Writing to Learn/Writing to communicate 6/23/08

The whole discussion on the writing to learn continuum to writing to communicate was very engaging. I think I have so often focused writing assignments on only one end or the other and left out a lot of the middle ground. I have found it difficult to know how to grade and felt like Marlene at times, where I feel there is not enough time to do writing justice. When I was teaching intervention English, I felt so inept at helping the kids grow their writing ability, as well as teach grammar, literature, and research. Now I am seeing that writing daily, small amounts of time about what students are thinking is just as important, or even more important than just focusing on spelling, grammar, etc.. Writing to learn is a freeing concept. I don't have to expect kids to have a finished draft for every writing assignment. I can feel OK about an assignment that I just check as done or not done. But I also need to move students toward the end of communication at times. I liked Don's explanation "What is the Goal?", as well as Sherrie's explanation that it is "Both, And". The question "What is the goal?" helps me see what I want the kids to focus on and let them know that, so they don't focus only on spelling, and grammar. The "Both, And" concept helps me see that we don't just do one thing or the other, but rather we are trying to accomplish student learning and work toward the communication end as well. I found the discussion very thought provoking.