Motivating Primary Students to Write Using Writer's Workshop

N

62

Multiple Intelligences; Student Attitudes; Research Projects; Creative Writing; Action Research; Program Descriptions; Student Motivation; Elementary School Students; Writing Instruction; Writing Processes; Writing Workshops; Writing Improvement; Curriculum Implementation; Writing Skills; Outcomes of Education; Instructional Effectiveness; Check Lists; Scoring Rubrics; Surveys; Questionnaires

The purpose of this action research project is to motivate elementary students in writing, specifically in the areas of creativity, detail, and accuracy. The teacher researchers wanted to develop self-motivated and knowledgeable writers. This project was conducted from September 2nd, 2008 to January 30th, 2009. The targeted students enjoyed learning about the writing process and became more confident in their writing abilities during the duration of the project. The teacher researchers created and implemented a Writer's Workshop curriculum that was rich with multiple intelligences. Mini-lessons were conducted to develop their students' writing skills. Throughout the process, different intelligences were used to motivate the students. After implementation of the Writer's Workshop Program, the percentage of students who felt positive toward writing increased from 55% to 72%. Twenty-two percent to 39% of the parents felt that their children spent more free time at home writing and we able to think of creative writing ideas. Before interventions, 21% of the students were interested in writing about any topic. After the Writer's Workshop Program, 34% enjoyed writing stories in all categories. The students especially enjoyed writing stories and letters. After analyzing writing samples, the students improved overall by 25% with writing mechanics, creativity, sentence structure, and adding story elements. The teacher researchers observed more positive behavior towards writing in the classroom and therefore the action research project was successful. We recommend the Writer's Workshop for a primary writing program. Five appendixes are included: (1) Teacher Survey; (2) Parent Survey: (3) Student Interest Survey; (4) Observation Checklist; and (5) Story Rubric. (Contains 11 figures and 11 tables.) [Master of Arts Action Research Project, Saint Xavier University.]

As Provided

34

2009

ED504817