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Part I: Reading Part II: Writing

Reading, Writing, & Social Studies. Part I: Reading Part II: Writing. “Good writing”. Minimal writing. Lots of writing. W hat’s happening in YOUR classroom?. “Bad writing”. Problem:

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Part I: Reading Part II: Writing

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  1. Reading, Writing, & Social Studies Part I: Reading Part II: Writing

  2. “Good writing” Minimal writing Lots of writing What’s happening in YOUR classroom? “Bad writing”

  3. Problem: ELA teachers can’t do it all; students need writing practice and instruction, especially for research and critical thinking in all of their content-area classes. Students can’t be expected to learn how to think and write like historians in their English classes; they need instruction and practice in their Social Studies classes.

  4. Reality check: Make a list of the kinds of writing you do outside the classroom. Items you do well Share your list with a neighbor… Items you do poorly Note to kids Shopping list Email message Message about a phone call Reminder to self to do something Discussion on Facebook Notes for class Directions (how to get somewhere) Summary of a faculty committee meeting Article for an academic journal DBQ Artifact to be graded Proof that I know something

  5. Text CONTEXT Subject Writer Reader

  6. Text How anxious is the writer? How skilled is the writer? How well does the writer understand the assignment? How well does the writer know the conventions for this kind of writing? What does the writer know about the subject? Subject Writer Reader What does the writer think the reader expects him/her to say or do? What factors (time constraints, distractions, fatigue, health) might affect the writer? CONTEXT

  7. What does the writer know about the subject? Subject Writing to learn. Using writing to discover, clarify, or make sense of new information or ideas. Low stakes or ungraded. Writer is his or her own audience. Writing to show learning. Writer Using writing to demonstrate what the writer has learned. Moderate to high stakes. Teacher is the primary audience.

  8. Learn Show Learning Low Stakes & High Stakes Writing “The goal of low stakes assignments is not so much to produce excellent pieces of writing as to get students to think, learn, and understand more of the course material.” Peter Elbow Exit Slip: Write two or three main points from today’s class, plus any questions you still have. Exam Question: Write and answer two items for an exam based on information from today’s class. Micro-essay: On one side of an index card, summarize the key points from today’s class. Poem: Express key ideas as a poem (haiku, limerick, etc)

  9. What does the writer know about the subject? Subject Writer can focus on the subject… …without worrying about writing skills …without worrying about conventions Writer …without worrying about grades

  10. Text Once the writer knows the subject… …the focus can shift to the text. What should the final product look like? What rules must I follow? Writer

  11. Teach the format: rules, conventions, and anything else that might affect the grade Provide samples: Excellent Adequate Inadequate

  12. The anXiety Factor: Writer Reader

  13. The anXiety Factor: GRADES “But I’m not an English teacher!” Writer Reader History teachers can teach how to write a DBQ, science teachers can teach how to write a lab report, and English teachers can teach how to write literary criticism. “But you ARE a history teacher, and historians don’t write the way English teachers do!”

  14. The anXiety Factor: Make two lists: More anxiousLess anxious Items you do poorly Previous failures Lack of confidence Lack of knowledge Previous successes Confidence Knowledge Items you do well

  15. The anXiety Factor: Clear GOALS* so students know what is expected Clear MODELS of successful work Lots of PRACTICE with low-stakes/no-stakes writing Success opportunities to create CONFIDENCE A “culture of writing” in which writing is the norm, not something extra, unknown, or scary

  16. The anXiety Factor: Clear GOALS* so students know what is expected Clear MODELS of successful work *GOALS should be clearly explained: Scoring criteria Rubric

  17. Pause to Process (or Write to Learn) List 2 or 3 points you find useful or that you want to challenge Explain your list to a neighbor

  18. Our Goals: Help students LEARN the material Accurately ASSESS what they have learned Use “write-to-learn” assignments Use “write-to-show-learning” assignments Design Assign Explain/Model Practice Perform Assess

  19. Traits of Successful / Unsuccessful Assignments… Traits of Successful Assignments Students have a degree of choice Students are interested in the work Students have a personal connection Work is relevant to student goals Assignment is concrete & specific: *clear instructions *clear expectations Teacher provides tools (scaffolding) and feedback along the way Models of successful & unsuccessful work are provided Includes low stakes elements before high stakes performance Is appropriate for students’ ability level and confidence level Traits of Unsuccessful Assignments High stakes without adequate practice Task is artificial (i.e., meaningless) Format is unclear Some terms are undefined Work has no clear value to students Work is beyond students’ capabilities Work is outside students’ comfort zone Work is outside students’ trust zone Work is overwhelming Think of your assignments. Which traits best describe them?

