edci 5065 - English content area resources

1) http://cwp.uconn.edu/publications/csw.php

This is the site of the Connecticut Writing Project, which is a resource about writing for teachers of all subjects. They publish a magazine of student writings every year and any K-12 student in Connecticut may enter their writing to the magazine. This magazine gives students the opportunity to write a piece and perhaps even be published. The students who works are selected for publication also attend a night honoring them for being published.

Students learn best when actually doing an activity and not passively listening to a teacher. The best way to teach creative writing is to write creatively. You can read as many examples of poems or short stories as you want, but to be a writer, you must write. Good teachers try to give their students a wealth of opportunities to express themselves creatively. Submitting a poem, story, or short non-fiction narrative for publication allows the students to actually dabble in creative writing and the editing process. The teacher can guide their class through the writing and editing process and then submit the works for publication. The students develop their creative writing skills and editing skills by working on their pieces of writing. They can express their feelings and opinions through their writing, which is an important role of any writer. They can learn to respond to feedback and refine their work through the editing process. I believe that through writing creatively, a student can become a better writer. Creative writing is much more exciting than your typical five-paragraph essay - the possibilities are virtually endless. I want my students to enjoy themselves while learning and I feel that submitting a piece to the Connecticut Writing Project student writer's magazine would be a great way to do so.

2) http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections#context

In English classes, I have studied some World War I poetry. Although I have only read a few poems from that era, I find it fascinating. One of my favorite poems is "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. The vivid imagery in the poem really emphasizes the horror and pointlessness of war. The First World War Poetry Digital Archive is run by the University of Oxford and contains a multitude of sources for students studying WWI poetry. There are photographs, audio clips, biographies of the poets, their poems and letters, film clips, and more. Instead of just reading the poems and hearing a teacher lecture about them, students can explore this interactive resource. I want to show my students the history behind the poems and with this website, it is possible to make history come alive for my students.

People learn better if you demonstrate your point with a variety of sources. As a teacher, I want to provide many ways for my students to learn something. If they connect more with a video clip about World War I than the poem itself, I understand fully. Literature can be very dry if you're not interested in it, and this website may help the literature come alive for the student who is reading it. One of the fundamental aspects of English literature is understanding the historical/social context in which the literature was written. It is possible to enjoy a piece of literature without any context, but the context helps with the understanding of the piece. If students can utilize this website to understand what exactly WWI was about and the toll it had on people, then I have achieved my goal as a teacher. They can become more competent in interpreting the literature when they understand the context in which it was written.

3. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

This is a resource from Purdue University about the writing process and MLA style. It contains a guide on how to format a paper for MLA style and how to properly cite sources. A lot of people are visual learners, and this guide demonstrates how to cite sources very clearly. It is better than simply giving verbal directions on how to cite a paper. English students need to learn how to use MLA style, since that is the style used for English papers. As a teacher, I want my students to be able to properly cite sources, since they will have to do it in future English classes. Students must properly give credit to their sources, as a paper that is not properly cited could be considered plagiarism. I also want to give them tangible examples of MLA style in an easily accessible format. This website is simple to navigate and not everyone owns a MLA handbook. With this resource, students can develop competency in citing their papers in the proper style and they can explore the website for more information about the writing process. As a teacher, I won't always be there to answer questions (like when they are writing a paper at 1 a.m.) so this website hopefully can be a resource to them.