MGRP Inspiration

Reading Ch.1-3 &Ch/ 6 of The MGRP really helped me understand the purpose for doing a Multigenre Research Paper. I never knew what the term MGRP meant before this class and it’s very exciting to actually be working on a such a paper.  I liked how the author focused on how the entire paper's topic and genres were up to the writer. This was interesting to me because I am use to being assigned a topic and researching information that I am not interested in. The skills and confidence that the writer gains through writing a MGRP are incredible. “If students choose topics they like, it will make the multigenre project good.  If students choose topics about which they are passionate, it will make the project great.” (p. 27).  This is great for me to think about because students can create their own boundaries while writing.  I really liked the example that the book showed about the student who wrote about the famous gorilla researcher.  She chose so many different types of genres to show her point of view, such as the 20/20 interview, diary entry, poems, and even a news article about the researcher’s death.  How intriguing for such a young student to display so much passion in her work.

   

The journal article by Powell and Davidson was inspiring to me because the teacher did not give up on her students.  She showed us how we can create a community in our own classrooms.  I liked how The Donut House project helped students understand that they could be part of something. Students were able to use verbal or written language while interacting with their classmates and community members. At the end of the project, the students felt a sense of accomplishment. Powell and Davidson stated that “tapping into students’ ‘funds of knowledge’ is inherently motivating, and hence children are more engaged in learning when they perceive an authentic purpose for their efforts” (254).