Obituary

Donovan R. Walling, born January 9, 1948, in Kansas City, Missouri, died May 5, 2017. He was the son of Donovan Ernest and Dorothy (nee Goyette) Walling. A lifelong educator, Walling taught school in Wisconsin and Germany, was a curriculum administrator in Wisconsin and Indiana, and served as director of publications for the education association Phi Delta Kappa, retiring in 2006. He continued to work as a writer and editorial consultant in retirement, and was a senior consultant for the Center for Civic Education. Walling was the author or editor of numerous books in education and also wrote fiction and poetry. He was preceded in death by his wife Diana (nee Eveland) in 1991. He is survived by his husband Sam Troxal; his children, Katherine, Donovan David, and Alexander; and several grandchildren.

In light of Donovan’s lifelong commitment to education, his family requests memorial contributions be made to the Walling-Troxal Endowed Scholarship Fund at First United Church. A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, June 16 at 7pm at First United Church, 2420 E Third Street in Bloomington, Indiana.

Temporary Suspension

I have suspended work on this blog, at least for the time being, in order to devote more time to other writing. Please take a look at my other blog, Arts in View, at http://artsinview.blogspot.com/.

Tip #20 - Don’t Dangle That Modifier

“Dangling modifier” sounds tricky, but most errors of this type are easy to spot with a little practice and equally easy to fix. They are the kind of phrase that makes you stumble over the logic of a sentence. Example:

• Having spent a week in Las Vegas, my suitcase was missing.

Really? Your suitcase spent a week in Las Vegas? Where were you? Clearly the writer meant to say that the suitcase owner spent the week in Las Vegas. So a fix is fairly easy:

• Having spent a week in Las Vegas, I found that my suitcase was missing.

Or

• After I spent a week in Las Vegas, my suitcase was missing.

Dangling modifiers can evoke accidentally humorous images:

• Running to catch the bus, my hat blew into the gutter.
• While taking a test, the fire alarm rang.

To avoid running hats and test-taking fire alarms, rephrase:

• As I ran to catch the bus, my hat blew into the gutter.
• While we were taking a test, the fire alarm rang.

Or

• Running to catch the bus, I lost my hat when it blew into the gutter.
• While taking a test, we were interrupted when the fire alarm rang.

Modifying phrases at the beginning of a sentence attach themselves to the first available noun, so the trick is to be certain that it’s the right noun. Don’t just let the modifier “dangle.”

Tip #19 - Writing in the Moment

Just as there are teachable moments, so too there are writable moments. Today, looking out at a freezing rain that was coating the branches of a maple tree, I began thinking about how productive it can be when teachers help students capture interesting moments in writing—even if it means setting aside a well-planned lesson.

What a powerful writing motivator an interesting event can be! Some years ago, the first snowfall of the season caused my newly arrived students from Southeast Asia to rush to the classroom windows in wonder. They’d never seen snow. And what a perfect time that was to teach snow-related vocabulary.

An unexpected visitor, the appearance of a rainbow or a hot air balloon, anything out of the ordinary—all are fodder for writing:

• What ideas arise?
• What senses are activated?
• What emotions awaken?

Classroom journals, rather than formal papers, are an apt vehicle for capturing written impressions formed “in the moment.” Students can read their journal entries aloud in small groups or for the whole class. A collage of short passages written on various sizes and colors of paper will make an attractive, eye-catching bulletin board display, whether it’s in an elementary or a high school classroom.

It’s good to remember that the act of sharing writing is, in itself, a powerful teaching strategy. Students learn from one another about words, phrasing, and ideas.

Tip #18 - “To Exist or Not to Exist”

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Yes, we all can hum the tune and sing the first line. And it does sound atrocious. Moreover, it’s not very useful. Writing well and writing with big, important-sounding words are not the same.

Imagine the loss of power if Shakespeare had made Hamlet utter, “To exist or not to exist,” rather than “to be or not to be.” What is the question? Is bigger really better? The answer often is (or should be) “no.”

Students can become enamored of big words because such words seem important or grown-up sounding, and some forms of vocabulary study encourage this problem. Effective writing calls for choosing words not because they sound important but because they convey meaning simply, directly, and accurately. Help students think about this idea by pointing out alternatives.

• Instead of accommodation, use room, hotel, or some other, more accurate noun.
• Why use component when part is just as descriptive? Or utilize when use means the same?
• Facilitate is rarely better than simply help or promote.

“Educationeze” is prone to encourage teachers themselves to use big words, which spreads like a virus to students. Remember when everything was a paradigm? In most cases the writers really meant simply model.

Good writing is a complex mix of words, phrases, and sentences. There’s no one formula. But using big words for their bigness alone undermines effective style. William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White in their classic, The Elements of Style, said it best: “Avoid fancy words.”

Thank You!

I'm posting special thanks to those who participated in my workshop, "Using Writing to Increase Content Understanding in Non-Language Arts Classes," at the recent National Middle School Association conference in Baltimore. The mix of participants—classroom teachers, curriculum supervisors, literacy coaches, and administrators—was refreshing, and active interaction made the workshop a joy to conduct. Thanks, too, to those of you who took time to comment, whether in person or by email.

The workshop was based, in part, on my book, Writing for Understanding (at right). So anyone who wasn't able to get to NMSA can find what they need in that publication. Now, please consider giving me some feedback on this blog—and sign in to become a follower.

Tip #17 - Writing to Be Heard

Consider asking students to write a five-minute audio newscast. Why? Not only will they practice writing skills, they’ll also be tapping into current events, building content understanding, and gaining immediate feedback on their writing when other students listen to their broadcast.

Teams of two or three reporters/writers can compose and record their newscast, which also builds teamwork and collaboration skills. And because this type of writing mimics radio news, which can't use visuals, students get to work on their descriptive skills, too.

Want to ramp up this idea? Then ask students to work in groups of two or three to write a radio sketch—a kind of mini-play script. Encourage students to:

• Base the three- to five-minute sketch on a favorite short story scene or a historical incident.
• Think about not only dialogue but also sounds and background music.
• Practice/rehearse a few times until they are comfortable with their work.
• Record their sketch.

Share the students’ recordings and discuss how doing the project changed what and how they learned.

The recordings don’t have to be sophisticated to be effective. If you need audio sketch or drama examples, check out Internet Archive’s Audio Archive. The site is a treasure trove, especially for old-radio buffs.