in the most recent English Leadership Quarterly, Gary Pankiewicz argues for “privileging voice in student writing development.”
Any writing composition needs to be situated with some personal or creative expression,” he says, and goes on to outline curricular suggestions that range from reading and speaking strategies to making voice “an explicit expectation in writing rubrics.”
His plea is persuasive:
Educators who know their students鈥櫬爎eal-world needs will provide聽a spirit of voice-filled creativity and聽wonder with consideration to social聽interactions in the classroom and beyond.聽And, this will add sustenance to聽a trajectory of engaged analytical skill聽development. To truly prepare college and聽career-ready writers, we must聽plan activities that deliberately foster聽thinkers鈥攕afeguarding student voice聽in our ambitious trajectory toward聽college readiness. If English teachers聽do not do this work, who will?
Curricular suggestions聽include:
Reading and Speaking Support聽Good Writing
- Some students struggle with聽academic writing because they
struggle with reading. - Turn-and-talks revolutionize聽writing communities.
- Share conclusions aloud.
Introduce Writing Concepts聽with Familiar Topics
- Begin writing in the genre of聽personal narrative.
- Don鈥檛 let go of personal connections聽and reactions to core texts聽with prereading activities and聽journal writing as active processing.
Support and Scaffold
- Make time for writing conferences.
- Highlight the difference between聽paraphrasing, explaining,
analyzing, and reflecting on聽relevant text citations as textual
support. - Infuse technology.
- Make voice an explicit expectation聽in writing rubrics.
Read Pankiewicz’s suggestions in (English Leadership Quarterly, August 2015).