W R I T I N G M A T T E R S

1. W R I T I N G M A T T E R S A workshop of the Indiana Teachers of Writing and its IUPUI site of the National Writing Project Herb Budden Co-director

2. Using the 6 Traits Model & Writing Across the Curriculum

3. QUOTES SPEAK Find a quote that “speaks” to you. Stand by it. Introduce yourself to others who have selected the same quote, and discuss why you chose it. Have one person quickly introduce members of your group to the large group and say something about your quote

4. Group NORMS

5. The AGENDA… ...will move through several flexible activities designed increase knowledge base and teaching skills--all involve reading/writing/collaborating

6. Goals By the end of the workshop, you will • have increased knowledge of Writing Across the Curriculum & the 6 Traits of Writing Model • have had modeled practical strategies • have generated ways to utilize the model in your own classroom

7. Stampede

8. A weekday edition of The New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in seventeenth-century England (Wurman, 1989)

9. The Internet is the fastest growing communications media in world history. • It took the Web four years to reach 50 million users. • Compare this to the number of years it took radio (38), personal computers (16), and television (13) to reach that many users (Warschauer 1999)

10. The blogosphere is now doubling in size every six months. It is sixty times larger than it was three years ago (Silfrey, 2006)

11. Today eighty percent or more of the companies in the service and finance, insurance and real estate sectors, the corporations with the greatest employment growth potential, assess writing during hiring. • Half of all companies take writing into account when making promotion decisions. (National Commission on Writing 2004)

12. Stampede II

13. 5 Minute Writing Prompt: Write something you want to tell about your own experiences with writing

14. Things to remember: • You are probably already doing WAC! • If it makes teaching harder, you’re doing it wrong • Student achievement will improve using writing across the curriculum

15. The 6 Trait Model can help… …BUT, there are myths to be dispelled: • the 6 Trait model is NOT a curriculum • the 6 Trait model is NOT a program • the 6 Trait model IS a way to empower students and teachers to communicate about the qualities of writing in a consistent, transparent manner MORE ON THIS LATER!!

16. Why Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC)? • Faculty in all disciplines find that when students write in their classes, they learn material and improve their thinking about ideas in the courses. • Writing assigned across the curriculum helps students prepare for the typical communicative tasks they'll face on the job, no matter what the job is.

17. Can writing enhance m e n t a l p o w e r? • If students are encouraged to try a variety of thought processes in classes, they can, regardless of their ages, develop considerable mental power. Writing is one of the most effective ways to develop thinking.

18. What types of writing are best used across the curriculum? • Writing across the curriculum has been implemented at a range of schools and universities. In those schools, writing assignments generally fall into two categories:

19. Writing to Learn • Writing in the Disciplines

20. Do teachers have to be expert in grammar to assign writing? • Not at all! In writing-to-learn tasks, the emphasis is upon the content, not the mechanics of the writing.

21. The Writing Brain This is the part of the brain that every educator wants to activate. It is responsible for focus, reflection, decision- making, problem- solving, and most importantly the ability to be conscious of all of that activity. If a student really thinks and is aware of himself as a thinker, this section has been activated.

22. What do WTL & WID look like? • Activity: Text Rendering the Maxwell article • Sentence • Phrase • Word

23. How are the levels of writing and WAC connected? • WTL = Level 1 • WID = Levels 2 and 3, depending upon the assignment

24. What is Writing in the Disciplines? • WID (LEVEL 3) assignments are typically, but not exclusively, formal papers prepared over a few days, weeks or even months.

25. Activity • Jigsaw list of strategies on pp. __ • After discussion, write an individual reflection on what you are already doing with the Levels of Writing. What could you add?

26. Writing & Grading • Remember the LEVELS of writing– • LEVEL 1- no scoring of content • LEVEL 2- scored for content only • LEVEL 3- scored consistently and analytically by trait across faculty

27. What about writing conventions in my subject? The final papers should adhere to format and style guidelines typical of the subjects they are helping students learn about.

28. Remember: use the LEVELS to determine how to assess! • Writing that is polished, requires revisions, and is not necessarily done ‘on demand’ is Level 3 writing and should be assessed using all or some of the 6 Traits—

29. Polished writing (Level 3) needs Six Traitassessment! • If you assign more polished pieces, especially those that adhere to conventions of your subject, then we suggest putting the burden of proofreading squarely where it belongs--on the writer, then use the 6 TRAITS assessment!

