Chapter 7 Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills

I'm not certain if it is just me, but Routman confused me through out this chapter. I felt she contradicted herself numerous times.

We, as teachers, strive to create authentic and real world writing situations for our students, but I'm unsure how to teach my students to write for a particular audience and format without teaching them the skills that go with it before they write and not after as Routman suggests. Routman also suggests not to list the requirements we want students to include in their writing, but then she uses that very technique.
Her opinion that most teachers don't inform students why they are learning a skill and that teachers simply have their students complete worksheets and then magically want them to apply the skill from the worksheet into their writing is a bit offensive to me.

I do agree that there are skills better taught within the context of a piece of writing and I liked her list of mini lessons.

Chapter 6 Capitalize on the Reading-Writing Connection

I have to say this chapter is one of my favorites. It seems like such a no brainer and yet as teachers we can all say that we need to spend more time writing. We know that to improve reading, one must read. I believe we have finally, but not so easily, accomplished this in our educational day. We give our students many and varied opportunities to read. We also know that our best readers are our best writers, so now, we must ensure the same for writing. It only makes sense that since the two go hand in hand developmentally that we teach them together and not in isolation. I believe that primary teachers tend to do a better job with this. I know that when I taught only reading and language I taught reading and writing interconnected, but now that I must focus on more subjects the connection is not quite as strong.

I do believe that as an intermediate teacher I do a better job reading and writing expository text. It's neat to watch a student who otherwise struggles with reading explain potential and kinetic energy and journal about their team's process of building a mousetrap. It's amazing.

One topic that I have modeled a lot with my students is rereading writing, so as to improve the quality. The students are willing to give input as I model and do quite well. However, when they are working independently on their writing I don't see it having the impact that I desire.