Nontraditional Collaborations for Teaching Composition

Many traditional writing activities are included in
my composition class, but at the beginning of the
course when we are focusing on the form and structure
of the essay, my students participate in more nontradi-
tional, collaborative activities. Three of these activities
generate particularly dynamic responses.

* * *

Reconstructing the whole essay from its structural
components. Each student in the class is assigned a
number (1-3); I select three essays and assign a different
essay to each of the three groups. Students are to read
and analyze the structural components of their assigned
essay, make flashcards of all the structural components
that would be included in a full outline of the entire
essay (such as thesis statement, plan points, topic
sentences, support phrases, etc.), and bring them to
class.

The next class day, I place three velcro boards on the
wall and an empty box in front of each. Three students
who have been assigned the number one each step up
to a different empty box and place his or her flashcards
in the box. Students assigned the numbers two and
three do the same. Then each box has a mix of the
structural components of three different essays, and I
ask for three pairs of student volunteers to play a game.
The game is to construct the three essays on the velcro
board from a random selection of their structural
components. The student pair who constructs the essays
first wins. This activity develops organizational think-
ing skills and creates class excitement and learning fun.

Co-authoring an essay. | ask half of the students to
construct one thesis statement (without plan points or
preview), making a copy for himself or herself and a
copy for another student in the class. When all students
have a constructed thesis in hand, they are to write a
preliminary draft of an essay using that thesis. I collect
the drafts at the end of the class period, pass them back
the next, and then pair the students (with essays on the
same thesis) for a class reading. Each student in the pair
then reads the preliminary draft of the essay he or she
wrote. The class is instructed to ask questions and make
comments about the commonalities and differences
noted in each essay. The student pairs swap preliminary
drafts, and then edit, proof and hand in that essay the
next class day as a co-author. These co-authored essays
are then evaluated by their peers.

Creating an artistic collage to recreate an essay.
Students bring colored composition paper to class and
work in pairs to make a collage of a specific essay
reading. During the following class period, students

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

March 22, 1996, Vol. XVIII, No. 9

© The University of Texas at Austin, 1995
Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER

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write an essay reconstructing the collage as a written
essay. The written essays are then compared to the
original from which the collage was created.

* * *

The activities of reconstructing the whole essay from
its structural components, co-authoring an essay, and
creating an artistic collage to recreate an essay serve to
create a dynamic and fun learning environment.

Rose Haroian, Assistant Professor, English
For further information, contact the author at

Quinsigamond Community College, 670 West Boylston
Street, Worcester, MA 01606-2092.

 

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