30. Read Aloud A Girl Named Zippy Haven Kimmel

31. What makes good writing?

32. What are the 6 TRAITS? • Based on research, the 6 Trait approach provides more specific feedback to students on various portions of his/her writing. Each trait is scored on a continuum/scale. Not all traits have to be scored each time!

33. The 6 TRAITS: • IDEAS & CONTENT (I/C) • ORGANIZATION (O) • VOICE (V) • WORD CHOICE (WC) • SENTENCE FLUENCY(SF) • CONVENTIONS (C)

34. Validity and Reliabilty • Validity answers the question: can we all agree that does this thing does what it is supposed to do? • Reliability answers the question: will one person’s use of the thing match up consistently with another’s use of it?

35. ISAT vs 6 Traits Gr 3 Expository Rubric

36. Analytic vs. Holistic Scoring 6 Traits is ANALYTIC ISAT is primarily HOLISTIC

37. ISAT 6 Traits I/C I/C O O V WC SF C C 2 scores 6 scores 6/3 top 5 or 6 in each

38. The difficulties we encounter…

39. Fox I don't get along with people to good, and sometimes I am alone for a long time. When I am alone, I like to walk to forests and places where only me and the animals are. My best friend is God, but when I don't believe he's around sometime's, my dog stands in. We do every thing together. Hunt fish, walk, eat and sleep together My dog's name is Fox, 'cause he looks like an Arctic Fox. Fox and I used to live in this house with a pond behind. That pond was our property. The only thing allowed on it (that we allowed) was docks & fish.

40. If another person or dog would even look like going near that place, Fox and I would ran them off in a frenzy. There was a lot of rocks around, so I would build forts and traps for any body even daring to come near. The pond had a bridge that was shaded by willows, so on a hot day me and Fox would sit on that bridge & soak oar feet well, I would soak my feet Fox just kinda jumped in. At night the pond was alive with frogs, so I would invite this kid over, (he was a guy like me) and catch frogs.

41. After we had a couple each, we would pick the best looking one out of our group and race them. The winner gets the other guys frog. In the winter, the pond would freeze over, and I got my iceskates out. The pond was now an ice skating rink. Fox would chase me as I went round & round the pond. After about a year I was riding my bike patroling the area around the pond. With Fox at my side, I raced downhill toward the pond. I tried to stop, but my back tire went into a skid. I went face first into murky, shadowy waters.

42. When I went down, a minute later I felt something pull on my shirt I grabbed it not knowing what to think, when I hit the surface, I saw that it was Fox, pulling on my shirt as if he was trying to save me. He was to little to save me if I was really drowning, but it was the thought that counts, I owe him one. Another year passed. One day my mom got home from the store, and she bought me a rubber raft I was just a cheap one, but it was mine. I blew it up with a tire pump, It was just the right size for me & Fox. Out of respect for Fox, I named it the USS Fox and christened it right in the pond. On sunny days, Iwould take the raft out & lay in the sun with Fox on my legs.

43. One day, when I was asleep in the raft the wind blew pretty hard and blew my raft right into a bunch of sticks and rocks, the USS Fox was given a sad salute, and then was no more. Another year passed, and this would be our last year by the pond. I admired and respected that pond more than I ever did that year Bat at long last all good things mast come to an end, we moved to another town. Fox & I still visit the pond, but it'll never be like them 3 years when she was mine.

44. RUBRICS

45. Resources on the Web http://itwwp.wikispaces.com www.nicenet.org Class Key: S9755ZS9Z

46. Amos & BorisWilliam Steig (1977) “Boris admired the delicacy, the quivering daintiness, the light touch, the small voice, the gemlike radiance of the mouse. Amos admired the bulk, the grandeur, the power, the purpose, the rich voice, and the abounding friendliness of the whale.”

47. All SchoolWriting Assessment Results Gr 10 Fall 2003 • % OF STUDENTS SCORING 3OR HIGHER IN THE TRAITS • (5 PT SCALE) I/C O V WC SF C 70 73 74 75 72 77

48. All SchoolWriting Assessment Results Gr 10 Fall 2003 • % OF STUDENTS SCORING 4OR HIGHER IN THE TRAITS I/C O V WC SF C 30 33 18 27 27 47

49. Planning a School-Wide Writing Policy Meeting the Challenge to the Nation… …Advice from NCTE

50. Why establish a writing policy? • Schools with high levels of achievement in writing have systematically implemented productive teaching and learning practices.