Writing - What’s Hot, & What’s Not

1. Writing - What’s Hot, & What’s Not Amy Goodman MS Literacy Support Teacher Anchorage School District

2. AIM! • To review six-trait writing and rubrics for assessment • To discuss current research on the teaching of writing • To brainstorm how to prepare students for the SBA’s • To introduce some new tips and tricks

3. What Is “Good” Writing? P r e s e n t a t i o n

4. 6 + 1 Traits P r e s e n t a t i o n “Presentation combines both visual and verbal elements. It is the way we "exhibit" our message on paper. Even if our ideas, words, and sentences are vivid, precise, and well constructed, the piece will not be inviting to read unless the guidelines of presentation are present…” Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

6. Oregon Public Education Network (O.P.E.N.) • Need practice scoring student papers using a • 6-point scale? • Nine student papers • Several genres of writing • Electronic scoring • Anchor scores suggested • Justification provided 4 4 5 5 6 4

7. (Dec. 2006) new (2003) (2004)

8. The Writer’s Notebook What Should I Write? (brainstorming) Writing & Literary Terms (explanations & examples) Spelling Demons (personal word lists) Craft (mini-lessons) Editing (mini-lessons on correctness) Writing (the heart of the notebook) (Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

9. Improving Revision (Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

10. Levels of Revision (Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006) Surface Deep Changing a word, phrase, or sentence Changing the focus, the purpose, the sequence, the discourse, or the point of view Extreme Makeover!

11. Surface Revision with Sentences Monday - The teacher walked across the room. (Use drama and snake around the class for sharing) Tuesday - The teacher sauntered across the room. (Mini-lesson on strong verbs) Wednesday - Laughing hysterically, the teacher walked across the room. (Mini-lesson on participial phrases) (Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

12. Sophisticated Sentences 1. COMPLEX(subordinate conjunctions) Although pizza is popular, it is not considered a healthy snack for school parties. 2. COMPOUND(coordinate conjunctions) Pizza is not considered a healthy snack, and it should not be served at school functions. 3. HOWEVER(conjunctive adverb) Pizza is popular with teens; however, it is not considered a healthy snack. 4. TO + VERB (infinitive) To follow district guidelines, only serve healthy snacks at school functions.

14. Conjunction Posters B.O.Y. F.A.N.S.orF.A.N. B.O.Y.S.

15. Sentence Branching Front Branch: Hurriedly, I drove my car to the mall. Middle Branch: I drove my car, radio blasting, to the mall. End Branch: I drove my car to the mall, praying the parking would be easy. (Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

16. IMAGE GRAMMARby Harry Noden

17. The Basic Four Brushstrokes 1. Painting with Absolutes 2. Painting with Appositives 3. Painting with Participles (3-in-a row) and Participial Phrases 4. Painting with Adjectives Out of Order (Retrieved from Image Grammar by Harry Noden)

19. Let’s Practice! • As a group, select one of the photos • Have each person practice with a different brushstroke • Imitate the model sentence in order to learn the brushstroke • Share your sentences out loud

21. Conventions (Quick Tips) • Spelling (sp.) - Read the paper in reverse, highlight errors in “blue” • Paragraphing (¶) - Indent with change time, place, and speaker • Outside Punctuation ! ? . • Inside Punctuation , : ; - ( ) “ ” • S.M.I.L.E. (Sentences, Marks, Indents, Letters, Editor)

23. Independent Correction Sheet Teacher: Highlight sentences with problems. Point out no more than six errors. If there is more than one error in a sentence, code it. Student: Read the highlighted error. Fix it on the Independent Correction Sheet. Unable to figure it out? Remember “three before me.” If all four of you are unable to figure it out, you will all attend a group mini-lesson. (Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

24. Final Grading Is Never Easy… • Use six-trait, student-friendly rubrics • Ask students to self-reflect • Focus on one or two traits only • Grade one passage chosen by the • student and one random passage • Ask students to showcase skills • by identifying them in the margins

25. Self-Reflection (Example Questions) Explain how you chose your topic. What was the easiest part to write and why? What challenges did you encounter in your writing? Describe the feedback you received along the way that helped you revise. 5. What part of your piece are you the most proud of and why? 6. If you still had more time on this piece of writing, what would you do next? 7. Please score your piece of writing using the six-trait rubrics.

26. Students Showcase Skills Can attending summer school make a difference to a failing middle school student? I wasn’t sure I believed that; however, now I am convinced it was the best decision I could make. rhetorical question however statement

27. The Right to Be Reflective The Right to Choose a Personally Important Topic The Right of Go Off Topic The Right to Personalize the Writing Process 5. The Right to Write Badly 6. The Right to See Others Write 7. The Right to Be Assessed Well 8. The Right to Go Beyond Formula 9. The Right to Find Your Own Voice Popcorn Reading!

28. Step Up to Writing Formulaic Writing: • Beginning foundations • Expository and persuasive writing • Functional writing (4’s on the rubric) • Need to move students beyond this Training: • Full-length training videos • Video clips on the Internet

29. 1. Vary & Bury First, second, third Initially, in addition, consequently Initially the conflict began with… The conflict initially began with… (Bury the transition word in the middle)

30. 2. Adding the Blues Adding the Blues: anecdote, quote, definition, imagery, poem, etc. I N T R O D U C T I O N Thesis + Projected Plan

31. 3. Wrap-Around Closings Restate the thesis (use synonyms) and add elaboration C L O S I N G Refer back to the blues from the introduction

32. How Is Writing an Essay Like Four-Square?

33. Four Square! Transition Word Transition Word 1st RDFwith elaboration 2nd RDFwith elaboration Transition Word Writing Topic/Thesis 3rd RDFwith elaboration Conclusion Closing Word (Jeannette Mulholland, Jefferson County High School, Tennessee)

34. SBA Writing Test What can we do to get our students better prepared? 1. Practice Booklets - Use a test item each day as a think aloud from which to model strategies 2. Test Item Writing - Ask students to create similar test items and use these for practice GLE Test Item Bank - Use these as formative assessments (ASD and State)

35. SBA Writing Test More Ideas Daily Prewrites to Prompts - Give students practice with prompts in all modes of writing Expository and Persuasive Prompts http://jc-schools.net/writeaway/prompts.html Test Writing - Teach this as a genre of writing with its own set of unique characteristics SBA Writing Skills Checklist - Attach this checklist to all practice writing College Essays

36. Finally…Too Good to Miss! The Writing Teacher’s Strategy Guide by Steve Peha Teaching That Makes Sense (TTMS) (Additional downloads available)

37. Pick a Card, Any Card Select a card from the deck. Read through the teaching idea and prepare an oral summary of it. Mingle with others in the room sharing your teaching idea and hearing theirs. The cards are a preview of what you will find in The Writing Teacher’s Strategy Guide.

38. Thanks for your time! Please stay and browse through the professional books.

39. Web Site References Northwest Regional Laboratory www.nwrel.org/assessment O.P.E.N. www.openc.k12.or.us/scoring Step Up to Writing Video Clips http://store.cambiumlearning.com/resource.aspx? page=Video&site=sw&parentId=019005278 Image Grammar www3.uakron.edu/noden/web/students/index.html

40. More Web Site References EED (GLE Test Item Bank) http://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/Assessment/FormativeAssessmentResources.html Expository and Persuasive Prompts http://jc-schools.net/writeaway/prompts.html Teaching That Makes Sense (TTMS) www.ttms.org