Week+2

Our focus for today's class discussion was understanding a genre approach to teaching writing and how this approach fits with PA and NCTE standards as well as our beliefs and NCTE's beliefs about the teaching of writing. We completed a Google search of "genre" to build a preliminary understanding of genre. We then discussed this week's readings. Here is a summary of what we discussed:
 * __Week 2__**

//How can we make authentic writing assignments for students in the confines of a school? By requiring writing for a class/grade, aren't we in a sense making an assignment inauthentic?// //If we believe this above statement about genre to be true, how can we learn more about the genres students experience every day? How can we create the opportunity for students to experiment writing in these new types of genres when our state standards may be rooted in more traditional genres?// //What other online resources are helpful to writing teachers?// //Why did we remember the particular writing experiences we shared with the class and not other experiences? How do these experiences inform our beliefs about teaching writing?// //Is there a middle ground between these two approaches? How do we know when our students are ready to break genre boundaries? What does Fox (2004) have to say about formulaic writing and breaking genre boundaries? How can the concept of scaffolding inform our practice when applying a genre approach to teaching writing?//
 * __Part 1 -- Google Search__**
 * Some students were surprised by the variety of genres and sub genres that they came across during their search. For example, some students were surprised that a joke could be a particular genre. One student also commented on the sub genres of blogs.
 * One student mentioned that genre can be hard to define and that there can be much overlap between genres.
 * Our conversation led us back to the idea that writing (regardless of the genre) should be relevant and authentic.
 * One student mentioned during her search she came across an explanation that genre is a product of culture and changes with the times. For example, the types of genres secondary students are exposed to today may be different from those we experienced as students.
 * The class began to think of Facebook/MySpace/Text Messaging as particular genres.
 * Another student mentioned how the OWL Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/internet/resources/genre.html can be a good source to learn about different genres.
 * Several students shared memorable school-based experiences with experimenting with different genres.
 * Our discussion ended with a debate about two approaches to teaching genre: (1) formulaic genre writing and (2) breaking genre boundaries.

__**Part 2 -- Discussions of Readings / Visual Representation of a Genre Approach to Teaching Writing**__
 * Our visual representations of a genre approach to teaching writing included a road leading to rote learning or to understanding; a Y revealing the yin and yang of genre and purpose and how these should be fused together; a pirate emphasizing context/community and the genre approach versus a more formulaic approach; a question mark, fish tank, blocks, and "genres a battlefield" to illustrate several points including students' questions and how specific guidelines for some genres can be beneficial; and different genre masks to represent students "trying on" different genres.