Rhetoric Analysis Of Nancy Atwell's In The Middle

In this paragraph I will focus my attention on the in the middle category, more specifically two very specific questions as they relate to the rhetoric for teaching reading and writing. I will then provide an explanation and example scenario for each question. The first question is, how would you as a teacher create an environment where students have more time to commit to their writing? There is no simple answer to this question, because class time is valuable and attempting to complete the lesson in a classroom that has students with different learning abilities and or needs is a very complex task that all teachers try to complete. Although, author and educator Nancy Atwell has suggested in her book entitled In the Middle, simply giving students

In this category I chose two specific questions to address. The first is, what can we do as teachers to foster supportive/safe writing environments? This is a great question, and probably the most important aspect when it comes to a student’s success and confidence. As a teacher it’s very important to have a safe and inviting classroom atmosphere that allows them to feel comfortable, welcome and that fosters the student’s creativity. If a student does not feel comfortable with classroom, for whatever reason or if they feel intimidated or threatened by a peer or teacher in that environment, the environment is harmful to their success, learning and the student will likely close off and have anxiety. A good teacher does their best to make the classroom itself an inviting atmosphere, as inviting as you can make a classroom that is. The posters and pictures on the walls, the table and chair arrangement as well as the teachers desk are all items that are intentionally chosen and thoughtfully organized to make the environment as inviting as possible. Atwell says “when students enter my classroom in September I want the environment to make their brains itch” in other words she wants it to build a positive atmosphere that stimulates and promotes their creativity (Atwell, 35). She also mentions watching another teacher Mary Beth Owens, set up her room and noticed that her “arrangements were intentional and deliberate” which is something that she refers back to often when it relates to her own classroom (Atwell, 35). In this example, Mr. Avery does not think that the classroom design and layout have any bearing on learning and have no negative psychological effects on students, because it never seems to bother him. Sorry to tell you Mr. Avery but you are wrong, research has shown that the classroom layout has psychological effects on students and also that more inviting atmospheres inspire better performance, engagement