Part I: ReadingPart II: Writing

Reading, Writing, &

Social Studies

“Good writing”

“Bad writing”

Minimal writing Lots of writing

What’s happening in YOUR

classroom?

Problem:

ELA teachers can’t do it all; students need writing practice and instruction, especially for research and critical thinking in all of their content-area classes.

Students can’t be expected to learn how to think and write like historians in their English classes; they need instruction and practice in their Social Studies classes.

Reality check:

Make a list of the kinds of writing you do outside the classroom.

Note to kidsShopping listEmail messageMessage about a phone callReminder to self to do somethingDiscussion on FacebookNotes for classDirections (how to get somewhere)Summary of a faculty committee meetingArticle for an academic journal

Share your list with a neighbor…

DBQ Artifact to be graded Proof that I know something

Items you do poorly

Items you do well

Text

CONTEXT

Writer Reader

Subject

Writer

Subject

What do

es the w

riter k

now about

the subje

ct?

ReaderWhat does the writer think the reader expects him/her to say or do?

Text

How anxious is the writer?How skilled is the writer?How well does the writer understand the assignment?How well does the writer know the conventions for this kind of writing?

CONTEXTWhat factors (time constraints, distractions, fatigue, health) might affect the writer?

Writer

Subject

What do

es the w

riter k

now about

the subje

ct?

Writing to learn.

Writing to show learning.

Using writing to discover, clarify, or make sense of new information or ideas.Low stakes or ungraded. Writer is his or her own audience.

Using writing to demonstrate what the writer has learned.Moderate to high stakes. Teacher is the primary audience.

Low Stakes & High Stakes Writing

“The goal of low stakes assignments is not so much to produce excellent pieces of writing as to get students to think, learn, and understand more of the course material.”

Peter Elbow

Learn Show Learning

Exit Slip: Write two or three main points from today’s class, plus any questions you still have.

Exam Question: Write and answer two items for an exam based on information from today’s class.

Micro-essay: On one side of an index card, summarize the key points from today’s class.

Poem: Express key ideas as a poem (haiku, limerick, etc)

Writer

Subject

What do

es the w

riter k

now about

the subje

ct?

Writer can focus on the subject…

…without worrying about writing skills

…without worrying about conventions

…without worrying about grades

Once the writer knows the subject…

WriterText

…the focus can shift to the text.

What rules must I follow?

What should the final product look like?

Teach the format:rules, conventions, and anything else that might affect the grade

Provide samples:

AdequateExcellent Inadequate

Writer Reader

The anXiety Factor:

Writer Reader

The anXiety Factor:GRADES

“But I’m not an English teacher!”

“But you ARE a history teacher, and historians don’t write the way English teachers do!”

History teachers can teach how to write a DBQ, science teachers can teach how to write a lab report, and English teachers can teach how to write literary criticism.

The anXiety Factor:

More anxious Less anxiousMake two lists:

Previous failuresLack of confidenceLack of knowledge

Previous successesConfidenceKnowledge

Items you do poorly

Items you do well

The anXiety Factor:

Clear GOALS* so students know what is expected

Clear MODELS of successful work

Lots of PRACTICE with low-stakes/no-stakes writing

Success opportunities to create CONFIDENCE

A “culture of writing” in which writing is the norm, not something extra, unknown, or scary

The anXiety Factor:

Clear GOALS* so students know what is expected

Clear MODELS of successful work

*GOALS should be clearly explained:Scoring criteriaRubric

Pause to Process(or Write to Learn)

List 2 or 3 points you find useful or that you want to challenge

Explain your list to a neighbor

Our Goals:

Help students LEARN the material

Accurately ASSESS what they have learned

Use “write-to-learn” assignments

Use “write-to-show-learning” assignments

DesignAssign

Explain/ModelPractice

PerformAssess

Traits of Successful / Unsuccessful Assignments…

Traits of Successful Assignments Students have a degree of choiceStudents are interested in the workStudents have a personal connection Work is relevant to student goalsAssignment is concrete & specific:

*clear instructions*clear expectations

Teacher provides tools (scaffolding) and feedback along the way

Models of successful & unsuccessful work are provided

Includes low stakes elements before high stakes performance

Is appropriate for students’ ability level and confidence level

Traits of Unsuccessful Assignments High stakes without adequate practiceTask is artificial (i.e., meaningless)Format is unclearSome terms are undefinedWork has no clear value to students Work is beyond students’ capabilitiesWork is outside students’ comfort zoneWork is outside students’ trust zoneWork is overwhelming

Think of your assignments. Which traits best describe them?

