Dear Dr. Jones

 Dear Dr. Jones,

It is exciting to think that we are already at the midpoint of the semester. I have enjoyed class and getting to know my fellow classmates. It is very exciting to be back in school as a student and I am looking forward to continuing my graduate studies. Overall, I feel that class has been going well! This is my very first semester of graduate school and I was nervous to start out the year. I quickly felt at ease in the classroom and enjoy the atmosphere of the class. I felt that I acclimated quickly to class and balancing homework and work. I didn't know what to expect when I started, I was very curious of what the format of the class would be like. I am enjoying the structure of class and of giving us time in class to feel as if we are in a writing workshop. I like the way in which we are grouped together for our projects. This allowed for me to feel more at ease when it came to working with others and opening up in class. I am also enjoying what we are learning. I have found what we've been learning in class to be very beneficial. I have taken many of the things we've done in class and placed them in my own classroom.  

After every class I find myself saying that what we learned from our readings and class would work in my classroom. I can often quickly connect what we are doing to my students and how it would look in my class. One of the things that I implemented right away was the status of the class. I immediately used that in my English Honors class and it was a great experience. It gave my students the chance to feel independent and as if they were apart of a writer's workshop. I also feel that just taking the time to read through Tompkins textbook has been a great experience. The textbook has been very informative and it relayed great information about the writing process. The idea that a majority of the writing process should be in the pre-writing stages was eye opening. Learning about this made me switch how I view the writing process when it comes to teaching it in my classroom. I am now trying to make sure I give my students ample amount of time when it comes the pre-writing stage such as brainstorming and conducting free writes. 

When it comes to my own literacy development, the free writes that we have done in class have helped me develop as a writer. It has allowed for me to become better at just putting words on paper and actively working through my brainstorming. I would usually not spend a lot of time with brainstorming my ideas and would just jump into the writing. This class has taught me to slow down and take my time with my ideas. It's okay to take time to work through my ideas and play with them before the drafting stage. This has also helped me develop as a reader. I have a better understanding of the craft of writing. Being more knowledgeable in how to write, has made me pick up details in books that I haven't before. The introduction of mentor texts has allowed me to focus on how reading can help you to become a writer and vice versa. The transactive nature of reading and writing has become very apparent to me throughout the first half of this course. 

I feel that I am doing well in this course and am actively learning. These blogs have helped me to work through my thinking and have made me feel very productive in this course. I felt confused at first between the genre expert and genre pieces project (mostly because I would switch the names lol) but as the weeks have gone one, I've been able to differentiate between the two. Things have been becoming clearer each week and I often find my questions answered! I have been enjoying this class and I am excited for the next half!