Rebecca Castiglione, MEd. Professional Staff Development Project

1. Rebecca Castiglione, MEd.Professional Staff Development Project CVES is going in the WRITE direction!!!

2. Rebecca Castiglione, MEd. ADP 626 Instructional Strategies- Summer 2011 Conemaugh Valley Elementary, Mr. Ed Alexander Instructional Goal: Improving the quality and continuity of writing instruction and learning CVES & Storytown Bring You The 6 + 1 Trait Writing: A Differentiated Approach to Teaching Writing

3. Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. -Ben Franklin

4. As a result of this staff development teachers will be more effective facilitators of writing and students will produce more effective pieces of writing. Improving the quality and continuity of writing instruction & learning

5. The mission of the Conemaugh Valley School District in cooperation with the community is to develop life-long learners, responsible citizens and contributing members of a global society by providing and maintaining a program of diverse educational opportunities in a positive, safe and caring environment with a commitment to excellence. The Mission of the Conemaugh Valley School District

6. Taking a school-wide approach to improving the writing instruction and learning supports the overall goal of the district in creating life-long learners with outstanding communication skills. Rationale

7. For the 6 + 1 Trait Model to positively impact student achievement, teachers need sustained professional development in a collaborative setting with real samples . Research - Kozlow & Bellamy

8. Effective implementation of professional learning communities eliminates the roadblocks to teacher collaboration and helps create a “culture of collaboration.” – Lujan & Day The Stamford Public School System saw increased student achievement within two years of a district-wide PLC implementation. - Thessin & Starr Research

9. Student Performance Data3rd-6th Grade Open Ended Response

10. The instructional focus is the 6 + 1Trait Model of writing instruction to improve the overall teaching and learning of writing across all grade levels. Instructional Focus

11. Ideas - the message • Organization –the make-up of the piece • Voice-personal touch • Word Choice - vocabulary • Sentence Fluency - the flow • Conventions –mechanics • Presentation –what it looks like Define the Traits

12. Modeling is the key to using the Traits • Provide the students with plenty of examples • Use the practice material provided in Storytown How to Use The Traits

13. Give students the opportunity to peer critique • Take advantage of teachable moments during other instruction Using the Traits continued

14. All teachers are teachers of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Training Activity

15. Brainstorm what your group believes are some universal traits of good writing. Training Activity

16. Jigsaw

17. Take some time to examine the student examples provided. As a group, try to identify good examples of a few of the traits! Examples….

18. Given your minimal exposure to the Traits here today, do you have any new thoughts on my opening quote about all teachers? • What connections have you made between what you already do and the Traits? Questions for Discussion

19. WRITE on Blue Jays