Lucy Calkins
The Art of Teaching Writing, 1993
Calkins investigates the genre of memoir, especially for what therapeutic, literary and self-analytical value there may be in exploring the language used to capture significant moments. She, (like Graves 3, and Stillman 4 above) celebrates the connection between reading, writing and a developing identity. In her support she quotes Margaret Meek: "From the stories we hear as children, we inherit the ways we talk about how we feel, the values which we hold to be important, and what we regard as truth." In this respect, the study of writing might contribute as much to pupils' personal and emotional health as the development of their writing skills.
Regularly recording personal reflections in journals, provides a writing experience richer than the mere escalation of skills, or, as Calkins puts it: "I used to think that we write memoir when our lives are done and we want to give one last, loving look back, but now I know that it is by looking back that we create our lives, our selves." And for Calkins, the crucial difference between recording events and writing memoir is that the memoir includes personal reflection - and connections- of thoughts and feelings about events. In this way, a sense of self is developed with each new 'layer' of personal writing, with patterns of self emerging.
Calkins advocates using literature to spark pupils' memories, overlaying readings, finding ways to make pupils comfortable with noting, reacting, connecting, inquiring, sharing and expanding their stories orally - before releasing them to write. When they do write, they may mor econfidently imitate the structiures used by established authors (such as writing about persoanl memories in the third person.)
The power of metaphor - or of synecdoche - one small thing standing for others
Calkins recommends selecting those details, objects, photographs and places that are unusually (intuitively?) telling about someones' life (Cf Peter Stillman: Digested read number 4 above), and using them to evoke particular memories. When these are sensorily and fully recreated, the personal issues may be more fully examined. To help deepen and shape writing, she suggests drawing timelines of relationships with special people, objects and places - even parts of yourself (hair, hands, feet) - and looking for patterns and connections.
She is interested in helping young writers organise their texts by looking at transitions, juxtapositions, the balance between internal feelings and external realities, the balance between specifics and generalisations.
Moving from notebook to draft is a critical stage and different pupils will be helped by different approaches, including considering several outlines before drafting. Most benefit by being encouraged to provide more detail - 'to write it long', by having a deadline, by re-reading, and by stopping every so often to interleave extra thoughts and feelings, if only orally with a partner.
Calkins investigates the genre of memoir, especially for what therapeutic, literary and self-analytical value there may be in exploring the language used to capture significant moments. She, (like Graves 3, and Stillman 4 above) celebrates the connection between reading, writing and a developing identity. In her support she quotes Margaret Meek: "From the stories we hear as children, we inherit the ways we talk about how we feel, the values which we hold to be important, and what we regard as truth." In this respect, the study of writing might contribute as much to pupils' personal and emotional health as the development of their writing skills.
Regularly recording personal reflections in journals, provides a writing experience richer than the mere escalation of skills, or, as Calkins puts it: "I used to think that we write memoir when our lives are done and we want to give one last, loving look back, but now I know that it is by looking back that we create our lives, our selves." And for Calkins, the crucial difference between recording events and writing memoir is that the memoir includes personal reflection - and connections- of thoughts and feelings about events. In this way, a sense of self is developed with each new 'layer' of personal writing, with patterns of self emerging.
Calkins advocates using literature to spark pupils' memories, overlaying readings, finding ways to make pupils comfortable with noting, reacting, connecting, inquiring, sharing and expanding their stories orally - before releasing them to write. When they do write, they may mor econfidently imitate the structiures used by established authors (such as writing about persoanl memories in the third person.)
The power of metaphor - or of synecdoche - one small thing standing for others
Calkins recommends selecting those details, objects, photographs and places that are unusually (intuitively?) telling about someones' life (Cf Peter Stillman: Digested read number 4 above), and using them to evoke particular memories. When these are sensorily and fully recreated, the personal issues may be more fully examined. To help deepen and shape writing, she suggests drawing timelines of relationships with special people, objects and places - even parts of yourself (hair, hands, feet) - and looking for patterns and connections.
She is interested in helping young writers organise their texts by looking at transitions, juxtapositions, the balance between internal feelings and external realities, the balance between specifics and generalisations.
Moving from notebook to draft is a critical stage and different pupils will be helped by different approaches, including considering several outlines before drafting. Most benefit by being encouraged to provide more detail - 'to write it long', by having a deadline, by re-reading, and by stopping every so often to interleave extra thoughts and feelings, if only orally with a partner.