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CRITICAL THINKING, RIGOROUS WRITING
SUPPORTING RIGOROUS, COMMON CORE ALIGNED WRITING INSTRUCTION
Workshop takeaways
• Importance of Writing Instruction• Misconceptions
• Research-vetted Practices• Call to Action
Transfer of Information
National Commission on Writing
“If students are to make knowledge their own, they must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts, and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else. In short, if students are to learn, they must write.”
Urgency for writing instruction
• Literacy rates• Graduation rates• Common Core• College preparedness• Career readiness• Global competitiveness• Teacher training
misconceptions• What improves reading does not always
improve writing. • Although writing and reading are both vital
aspects of literacy, they each require their own dedicated instruction.
• Literacy skills do not just develop as a child grows older.
Leading Change
• Establish a “Moral Imperative”• Focus the schools on goals and expectations
for student achievement• Develop teacher capacity• Create structures and opportunities for
teacher collaboration• Empower understanding of effective writing
instruction
What concerns you about your school/district writing instruction?
Current writing realities • Teacher-dependent instruction• Absence of writing opportunities • Ambiguous expectations• Instructional overkill• Inconsistent feedback• Convention drill & kill
Teacher-dependent instruction
Absence of writing activity
• NCLB – Time mandates for Math and Reading
• Absence of research-proven writing programs
• Dependence on graphic organizers
Ambiguous expectations
• Subjective grading practices (A,B,C…)• Complex rubrics• “Summer Vacation” writing assignments• Inconsistent internal school/department
expectations for student writing
Teacher expectations
Instructional overkill
• Examples – 5 paragraph essay, figurative language, engaging beginning, dialogue…
Inconsistent feedback
What concerns do you have about how teachers provide feedback to students
about their writing?
conventions
Convention drill & kill• “Isolated grammar instruction has negative
impact on student writing.” Writing Next
• Easiest way to critique & give feedback
• Quickest way to destroy student interest/confidence
Research-vetted effective practices
1) Writing Process / Writing Time2) Lesson Delivery3) Genre Structure4) Specific Product Goals /Rubrics &
Assessments5) Teacher Collaboration / Instructional
Coaching
writing time
“If waiting writing time is always changing, always haphazard, children remain pawns,
waiting for their teacher’s agenda.”Lucy Calkins
#2 Lesson Delivery• Review It• Identify It• Teach It• Model It • Do It• Share It
Author’s chair
#3 Genre structure
NarrativeArgumentInformation / ExplanatorySummary
#4 specific product goals
• Note taking expectations
• Writing Strategies
• Rubrics & Assessments
Six Traits• Ideas—main message• Organization—internal structure of the piece• Voice—personal tone and flavor of the author's
message• Word Choice—vocabulary a writer chooses to
convey meaning• Sentence Fluency—rhythm and flow of the
language• Conventions—mechanical correctness
rubrics• Best – “Teaching” rubrics, generated by
students with teacher guidance• Peer revision and teacher revision – John
Hopkins University • Revision vs. editing • Models, Guides, Applications
– Educational Research Service
Education Consultants 31
Education Consultants 32
profiles• Writing progress requires formative &
summative assessments• Student/teacher writing conferences• Status of class conference• Explicit feedback to parents about acquired
skills• Teacher reflection / re-teaching / collaboration
34
#5 Teacher collaboration
Researched Outcomes• Belief in efficacy / job satisfaction• Instructional decisions• Collegial relationships• Student achievement
“School leaders undermine teacher trust when they give verbal support to collaboration but fail to provide the time and resources for teachers to work together. To be effective, teacher teams may need changes in scheduling, access to student data, professional development and other forms of support.”
Rand Report, 2003
Workshop takeaways
• Importance of Writing Instruction• Misconceptions
• Research-vetted Practices• Call to Action
Questions?
To continue this conversation…
http://educonsultants.net/writing-by-design/ 888-847-9845 ext. 701
510-205-7230
