Writing is a powerful way to learn. Students need different experiences in order to process information, and writing needs to be one of these experiences. Up to this point my posts have been about student’s enacting using drama and body movement, but enactment can be just as powerful though writing. Correspondence enactments are powerful because they provide the student writer with a persona, a purpose, meaningful information, a situation, and an audience—all of which help him or her compose. Plus, writing in role requires careful reading. Students know they need information from the text to advance their point of view. It also develops students’ awareness of how texts are constructed, since they are to write formal letters, newspaper articles, memos, and so forth.
Here are a few examples of correspondences that can be utilized:
1. From a character in the text to a character in another text, situation, or era.
2. From real people to characters
3. From you to a character
4. From a character to an author
One thing that I learned while reading this chapter is that teachers have to specific about their expectations during these enactments. These are some steps to ensure the enactment is successful.
Decide:
1. From and to whom the correspondence will be.
2. The purpose of the correspondence
3. What form the correspondence will take, given your purpose (a formal letter, business letter, informal letter, thank-you letter, bill, postcard, advertisement, public service announcement, memorandum, business contract, invitation)
4. Whether your correspondence will be handwritten or typed.
5. The kind of stationery and envelope. How will they reflect the character of the letter and writer.
6. The address for each correspondent and why the address is appropriate
Every year, I do a unit on explorers coming to the “New World.” During my unit we touch on Christopher Columbus as well as many other explorers. We discuss the difficulties of leaving their home and families to make the journey across the ocean. I provide students with a list of job and job descriptions for Christopher Columbus’ ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. They have to chose a job that they think they qualify (in character) for, then they have to write a letter of interest to Christopher Columbus. Once their letters are complete they are encouraged to bake their papers in the oven to make them appear old. They present the papers to me (Christopher Columbus) and I then question their intentions, qualifications, and expectations. Once they have all presented I attach a note on each paper commenting my need for them on the ship. Some get hired while others are encouraged to stay home and tend to their kids. I use these writing as a bulletin board, and students rush in the following day to see if they have a job. During this activity, kids have to enter their role in both writing and drama. They love this activity because there is a purpose to their writing.
Having the students use writing such as the correspondence activity for Christopher Columbus is an excellent way to have the students respond to reading and think about concepts from a new perspective. This activity also gets them thinking about what they would need to address as they apply for jobs. What would a perspective employer want to know and what could they offer? Good reflective thinking for the students.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading bout the Christopher Columbus activity, it is well rounded with its many components. Correspondent enactments seem like a great way to provide the students with a different experience as a means for processing information.
ReplyDeleteI love using writing in the classroom. This past year I did more of it and the kids really enjoy sharing what they have written with others. I used your Christopher Columbus idea and had my students pretend they were turkeys during Thanksgiving. They had to write me a letter telling me why I should not kill them for my Thanksgiving dinner. They loved it!
ReplyDeleteI do something like this with my students when we read a novel. Students can write to a character or the author. Another idea is to keep a journal as one of the characters. It is amazing what some of the kids can do with this.
ReplyDeleteBy writing in character the student is encouraged to deepen their understanding of the text. He gives them a connection to the text and to the other characters. What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be an understatement and consensus among our blogs that writing is a powerful way to learn. The idea of correspondence enactments is exciting and they do seem very powerful. Providing the student writer with “a persona, a purpose, meaningful information, a situation, and an audience” to help the student compose seems like an exciting effective strategy. The examples of correspondences that can be utilized are also a great resource.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mention that writing in role requires careful reading. I think this could help students who struggle with reading because we are taking the emphasis off of reading. Your activity is great, I bet the students respond really well to it!
ReplyDeleteThe examples of the correspondence that can be utilized that you gave are interesting. The activity you do with your students sounds fun. But, I'm wondering if you could choose to be someone other then Christopher Columbus? There's so much controversy surrounding him and Native peoples that I can't help but feel that maybe he's given a little too much positive publicity in classrooms.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic way to encourage writing! I can't agree with your last sentence more. When there is a purpose to write, even in a game, people have a clear direction.I remember that, when I taught adult students in La Mesa Elementary school during last summer session, my students had more to write when they were assigned a more specific role to write, especially the role that they had interest in, like being a mother, etc.
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