I learned this lesson the hard way. Last year, I had my seventh graders write a short story. I established some parameters, which they very quickly either forgot or ignored. I think the latter was more commonly the case. But I digress.
I discovered that the ones who ignored my boundaries wrote far more interesting or risky stories. Some were downright hilarious. I also discovered that those who were more freewheeling about my requirements wrote more, rather than less. Not a few of my students wrote stories that took up 10-20 pages, far more than I expected. Of course, some rambled on and got lost in the process, but I was pleased that they were having fun with their writing.
From then on, I decided to give my students the permission and power to choose as often as possible. I will continue this practice into my second year.
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I'm glad that you found for yourself the way that your students had fun with writing. Sometimes as teachers we think that strict rules make us better teachers. We found out after we read different kind of books like: "After the End" by Lane, "The Courage to Teach" by Parker, the interesting articles and the most important by sharing our own experiences,gave us the knowledge to act different with our students.I am sure we are going to our classrooms with a fresh concept about teaching. Personally I can't wait to apply all those concepts and the strategies in my classroom.
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