Some Background• Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York– Published by the Alliance for Excellent Education– Authors - Dr. Steve Graham: Professor of Special
Education and Literacy at Vanderbilt’s College of Education
– Dr. Dolores Perin: Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University
– Writing Next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools
The Case for Need
• “Along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy.”
• “Every year in the U.S. large numbers of adolescents graduate from high school unable to write at the basic levels required by colleges or employers.”
Writing Next ReportEleven Elements of Effective Adolescent
Writing Instruction• Writing strategies: involves teaching students
strategies for planning, revising, and editing their writing
• Summarization: involves explicitly and systematically teaching students how to summarize texts
Writing Next Report
• Collaborative writing: uses instructional arrangements in which students work together to plan, draft, revise and edit
• Specific product goals: assigns students specific, reachable goals for their writing
• Word Processing: uses computers and word processors as instructional supports for writing assignments
Writing Next Report• Sentence Combining: involves teaching
students to construct more complex, sophisticated sentences
• Prewriting: engages students in activities designed to help them generate or organize ideas for their writing
• Inquiry Activities: engages students in analyzing immediate, concrete data to help them develop ideas and content
Writing Next Report• Process Writing Approach: interweaves a
number of writing instructional activities in a workshop environment that stresses extended writing opportunities, writing for authentic audiences, personalized instruction, and cycles of writing
• Study of Models: provides students with opportunities to read, analyze, and emulate models of good writing
Writing Next Report
• Writing for Content Learning: using writing as a tool for learning content material
• This one is more than just taking notes!!
What patterns do you see?
• Look at the 11 key elements and indicate any themes recurring or any patterns developing.
Writing Strategies
• Teaching students strategies for planning, revising, and editing their writing
• Goal: teach students to use the strategies independently
• Transportable – a part of their student “bag of tricks” to be pulled out and used as needed
• Transparent – part of the landscape
Writing Strategies
• You Speak/I Write Strategy: http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/6-12youspeakIwrite.htm
• Writing Strategies:http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/org/writingstrategies/6-12.htm
• Purdue University – OWLhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/
Writing Strategies• A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words lesson plan -
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=116
• Read-Write-Think Story Maphttp://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/student_material.asp?id=8
• Read-Write-Think Student Materialshttp://readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp
• Inspiration Software• Bubbl.us - http://bubbl.us/
Collaborative Writing• Developing instructional arrangements where
students work together to plan, draft, revise, and edit their writing.
• Goal: show a strong impact on improving the quality of students’ writing
• Collaborative groups draw upon the strengths of all their members. Although one student may be stronger in critical thinking skills, another may excel in organizing. By working in groups, students learn from each other while they complete assigned tasks.
Collaborative Writing
• Workplace activities involve project teams• Students can take advantage of group
members for built-in peer review• Collaborative writing assignments usually
entail much less grading time for the instructor
• Not all writing assignments can be converted from individual writing tasks to group writing tasks, nor should they all.
Collaborative Writing• Bubbl.us - http://bubbl.us/• Google docs – http://docs.google.com• Wikis - http://pbwiki.com/edu.html– http://gacsosteenclass.pbwiki.com/– http://technoteach.pbwiki.com/Technology's+Role
+with+Supporting+Effective+Writing+Instruction• Blogs – http://classblogmeister.com/index.php– http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id
=17192• Microsoft Word
Specific Product Goals• Identifying the purpose of an assignment• Identifying characteristics of the final product• Writing with the final product in mind• Identifying student goals for writing so as to
impact writing quality• Use of rubrics• Use of exemplars• Have students answer – when will we know
when quality has been achieved?
Specific Product Goals• Rubrics– http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/– Writing checklist -
http://4teachers.org/projectbased/58wrt.shtml– Rubistar – http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php– English Zone -
http://www.english-zone.com/teach/writing01.html
– Reflective writing – blog– http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec296/assign
ments/blog_rubric.html
Word Processing
• File formats – be careful• Word 2003 - .doc• Word 2007 - .docx• File—Save As– Word 97-2003 file type
• File storage• Track changes
Prewriting• Gathering information• Reading• Developing a visual representation of their ideas• Discuss ideas• Organize ideas– Inspiration– Read/write/think– Bubbl.us– Online graphic organizers:
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html?wtlA
Inquiry Activities
• Think Write Share– http://www.mciu.org/mciu23/cwp/view.asp?A=62
0&Q=429397
• Cosmic Oranges: Observation and Inquiry Through Descriptive Writing and Art– http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/
lesson_view.asp?id=60
Process Writing Approach
• Authentic audience– When the audience is not real and the
communication not authentic, the writing is often weak.
– National Writing Project report - http://www.writingproject.org/pub/nwpr/voice/2001no2/peterson.html
– Blogs– Wikis– Publish – consider non-traditional ways to publish
writing
Writing for Content Area Learning• Short• Impromptu• Informal• Help students think through key concepts or
ideas presented• Summarize and respond to readings • Summarize key points from prior class • Pose problems based on class material
Source: http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop2d.cfm
Writing for Content Area Learning• Clarify unclear points in reading or class • Plan writing or speaking projects • Discover potential audiences • Practice format for paper/projects • Record observations over time • Define key terms • Record round-robin comments for inductive
learning • Organize group-response sheets
Source: http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop2d.cfm
Other Resources
• Writing:Instructional Philosophy and Teaching Suggestions
• http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/write.html
• Write Next report: • http://www.all4ed.org/publications/
WritingNext/WritingNext.pdf
Contact Information
• Julia Osteen – Greater Atlanta Christian School• [email protected]• http://greateratlantachristian.org• 770-243-2285
• Slide presentation can be downloaded from slide share: