Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say

1. Saying What You Mean andMeaning What You Say “No matter how true I believe what I am writing to be, if the reader cannot also participate in that truth, then I have failed.” Madeleine L’Engle

2. Three Kinds of Readers • 20-Second Reader • Newspaper Reader • The Novel Reader ****Red Pencil Reader

3. Remember the Fog Index WhenUsing Written Communication • 1. Average the number of words per sentence in your message. • 2. Count the number of words having three or more syllables. • 3. Add the two factors above and multiply by 0.4. This will give you the fog index and correspond roughly with the number of years of schooling a person would require to read the message with ease and understanding.

4. Fox Index example: • Averagewords per sentence 20 • Number of words having 3 or more • syllables + 5 Add both of the above together 25 • Multiple by 0.4 x 0.4 10 10 years of schooling needed to read and understand message.

5. What is EffectiveFeedback? Effective feedback provides: • information about what happened or was done • an evaluation of how well or notthe action or task was performed • guidance as to how performance or behaviorcan be improved.

6. Effective Feedback • describes what happened – • The student understood the questions and was able to use her knowledge of Mandarin to make simple responses, though made some grammatical errors using the past tense.

7. provides an evaluation – • student demonstrated clearly that she understood the questions and was able to answer spontaneously and with reasonable fluency. Responses were often too brief. Grammatical errors when using the past tense often impeded communication.

8. provides guidance about how performance could be improved in the future – • The student needs to elaborate and expand on responses. Revision of the past tense is also advised.

9. Grades Alone... Grades are designed to define the student's progress and provide information to parents. Gradesare often not detailed enough to give parents or the student a thorough understanding of what the student has actually learned or accomplished or needs to learn or accomplish.

10. Well-Written Notes • Well-written notescan give parents and students guidance on how to make improvements in specific academic or social areas. • The process of writing notes can also be helpful to teachers as it provides the opportunity to reflect on the academic and social progress of their students.

11. Word choice promote a positive view of the student • thorough • caring • shows commitment • improved considerably • has a good grasp of use to convey that a student needs help • should benefit from • requires • finds it challenging at times to • needs reinforcement in

12. Use Plain Language • use jargon-free language in reports to parents • select language that is easily understood by the school community • avoid professional terminology

13. “Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.” William Butler Yeats

14. Negative • Bashful • Troublemaker • Stupid • Poor quality work • Liar • Impertinent • Show-off • Uncooperative • Steals

15. Negative Positive • Bashful • Troublemaker • Stupid • Liar • Fresh • Show-off • Uncooperative • Steals • Cheats • Reserved • Distracts other students • Can do better with help • Tends to stretch the truth • Discourteous • Tries too hard to get attention • Takes without permission • Depends on others to do the work

16. Negative Positive • Doesn’t care • Rude • Selfish • Stubborn • Insolent • Disinterested • Clumsy • Lazy • Mean • Messy

17. Negative Positive • Doesn’t care • Rude • Selfish • Stubborn • Insolent • Disinterested • Clumsy • Lazy • Messy • Mean • Seems unmotivated • Often inconsiderate • Seldom shares with others • Overly self-confident • Outspoken • Complacent • Awkward • Gives inconsistent effort • Could do neater work • Has difficulty in getting along with others

18. Example of plain language • Sara can work out the meaning from the context when listening for main ideas in an English text. • Sara can create and write simple passages using known language structures in English and using English script. • Sara needs to contain her enthusiasm when working in groups.

19. Develop a school writing style • Self editing is an important part of the writing process. • During self editing procedures, reports/letters should be read aloud, which makes it easier to check on spelling, grammar and punctuation. • Use peer review • Proofread carefully to see if you any word out 

20. Focus on key aspects • Identify those aspects of achievement or behaviorthat are themost important. • Select the most important aspects of thestudent’sachievement orbehavior and areas for improvement. • Make linksbetween the areas of achievement specificstudent strengths and areas for further development.

21. Write a note to a parent: Write a note to a parent about a behavior or academic issue. Be sure to include the 3 parts to effective feedback. Refer to the rubric.

22. Consider the postage stamp: Its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets done. • Josh Billings