The Pre-writing Process

1. The Pre-writing Process

2. We are on this road together…

3. Research Writing Process research compiled by Trish Havlin, University of Oregon EMPL program and presented in collaboration with Heather Anderson • For further information contact phavlin@uoregon.edu

4. Recommendations for the Road Map • Writing Next Meta-analysis, process writing instruction has a small treatment effect (ES of .32) • Compared with traditional writing instruction, process-based instruction yields higher quality papers and superior writing achievement on NRT’s (Norm Reference Testing), (Hillcocks, 1984; Varble, 1990; Monieth, 1991)

5. Agenda for Today • Revisit pre-writing • Move through a model lesson • Have ‘a-go’ and design a pre-writing lesson using templates discussed

6. Think about… • In 2002 the NAEP measured writing skills of 4th, 8th, and 12th graders and translated their scores into three levels of proficiency: Basic, Proficient, or Advanced. • 72% of 4th graders • 69% 8th graders • 77% 12th graders Did not meet NAEP writing proficiency goals

7. Cause for Alarm These results clearly demonstrate a large numbers of students need interventions to help them become better writers.

8. We are on the bus together… We will look at a two writing strategies in the form of a mini-lesson to support struggling writers utilizing the following tools: • Connecting • Teaching • Actively engaging • Sharing out • Celebrating These are the components of best practice writing instruction and professional development

9. Trip Plan For Writing Vista Points 1-4 Exit 1: Pre-writing brainstorming activity Exit 2: Pre-writing clustering activity Exit 3: Anticipating Struggles Exit 4: Resources

10. Vista Point 1: • Discover ways and plan for success in pre-writing • Recognize your students needs and utilize pre-writing strategies • Map your plan for strategy instruction

11. Active Engagement: Turn and Talk • What is pre-writing? • What are the attributes of good pre-writing? • What makes good pre-writing difficult for struggling writers?

12. Vista Point 2: Research • According to Writing Next, pre-writing (Effect Size = 0.32) has a small to moderate impact on students’ writing. • Writing instruction often involves explicitly and systematically teaching students how to pre-write. The pre-writing approaches studied ranged from explicitly teaching pre-writing strategies to enhancing pre-writing by progressively “fading” models of a good pre-writing. • In fact, students can learn to write better from either a rule governed or a more intuitive approach. Overall, teaching students to pre-write improves the quality of their writing.

13. Vista Point 3: Attributes Pre-writing is the first stage of the writing process and the point at which we discover and explore our initial ideas about a subject. Prewriting techniques involve warming up the brain, organizing ideas, and setting up a plan before diving straight into writing a composition. Pre-writing helps us to get our ideas on paper, though not usually in an organized form, and brainstorm thoughts that might eventually make their way into our writing.

14. Vista 4: Share out Model Topic: Birds • They fly • They’re pretty • They squawk • They lay eggs • They may fly south for the winter

15. Turn and Talk • What are the attributes of this example of pre-writing? • What makes it good pre-writing? • Can we identify the pre-writing strategy?

16. Vista Point 4:What? • Is activating prior knowledge • Is discovering and exploring initial ideas about subject • Is not in an organized form

17. Pre-writing Pre-writing strategies use writing to generate and clarify ideas. While many writers have traditionally created outlines before beginning writing, there are other possible prewriting activities.

18. Exit 1:Pre-writing Lesson Plans • Model Two & Give Two Pre-writing Strategies • MODEL: Brainstorming & Clustering • Give Two • Free writing • Asking the six journalists’ questions

19. Brainstorming Strategy #1Model/Mini lesson: Prewriting • Connect: • A good strategy for pre-writing is brainstorming in the content area. • Think aloud and jot down all the possible terms that emerge from the general topic you are thinking about. • Group the items that you have listed according to arrangements that make sense to you. • Give each group a label. Now you have a topic with possible points of development. • Write a sentence about the label you have given the group of ideas. Now you have a topic sentence or possibly a thesis statement. • Students have ‘a-go,’ share out celebrating success and participation.

20. Engage: Content Area What are you studying? Push your brain and write all that comes to mind…

21. Model: Science Content Area Brainstorm Activity Global Warming Green House Effect Photosynthesis Manufacturing Carbon Dioxide Environment Problems Alternative Fuels

22. Model: Thesis Statement Thesis Statement: Global warming, also known as the green house effect is a topic that is receiving a lot of attention in recent years. Yet our climate change is not a recent problem, it has been happening over many years. The rate of change is accelerating due to the growth of our population. The growth of our population has increased our use of fuel, land and manufacturing. All of these are increasing emissions into our atmosphere that increases global warming.

