Transcript Strategies for Developing Students Voice

Strategies for Developing
Students Voice
Margaret Adams
January 2007
Salemwood School
Good writing is supposed to evoke
sensation in the reader-not the fact that
it’s raining, but the feel of being rained
upon.
-E.L. Doctorow
Objectives
• Define the trait of “voice.”
• Describe several minilessons to help students
understand and use
“voice” in their writing.
Agenda
• Review of Ideas and
Organization
• What is Voice?
• Mini-Lessons in Voice
Ideas/Development
• The topic is narrow and
manageable
• A clear, central theme drives
the writing
• Reader’s questions are
anticipated and answered
• Lots of showing (specifics)
rather than telling (generalities)
• Quality of details matters more
than quantity-accuracy counts!
Organization
• Inviting introduction gets you
started and then then allows
the writer to drive from there
• Sequencing is logical,
purposeful, and effective
• Smooth transitions that link key
points and ideas
• Good pacing-speeds up for a
wide angle slowing down for
close-ups-is under control
• Resolution-Conclusion wraps it
all up and leaves you thinking…
What is Voice?
Who can confidently say what ignites a
certain combination of words, causing
them to explode in the mind? Who
knows why certain notes in music are
capable of stirring the listener deeply,
though the same notes slightly
rearranged are impotent? These are high
mysteries.
-E.B. White
Voice in Writing
• The imprint of the writer on
his/her writing
• The driving force of the
writing process
“Writing with voice is writing into which someone has
breathed. It has that fluency, rhythm, and liveliness
that exists naturally in the speech of most people when
they are enjoying a conversation. . . . Writing with real
voice has the power to make you pay attention and
understand—the words go deep.”
Peter Elbow, 1973
Voice Defined
• Hear the person behind
words
• Involvement
• Awareness of audience
• Expressive
• Strong interaction with the
reader
Voice Defined
• You feel a strong
connection to the
writer’s…
– Emotion
– Energy
– Conviction
The voice is the heart and soul, the magic, the
wit, along with the feeling and conviction of
the individual coming out through the words.
Voice Defined
• You want to read this piece (or
parts of it) aloud to someone
else.
• Voice takes on different forms
as the purpose and audience
for writing changes
• No matter what, without voice,
it’s boring!
KEY QUESTION:
Would –you
keep reading this piece if it were
Integrity
longer?YOU
MUCH
FEEL longer?
SOMETHING!
Student Friendly Questions
• Can you tell I am
enthusiastic about my
topic?
• Does this writing sound like
me?
• How do I want my readers
to feel?
• Will my story hold readers'
attention? Will they want to
hear more?
Writing teachers speak of "finding your
voice" as if the damned thing were
lost somewhere: behind the desk,
under the computer, in back of the
commode. Whenever I hear that
phrase, I am reminded of the
"discovery" of America. Columbus
did not discover America, he
encountered the native people who
already lived there. They were not
lost, to be found. And neither is the
story's voice.
The story's voice, not the author's…
That is what must be uncovered, not
discovered.
-Jane Yolen
You see, when one is a writer, actor,
dancer, musician; a creator of any
kind, he or she does these things
because they listen to that "voice"
inside of them. All of us have that
"voice". It is where all inspired
thoughts come from....but when
you have electronic screens in front,
of you, speaking that voice for
you... it DROWNS OUT THE VOICE!
When I talk to children and aspiring
writers, I always ask them to listen to
the voice, turn off the T.V. and
LISTEN...LISTEN...LISTEN.
-Patrica Polaco
Mini-Lessons For Voice
The truth of your experience can only
come through in your own voice. If it
is wrapped up in someone else’s
voice, we readers will feel suspicious,
as if you are all dressed up in
someone else’s clothes.
-Anne Lamott
Voice Out, Voice In
• Find a sample of writing
that is devoid of voice.
Manuals and textbooks are
good choices.
• Students in pairs or
individually rewrite to put in
as much voice as possible.
• Try the reverse. Take the
voice out of a piece. To
remove it, you must
understand what it is.
I was really excited about going. It
would be the best day of the summer.
We were going to go rafting.
My mother, father, brother, and sister
got to go. They were excited, too. My
dad knew a lot of stuff about rafting.
This would be neat.
When we got to the river, it looked big.
The water was moving fast. I got scared.
It turned out to be fun. We ate
sandwiches and drank pop. I wore a life
jacket and got wet.
It was the best thing I did all summer.
Using Art: Music and Art
• Share with student different
versions of the same song.
• With each recording, have
students record any feelings,
emotions, connections, and
images that may occur to
them.
• Summarize each rendition in a
sentence that captures the
essence of its voice.
• Ask students how listening to
music is like reading
somebody’s writing.
Voice in Art
• Share with students art prints
that depict the same subject.
• Compare the prints and discuss
ways they are alike and how
they are different.
• Help students see that each
artist develops his or her voice
through their work, and over
time, it become recognizable
to others.
If Voice Were
• If voice were…
– A color
– An animal
– A season
– A type of food
– A favorite piece of clothing
– A facial expression
What would it be?
Illustrate the Trait
• Have students draw visual
representations of voice.
• Creating a visual
representation of the trait
enables students to think
deeply about the central
meaning of the trait.
Compare and Contrast
• Use two of three books on
the same topic, but by
authors with different styles.
• You might use two versions
of a fairy tale. Or, try
looking at differences in an
expository text on the
same topic.
• Compare and contrast the
version.
Other Writing Assignments
• Write a favorite story from a
different point of view.
• Take an event in history and
write from the point of view of
different individuals.
• Write a letter of application for
a job for an important historical
figure.
• Write out a shopping list with
voice. Take everyday items and
ask them to make them come
alive.