James Moffett's I, You, and It
Moffett makes a lot of sense to me. In the same way that we start out self-centered and gradually become aware of the world outside us, writing should start close to us, with personal subjects and a close audience. I don't remember learning to write in this way, but the progression is very logical.
When I first read the essay, I found myself picturing going through the progression of close to distant for every assignment. After discussion and rereading, I now understand that this progression would be used gradually with each group of students, over the course of the year or term. This definitely makes more sense than my initial visualization.
The challenge is in taking the time to build from the ground up with each new class. It seems like this would be easy with young students, but it is hard to remember to have a group of ninth-graders begin the year with personal responses and then move out to essays only gradually, especially when it feels like they should already be to that point developmentally. However, I think the progression is a sound idea and builds confidence as well as competence.
I struggle with this every year. One way I'm deciding to look at it is that I have varied purposes -- and a paragraph may perfectly meet the needs of my purpose, or a poem might, or an essay might.
ReplyDeleteAs I revisit as assignment with my students, the goal is deepening, enriching, and expanding their understanding of it. A metaphor becomes more than just a metaphor, we begin to extend it, draw it out, etc.
I agree with you about the challenge of taking the time to build from the ground up. I always assume too much and forget I have to start from the ground up. Good points well stated in this post. Christy
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