Post Messenger Recorder -

Picture this: you are about 12 or 13 years old and have been assigned to write a "persuasive argument" in your seventh grade English class. I love writing, but for me, I'm not really feeling it with just this lead into yet another homework task that's going to stop me from doing something fun, right? Realistically, at that age, I probably would have completely struggled with an abstract assignment like this one...

So, instead, try this: "We have partnered with local animal shelters in the area, and today, your assignment is to write a persuasive piece to help a pet in need find a forever home!" And that's just what Belleville Middle School's ELA (English Language Arts) teacher Emily Balbach did to engage her kids just before Thanksgiving break. She gave them a reason to write using their persuasive skills.

Her engaging assignment follows closely with the reasoning of former engineer and manager Clay P. Bedford, who once shared, "You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."

Creating curiosity is a huge motivational factor in fostering a growth-mindset in the classroom for students and giving purpose to education. Real-world writing projects like Balbach's ties students emotionally to their work and encourages them to do their best. Take Stella, a beautiful young Pitbull with blue and brown eyes and a hearing deficit who has found herself in an adoptive setting now a second time in her just two years of life. Student Kade Miller writes, "One of her favorite games is to play Tug of War." Or Belle Rolli, who opens her piece about a "very intelligent" Beagle with, "Are you looking for a new dog in your household? Well Cherry is the perfect dog for you!" as she directs interested parties to the Dane County Humane Society's website for more information about setting up an appointment to meet Cherry, who will make a great family dog.

Balbach shares, "The point of the assignment was to use their persuasive skills to help get these pets adopted." Students were also provided with lists of pets from local shelters and asked to choose which one they wanted to write about. The power of "choice" in a writing assignment is yet another wonderful way to help students feel empowered and connected with their learning. Balbach got the idea from reading NewsELA articles for a different assignment she was creating and came across another teacher who did this shelter-centered writing assignment in her class.

For Balbach, the results are clear. "The kids were so excited by this assignment. They were more engaged in this writing than anything else we've done so far this year!"

District Administrator Nate Perry highlights the importance of what Balbach is doing in her classroom as reflective of the school district's work as a whole, "Mrs. Balbach is emulating the type of writing lesson that the Belleville staff strives to incorporate into their courses. It has application to most students' everyday lives. Even I can still remember visiting the Humane Society and coming home with a puppy: our family dog, Frankie. That was seven years ago! This type of assignment makes a personal connection, yet with a focus on a specific skill - persuasive writing. This strategy can be used across content areas."

The idea of growth-mindset is to create an atmosphere where students want to be life-long learners and to do that is to be engaged from the get-go. For Balbach she is learning too, by discovering creative ways to better help her students want to learn to write. The synergy created by a teacher who wants to engage her students met equally with kids who are excited about learning because they are emotionally connected to the task at hand is tremendous and hopefully just the start of many more assignments that don't feel like "work" in the abstract, but rather just writing for a good cause. The learning that comes along with it is just a great by-product of creative teaching!