Integrating Best Practice into Effective Writing Instruction

1. Integrating Best Practice into Effective Writing Instruction Troy Hicks and Rita Maddox Mid-Michigan Consortium Conference April 11, 2005

2. Red Cedar Writing Project • K-16 Teachers of Writing • K-12 Students

3. What Does Best Practice Look Like in ELA Classrooms? • Please review the two handouts: • Zemelman et al.’s Best Practices in Reading and Writing • CELA’s (National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement) Uncommonly Successful ELA Programs

4. What does Best Practice look like in ELA classrooms? Seven Best Practice Structures (from a.m. session) • Reading-As-Thinking • Representing-to-Learn • Small Group Activities • Classroom workshop • Authentic Expression • Reflective Assessment • Integrative Units

5. ELA Best Practice at Your Grade Level • Please read the articles. • Discuss content and connection of articles to one another and Best Practice information from morning session • Based on your reading and discussion, create a graphic representation of Best Practice at your grade level • Be prepared to present your thinking to the large group.

6. CELALearning from Different Lesson Types • Students learn skills and knowledge in multiple lesson types • Separated – direct instruction through a distinct lesson • A mini-lesson on using prepositional phrases • Simulated – examining concept within the context of the lesson • Looking for prepositional phrases in a text • Integrated – teaching a direct skill and integrating it immediately with the lesson • Inviting students to mimic the author’s technique of using prepositional phrases

7. ELA Instructional Implications from the MEAP Office • Teachers integrate test preparation into instruction (CELA) • Guidelines from MEAP Office • Provide direct instruction and modeling in literacy processes and strategies. • Provide opportunities for students to read silently and listen for extended periods of time. • Allow students to read, listen to, and create texts in a variety of genres (short stories, essays, drama, speeches, newspaper articles, biographies, graphs, technical writing, etc.) in all content areas.

8. ELA Instructional Implications from the MEAP Office 4. Provide daily opportunities for writing done in support of reading, i.e., literature response logs and writing in which students reflect on and evaluate their personal growth as authors. 5. Encourage students to read, listen to and discuss a variety of selections that present different perspectives on the same theme, issue, question, or problem.

9. ELA Instructional Implications from the MEAP Office 6. Invite students to connect, synthesize, compare, and summarize ideas and information from more than one text. 7. Help students to generate focus questions based on a theme studied in class and provide many opportunities for them to discuss and write about the focus questions. 8. Ask students to take a stand on issues related to the focus questions and to articulate their position in a written or oral presentation

10. CELA – Classrooms that Foster Cognitive Collaboration • “School is the place where kids come to watch adults do lots of work.” • We want to encourage students to do the thinking in authentic literacy experiences • Writing about topics they have some degree of freedom in choosing • Getting appropriate and timely response to their own writing • Offering response to peers’ writing that is valued

11. Break

12. Bringing Our Brains Together

13. Revising and Editing in Context • Beginning in the fall of 2005, the 3-8 MEAP test will include a section called Revising and Editing in Context • Multiple choice questions about grammar/mechanics • Peer response section (using revision to show thinking)

15. Preparing to “Take the Test” • Please look at your GLCE • Identify GLCE that relate to revising, editing and peer responding

16. During the test • As you take the grade level test, note (in the margins or with sticky notes): • What cognitive tasks you are engaging in (student brain)? • What GLCE are being assessed and to what degree you teach these already (teacher brain)?

17. Discuss at Grade Level • What cognitive tasks did you engage in (student brain)? • What GLCE were assessed and to what degree you teach these already (teacher brain)?

18. Revising and Editing-discuss at grade level • Backward Mapping • What GLCE do you think were assessed? • What would be difficult for students?

19. Revising and Editing-discuss at grade level • What are the limitations of the test itself? • Can it effectively capture a social interaction?

20. Revising and Editing-discuss at grade level • What are the instructional implications for your findings? • Please be prepared to share. . .

