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SARAH CRAINK-12 LITERACY COORDINATOR
STAFFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/SARAHCRAIN
Content Area Writing in the Secondary Classroom
Objectives
Participants will be able to:Distinguish between formative and
summative uses for writing in the content area
Apply “writing to learn” strategies to a content area
Compare and contrast “on-demand writing” with other summative writing assignments
Examine strategies and discuss best practices for grading writing
Getting to know you…
Please take a moment to consider the following:
What do you know to be true about writing?
What would you like to learn or what is a question that you have about writing in the content area?
Why Write?
1. Writing helps students actively engage in subject matter.
2. Writing helps students gain access to further education.
3. Writing leads to fulfilling employment.
4. Writing prepares you for active citizenship (Daniels et al., 2007, pp. 5 -6).
Formative Assessment Summative Assessment
“Writing to learn”Primarily for the
students’ benefitShort, first drafts
onlyCan be used to
inform instruction but are not “graded”
Notes, lists, journals
“Public writing”Primarily for an
outside audienceSeveral drafts and
revisions, usually extended length
For a gradeEssays, editorials,
reviews
Different Types of Writing/Assessment
Writing to Learn
“In order for learners to understand and remember ideas, they must act upon them” (Daniels et al., 2007, p. 25).
“To get learning power, kids need to grapple with ideas, transform them, and put them in their own words” (Daniels et al., 2007, p. 26).
Writing to Learn
So what about:Taking notes during a presentation/lecture?Answering the questions at the end of a
chapter?Copying information from the board?
Consider: Are these good examples of writing to learn? Why or why not?
Write your thoughts on a piece of paper.
Writing to Learn
A Few of My Favorite Things:Writing BreakExit/Admit SlipsDrawing or IllustratingDouble - Entry JournalWritten ConversationsCarousel Brainstorm
Take a minute and reflect in writing on how you might incorporate one of these strategies into a content lesson.
On Demand Writing Other Public Writing
Writing to demonstrate knowledge
Limited audienceLimited responseLimited time
Writing to persuade or entertain
Authentic audience possible
Invites student to discuss topic in depth
Student can draft, revise, edit, and polish
Public Writing
On Demand Writing (you know, “tests”)
Best practices:Focus on “big ideas”Build in more timeAsk questions that require students to reflect
rather than recallUse engaging, relevant topics
TEACH THEM HOW TO RESPOND
Easy as ABC…
Kelly Gallagher (2006, pp. 40-46)
A. Attack the promptB. Brainstorm ideasC. Choose how to organize your responseD. Detect mistakes
Ideas: But When Do I Do This?
RAFTWeb pageBrochurePortfoliosMulti-Genre ProjectI-Search ProjectSocial Action
Project
In place of a traditional multiple choice/short answer assessment
Small parts assembled throughout the course
Culminating project post SOL’s
Other Public Writing
Why does writing take SO MUCH time to grade?
Rubrics – the Key to Grading
When grading an essay:as a content expert, what do you think is
important?as a writer, what do you think is important?
How do you balance these two roles as a content teacher?
Take a moment to record your responses.
Myths About Grading Essays
1. Only full length essays should be graded and given feedback.
2. My rubric has to be specific to the exact essay I assign.
3. I have to grade for all elements on the rubric in each essay.
4. I have to correct all of my students’ grammatical and mechanical errors.
#1: Only full length essays should be graded and given feedback.
Practice writing skills on a smaller scale first Literary analysis
paragraph BEFORE a full paper
Use these small assignments to make detailed comments
Quality over quantity
Poetry Paragraph Journal*An “A” response consists of the following:
___ Clear topic sentence stating the main point of the paragraph
___ Several specific and persuasive examples from the poem to support the main point
___ A comprehensive understanding of the literary element discussed
___ A comprehensive understanding and explanation of the thought and feeling expressed in the poem including subtleties of meaning
___ Correctly formatted quotations and in-text citations
___ Little to no grammatical errors; those present are not distracting
___ Language that is clear, varied, and concise___ Varied style and effective tone
#2: My rubric has to be specific to the exact essay I assign.
Design a rubric with common categories that will work for multiple assignments
Teach mini-lessons on specific features to help students improve
Common CategoriesContentFormat requirementsMechanics
#3: I have to grade for all elementson the rubric in each essay.
Teacher DirectedAssign a specific
focus for a paperGrade only for this
element
Student DirectedStudent self- assesses
his/her opportunities for improvement
Writes with selected element as primary focus
#4: I have to correct all of my students’ grammatical and mechanical errors.
Highlight sentences that you want students to revise
Limit the number of revision sentences
Ask students to use resources to figure out mistakes
Write the sentence where the problem occurs here.
Write the corrected sentence here.
Circle the problem(s) here.
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In Closing…
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is quoted, saying:
“Learning requires the student’s engagement in four activities, all intended to result in thinking: reading, listening, doing, and writing” (Daniels et al., 2007, p. 8).
Notice it isn’t literature, math, science, and history…
References
Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., Steineke, N. (2007). Content-area writing: Every teacher’s
guide. Portsmouth, NH: HeinemannGallagher, K. (2006). Teaching adolescent writers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse
