Developing Middle Grades Writers, Part I: An Introduction

Tanya Santangelo, Arcadia University

santangt@arcadia.edu

Amanda Rhoads, Wilkinson Middle School

Arhoads@mesquiteisd.org

What matters in learning to write?

And, on the flip side, what are the most common 

reasons students struggle with writing?

• They are familiar with the characteristics and features of good writing, generally, as well as those associated with different genres and types of text. 

• They know how to use a variety of different techniques to accomplish those goals. 

• They have (and/or know how to obtain) relevant background and topical knowledge. 

1) Good Writers Are Knowledgeable

Many students who struggle with writing:

• Have limited writing and genre knowledge. 

• Have less background/topical knowledge, and have difficulty retrieving what is known. 

• Have difficulty gathering and organizing new information. 

• This results in compositions that are significantly shorter, lacking in detail and elaboration, and lower in overall quality. 

Developmental Trends in Writing Knowledge (Lin et al., 2007)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Knowledge  Score

Grade

Typically Devl.

Struggling

• They thoughtfully define the purposes and goals for their text.

• They establish an initial plan and continue planning while they write.

• They frequently evaluate and revise their text in ways that improves the overall quality.

• They self‐regulate their behavior (e.g., goal setting, self‐instructions, self‐evaluation).  

2) Good Writers Are Strategic

Many students who struggle with writing:

• Rely on the ‘knowledge telling’ approach:

– Rarely set goals or monitor their progress. 

– Do little (if any!) planning before or while writing.  Planning that is done is typically ineffective.

– Devote little time to substantive revising; instead, they focus on basic conventions and neatness.  Changes that are made rarely improve quality. 

• Don’t use the other self‐regulation techniques employed by good writers. 

• They accurately assess and are confident in their writing capabilities (self‐efficacy).

• They attribute their accomplishments to hard work and effort. 

• They understand the complexities and challenges of writing—which helps them handle frustration and persist.   

• They recognize the value in writing (though some ‘like’ it more than others).

• They write, write, and write some more!  

3) Good Writers Are Motivated

Many students who struggle with writing:

• Have either very low, or unrealistically high, perceptions of competence.

• Have maladaptive attributions for writing successes and difficulties. 

• Have a negative attitude towards writing—perceiving it as having little value or relevance.  

• This creates a cycle that reduces the likelihood of improvement (e.g., practicing, putting forth effort, persisting, taking risks). 

• They have the (age‐appropriate) skills needed to effectively translate their ideas into text. 

– Handwriting is adequately fluent and legible (keyboarding is fluent).  

– Vocabulary is well‐developed.  

– Spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage etc. are correct.

– Sentence and paragraph construction is effective and flexible. 

4) Good Writers Are Proficient with Foundational Skills

Many students who struggle with writing:

• Have significant difficulties with one or more foundational skills. 

• This negatively impacts writing in several ways. 

• …. Some you likely know already, but others you may not have considered (or experienced!). 

Papers that are difficult to read :

– Hinder revision (by the author and others) and the ability to share one’s work. 

– Negatively impact others’ perceptions of the quality of ideas.

• Spelling miscues can result in drop from the 50th

percentile to the 29th ‐ 42nd percentile.

• Poor handwriting can result in a drop from the 50th

percentile to the 10th ‐ 22nd percentile.

“Reader Effects”

“Writer Effects”

• Difficulties with foundational skills significantly interfere with  ‘higher‐order’ strategic writing processes. 

• For example, in 6th grade, individual differences in HW and spelling account for ~40% of the variance in writing quality and fluency. 

• When we remove the demands of spelling and HW: Amount written increases (up to 300%)  Composing speed increases (up to 878%) Overall writing quality increases

What instructional What instructional practices have been 

shown to help students become better writers?

• An increasing body of research helps us understand what does‐ and doesn’t‐ help students improve their writing (and is aligned with what we just explored in terms of the ‘necessary ingredients’). 

“The quality of instruction is a major determinant of writing achievement.” (Graham & Harris, 2003) 

• Many of the practices shown to be effective with struggling writers are also helpful for students without writing difficulties.  

• What we know about effective instruction & intervention comes from individual studies and meta‐analyses (i.e., systematic syntheses).  

Good news and a bit of context:

Examples of Writing-Related Meta-Analyses(that included middle-school students)

Free from: all.4.ed.org

A standardized measure of the difference between groups.  How large?  Which direction?

“What was the impact of Practice 1 compared to Practice 2?” 

0.00 – 0.19 = No meaningful effect 

0.20 ‐ 0.49 = SMALL effect

0.50 ‐ 0.79 = MODERATE effect 

≥.80 = LARGE effect 

Effect Sizes: A very quick summary (or review)

#1: Teach Writing Strategies

Teach Writing Strategies

• Teaching writing strategies has the greatest impact on adolescent students’ writing.   (ES = 0.82) 

• It is especially beneficial for struggling writers.  (ES = 1.02)

• One particular model, Self‐Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), has been shown to be particularly effective.  

