Pastel-colored paper, on the other hand, is easier on the eyes, and will reduce glare on the page. Students may find that using a specific color paper, such as light blue or green, makes it easier for them to read and write.
The use of color adds a bit of novelty to the stimulation-loving ADHD brain. Likewise, allowing the students to use special pens — gel pens or themed or patterned pencils — for a final draft of their writing projects is an incentive that keeps them engaged. Because students with ADHD are overwhelmed by lengthy writing assignments, use paper with wider spacing between the lines, so that there are fewer lines on the page. My daughter liked writing on this type of paper because the task appeared easier.
Keyboarding to the Rescue Older students find it easier and more enjoyable to type their assignments on a keyboard. This alleviates some of the challenges of paper-and-pencil tasks, and students can quickly check and correct spelling and grammar errors. A separate study of nearly teachers in grades three through eight across the country, conducted by Gary Troia of Michigan State University and Steve Graham of Arizona State University, found that fewer than half had taken a college class that devoted significant time to the teaching of writing, while fewer than a third had taken a class solely devoted to how children learn to write.
Unsurprisingly, given their lack of preparation, only 55 percent of respondents said they enjoyed teaching the subject. Troia said. Adherents worry that focusing too much on grammar or citing sources will stifle the writerly voice and prevent children from falling in love with writing as an activity. Image A pre-assessment in social studies by a Staten Island ninth grader, part of a Writing Revolution program.
That ideology goes back to the s, when progressive educators began to shift the writing curriculum away from penmanship and spelling and toward diary entries and personal letters as a psychologically liberating activity. Later, in the s and s, this movement took on the language of civil rights, with teachers striving to empower nonwhite and poor children by encouraging them to narrate their own lived experiences. Calkins, founding director of the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia University, a leading center for training teachers in process-oriented literacy strategies.
The organization was founded in , at the height of the process-oriented era. As part of its program at Nassau Community College, in a classroom not far from the one where the teenagers were working on their college essays, a group of teachers — of fifth grade and high school, of English, social studies and science — were honing their own writing skills. A major goal of this workshop — the teacher-training component of the Long Island Writing Project — was to get teachers writing and revising their own work over the summer so that in the fall they would be more enthusiastic and comfortable teaching the subject to children.
She found it stultifying and believes she developed her writing skill in spite of such lessons, not because of them. The Writing Project stresses freewriting and revision. And unless several pie charts are included, they are not useful for demonstrating changes over time. Bar graphs are especially helpful for comparisons between a number of different numeric variables, even over time. Line graphs are excellent for plotting changes in one variable over time, particularly over small time segments.
When multiple colors are used, several variables can be plotted, but too many lines may be confusing, and a bar graph might be a better choice. Photographs and Manipulated Images With the availability of digital cameras, scanners, and other imaging devices coupled with the easy electronic distribution of photo-quality images, photographs are more popular than ever. Yet many beginning designers tend to avoid capturing their own images.
Many will search the Web for images and, quality or not, copyright or not, will select the first available image. Again, we stumble onto the important question of ethos, which in the world of photographic images is primarily tied to two aspects of the photographic image: composition and quality. We'll start with the second aspect, quality. Practically every computer image format has some settings for "compressing" the image.
It is important to give children a chance to express themselves, and not all children express themselves through words and through writing, many use art. Regardless of whether it's scribbling, or coloring the "best picture ever", coloring can be a way to de-stress, after a busy morning of school work, wind down, and calm down, after the stresses of a day at school or work. Dramatic changes in the way a student relates to others: Is an outgoing student suddenly more withdrawn and quiet in the classroom?
Is he or she no longer friendly with students with whom he or she once seemed quite comfortable? Or is the student suddenly much more outgoing, talkative, or even intrusive or aggressive with classmates? Is the student dropping hints about disturbing, destructive or abusive relationships?
Is he or she writing or drawing obsessively or with great volume? Volatile mood swings, a sudden change in personality or sudden lack of awareness of social norms. Risk-taking behaviors such as reckless driving, being under the influence, vandalism, etc.
Depression: Does a student seem much more negative, irritable or sad than usual? Is he or she crying in the classroom or needing to leave the room suddenly because of difficulty controlling emotions?
Does a student seem excessively slowed down, or much more agitated and restless? Does a student express loss of hope or loss of future-oriented direction? Actual threats made to other members of the class, the professor or GSI, etc. A Note of Caution In the current environment in which violent acts toward others have received a lot of media attention, the impulse to react immediately without reflecting on the consequences is natural but in the long run often undesirable.
The following points can be helpful in determining the most appropriate response: Not all disturbing writing leads to violence. Not all writers or creators of disturbing work tend to act violently e.
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Zologis
Judith C. The Right Paper Using colored paper, not standard white-and-blue lined pages, will ease the task of writing. However, there are many formal and informal ways of doing something to reach out to help students you are concerned about.
Maulabar
If so, does the student include specifics about how he or she might commit suicide?
Naramar
Many educators are concerned less with sentence-level mechanics than with helping students draw inspiration from their own lives and from literature. What gets highlighted?
Zulugore
The Stetro grip fits near the tip of the pencil and has indentations for the thumb, index, and middle fingers. How is our ethos as visually-oriented writers affected, positively and negatively, when we manipulate images to achieve a certain effect? Your student may resist writing because it is hard for him to erase errors. My son was enticed by the promise of using colored pencils to illustrate his written work. Wanzer then asked the students to spend a few minutes writing anything they liked in response to the Lamott excerpt.
Faem
The organization was founded in , at the height of the process-oriented era. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
Arashikazahn
Have any other behaviors also raised red flags? A major goal of this workshop — the teacher-training component of the Long Island Writing Project — was to get teachers writing and revising their own work over the summer so that in the fall they would be more enthusiastic and comfortable teaching the subject to children. If you decide to talk with the student, approach the student informally, outside of class, and ask the tough questions in a compassionate, non-judgmental manner.
Gardazuru
That is, areas of similar color lose their information, and are filled in with approximations when the image is opened in a Web browser or other program. CreditYana Paskova for The New York Times Sometimes, she said, she will reinforce grammar by asking students to copy down a sentence from a favorite book and then discuss how the author uses a tool like commas. Students may find that using a specific color paper, such as light blue or green, makes it easier for them to read and write. That ideology goes back to the s, when progressive educators began to shift the writing curriculum away from penmanship and spelling and toward diary entries and personal letters as a psychologically liberating activity. Some issues to consider when choosing to graphically represent quantitative information: Everyone likes pie charts, but they are only helpful in terms of showing parts of a whole. By Dana Goldstein Aug.
Katilar
Faculty and GSIs are encouraged to call upon all appropriate resources to help the student, and to receive consultation to effectively help the student. If so, does the student include specifics about how he or she might commit suicide? Are there other warning signs or indications see below that are cause for concern?
Nanris
Does the violence seem to be intentional i. By Dana Goldstein Aug. At every level, students benefit from clear feedback on their writing, and from seeing and trying to imitate what successful writing looks like, the so-called text models.