Writers don’t write. They rewrite.
As a teacher-writer, I welcome the inherent challenges of rewriting. Even this short blog post took more rewrites than I anticipated! Yet, isn’t that always the case with writing?
Teaching others to embrace the myriad opportunities to rewrite is riddled with challenges, especially when working with elementary students. Conferencing with a student-writer and suggesting revisions may be answered with a look of utter shock: You mean I’m not done! But I filled up the whole page!
Many teachers lament students will not revise. Students might change a word or two. Toss in some edits. But revise? Revising is hard. Intricately connected to the recursive writing process, revision seems to require too much from student-writers.
I firmly believe students need to see revision modeled. When teacher-writers choose to impact their writing community through modeling, they make the writing process, especially revision, transparent.
Yet, teacher-writers need support, too. How do you become a teacher-writer who revises in the first place? Choice? Professional Development? College course?
I am honored to model my own revision process for preservice teachers enrolled in a flipped writing methodology course. Preservice teachers evolve into teacher-writers as they acquire content knowledge outside of class; they participate in online modules on such topics as teacher-writers, writer’s craft for fiction/nonfiction, revision, conferencing, grammar, handwriting, authentic writing opportunities, and writing assessment. During “class time,” they participate in writing workshop during the first half of the semester. I provide mini lessons, model my own writing process, and highlight mentor texts. I conference with the teacher-writers while they write independently in two genres—narrative and explanatory/informational.
I believe teacher-writers need to transfer their personal writing workshop experiences to their writing pedagogy. Thus, during the second half of the semester, teacher-writers tutor local elementary student-writers. Teacher-writers apply concrete revision strategies through their modeling and explicitly teach their students how to revise. Also, rather than only teach writing, the teacher-writers continue to write. I support their writing development through virtual conferencing as they craft argument pieces.
As teacher-writers experience writing workshop opportunities, in person and virtually, they develop their teacher-writer voices. Teacher-writers’ voices grow with passion and are contagious as they embrace opportunities to teach others to write. They choose to make the revision process clear so students can learn to tackle writer’s craft. Writing is a messy endeavor, but when students observe their teacher-writers’ revision processes, they witness writer’s craft in action as the messy draft evolves into a mentor text.
As student-writers experience their teacher-writers’ modeling, they realize all writers face struggles with revision. An “aha moment” spreads across the student-writers’ faces: Oh, that’s what you mean. I can write like you.
Student-writers and teacher-writers don’t write. They rewrite.