– SRSD  ES = 1.14  

– Not SRSD  ES = 0.62 

1) Explicitly and systematically teaching strategies that guide planning, drafting, revising, and editing (general & genre‐specific). A persuasive writing example:

A Few Key Features of SRSD

Suspend Judgment– Consider each side before taking a position. Brainstorm ideas for and against the topic. 

• Did I list ideas for each side? If not, do this now. 

• Can I think of anything else? Try to write more!

• Another point I haven’t considered yet is...

Take a Side– Read your ideas. Decide which side you believe in or which side can be used the make the strongest 

argument. Place a + on the side that shows your position. 

Organize Ideas– Choose ideas that are strong and decide how to organize them for writing.

• Put a star next to the ideas you want to use.  Choose at least ___.

• Choose at least ___ arguments to refute.

• Number your ideas in the order you will use them.  

Plan More as You Write– Continue to plan as you write. Use all four essay parts in DARE.

• Develop your Topic Sentence

• Add Supporting Ideas

• Reject Arguments on the Other Side

• End with a Conclusion 

2) Explicitly and systematically developing writing knowledge and teaching techniques that enhance writing quality.

Linking Words

First SecondThird...AnotherOne more

AlsoAdditionallyFurthermore

LikewiseBesidesStill

In fact

3) Explicitly and systematically teaching self‐regulation procedures.

a) Goal‐setting

b) Self‐evaluation

c) Self‐monitoring

d) Self‐statements (self‐instructions, self‐talk)

1) Develop Background Knowledge

2) Discuss It         

3) Model It           

4) Memorize It

5) Support It

6) Independent Performance

SRSD Stages of Instruction

http://www.meadowscenter.org/institutes/practices/middle‐school‐matters/ writing‐strategies‐and‐self‐regulated‐strategy‐development

Harris, K. R., Graham, S., Mason, L. & Friedlander, B. (2008). Powerful writing strategies for all students. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes. 

Recommended Book:

#2: Use Sentence‐Combining Instruction

Grammar Instruction?

• Based on an analysis of research dating back to the 1960’s, it has been shown that instruction can improve writing conventions (grammar, usage, punctuation, capitalization) and sentence structure if:  

• Skills are presented in a concrete, functional manner‐ with emphasis on establishing relevance and importance.

• Guided and independent practice opportunities involve authentic application. 

***However, “traditional” instruction focused on the parts of speech and sentence structure, without authentic application, actually has a negative impact on writing quality. 

Sentence Combining Instruction

• Students learn how to combine two or more short, kernel sentences into more sophisticated ones. Through ‘de/re‐combining,’ they also learn to untangle, tighten, and rewrite run‐on or overly complex sentences. 

• Specific skills are systematically taught and practiced in authentic contexts.  

• A substantial body of research has shown that relatively brief interventions can lead to significant improvements in writing quality and revision skills.    (ES = 0.50) 

• The value is not just helping students create ‘longer’ sentences‐ it enhances overall syntactical sophistication, clarity, and variation.    

• The horse is brown.

• The horse is in the field.

• The field has grass.

• The grass is green.

• His name is Buddy.

Let’s Try It! (aim for 3 different sentences)

Basic Instructional Model

1) Establish why the targeted skill is important and relevant.  Model how to do it (‘show’ & ‘tell’)‐multiple times, if needed.

(INTRODUCE & MODEL)

2) Provide students with assistance until they can apply the skill correctly and independently (previously written and new text). 

(GUIDED PRACTICE)

3) Have students to apply the skill when they write.             

(APPLY) 

Using Clues

Clues can be embedded in the sentences to scaffold learning. 

• Underlined words are important words that need to be kept in the new sentence; other words can be deleted.      

keep

• (Words in parentheses) are connecting words that should be added to the new sentence.  

(add)

Examples of specific techniques:

1) Inserting adjectives and adverbs

• The girl drank the water.

• The girl was thirsty.

The thirsty girl drank the water.

2) Creating compound sentences with but, and or or

• Jill wanted to go swimming.

• Alphonso wanted to play baseball. (but)

Jill wanted to go swimming, but Alphonsowanted to play baseball.  

Examples of specific techniques:

3) Creating sentences with adverbial clauses, using connecting words (e.g., because, after, until, when)

• My friends went to the fair.• My friends wanted to have fun.  (because)

My friends went to the fair because they wanted to have fun. 

Examples of specific techniques:

Saddler, B. (2012). Teacher’s guide to effective sentence writing. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 

Recommended Book:

#3: Analyze Model Texts

Models of Good Writing

– When teachers guide students through the process of analyzing model texts and then applying what was learned, the quality of students’ writing improves. (ES = 0.25; larger with effective instruction)

– Models can target expectations for the entire text (e.g., organization, genre elements) and/or specific features and techniques (e.g., vocabulary choice, sentence structure, character development, dialogue).

– They can be authentic texts (e.g., book, article), teacher‐created compositions, or student writing samples. 

– Contrasting models with ‘non‐examples’ can also be beneficial.  

