The Role of Authentic Writing Instruction in a Child’s Literacy Development

1. The Role of Authentic Writing Instructionin a Child’s Literacy Development Jennifer Garich READ 5493 May 5, 2012

2. What is Authentic Writing? • Reflect real life experiences • “A writer who is writing to a real reader...” (Duke et al., 2006, p. 346)

3. Why is this topic important to me?

4. Why is this topic important for the field of education?

5. Research Process • Authentic Learning • Writing Instruction • Relevance • Audience • Motivation • Choice • Ownership • Writing Achievement

6. FindingsRelevance to Real Life • Writing for Real Purposes & Audiences • Blogging – McGrail & Davis (2011) • Letter Writing Program – Chohan(2011) • Relevant to Personal Life • Writing Topics – Lo & Hyland (2007)

7. FindingsSocially-Constructed Learning • Value of Teaching and Learning from Others • Pen Pal Project – Gambrell et al. (2011) • Blogging Community – McGrail & Davis (2011) • Feedback Leads to Writing Improvement • Magazine Project – Schwieter (2010)

8. FindingsMotivation and Engagement • Positive Self-Perceptions • Personal Involvement • Writing Topics – Lo & Hyland (2007) • Value of Literacy Tasks • Open vs. Closed Tasks – Turner (1995)

9. FindingsGrowth in Writing Ability • Enhanced Self-Confidence • Increase in Writing Fluency • Improvement in Writing • Authentic/Explicit Teaching – Purcell-Gates et al. (2007) • Letter Writing Program – Chohan (2011) • Open vs. Closed Tasks – Turner (1995)

10. ImplicationsHow do these findings affect writing instruction within classrooms? • Narrow Writing Curriculum • State-Level Writing Assessments and School Accountability • Teacher Beliefs about Writing • Influence Approach to Writing Instruction

11. DiscussionHow do these findings support my research question? • Improvement in Literacy Abilities • Inspire and Motivate Children • Positive Self-Perceptions of Writing Abilities • Increased Levels of Cognitive Engagement • Limitations • Few Quantitative Studies • Limited Age Levels & Backgrounds • Small Sample Sizes

12. References Chohan, S. K. (2011). Any letter for me? Relationships between an elementary school letter writing program and student attitudes, literacy achievement, and friendship culture. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(1), 39-50. Duke, N. K., Purcell-Gates, V., Hall, L. A., & Tower, C. (2006). Authentic literacy activities for developing comprehension and writing. Reading Teacher, 60(4), 344-355. Gambrell, L. (2011). Authentic reading, writing, and discussion: An exploratory study of a pen pal project. The Elementary School Journal, 112(2), 234. Lipson, M. Y., Mosenthal, J., Daniels, P., & Woodside-Jiron, H. (2000). Process writing in the classrooms of eleven fifth-grade teachers with different orientations to teaching and learning. The Elementary School Journal, 101(2), 209-231. Lo, J. & Hyland, F. (2007). Enhancing students' engagement and motivation in writing: The case of primary students in Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(4), 219-237. McGrail, E., & Davis, A. (2011). The influence of classroom blogging on elementary student writing. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 25(4), 415-437. Olinghouse, N. G., Zheng, J., & Morlock, L. (2012). State writing assessment: Inclusion of motivational factors in writing tasks. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 28(1), 97-119. Purcell-Gates, V., Degener, S. C., Jacobson, E., & Soler, M. (2002). Impact of authentic adult literacy instruction on adult literacy practices. Reading Research Quarterly, 37(1), 70-92. Purcell-Gates, V., Duke, N. K., & Martineau, J. A. (2007). Learning to read and write genre- specific text: Roles of authentic experience and explicit teaching. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(1), 8-45. Schwieter, J. W. (2010). Developing second language writing through scaffolding in the ZPD: A magazine project for an authentic audience. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 7(10), 31-45. Turner, J. C. (1995). The influence of classroom contexts on young children's motivation for literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 30(3), 410.