Writing Across the Curriculum

Writing Across the Curriculum Presenter: Sandra Brewer Language Arts Instructional Coach Muskogee Public Schools OWP-S. Brewer

Writing to Learn “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” Of Studies Francis Bacon O OWP-S. Brewer

Writing Across the CurriculumUsing Journals • Personal journals • Dialogue journals • Reading logs • Learning logs • Double entry logs • Simulated journals • Language arts notebooks OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Reading Logs • Students respond to stories, poems, and informational books they are reading in reading logs. • They write and draw entries after reading, record key vocabulary words, make charts and other diagrams, and write memorable quotes. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Learning Logs • Students write in learning logs as part of social studies and science theme cycles and math units. • They write quickwrites, draw diagrams, take notes, and write vocabulary words. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Uses of Learning Logs by Teachers  Assess what students already know about a topic before teaching  Discover what students are learning  Check on confusions and misconceptions • Monitor students’ attitudes toward subject • Assess students’ learning of a concept after teaching (McGonegal, 1987) OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Learning Logs in Science Observation Logs:  Students make daily entries to track the growth of plants or animals. In the logs students describe the changes they observe using words describing shape, color, size, and other properties. • Students make entries during a theme cycle.  Take notes during teacher presentations  Take notes after reading or viewing films • Take notes at the end of each class period • The entries may be in list form, in clusters, in charts, in maps, or in paragraphs. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Learning Logs in Social Studies • Students keep learning logs as part of theme cycle in social studies.  Write in response to stories and informational books  Note interesting words related to the theme.  Create timelines  Draw diagrams, charts, and maps OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Learning Logs by Eighth Graders on a Civil War theme  Informal quickwrites about the causes of the war  A list of words related to the theme • A chart of major battles in the war • A Venn diagram comparing the Northern and Southern viewpoints • A timeline showing events related to the war • A map of the United States at the time of the war with battle locations marked • Notes after viewing several films about the Civil War era • A list of favorite quotes from Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Double-Entry Journals • Students divide each page of their journals into two columns and write different types of information in each column. • Sometimes they write quotes from a story in one column and add reactions to the quotes in the other or • Write predictions in one column and what actually happened in the story in the other. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Excerpts from a Fifth Grader’s Double-Entry Journal about The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe In the Text Chapter 1 • “I tell you this is the sort of house where no one is going to mind what we do.” Chapter 5 • “How do you know?” he asked. “that you sister’s story is not true?” Chapter 15 • “Still they could see the shape of the great lion lying dead in his bonds. They’re nibbling at the cords.’ My Response • I remember the time that I went to Beaumont, Tx to stay with my aunt. My aunt’s house was very large. She had a piano and she let us play it. She told us that we could do whatever we wanted to. • It reminds me of when I was little and I had an imaginary place. I would go there in my mind. I made up all kinds of make-believe stories about myself in this imaginary place. One time I told my big brother about my imaginary place. He laughed at me and told me I was silly. But it didn’t bother me because nobody can stop me from thinking what I want. • When Asian died I thought about when my Uncle Carl died • This reminds me of the story where the lion lets the mouse go and the mouse helps the lion. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Simulated Journals • Students assume the role of a book character or a historical personality and write journal entries from that person’s viewpoint. • Students include details from the story or historical period in their entries. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Diary Entries from A Fifth Grader Who Assumed the role of Betsy Ross May 15,1773 Dear Diary, • This morning at 5:00 I had to wakeup my husband John to get up for work but he wouldn’t wake up. I immediately called the doc. He came over as fast as he could. He asked me to leave the room so I did. An hour later he came out and told me he had passed away. I am so sad. I don’t know what to do. June 16, 1776 Dear Diary, • Today General Washington visited me about making a flag. I was so surprised. Me making a flag! I have made flags for the navy, but this is too much. But I said yes. He showed me a pattern of the flag he wanted. He also wanted six-pointed stars but I talked him into having five-pointed stars. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

July 8,1776 • Dear Diary, • Today in front of Carpenter Hall the Declaration of Independence was read by Tom Jefferson. Well, I will tell you the whole story. I heard some yelling and shouting about liberty and everyone was gathering around Carpenter Hall. So I went to my next door neighbors to ask what was happening but Mistress Peters didn’t know either so we both went down to Carpenter Hall. We saw firecrackers and heard a bell and the Declaration of Independence was being read aloud. When I heard this I knew a new country was born. • June 14, 1777 • Dear Diary, • Today was a happy but scary day. Today the flag I made was adopted by Congress. I thought for sure that if England found out that a new flag was taking the old one’s place something bad would happen. But I’m happy because I am the maker of the first American flag and I’m only 25 years old! OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Language Arts Notebooks • Students take notes, write rules and examples, draw diagrams, and write lists of other useful information about language arts in these notebooks. • Students use these notebooks during minilessons and refer to the information during literature focus units and reading and writing workshop. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Review on Writing Across the Curriculum • Students write in seven kinds of journals: personal journals, dialogue journals, reading logs, double-entry journals, language arts notebooks, learning logs, and simulated journals. • Dialogue journals are especially useful for students leaving English as a second language. • Reading logs, double-entry journals, and simulated journals are often used during literature focus units. • Learning logs and simulated journals are used for across-the-curriculum theme cycles. • Even young children can draw and write in personal journals and reading logs OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Review WAC cont. • Teachers teach minilessons about how to write in journals. • Students often share entries with classmates, although personal journal entries are usually private. • Four strategies that students use as they write in journals are quickwriting, clustering, sketch-to-stretch, and cubing. • Teachers monitor students’ writing in journals by reading selected entries, not by correcting misspelled words and other mechanical errors. • The focus in journal writing is on developing writing fluency and using writing as a tool for learning. OWP-S. Brewer/G. Tompkins

Writing Across the Curriculum