Illustrative Example(for a persuasive argument; in the MSM Field Guide)

1) Introduction to the genre and approach for learning with models.  (WC) 

2) Guided “think‐n‐share” using 3 editorials on NCLB/testing.  (WC, then SG)– “I see the author started with a series of question. Why do you think 

that is?” 

– “What does this author do to convince us of her position?”

– “How does this conclusion differ from the other two we examined?” 

3) Generate list of “Must Haves” (~20 reduced down to 5) (SG, then WC)

– An introduction that gives the position.

– Multiple reasons that make sense and have details.

– Evidence and examples for each reason.

– Possible arguments against the position. 

– A convincing conclusion. 

4) ‘Dissect’ 2 more editorials using a 2‐step process  

(WC, then I, P, or T with SG)

Illustrative Example(for a persuasive argument; in the MSM Field Guide)

Step #1: As you read the text, use colored pencils to underline each “Must Have!” for a persuasive argument.

1.) An introduction that gives the position. RED 2.) Multiple reasons that make sense and have details. BLUE (Number each R1, R2,

R3...etc.) 3.) Evidence and examples for each reason. GREEN (Number each R1-D1, R1-

D2...etc.) 4.) Possible arguments against the position. PURPLE 5.) A convincing conclusion. BROWN

Step #2: Look back at the text and answer the following questions: 1.) Did the author include all of the “Must Haves!”? If not, what was missing? 2.) What do you think the author did well? 3.) What recommendations would you offer to the author to improve the text?

5) Help students apply what was learned by analyzing and revising their own writing!  

..... Which leads us to Practices 4 & 5!

Illustrative Example(for a persuasive argument; in the MSM Field Guide)

#4 & 5: Facilitate Goal‐Setting and   

Self‐/Peer‐Assessment 

Goal Setting

• Establishing specific product goals improves the quality of students’ writing. (ES = 0.70)

Write at least 5 paragraphs. Include at least four sentences that help develop the setting 

for your story. When you revise, add at least one more detail to support 

each reason.  

NOT: “Write a good essay.”

Consider: Determining collaboratively and differentiating

Self- and/or Peer-Assessment

• Teaching students to assess the quality of their own writing and to assess (and provide feedback on) the quality of their peers’ writing have both been shown to improve writing quality.  (ES = 0.62, 0.58)

The positive impact of these practices is highly dependent on how well they are taught and structured. 

• Combining Goal Setting with Self‐/Peer‐Assessment is an ‘organically’ wonderful combination. 

Aida’s Self-Evaluation Questionnaire

Questions to Ask Myself YES

Kudos to me!

NO Focus here during

revision.

Did I include an introduction that gives my position?

Did I include at least three reasons that make sense and have details?

R1: R2: R3:

R1: R2: R3:

Did I include evidence and examples for each reason?

R1: R2: R3:

R1: R2: R3:

Did I include a possible argument against my position?

Did I include a convincing conclusion?

Did I use exciting, interesting, “Come to life” words to make my argument more convincing?

Total

_____ out of 10

Summarize Revision Goals Below

My revision goals:

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Essay #1 Essay #2 Essay #3 Essay #4

Number of Persuasive Goals Met

Aida's First Draft

Aida's Final Draft

#6: Teach Students to Use Writing as a Tool for Learning 

What Is Writing to Learn?

• Teachers create and facilitate writing activities with the explicit intention of helping students understand literary or subject‐matter content.

• Most commonly used in conjunction with reading, but can also be used with experiences (e.g., science labs, field trips), discussions, lectures, videos, etc.

• When taught and implemented well, WTL has been shown to enhance reading comprehension and content‐area knowledge.    

Writing to Learn Activities

Four Common Categories• Note‐Taking

• Summary Writing

• Answer or Create & Answer Questions

• Extended Writing (to reflect, respond, personalize, analyze, interpret,  apply etc.). 

Perhaps the most important point to remember: “Writing does not lead automatically to learning.” (Klein & Yu, 2013)

#7: Bolster Motivation

Twin Goals / Challenges Associated With Learning to Write

That’s a really big, important, and 

impressive tree!!! 

Teaching students how to 

write. 

But don’t miss the forest! 

Inspiring students to become writers. 

Motivating “Writing Opportunities”

Motivating Writing Opportunities Are:

1) Relevant (We can only write, when we have something to say.)

2) Authentic and purposeful 

3) Interesting (often involving choice)

4) Appropriately challenging and structured to develop perceptions of competence

5) Collaborative

6) Extended

Process Writing Approach: Beneficial (ES = 0.27 overall / 0.46 for NWP), but not sufficient‐ especially for students who struggle.    

Three Recommended (free!) Resources

• What Kids Can Do

www.whatkidscando.org

• This I Believe

www.thisibelieve.org

• Radio Rookies

www.radiorookies.org

Thirty Things I Believe

The Beatles Live On

“Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys”  Literacy in the Lives of Young Men

&Going With the Flow

By Smith & Wilhelm

Two Recommended 

Books