  20. Heuristicfor Creating Effective Writing Assignments Task: What do I want students to do? What will students learn from completing this task? If I am trying to assess something, what am I trying to assess? What will I learn from reading the student work? (What will the work show me?) Sequencing: Can the task be broken into sub-tasks, or steps? Must students complete the steps in a specific order? Have I taught the skills and content necessary for each step? Writing Processes: How do I want students to complete the work – alone/pairs/groups? home/school? Will they practice any parts of the assignment in class? Have I provided written instructions, along with grading criteria? Have I provided information about length, format, use of sources, and other key elements? (adapted from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.)

  21. Heuristicfor Creating Effective Writing Assignments Audience: Who is the intended audience – me (as teacher) or an imagined audience? Could I expand the audience beyond only the teacher? Has the class adequately discussed how to write for this particular audience? Schedule: When will students work on the assignment? How much time will they need inside and outside class? Do I need to build in deadlines for stages of the project? How does this assignment fit with what comes before and after it in the course? Assessment: How will I evaluate the work? What constitutes a successful response to the assignment? Have I discussed the criteria with the students? Have I completed the assignment myself? If so, what problems did I encounter? How can the assignment be clarified or otherwise improved? (adapted from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.)

  22. Explain key terms, especially VERBS: List – name one by one, with comments as appropriate Outline – give a plan for proceeding in a logical order Summarize – state the main points in a concise way Review – give a quick survey of several positions Interpret – Explain in detail what something means Prove – Provide evidence to show that something is true Define – Present in detail the essential traits of something, and show how if differs from similar things Be sure your verbs match the applicable standards. (adapted from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.)

  23. Aspects on Which to Comment: Accuracy of content presented Appropriateness of the material Depth/development of ideas Quality of ideas Organization of ideas Likely audience reactions Stylistic issues Grammar/mechanics issues From Straub & Lunsford, 12 Readers Reading

  24. Ways to Respond: Make a correction ("there" "their“) Give a command ("Move this sentence to the opening paragraph") Make a judgment *Absolute ("Awkward transition"; “Good point”) *Subjective ("I like this subject is trivial"; “I like this revision”) Offer a suggestion ("You might try to soften the tone here") Request a change ("Can you use a more precise word here?") Request additional information ("Can you give an example of x?") Ask a question *Closed ("Did you really mean to put this in passive voice?") *Leading ("How can you tie this point to the preceding one?") *Open ("What are some counter-arguments you might address?") React subjectively ("I laughed out loud when I read this line!") Give a related assignment ("Review the punctuation chapter") Acknowledge effort ("I can tell you're trying to add depth here") Offer encouragement ("I see improvement since last time") From Straub & Lunsford, 12 Readers Reading

  25. Continuum of Responses Critical response, diagnosis, or advice Descriptive or observational response Supportive, noncritical response Minimal, nonverbal, noncritical response OR… No response

  26. Rubric = measuring stick

  27. A rubric should… …list the criteria being evaluated …describe a performance at each rating level Ideally, the rubric should use similar language for each level within a category, so raters compare “apples to apples” when making judgments about that particular feature. Also ideally, students should have models of each performance level for each category.

  28. Kinds of Rubrics Analytical Holistic Score = sum of scores for individual traits Score = reader’s impression of overall quality Usually Formative: intended to help thewriter identify specificareas to work on Usually Summative: intended only tomeasure the qualityof the writing Quicker & easier Yields more information BOTH can be useful

  29. Be transparent about grades Save time Avoid bias Identify the target Prepare students for statewide tests Why USE rubrics?

  30. Cautions: A rubric designed for someone else’s assignment might not be useful for measuring student performance on your assignment. To be of any value to students, a rubric must be distributed at the beginning of an assignment, not at the end.

  31. Remember: Not all aspects of an assignment are equal. If something MATTERS more, it should COUNT more (in terms of points on the rubric).

  32. Using Writing to Learn and to Show Learning Design Assign Explain/Model Practice Perform Assess Repeat Repeat Repeat …

  33. Pause (Again) to Process List 2 or 3 new strategies you plan to implement (or at least try) in your classes this year Explain your plans to a neighbor

  34. Fire by Judy Brown When we are able to buildopen spaces in the same waywe have learnedto pile on the logs,then we can come to see howit is fuel, and absence of the fueltogether, that make fire possible. We only need to lay a loglightly from time to time.A fire growssimply because the space is there,with openings in which the flamethat knows just how it wants to burn can find its way. What makes a fire burnis space between the logs,a breathing space.Too much of a good thing,too many logspacked in too tightcan douse the flamesalmost as surelyas a pail of water would. So building firesrequires attentionto the spaces in between,as much as to the wood. (Teaching with Fire, ed. by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner)

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