These are all ways in which we can display and publish students writing.