The best tool I have stumbled upon thus far are Google docs! Penny Kittle discusses in her book, Write Beside Them, the importance of writing beside your students. What does that mean? It means that instead of being a part of only two checkpoints of students’ writing processes (beginning instruction and final feedback), teachers should be a supporting figure during the entirety of their students’ writing processes. By reviewing and discussing their students’ writing while they are working on the first draft, teachers can fix small problems as they go while also giving them insightful tips as they go along. On the other hand, you must be wondering how a teacher can possibly facilitate enough class time to work individually with students on their writing. Google Docs have been the best way to accomplish this in my opinion. You can open up all the docs that your students are working on and leave comments on specific parts. You can also monitor their progress by viewing their edit history. Also by viewing the edit history, you can more easily detect when students might be plagiarizing. Blocks of text that appear in the doc all at once is a red flag that might point to plagiarism of some kind. Google docs also keeps things orderly and accessible at all times—you can folder your classes and assignments and can access them from a phone or computer 24/7.
Using Google Docs has made writing assignments flow like a dream, and I highly recommend it to any teacher who really wants to help improve her students’ writing. I have included below snippets of a few lovely writing samples from my 11th graders, whom I taught during Practicum I and II. Students were required to write a brief narrative (500-600 words) using 2 or more literary devices (imagery, setting, tone, mood, etc.). The short story was based around a prompts amongst ten of which students had the choice. [Sidenote: Now that I’m working with middle schoolers, I see a clear need for teachers to guide their students writing and keep them focused on a specific prompt or concept. The student samples below are from students who adhered to my instruction and took steps to revise their writing as they went along. Revising as one writes is a crucial element of the writing process, especially for assignments in the classroom and on timed exams.]
[Prompt: Describe briefly a lake or a backcountry mountain trail (in other words, a beautiful natural setting) as seen by a person who has just lost a parent in a sudden, unexpected death. The last time this narrator saw the parent, they argued. In your narrative do not mention the death, the parent, or the argument. Do not tell a story. Simply show us what the lake or forest looks like to someone under these circumstances. 500 Words]
Student Sample, “Appalachian”:
I stood on the edge of a cliff looking upon the once favored land, this erstwhile beautiful and vivid place I loved seemed now dreary. The sky was dark and grey, no sun was shining, the sun was hiding it’s delicate yellow face from the land. Clouds held their heads low as they looked heavy enough to burst into tears at any moment now, I saw trees for miles and miles, but the terrain was empty, as if it were missing something dear to it. Scarlet tanagers’ were no longer singing their whimsical songs that would invariably gratify my ears and mind. The rivers had an abiding drift, moving slowly without a break in the water. There was a slight gust in the air, it was bearing a wistful aroma, the perfume had me longing to know what alluring herb had me so enticed and why. Sugar maples and tulip poplars and american beeches were all over the land, their leaves appeared withered and hung low, azalea’s haven’t yet sprouted from their buds. This spring was among one of the most dismal, the bears and deers and foxes were quite tame, the wildlife had no voice today.
[Prompt: Imagine a moment just after some major historical event. Use ordinary people. This will demand some research. Don’t be afraid. It may be that these people have no idea what has just happened. 600 Words]
Student Sample, “9/11/01”:
It is a bright, sunny Tuesday morning. I arrived to work and i am heading towards my office on the 83rd floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower, it is 8:15am and i’m sharp and early, as usual.
As i organize my office, i realize that my shift doesn’t start until 9am. It’s 8:40, therefore i’m going to go for a cup of coffee and have a small chat with a couple of my colleagues to spare some time. As i am slowly drinking my strong, hot, cup of coffee and chatting about our previous weekend plans, I see a plane right through the window, with the corner of my eyes. I’m blinking several times, trying to recap what i think i saw. Within 10 seconds, we hear the massive explosion from the top of the tower. We all fell towards the ground by a shock wave radiated from the top to bottom to the building, I quickly get up and run away from the windows as i’m trembling out of fear and I see thousands of pieces of paper swirling through the air like a ticker-tape parade. Desperate phone calls and e-mails would punctuate every minute of the room. With a blink of an eye, there’s suddenly no electricity; no power, I had no way to contact anyone. My heart is beating fast as i’m running towards the elevator, seeking a way out and trying to open the elevator with my own shivering hands. We are all on lockdown. I hear thousands of people yelling for help and crying their hearts out.
[Prompt: Write a very short story about an animal—a dog, cat, or parrot, say—that is used to spending time around humans. Let this pet observe, with familiarity yet bafflement, the way males and females of this other species interact. The animals cannot understand much of our language, so its observations will have to be based on physical behavior and gestures, but it could still be an intelligent observer, with its own built in biases and clarities humans are incapable of (for example: the sense of smell) A caged animal would have a different perspective than an animal free to roam. 600 words]
Student Sample, “Zeus”:
Back when I was just a puppy, it was raining outside and I was lost in a harsh winter blizzard that was nothing less than a threat from gods of winter. I hadn’t eaten in what felt like an eternity, so I would beg and every single fleshy one shooed me away, yelling. I traveled the universe on my four aching paws looking up to fleshy ones for help, but they all disregarded me and waved me off as if I wasn’t deserving of care. I felt as if the world was against me, like I was nothing and like I was not worth enough for anyone to pay attention to me with just the slightest bit of their time. None of the fleshy ones care about my well-being. That day I was close to deciding that They were all evil, bitter, selfish lifeforms that were plotters of my demise. I was going to give in to death, it would’ve been even been fine given that, “All Dogs Go To Heaven” as I was told. That was the only hope I had at that moment and if it being even a false hope, that would have been fine… better than my current predicament. I was ready to accept the cold touch of death as I lay on the side of a structure of hard material, I decided that I didn’t want to go further, I closed my eyes to look upon the darkness that was so hard to escape. I accepted it. Until She found me, while roaming in her moving object with two suns in front. I looked up at Her, the suns are blinding, and I see nothing only the blaring lights behind her dark silhouette. I thought she was the gatekeeper of my imminent future into the afterlife. She kneeled down to me to touch me and I didn’t move a paw, not even an attempt to get Her scent. As she got closer, the light of the suns faded nearly out of existence then I was greeted with a warm welcoming bark, “ Hey buddy, let’s get you somewhere dry.” I didn’t know what it meant but it seemed vaguely positive and in order to prevent the disruption of peace I gave in to Her tenderness. I fell asleep in her arms as she placed me in her moving object. For once I felt at complete serenity, this meant more than just food or a warm place to sleep, this was life. As far as I knew she was my new mother, my new life and I loved her. Life was beautiful, endless love, affection and treats. Then one day She brought him here. He yells and he stomps around like he’s the alpha of olden times. She has raining pouring from Her face as she begins to whimper. I notice darker shades in her face and upper legs. I lick the discoloration to see what it is and it only makes the rain start more. Sometimes I fear to intervene, given that he is so much bigger than I. They yell at one another all the time and it pierces through my ears like the flying monsters outside that buzz around. Sometimes I try to tell them to stop, for the physical and also emotional agony is too much for my heart. He then directs his rage at me, but I back down for fear of conflict. One of these days, he will feel my wrath with no fear holding me back.
**I received permission from all students to publish their work.**