21. The Rubric Holistic Scorepoint Descriptions Here is an explanation of what readers think about as they score your writing. • The written response demonstrates the ability to reflect critically on a provided piece of writing. Ideas are supported by specific examples or details from the provided piece. Organization and form enhance the central ideas and move the reader through the text. The voice and tone are authentic and compelling. There may be surface feature errors, but they do not interfere with meaning. • The written response demonstrates the ability to reflect on a provided piece of writing. Ideas are somewhat supported by examples or details from the provided piece. Organization and form are appropriate and present the ideas coherently. The voice and tone support the ideas conveyed. Surface feature errors may be noticeable. • The written response demonstrates limited ability to reflect on a provided piece of writing. Ideas are supported with limited details and examples from the provided piece. The voice and tone may be inappropriate or uneven. Surface feature errors may make the writing awkward to read. • The written response demonstrates the attempt to reflect on a provided piece of writing. Ideas may be presented as generalizations about the writing sample. There is little discernible shape or direction. There is little control over voice and tone. Surface feature errors may make the writing difficult to read.

22. The Rubric Condition codes for unratable papers: A Copies and/or revises student sample, making no connection to the question asked. B Insufficient, Off-topic, Illegible C Written in a language other than English D Blank/refused to respond E Summarizes the student sample, making no connection to the question asked.

23. The Rubric • Update on the 4-Point Rubric • Based on HS Reporting and Reflecting from one’s own writing • Attempting to measure cognitive tasks : • Peer response ability through revision • Using the qualities of effective introductions, conclusions, transitions, details and examples • How well do you think the test measures these attributes?

24. Connecting To Best Practice • Connect concepts of Best Practice from the morning to the idea of peer revision • Identify key GLCE that you teach/do not teach currently that are on the test • What reading GLCE are covered as well? • Return to graphic representations and add additional ideas based on taking the test • Report out before break

25. Looking at Multiple Choice Items • Map these to GLCE • Review Cognitive Domain and GLCE key • What did you notice?

26. Break…

27. Think about. . . • The GLCE you observed would be challenging to students • Instructional implications as you review these resources

28. Instructional Implications-Resources • http://www.marcopolo-education.org/home.aspx Marco Polo • http://www.readwritethink.org/index.asp Read/Write/Think

29. Instructional Implications-Resources • http://www.writingfix.com/ Writing Fix • http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm Guide to Grammar and Writing

30. Instructional Implications-Resources • http://www.educationworld.com/index.shtml Education World • http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/powerpoint.htm PowerPoint presentations

31. Instructional Implications-Resources • http://www.misd.net/Languageart/profiles.htm Macomb ISD Profiles Project • http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-22709_31168---,00.html MEAP Resources, including Released Items

32. Using the resources. . . • Select the resource(s) that best connect to challenging GLCE you noticed earlier

33. Time to Write! • Now, we will go through the writing process and invite you to respond to a MEAP-like prompt • 4th Grade 2003 Released Prompt • How People Show They Care for Others • Writing to a six point rubric

35. Peer Writing Response • Peer response model • MAPS • 4 Steps

36. MAPS to Writing • Mode • Persuasive essay, research paper, narrative • What are the particular “rules” for this mode? • Audience • Teacher, classmates, parents • Purpose • Persuade, inform, summarize, describe • Situation • What you bring to the writing task • Specific requirements for the writing task

37. Scaffolding Writing Instruction • Now, we will look at a sample student paper and read it, keeping the MAPS of this particular assignment in mind.

39. Peer Response Groups • Now that we have looked at a sample paper and thought about how to respond to it, we will try the process in a group • Four Steps • Author identifies focus areas/questions • Author reads while responders listen attentively and take notes • Responders discuss while author takes notes • Author joins in the conversation

40. Peer Response Groups • Debrief response group experience • How could you use this in classroom practice?

41. Next steps. . . • Identify area of need (from GLCE review) • Develop or select a brief lesson related to that need

42. Lesson Instruction Plan Learning targets and outcome(s) of lesson: Alignment with GLCE: Instructional strategies to be used: Research supporting strategies: Method(s) for differentiating instruction: Resources needed:

43. Reflection and planning Review Best Practice representation with your grade level group • What have you learned? • How will you use your learning to improve student learning? • Write answers to the two questions on sticky notes. • Find two individuals with whom you can share your thinking. • When finished, post sticky notes on white board.

44. Contact information • Troy Hicks, Red Cedar Writing Project hickstro@msu.edu • Rita Maddox, Language Arts Consultant rmaddox@edzone.net