Expression and Reflection

Chapter 2 of Gallagher's book is all about expression and reflection. Aside from the fact that I love love love how gallagher relates teaching back to experiences in his own life, this chapter talks about how students need to be able to express and reflect through writing for there to be meaning behind their work. Gallagher says, "Good reflective writing moves beyond recounting the past; it brings new insight to the writer" (24). He then goes on to define expressive writing as personal and reflective writing as both personal and exploring how the experience shaped the writer. The rest of the chapter consists of great mini lesson ideas for the classroom, and the following are some of my favorites:

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life (27)
Using Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life as a mentor text, the teacher drafts entries for his own encyclopedia in front of his kids. An example might be Apple Pie - My grandmother's cinnamon apple pie sitting on  windowsill cooling in the late afternoon. Baseball Bubble Gum - Chewing the slivers of gum as I wait to bat on my sophomore softball team. And so on and so forth. Once the lesson is modeled, the kids get to come up with their own encyclopedias.

The Bucket List (35)
Reference the movie, The Bucket List, and perhaps show a short clip from the film. Draft items that might be on your own bucket list in front of the kids. Have the kids do the same. Once the list is done, have the kids pick their top item and write about it.

Reverse Poem (41)
Watch the YouTube poem "Lost Generation" by Jonathan Reed.

The great thing about this poem is if read forward, the author is very pessimistic about the world thinking there is no hope for the future, but if read backwards, the poem is very hopeful. Using this as a mentor text, teach the class about the beginning, end, and transitional phrases that let this be a forwards and backwards poem. Model the process for the students, and allow them to have input on what you're (the teacher's) poem may look like. Then let them make their own poems.

What my Childhood Tasted Like (44)
This is another creative writing project that explores lists of what one's childhood may have tasted like (grapes, pie, Cheerios, etc). The child then chooses one of these items to write about in more detail.

Top 10 Lists (55)
Start by giving a top 10 list to your kids. It can be David Letterman's Top 10 List, but just make sure the list is edited. :) Give a couple more examples, such as Top 10 Grossing Films of all Time or Top 10 Excuses Why Kids Don't Do Their Homework. Make a Top 10 List with the class, then ask the students to make their own Top 10 Lists. Students can then reflect on the project as a whole, or choose one item to write more about.

Though there were so many more great ideas in this chapter, the top 5 are listed above. As you can see, a majority of his ideas start with introducing a mentor text, then modeling the writing process for students, and finally giving the students time to free write. Gallagher seems to be of the strong belief that modeling is just as important as doing, and I love his examples as they bring life to the classroom. I think that when kids can see your own writing process, and that it's not perfect, you'll have more kids enthusiastic about writing.