In Tompkins chapter 2 that focuses on the reading and writing processes, I loved how the chapter was so appropriately divided into the steps of each process and the nice balance that can be formed between the two, or rather the cooperation between the two. Both the reading and writing processes follow step-by-step methods that clearly guide learners onto successful paths as they mature in both areas, independently and collectively.
Something I found particularly important was the pre-stages for both reading and writing. In regards to pre-reading, as both a student and a future teacher, I have never thought to put enough time into this step of the process; a habit that I would like to break myself of very quickly. Pre-reading by gaining some background knowledge on the book or story that is about to be read can be an amazing help to understanding the inner workings and profound meanings that a story may have to offer. Not knowing anything beforehand is usually acceptable, but why not dive in deep and embrace the gained information to its fullest potential? This is something that I’ve always wished I would do more of before reading a text, and something I know that I need to focus more on in terms of writing my own literacy lesson plans for students.
The Pre-stages of writing are also very important for their own reasons. Brainstorming your ideas before lining them up and laying them down on paper can be a huge time saver when it comes to having a clean and organized, finished product. This early stage of a process has come a little easier to me than the pre-reading one during my time as a student, but going through the rest of the steps and spending an adequate amount of time at each of them has also been a struggle of mine. It seems as though my CT does a wonderful job of giving the students enough direction and time to follow these steps, and I sincerely hope that I will one day be a great example of this as well. My biggest concern with this: running out of time. I want to give my students a good amount of time to pre-write, draft, and revise and to feel comfortable before heading into the final stages of the process. But what if this ends up taking much more class time than originally planned?
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I agree with your comments about the pre-reading and pre-writing stages. The reading opened my eyes to how important these steps are, and how overlooked they may be in the process as a whole. Many goals can be accomplished in the first "pre" steps in reading and writing, such as building background knowledge and hooking reader's emotions into the material. As for your concern on the amount of time the writing process may take, I think although it might take a lot of class time it is well worth it. The writing process is something we continue to do even as adults, and something that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. I think once they get used to the process their familiarity with it will speed up class time spent on different writing assignments. Another thing that could help speed up the writing process if you are behind on schedule is to get parents involved in helping revise their son/daughter's writing at home.
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