Social media. If most teachers and parents don't hate it (for their kids) they, at best, tolerate it. But what if, instead of telling kids to get off the SoMe, we asked them to use it to become better writers?
Teachers and homeschool moms have probably heard of 1) the writing process and 2) the six traits of writing. If you haven't heard of either, don't fret! I've included some articles here and here. As teachers of writing, we know that kids have a hard time with revision. "I'm done!" They say after the first draft. And who can blame them? After sweating over the act of writing ideas on paper, they truly believe that... they are done. How do we get them to return to a piece of writing and revise? The late Donald Graves, professor at the University of New Hampshire said, "I see too many children mired in inane personal narrative accounts, characterless fiction, and poetry with little investment by the author." What is the cure to this ailment? Mr. Graves believed that children needed to "...connect choice with honest struggles and issues." In other words... their world.
We all share the same planet, but all of us have our own world. We perceive things differently. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the saying goes. And this couldn't be more true than on the millions of Instagram accounts.
My daughter has 300 posts on Instagram and many followers who "like" her posts. She is eight-years-old. She takes pictures of her toys in her environment (I never allow her to take pictures of herself--no selfies!) She has snapped pics of her Littlest Pet Shop characters on the sharp tipped leaf of a blackberry bush, in the neatly clipped blades of grass, and on the golden petals of a black-eyed Susan. She's also used plain ol' rocks, mulch, and garden stakes to make unique photos. She has zoomed in on her world. Writers should also zoom in on their world. They should observe something interesting and make a note of it.. from their unique point-of-view. I will call this an Instagram post.
An Instagram post can be made at the beginning of a piece of writing to describe the setting. For example, instead of writing, "Once upon a time there was a princess," one would write, "A castle stood tall on a hill with mist swirling around the turrets. From inside one of the ivy covered windows, a princess leaned out."
"That's showing, not telling!" I can almost hear you protesting. "Not an Instagram post!" But remember what Donald Graves said... children need to connect with honest struggles and issues. Their world. The social media is their world, so let's use it to create a common language for teaching writing!
Alternatively, an Instagram post can be made in the middle of a paragraph when a writer needs to slow down and add detail. For example, let's take this little diddy: "Last summer was fun. Last summer we went camping. We went to the Space Needle. Now it's time for school. Darn." And add an Instagram post about camping. "Last summer was fun. We went camping. Our campsite was a rectangle of dirt. Around us, the forest reached up to the sky and blocked the sun. Some trees had even fallen down and lay across each other like giant pick up sticks."
In short, an Instagram post is a way for the student-writer to show us their world. Saying, "insert an Instagram post," when helping a student-writer in the revision process does two things: 1) it gives the teacher language to communicate 'show don't tell' with the student-writer and 2) it allows the social media savvy student-writer to connect with their world.
No longer is social media anathema in the classroom/homeschool environment! Use the Instagram post to make your writing more colorful and meaningful.
Happy writing,
Rachel
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