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Bert Whittier's online universe.

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Parents and Teachers

 

Author Visits

I welcome opportunities to visit students at their school or library. I am comfortable in most settings—larger assemblies or smaller classroom settings. There are several general topics on which I can focus and which can form the content for a visit.

 Students and Writing

It is not just what students write that determines their success, but how they write. It's not news to say in every class there are students who excel and others who struggle. But recognizing that simply establishes an individual student's baseline. Everyone—from the best writers to the struggling writers—can build on those baseline skills and sharpen their writing. In that sense, teaching writing is "self-differentiating"—as long as English teachers have the time necessary to meet students wherever they may be on their writing journey.

Speaking of time...

One of my constant struggles in the classroom is getting students to slow down. Now, I know that flies in the face of our modern work ethic. The value today is on getting more done and getting it done faster, but when we're rushing, we can't do our best thinking, and our writing is only as good as our thinking. Inevitably when we rush, or our students rush, quality takes a back seat. W.B. Mason, an office supply company in the Northeast U.S. has some TV commercials in which a woman says, "Good enough is never, never, never good enough." If it's true for office products, it should also be true as we teach writing to our students.

To become skilled writers, students need time. Throwing too many assignments at students overwhelms them, confuses them, and ultimately undermines their confidence. As in so many things, sometimes less is more. Slowing down allows students to focus on specific issues, to build key skills, and gives them time to process meaningful feedback, all of which helps young writers truly master skills.

One of the most effective tools in teaching writing is to revisit an assignment a month or so after students think they have finished with it. Students often become their own hardest critics: "Why did I ever say that!" And that's the perfect moment to ask how she could say it more clearly.

Students also hear me say that one of the things I love about writing is that even the most successful writers keep learning new ways to tell a story more effectively. (And I believe all good writing is story-telling.)

Batter up...

Most sixth graders understand sports analogies in the classroom. Sometimes I ask a student to stand up, give him or her a wiffle bat, and then say, "show me what you do before you step up to the plate." Invariably he or she takes a few practice swings. I ask other students what they observed. Then I ask, “How would you do at the plate if you didn’t practice? How do you think your favorite player would do if he or she didn’t practice?” Whether it's sports, music, ballet, or art, you have to practice. All students—even the non-athletes—recognize the implications when I follow up with, “So why would you think you can get better at writing if you don’t practice?” Visualizing is a huge part of athlete’s preparation today. Batting coaches say, “See the ball; hit the ball.” Writing coaches can paraphrase: “See the idea; write the idea.”

"The play's the thing"

Too many students see writing as a painful, unpleasant, and unrewarding task, and they deal with that in one of two ways:

  • they scramble through it as fast as they can
  • they passively "let happen" without really thinking about it.

For years, I directed young people in plays. The biggest hurdle I found in rehearsals was convincing kids that they truly were actors. So many “non-actors” started out simply standing on stage and muttering their lines. When I asked for more, I’d often hear, “I’m not an actor,” to which my response was always, “If I believed in you enough to give you this part, you are an actor.” Once they started believing in themselves, invariably, their performances would improve dramatically (so to speak). Students often face the same challenges with writing. “I’m not a writer,” they say. When we can work with students to help them believe they are writers, their efforts improve, their work ethic changes, and their writing takes off.

If students don’t believe in themselves as writers or don’t believe they can improve then the goals of the Common Core will remain elusive and burdensome.

  • The Challenge of Writing computer
    We cover the process of writing in general (research, prewrite, rough draft, revising and editing, publishing), drawing on my experiences with specific references to my published books.
  • Dissecting Prompts
    This dissectingis a self-contained pre­sentation built around the popular CSI television franchise. The focus here is on under­standing exactly what a prompt is asking students to write about. (Students are amazed when I put on my surgical scrubs to perform dissections on several prompts with their help.)
  • Film as Literature
    One of my passions is film. filmI had the great fortune to teach a film course for sixth grade students. The presentation draws a parallel between the figurative language that writers use and the “figurative devices” that filmmakers use. Making heavy use of film clips, I briefly trace the history of film, and then move into the techniques filmmakers employ to tell a story.

In all of these presentations, I am happy to incorporate the themes and language used in your school.

For information about scheduling and associated fees, please contact me at:

info@bertwhittier.com.


 Dissecting photo by Jerry Gill.