Laura Cardenas

Annotated Bibliography

Question: What effect does a teachers choice of words have on a childs writing

growth? How do teachers help students see themselves as writers? How do

teachers inspire students to become writers?

Agbayahoun, J. P. (2016). Teacher written feedback on student writing: Teachers' and

learners' perspectives. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(10), 1895-1904.

This study investigates teachers feedback on students writing in an EFL teaching

context. The purpose is to determine the nature of the feedback that teachers provided
and to identify the rationale of the feedback. The results indicated that most of the EFL
students are not favourable to teachers feedback as a tool to promote accuracy in
writing. The students prefered feedback that took into account the content that was
written. This source is helpful to my research because it focuses on the feedback given
to the students about their writing. The students specifically state what they prefer in
the feedback of the teacher, which includes the words chosen. The students know
what motivates them and what helps them in their writing.

Chihak, J. (1999). Success is in the details: Publishing to validate elementary authors.

Language Arts, 76(6), 491-498.

In this article, the author describes the school-based publishing program called
Panther Paw Press and how it helps the students see themselves as authors. The
article focuses on seven goals that all lead to the success of the child and a positive
identity as an author. The first goal is to help the children see themselves as authors
and lists various ways to do that. The second is involving parents in the whole learning
process of their child and ways to do that. Not only do that students and parents need
to be productive, but the teacher but also be provided with the proper resources, which
is the third goal. Other goals include: providing an extended opportunity for publishing,
support the districts instructional goals, enhance reading/writing connection by
providing original works, and finally encouraging students to write as a way to
understand their lives. This will be beneficial to my research because it directly states
that their goal is to help the students see themselves as authors. One way that the
teacher can do that is by the words they use.

Dunsford, D. W. (2006). Feedback follow up: The influence of teacher comment on

student writing assignments. NACTA Journal, 50(2), 12-18.

In this article research was done on the written work of 62 students in a writing class
where the absence of written teacher comment on the students work made a
difference to the amount of revisions made. These revisions were were classified as
additions, deletions, substitutions, or rearrangements. The study showed that the
deletions were significant between the four areas. The results showed that students
revised more successfully when given specific comments and oral comments. This
source helps with my research because it states that students were more prone to
revising their paper when given the oral comments. The oral words chosen by the
teacher either helped or made no change to the students writing. These results will
help me to see the impact that teachers words have on the development a students
writing.

Gadd, M., & Parr, J. M. (2017). Practices of effective writing teachers. Reading and
Writing, 30(7), 1551-1574.

This study shows the practices that several New Zealand teachers of upper primary
and middle-school students whose classes had consistently shown growth in their
writing. A content analysis matrix was constructed from selected writing literature,
learning tasks; direct instruction; responding to learning; motivation and challenge;
organisation and management; and self-regulation. The analysis indicated that these
effective teachers of writing employed an interconnected range of instructional moves
in a strategic and flexible way. These strategies were most effective when the teacher
was purposeful by learners and included meaningful opportunities for learner
involvement. This study will help with my research because it brings a different
perspective to a teachers approach to helping the writing development of their student.
Self-regulation is one of the dimensions that shown a significant association. The
words chosen by the teachers must be purposeful and with the intention of helping the
students grow.

Johnston, P. H. (2004). Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Childrens

Learning. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse.

Choice Words addresses the topic of the effects a teachers use of language and
words has on their students. In chapter three of the book, Johnston focuses on the
language a teacher can use to help their students with their identity and how they see
themselves. The chapter gives various examples of phrases a teacher can use or
adapt to their classroom to help their students see themselves as scientist, poets,
writer etc. What a talented young poet you are is one example that can be adapted
depending on what task is being completed, so in this case a writer.

Seban, D., & Tavsanli, . F. (2015). Children's sense of being a writer: identity
construction in second grade writers workshop. International Electronic Journal of
Elementary Education, 7(2), 217.

The purpose of this year-long study was to view the identity as readers and writers of a
group of second graders. The study revealed that the second graders conceptualized
their identity under four categories, which included: purposes of writing, assumptions
about writing/writers, process of writing, and competence in writing. The students in the
study varied from successful, average or struggling during writing workshops. During
the writing workshops the students practiced drafting, sharing, editing and publishing.
All of these allowed Seban and Tavsanli to view how the students viewed themselves
as writers.

Tompkins, G. E. (2012). Teaching writing: balancing process and product (6th ed.).
Boston: Pearson.

Chapter two of Tompkinss Teaching Writing focuses on developing strategic writers.

The chapter consists of an in depth explanation of numerous writing strategies and how

to implement those. The book defines writing strategies as organized and strategic,

therefore they help a student problem solve their writing. I decided to focus my research
question on a specific section in the chapter called Capable and Less Capable

Writers. This section is helpful for my research because it focuses on the

characteristics of of a capable writer and a non-capable writer. The words capable and

less capable are used to categorize the child, which are some of the word choices that

I will be referring to. Does using words like that effect how much a child develops?

Tompkins, G. E. (2012). Teaching writing: balancing process and product (6th ed.).

Boston: Pearson.

Chapter five in Tompkins book is all about personal writing and how the students can

benefit from personal writing. Personal journals, letters, emails, and postcards are just a

few of the ways a teacher can implement personal writing in the classroom. Personal

writing allows a student to write about what they want without the pressures of essay

writing. The teacher can use personal writing in order to help boost his or her students

confidence.