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    EDUCATION 489 - 4
    IMPROVING WRITING IN THE CLASSROOM
    Summer Session, 1981
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    Instructor: M. Flanigan
    Monday/Wednesday
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    Location : Campus
    8:30 - 12:20
    COURSE OUTLINE
    This course assumes that teachers can learn a great deal about
    teaching writing by examining the processes they go through as
    they write, and afterwards by reflecting upon why they worked
    the way they did. Because of these assutiptions, students will
    write several short pieces throughout the six weeks in order to
    see how they behave. They will also read a number of articles
    and books on teaching writing, and eventually will structure
    their own writing course based on what they have learned. In
    addition, students will read some of the research on the teach-
    ing of composition and will try to determine how it might in-
    fluence their teaching.
    BOOKS FOR SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
    1.
    Peter Elbow. Writing Without Teachers, Oxford University Press
    2. Roger Garrison. How a Writer Works, Harper & Row
    3.
    (eds.) Arvin Freedman & Ian Pringle. Reinventing the Rhetorical Tradition,
    Published for the Canadian Council of Teachers of English by L.& S.
    Books, Univeristy of Central Arkansas.
    4.
    Donald Murray. A Writer Teaches Writing, Houghton Mifflin.
    5.
    Janet Emig. The Composing Processes of Twelfth Graders,
    NCTE Research Report No. 13, NCTE, 1111 Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801.
    6.
    William Irmscher. Teaching Expository Writing, Holt, Rinehart,
    and Winston.
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    SYLLABUS
    M. Flanigan
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    Summer Session 1981
    JULY 6TH
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    Introduction to course. Starting a how to or did you know piece
    (pick one). Observing another writer. What is the process?
    ROHMAN EMIG
    JULY 8TH
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    Discussion of observations: What generalizations can we make? A
    model of the writing process and a model of an instructional process
    for teaching writing. Questioning and helping writers determine
    what it is they want to write about.
    JULY 13TH
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    Helping session on how to or did you know piece. Memories of
    childhood: stages toward discovering and enriching events.
    ASSIGNMENTS: Write up your experience for Wednesday, July 12th.
    Try to put your reader into the middle of the action. READ Donald
    Graves' "The Second R" and Janet Emig's "Writing as a Mode of
    Learning".
    JULY 15Th ?
    Revision session: Mrs. Deats. Learning to observe.
    ASSIGNMENTS: Complete your paper. Read it aloud to someone
    else and proofread it. READ Peter Elbow's Writing without Teachers.
    JULY 20TH
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    Paper due - childhood experience. Back to your how to or did
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    you know piece. Where are you in your thinking and writing?
    DISCUSSION OF READINGS TO DATE: Elbow, Emig (both), Rohman
    and Graves.
    ASSIGNMENTS: Do a draft of your how to or did you know piece for
    Wednesday, July 22nd. READ Marjorie Frank's "Writing is a Process,"
    Wallace W. Douglas' "Composition and the Editorial Process,"
    Howard Blake's "The Directed Writing Activity: A Process with
    Structure," and M. Flanigan's lessons on teaching writing.
    NEED two people to hand in papers early.
    JULY 22ND ?
    Revision session. More observing - the overheard conversation.
    Making sense of chaos - listening.
    ASSIGNMENTS: Complete your how to or did you know paper, read it
    aloud to someone else and proofread it. BRING a magazine with either
    a book or film review in it for July 27th.
    JULY 27TH ?
    Paper due - how to or did you know piece. Discussion of readings
    assigned July 20th, of book reviews, film reviews and film
    responses. Audiences.
    ASSIGNMENTS: READ L.M. Calkins' "Andrea Learns to Make Writing
    Hard," Donald Graves "Research Update: What Children Show us
    about Revision," M. Flanigan's and D. Menendez's "Perception
    and Change: Teaching Revision" and Donald Murray's "The Maker's
    Eye: Revising your own Manuscripts."
    JULY 29TH
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    How to teach revision. Making useful revision guides. What
    should you focus on? Discussion of readings assigned July 27th.
    The interview. In-class interview. Setting up and getting
    ready for the interview.
    ASSIGNMENTS: READ L. Flower's and J. Hayes' "Process-Based
    Evaluation of Writing: Changing the Performance, Not the Product,"
    Donald Murray's "What Can You Say Besides AWK? - Try Listening,"
    and R. Garrison's How a Writer Works. DO an interview and come
    'to class with your notes and an idea of what you will do with
    them.
    AUGUST 3RD
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    The interview and some possibilities. Planning for your teaching.
    How will you teach composition. 'Planning a lesson - SAMPLE LESSONS.
    Children's books and such.
    ASSIGNMENTS: Choose a final paper project from ones discussed
    in class and begin writing. READ M. Flanigan's "Composition
    Models: Dynamic and Static Imitations" and Peter M. Schiff's
    "Problem Solving and the Composition Model: Reorganization,
    Manipulation, Analysis."
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    Syllabus (M. Flanigan)
    Summer Session 1981
    Page 2
    AUGUST 5TH Revision session on final paper. In-class brief writing on
    articles assigned on August 5th. Discussion. How will you
    set up your teaching?
    ASSIGNMENT: READ any article in any journal on teaching and
    be prepared to tell about it in class next time.
    AUGUST 10TH
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    Paper due - final finished writing project. Sharing your work.
    Playing with words and such.
    AUGUST 12TH
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    In-class evaluation. Final projects, What does the writing
    process mean to you as far as planning for teaching?

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