Atwell Chapter 4

Okay, so I understand that it is important for students to read. It improves comprehension, test scores, general knowledge, and also can make students want to read more. Atwell also talks about how important writing is. The more students write, the better they become at writing. This makes sense. Practice make perfect. What I do not understand is how Atwell has time to have writing workshops everyday and also have SSR everyday. There are other things that need to be taught in English class.

It would be ideal to have students learn the way Atwell sets up her classroom, but is this really possible? I guess I feel like with all of the independent work going on, there would be no time to read books from the cannon, or time to learn literary terms. I wish these things were less important in today's society, but the truth is, one is expected to know all of these things when entering into college.

I want my English class to be like Atwell's, but I am afraid there would be no time to do the things the school district requires. On pages 97-98, Atwell proposes what to do when a curriculum is required. But, most teachers I know take all year to try and get the curriculum covered. I am not sure if it depends directly on the school, or if what needs to be taught depends on something else. Maybe Dr. Kist could comment on this and answer that question for me?

I liked Atwell's idea of calling her class a "Writing and Reading Workshop." I think this title better describes an English class than just the word "English."

I do think it is crucial to get students writing as much as possible. I would like to find a way to come to some happy medium of having students to be able to read, write, and be prepared for what they will need to know for standardized tests/higher education.