Entry #7 The Authenticity of Letter Writing
As I reflect upon how our society has evolved over time, I believe a big component of this change is based on our society's ability to adapt to the ever-changing world of technology. Marc Benioff, an American entrepreneur, once said that “The only constant in the technology industry is change.” Although technology has become a strong component of our everyday lives, I have learned that this does not take away from the shared writing experiences we can have with our students. Tompkins supports this perspective when focusing on the genre of letter writing. Tompkins (2012) explains that although our society is constantly evolving through the use of technology, this does not mean the letter writing will become obsolete (p. 115). Rather, it provides all individuals becoming literate the true experience of the authenticity of letter writing.
As a future educator, I am constantly trying to find new resources and activities to provide my students powerful literacy experiences. While reading the article "Why downt you RIYT back to me?" (linked within the title), I was able to gain a new appreciation for the genre of letter writing. As educators we have a role in supporting our students' abilities to build new relationships in and outside of the learning environment. Letter writing is a form of communication where students are able to learn and share with others, whether it be someone they already know or are getting to know. Letter writing is real and “children are indeed motivated by real-life opportunities” to write to authentic audiences who respond to their letters (Pole, 2015, p. 125). Motivation is a key component to supporting our students in learning and growing through the genre of letter writing. Pole (2015) emphasizes that “For children to want to write, they need to know that their writing has meaning and is valued” (p. 120). The genre of letter writing guides this motivation in our students by giving them an authentic audience who they are able to communicate back and forth with.
In order to provide students effective literacy experiences, I believe educators play an important role in guiding them through the process of writing. As students engage with new genres of writing such as letters, they need educators to model, guide, and support them throughout the writing process. When modeling the letter genre, it is important to incorporate mentor texts that have characters who use letter writing as a form of communication. Mentor texts also allow educators to guide students through whole-group discussions about how we format, write to a specific audience, and start or finish a letter (Pole, 2015, p. 122). As we begin to support our students through writing their own letters, I cannot stress enough the importance of being consciously aware of the diverse learners in your classroom. Especially with our younger students who are still building phonological awareness, their letters will vary to those students in the upper levels who have strong foundational skills. Therefore, I recommend that educators view letter writing from a multimodal perspective. Multimodality highlights that literacy is so much more than reading and writing, rather it encompasses other features such as pictures, symbols, videos, etc. I will be honest; I once was questionable how letter writing could be used with our youngest learners; however, I now recognize that through scaffolding and differentiation ALL students can use letter writing as a tool for authentic literacy experiences.
Lauren, you clearly learned a great deal about the power of this form of writing and how it can be used to serve a variety of purposes for a variety of audiences. One of the things to keep in mind when writing these entries is that you should keep the focus on *you* and what you will do with these ideas. In this entry there were times when you shifted from "I" to "we/teachers." I wonder if it is because you were leading the workshop on this genre that you felt compelled to speak to *all teachers* in this entry?
ReplyDelete