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Let the game begin: nonstop writing. What Is It?. Nonstop timed writing (three to seven minutes) Responding to a prompt Focus on presenting ideas not spelling, punctuation, or conventions
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What Is It? • Nonstop timed writing (three to seven minutes) • Responding to a prompt • Focus on presenting ideas not spelling, punctuation, or conventions • Prompts can be content related i.e., Describe the cycle of photosynthesis as if you were a blade of grass on a football field. • or more opened i.e., What is your reaction to the film?
It’s Very versatile • When to Use It and Why • Before or throughout the study of any content area • Explore ideas about the subject before studying it • Response to reading • Trace changes in thinking about the subject
Play by play: The Kickoff • Start small until students get the hang of if—a minute or two • Help students avoid “running up against the wall” (can’t think of anything to write).
Play by Play: Working the game • As students write, teacher needs to watch for one main problem: students who write a couple of sentences then shut down—blocked. To prevent this, before writing begins… • give partners a minute or two to talk and brainstorm about the topic • followed by a quick class brainstorming list written on a overhead • finally let students know how their papers will be used (they will take it more seriously).
Play by Play: Working the game • Putting thoughts onto paper quickly takes practice • The continuous writing of sentences and paragraphs takes more effort than brainstorming a quick list. • Continuing to write for seven minutes requires the writer to expand on details or move on to new topics when a previous one is exhausted. • Use this strategy frequently, practice will improve quality and depth of learning.
Play by Play: the high-stakes games • Wording your own prompts similarly to those that students will face on high-stakes tests will give them an advantage when tackling AP, ACT, SAT, and the new End-of-Level exams.
Putting the Writing to Work • Writing is useful to help students remember information also to connect information to personal ideas • Sharing writing with others is a springboard for discussion and further self-evaluation of writing.
“Vampire bat debate: to kill or not to kill • Prompt: Both the cattleman Francisco Oliva and the research zoologist Stefan Klose make valid points, which do you support and why?
What Can Go Wrong? • Roadblocks previously mentioned • Grading to build proficiency
The final play! Now we’ll all use our textbooks to locate a lesson that we will be teaching the first of term of this year. Finally, we will share our ideas with a partner then then some with the whole group.