Class # 8

The Writing Process

Since I am a French Immersion teacher, I have not had many experiences teaching student with severe learning, physical or mental disabilities. The topic for this class was very personal for me as it is a common struggle for many of my students and a reoccurring dilemma for me; THE WRITING PROCESS. 

As it stands right now, my school offers French Immersion, but not French resource. In the past, students who were flagged has having difficulties would transfer out of the program. In recent years years I have noticed that more and more students are continuing their education in French even with a diagnosis of a learning disability or even when placed on an IPP, which I think is fantastic. The problem is that I have no support and find it difficult to balance all of the needs in my classroom, especially when it comes to writing. I have students at every level of writing and struggle to tend to their needs. 

For most students, the writing process is as simple as the diagram above. Basic rules allows them to organize their thoughts and writing into an easy to follow plan, resulting in a strong writing piece. This past class has really opened my eyes to the actual frustration that coincides with a writing disability. In class tonight, we were asked to start writing a letter to our school board to ask consideration for buying iPads for the classroom. While writing the letter, we had to think of the steps we were taking while completing the task. As I started to write I thought more about word choice and organization, knowing my audience, and brainstorming. It was not until other classmates started to share their process that I heard "where's my pencil?", "where's my paper?" "I can't see" or even thought about lighting, core muscle control or pencil grib. Those processes had never even crossed my mind. Unreal!

Then we were asked to switch hands and write about our summer. I was never so frustrated! I knew what I wanted to say, but it was taking forever to get my thoughts to paper. My hand was cramping up and I was becoming very discouraged. I was very pleased when we were told to stop early. I guess what I realized is that I take the simplicity of writing for granted and have never considered the actual difficult task writing can be for some students. I was VERY eye opening and overwhelming. More importantly it was inspiring!

During this class we also investigated tools used to improve handwriting and increase productivity during assignments. The following video, entitled "Sharpening up on Pencil Skills" demonstrated how simply using your core muscles properly and having proper posture can have a dramatic effect on written output. 

The second video entitled "Low Tech AT for Handwriting" listed tools used to improve penmanship. These tools ranged from basic to complex. 

This diagram represents the complexity of the writing process...