23. Turn and Talk Process through these content area terms with your partner. Can you verbalize a thesis statement utilizing words from brainstorming activity?

24. Share-out • Teacher has students share-out thesis statement with partners. • Teacher calls on individual students to share-out thesis statement.

25. Celebrate • To ensure a safe learning environment, applaud students for having ‘a-go.’

26. Link: Today and Everyday… • Students write using brainstorming activities, also called listing, as a process of generating a lot of information within a short time by building on the association of previous terms used during instruction. • Teacher models this activity and posts it in the classroom to serve as a touchstone for future student use. • Students turn and talk to elbow partners sharing out their ability to brainstorm verbally on an individual subject. • Teacher rotates supporting turn and talk listening for one stellar example to share out with the class. This provides students with another model of expectation. • Teacher instructs students to have ‘a-go’ in their writing. • Teacher celebrates students having ‘a-go’ by sharing out individual student work

27. Exit 2: Clustering • Engage • Model • Have ‘a-go’ • Share-out • Celebrate

28. Engage: Turn and Talk • What is clustering?

29. Clustering • Clustering is also called mind mapping or idea mapping. It is a strategy that allows you to explore the relationships between ideas.

30. Model • Put the subject in the center of a page. Circle or underline it. • As you think of other ideas, link the new ideas to the central circle with lines. • As you think of ideas that relate to the new ideas, add to those in the same way. • The result will look like a web on your page. Locate clusters of interest to you, and use the terms you attached to the key ideas as departure points for your paper. • Clustering is especially useful in determining the relationship between ideas. You will be able to distinguish how the ideas fit together, especially where there is an abundance of ideas. Clustering your ideas lets you see them visually in a different way, so that you can more readily understand possible directions your paper may take.

31. Have ‘a go” • Given the topic, the value of a college education engage in Clustering • Remember…with this technique, you start with a circle in the middle that contains your main idea and then you draw lines to other, smaller circles that contain sub-ideas or issues related to the main idea. Try to group like ideas together so as to organize yourself.

32. Model of Clustering

33. Link: Today and Everyday • Students write using clustering activities, as a process of generating a lot of information within a short time by building on the association of previous terms used during instruction. • Teacher models this activity and posts it in the classroom to serve as a touchstone for future student use. • Students turn and talk to elbow partners sharing out their ability to cluster verbally on an individual subject. • Teacher rotates supporting turn and talk listening for one stellar example to share out with the class. This provides students with another model of expectation. • Teacher instructs students to have ‘a-go’ in their clustering. • Teacher celebrates students having ‘a-go’ by sharing out individual student clustering work.

34. Vista Point: Lesson Plan • Connect • Teach • Active Engagement • Link • Share-out • Celebrate

35. Link: Today and Everyday… • Students write using pre-writing activities, as a process of generating a lot of information within a short time by building on the association of previous terms used during instruction. • Teacher models this activity and posts it in the classroom to serve as a touchstone for future student use. • Students turn and talk to elbow partners sharing out their ability to pre-write verbally on an individual subject. • Teacher rotates supporting turn and talk listening for one stellar example to share out with the class. This provides students with another model of expectation. • Teacher instructs students to have ‘a-go’ in their pre-writing. • Teacher celebrates students having ‘a-go’ by sharing out individual student pre-writing work.

36. Celebrate • To ensure a risk taking environment, applaud students for sharing our their thinking.

37. Exit 4: Anticipating Struggles • To support individual writers, we are modeling the strategy, verbally processing the strategy with a partner and having ‘a-go’ trying out the strategy. This is a multi-sensory approach to preloading the writing experience. • As students are doing this, teachers rotate and conference with individual writers. • Sharing out is the celebration of students being accountable for their work. It may provide confidence in future writing.

38. Exit 3: Resources Packet includes: • Model Lesson Plan-graphic organizer • Pre-writing Strategies A. Brainstorming • Clustering • Free-writing • Journalist Questions

39. Next Year… • Stay tuned for professional development announcements for the 2012-13 school year! *Thanks for yourparticipation!