Content Reading/Writing Ch. 1

The students in the coming generations are writing more and more whether it is via the internet (email, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc.) they are understanding and writing every single day. The issue that is brought forward though is the fact that these students enjoy this much more than writing an essay for a class they have had to read a book in or research to find the answers to a particular question. So as the authors touched on, these students KNOW HOW TO WRITE, they just have the impression that writing via the internet and for a class is so drastically different, when in reality, they are using words, forming sentences and communicating their ideas in a way that isn't just speaking.
The next issue that arose was the fact that in class there just isn't enough TIME for writing practice or daily writing every day, which would help the writing and begin to eliminate the fear of writing. To do this, include it into the curriculum, so they are writing a response and as a result, they are still learning yet they are getting practice in for writing.
I also liked what they mentioned about "taking" a class. They compared it to "taking a pitch" in baseball, where it is what it is, you just take it, you get nothing from it. It should be something more to the extent of you are engaged in, exploring, or loving a particular class.
The last big idea is that writing brings out the character inside the student. It allows them to say what they want, saying what the need, and expressing creativity and playfulness within the student.

As I had my own thoughts about this, Content Area Teachers still have to teach to read!! It is obviously important to be literate and be able to help students with any assigned reading that is for the specific class. Content and Process as they say. Each class deserves a good teacher. A good teacher is knowledgeable about reading and able to help no matter what the subject or content. This is why we are to be more focused on it as instructors and
Reading To Learn. Much like writing to learn, but you can't learn about, or from a book if you can't read! Helping the class get through difficult material will show them you believe they can do this and will give them the extra motivation to begin to do more of it on their own and they will be more comfortable doing it.
Use comprehension strategies -- > Activates vocab knowledge -- > Decodes words -- > Reads fluently!