Chapt 1

I really enjoyed reading the first chapter and I think that is saying something because I usually can't stand reading textbooks. B&B did a good job incorporating different ideas that a teacher can use in the classroom. I really liked the section "Making it Happen in the Classroom" I think that a teacher's first day can be so nerve racking, both for the students and for the teacher, that it allows everyone to open up and get to know each other. The different ideas listed also allows for me to see how the students write without being intimidating. For an example, the idea of having the students writing an autobiography about themselves will allow me to get to know who they are as well as allowing the students to write without being pressured about a grade. Or the idea of "Who Am I", I can use that at anytime during the school year. It will allow the students to explore who they really are and I can make it an assignment-a poetic assignment!

I also thought it was real interesting how the authors make a connection with reading and writing. I think the authors make a really good point when they say on page 11, "When student writers realize that authors deliberately choose certain words and that they begin sentences and paragraphs differently depending on the effect they wish to produce, students begin to emulate and experiment, trying to find what is best for them, and thus become better writers." I think it will be a challenge to make students "want" to write but if I give them a comfortable environment and introduce them to different ways of writing, I think I can conquer that challenge. A good way to do that is just like the example in the book-where someone reads the first few paragraphs of 5 or 6 books and let the students free write or maybe create their own story around what was read aloud!