 Task:What do I want students to do?What will students learn from completing this task?If I am trying to assess something, what am I trying to assess?What will I learn from reading the student work? (What will the work show me?) Sequencing:Can the task be broken into sub-tasks, or steps?Must students complete the steps in a specific order? Have I taught the skills and content necessary for each step? Writing Processes:How do I want students to complete the work – alone/pairs/groups? home/school?Will they practice any parts of the assignment in class?Have I provided written instructions, along with grading criteria?Have I provided information about length, format, use of sources, and other key elements?

Heuristic for Creating Effective Writing Assignments

(adapted from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.)

Audience:Who is the intended audience – me (as teacher) or an imagined audience?Could I expand the audience beyond only the teacher?Has the class adequately discussed how to write for this particular audience? Schedule:When will students work on the assignment?How much time will they need inside and outside class?Do I need to build in deadlines for stages of the project?How does this assignment fit with what comes before and after it in the course? Assessment:How will I evaluate the work?What constitutes a successful response to the assignment?Have I discussed the criteria with the students?Have I completed the assignment myself? If so, what problems did I encounter?How can the assignment be clarified or otherwise improved?

Heuristic for Creating Effective Writing Assignments

(adapted from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.)

Explain key terms, especially VERBS:

List – name one by one, with comments as appropriateOutline – give a plan for proceeding in a logical orderSummarize – state the main points in a concise wayReview – give a quick survey of several positionsInterpret – Explain in detail what something meansProve – Provide evidence to show that something is trueDefine – Present in detail the essential traits of

something, and show how if differs from similar things

(adapted from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.)

Be sure your verbs match

the applicable standards.

Accuracy of content presentedAppropriateness of the material

Depth/development of ideasQuality of ideas

Organization of ideasLikely audience reactions

Stylistic issuesGrammar/mechanics issues

Aspects on Which to Comment:

From Straub & Lunsford, 12 Readers Reading

Ways to Respond:Make a correction ("there" "their“)Give a command ("Move this sentence to the opening paragraph")Make a judgment

*Absolute ("Awkward transition"; “Good point”)*Subjective ("I like this subject is trivial"; “I like this revision”)

Offer a suggestion ("You might try to soften the tone here")Request a change ("Can you use a more precise word here?")Request additional information ("Can you give an example of x?")Ask a question

*Closed ("Did you really mean to put this in passive voice?")*Leading ("How can you tie this point to the preceding one?")*Open ("What are some counter-arguments you might address?")

React subjectively ("I laughed out loud when I read this line!")Give a related assignment ("Review the punctuation chapter")Acknowledge effort ("I can tell you're trying to add depth here")Offer encouragement ("I see improvement since last time")

From Straub & Lunsford, 12 Readers Reading

Continuum of Responses

No response

Minimal, nonverbal, noncritical response

Supportive, noncritical response

Descriptive or observational response

Critical response, diagnosis, or advice

OR…

Rubric = measuring stick

A rubric should…

…list the criteria being evaluated

…describe a performance at each rating level

Ideally, the rubric should use similar language for each level within a category, so raters compare “apples to apples” when making judgments about that particular feature.

Also ideally, students should have models of each performance level for each category.

Kinds of Rubrics

Analytical Holistic

Score = sum of scores for individual traits

Score = reader’s impression of overall quality

Usually Formative: intended to help thewriter identify specificareas to work on

Usually Summative: intended only tomeasure the qualityof the writing

Yields more information Quicker & easier

BOTH can be useful

Why USE rubrics?

Identify the target

Save time

Avoid bias

Be transparent about grades

Prepare students for statewide tests

To be of any value to students,a rubric must be distributed

at the beginning of an assignment,not at the end.

Cautions:

A rubric designed for someone else’s assignment might not be useful for measuring student performance on your assignment.

Remember:

Not all aspects of an assignment are equal. If something MATTERS more, it should COUNT more (in terms of points on the rubric).

DesignAssign

Explain/ModelPractice

PerformAssess

RepeatRepeat

Repeat…

Using Writing to Learn and to Show Learning

Pause (Again) to Process

List 2 or 3 new strategies you plan to implement (or at least try)

in your classes this year

Explain your plans to a neighbor

What makes a fire burnis space between the logs,a breathing space.Too much of a good thing,too many logspacked in too tightcan douse the flamesalmost as surelyas a pail of water would.

So building firesrequires attentionto the spaces in between,as much as to the wood.

When we are able to buildopen spaces in the same waywe have learnedto pile on the logs,then we can come to see howit is fuel, and absence of the fueltogether, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a loglightly from time to time.A fire growssimply because the space is there,with openings in which the flamethat knows just how it wants to burn can find its way.

(Teaching with Fire, ed. by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner)

Fireby Judy Brown