Memo #1 post for my I-Search topic.

I-Search Research Proposal: Teaching Writing to Students that are on Different Levels. I would like to talk about how Teachers can teach writing to students that are on all different levels. This topic is significant to me because, school was always very difficult for me, I struggled in almost every subject, and I had to work hard all my life when it came to academia. At first writing did not come easily to me, it took a lot of practice and hard work, but over time I eventually became better at it. Sometimes teachers tend to teach in the ways that they learned best. But the most successful teachers incorporate all different modes of communication to help a range of learners. Teachers should have many different ways to teach the same material, because not all students will learn in the same way. A way that I would consider teaching students that are on different writing levels might be that I would give the children having trouble more writing, so that they have more practice with it. Or I could try and separate the class into groups and give each group a different writing assignment that would be at the different levels. That way children wouldn’t feel singled out because they would be in groups. I want to have my I-search project focus around this topic so that I can become the best teacher that I can be, and help all of the students become the best they can be. I want to try and teach the children how to enjoy writing, even the students that have trouble academically, I want to show them that writing can be a wonderful escape. While also showing them how important writing is. Teachers should have a deep understand of their students and their needs. The way that I am planning on finding more information about this topic is to read scholarly articles, I am also planning on interviewing a student or two, my neighbor has two sons that are currently in school. One of her sons is in the seventh grade, and the other is a freshman in high school, so I think that getting both of their opinions about writing will benefit me with my project. I feel that way because even though they are only a few years apart teaching in a middle school environment can be totally different then teaching at a high school level. I also thought that it would be good to interview their mother, she is a teacher’s aid for mentally handicapped students. I would like to learn the best way to go about teaching these students what writing is, so that they are able to reach and achieve the best of their ability. I feel like it would be a good idea to get her opinion, because I know that usually in Elementary and Middle schools they don’t always have the ability to separate the mentally disabled children. Finally, I am also planning on interview my old middle school teacher, to get a professional opinion. After I start my project I would also like to interview other people, just to widen my perspective. I will contact my old teacher, and talk to my neighbor and her children once the interviewing part of the project begins. I am excited to start my I-search project. By using primary and secondary sources, I will learn many different views about this one topic. Interviewing people in the field will help me learn the technique that teachers are practicing in classes today, and reading the secondary sources will also show me the past techniques that teachers used to use. Interviewing/talking to my neighbors son's and maybe even a few of their friends will help me understand if these writing techniques are working for them. Learning about this topic will broaden my knowledge about the ways to teach writing to children that are on different academic levels.