Writing Across the

CurriculumDeKalb High/Middle School

Objectives

• To examine the Common Core State

Standards and their focus on writing

• To discuss Writing Across the

Curriculum—what it is and its benefits

• To create writing activities that will help

our students learn and improve their

writing skills

Common Core Standards

• Standards developed for K-12 in Math

and English Language Arts (ELA)

• Forty-five states have adopted these

standards

• Missouri has adopted; plan to implement

2014-2015 school year

(National Governors Assoc. for Best Practices & Council

of Chief State School Officers, 2010)

Common Core Standards

• ELA standards include

– Literature & informational text

– Foundational skills

– Writing skills

– Speaking & Listening Skills

– Language Skills

(National Governors Assoc. for Best Practices & Council

of Chief State School Officers, 2010)

(National Governors Assoc. for Best Practices &

Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010)

A Writing ELA Standard

Common Core Standards

• ELA standards also include literacy in

– Science

– Social Studies

– History

– Technical Subjects

(National Governors Assoc. for Best Practices & Council

of Chief State School Officers, 2010)

Example:Social

Studies/

History/

Science/

Tech Subj.

(National Governors

Assoc. for Best Practices

& Council of Chief State

School Officers, 2010)

Comparison of Two Standards

English Writing

• “Write arguments to support claims in an analysis…”

• “Introduce claims…”

• “Develop claims/counterclaims…”

• “Use words, phrases, and clauses to link…”

• “Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone…”

• “Providing a concluding statement…”

History/Science/Tech

• “Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.”

• “Introduce claims…”

• “Develop claims/counterclaims…”

• “Use words, phrases, and clauses to link…”

• “Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone…”

• “Providing a concluding statement…”

(NGABP & CCSS, 2010)

The Only Difference…

• “Write arguments to

support claims in an analysis of

substantive topics or texts, using valid

reasoning and relevant and

sufficient evidence.”

• “Write arguments

focused on

discipline-specific content.”

Not much

difference!

(NGABP & CCSS, 2010)

Let’s Evaluate

5-10 minutes:

Look through the ELA standards

and see how many standards

ask for students to write or use

processes that can involve

writing.

Share

What are some of the

standards that ask students

to write or use processes

that involve writing?

So…why are we

looking at the

Common Core

Standards?

To see what writing

skills our students are

expected to have in

ALL classes, not just English class.

How can we

improve our

students’ writing skills

and prepare them

for the Common

Core?

Writing Across the

Curriculum

The Answer:

What is WAC?

• Writing to Learn

–Using writing to learn new material

• Learning to Write

–Working on writing skills

In ALL disciplines

(McLeod, 1987; McLeod & Maimon, 2000)

Benefits of WAC

• Provides students with writing practice

• Great learning tool for students

• Works on students’ critical thinking skills

• Shows students’ learning, thought-processes, and misunderstandings

(McLeod, 1987; McLeod & Maimon, 2000)

Fears vs. SolutionsFears

• Lack of expertise

• Take time away from own content to teach writing

• More grading

• Evaluation processes

Solutions• Don't focus on grammar

• Write along with students

• Collaborate with

teachers

• Stagger big writing

assignments

• Small writing assignments

just as beneficial as big

ones

• Evaluate only one-two

elements of writing

• Don’t grade everything!(Borchers, 2001; Fincke, 1982; Graham,

Gillespie, & McKeown, 2012; Graves,

1995; Gribbin, 1991; Kinloch, 2009)

Some Strategies

• Journals/Diaries/Logs

• Write for a Real Audience

• Write Daily

• Freewriting/Focused Freewriting

• (See Handout for More)

(Jacobs, 2002; Moss 1991)

Example: Character Tweet

Student Response:

Example: Response Journal

Your Turn to Share

• What are 1-2 writing activities you

currently use in your classroom?

• How do these help your students learn

material and/or work on their writing

skills?

Create Writing Activities

15-20 minutes:

As a group, come up with some

activities that teachers (either

discipline-specific or across the

board) can use in their classrooms

that will help students to learn and

practice their writing skills.

Share Ideas

• What activities did you come up with?

• How do they help students learn?

• How do they work on students’ writing

skills?

• Can they relate back to any of the

CCSS standards?

Something to Remember

For writing activities to be effective,

teachers should:

• Model Writing

• Provide Expectations Clearly

• Provide Feedback/Conference

• Focus Less on Conventions

(Borchers, 2001; Fincke, 1982; Graham,

Gillespie, & McKeown, 2012; Graves, 1995;

Gribbin, 1991; Kinloch, 2009; Moss, 1991)

Overview

• Our students need the opportunity to

write, not only to improve these skills

but to also prepare them for the CCSS

• Writing Across the Curriculum provides

students with the opportunity to write

often to practice those skills

• WAC also provides students with

writing as a tool for learning

BibliographyBorchers, D. L. (2001). Writing across the curriculum: A simple

approach to correcting. New England Reading

Association Journal, 37(2), 11-13.

Fincke, G. (1982). Writing across the curriculum in high school. The Clearing House, 56(2), 71-73.

Graham, S., Gillespie, A., & McKeown, D. (2012). Writing:

importance, development, and instruction. Reading and

Writing, 26(1), 1-15.

Graves, D. H. (1995). Be a better writing teacher. Education Digest, 60(9), 57-60.

Gribbin, W. G. (1991). Writing across the curriculum: Assignments

and evaluations. The Clearning House, 64(6), 365-368.

Jacobs, V. A. (2002). Reading, writing, and understanding.

Educational Leadership, 60(3), 58-61.

BibliographyKinloch, V. (2009). Innovative writing instruction. The English

Journal, 98(5), 103-107.

Maimon, S. M. (2000). Clearing the air: WAC myths and realities.

College English, 62(5), 573-583.McLeod, S. (1987). Defining writing across the curriculum. WPA:

Writing Program Administration, 11(1-2), 19-24.

Moss, B. (1991). Promoting reading and writing in the middle-

grade content-area classroom. The Clearing House, 65(1),

11-13.National Governors Association for Best Practices, C. o. (2010).

Common core standards. Washington, D.C.: National

Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council

of Chief State School Officers. Retrieved from Common

core state standards initiative.