Engaging Students in Purposeful Writing Assignments

1. 3-2-16 Starter: Final Observations about Field Experiences Agenda: • Review: Theories of Composition • Ch 5 & 6, TAW • Responding to Writing

2. Subject Text CONTEXT Expressivist Formalist Writer Reader Constructivist

3. Writing and Choice: from TAW, chapter 5 Many of our students have lost sight of the real value that comes from writing well. Like reading, students often see writing as just another painful obstacle they must overcome to earn a diploma. (90) One reason students don’t write well is that they do not care what they are writing about. (90) A student who cares about her paper is much more likely to closely revise; a student who does not care about her paper will treat the revision process lightly, if at all. (91) Generally speaking, … people do not work hard on tasks they hate doing. (93)

4. Breaking Down the Aversion to Writing What they know: *Find the Fib (to elicit narratives) *Writing Territories (for description or “how to” papers) *Funneling a Territory (“seeing the subject through a 1” frame”) *Topic Blast (again, to focus on something small) *The Myth of the Boring Topic (to sell kids on writing) *What Bugs Me (to help find a personal voice) *Good Ideas/Bad Ideas (another invention technique) *Explorations (to learn how to ask useful questions) *I Remember (to engage personal expertise) *Pass the Portrait (using images to elicit writing)

5. Gallagher’s “Limited Choice” Assignments “Introduce Yourself” Notebook – various kinds of personal writing “Capture Your Community” – using images to elicit writing “Writing Fountain” – generating stories related to a topic “Words of Wisdom” – response to a novel “Half-and-Half Paper” – includes student-generated question “Four-Sided Argument” – to understand different perspectives These assignments give students a degree of competence and confidence to help them move on to traditional academic kinds of writing…

6. Purpose & Audience: Why Writers Write

10. Getting “a Range of Purposes” into the Classroom Writer’s Notebook: rehearse the “purpose of the month” “Article of the Week”: identify the purpose (& audience) Revise the Purpose: rewrite a piece with a different purpose Purpose Packet: identify the purpose of each article Purpose Hunt: find an article with each assigned purpose Identify the Purpose in Core Works: make it a habit “Exploration Cubes”: explore first, then identify purpose And since purpose generally implies an audience…

11. Getting Real Audiences (inside & outside the classroom) Author’s Chair: author reads aloud to the whole class RAGtime: read-around groups Golden Lines: particularly strong lines from student drafts Targeted Bulletin Board: samples of specific kinds of writing Classroom Anthologies: student work Write Outside: to public figures & public forums Other Eyes: swap papers with other teachers Campus Displays: bulletin boards, display cases Writing Contests: NCTE, TeenInk, Scholastic, etc Public Readings: invite family and friends

12. Writing an assignment is a writing task. You are the writer. Your students are readers. What do you want them to do? What might interfere with their understanding of what you want? How might you reduce the interference?

13. Teacher Comments on Successful and 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

14. In “The Piece of String, Guy de Maupassant explains human nature through pride, gossip, and truth. Throughout the story, the most distinct human aspects shown are pride, anger, and deception. The main aspects of human nature that coincide with each other in the story are revenge and forgiveness. Guy de Maupassant’s “The Piece of String” focuses on a single aspect of human nature, shame.

16. Heuristic for Creating Effective Writing Assignments (adapted from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.) 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? Might it be helpful to break the assignment into smaller, one-step assignments? 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 information about length, format, use of sources, and other key elements? Have I provided written instructions, along with grading criteria?

17. Heuristic for Creating Effective Writing Assignments (adapted from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.) 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?

18. Explain key terms: List – name one by one, with comments as appropriate Enumerate – list in a meaningful sequence Outline – give a plan for proceeding in a logical order Design – create a more elaborate plan than an outline, with drawings, charts, sketches, or other visuals Summarize – state the main points in a concise way Review – give a quick survey of several positions Interpret – Explain in detail what something means Define – Present in detail the essential traits of something, and show how if differs from similar things Prove – Provide evidence to show that something is true Demonstrate – Add to proof examples of applications of whatever has been shown to be true (from Edward White, Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, 4th ed.)

19. Activities that happen before you put something on page or screen Act of putting something on page or screen Activities that happen after you put something on page or screen REWRITE & PUBLISH PREWRITE DRAFT writing, typing, texting, drawing, speaking, etc adding, deleting, reading, listening, moving, fixing, tweaking, changing, conforming, organizing, polishing, letting go observing, collecting, listening, thinking, reading, talking, researching, doodling, drawing, freewriting, etc. Have you taught all the parts? Do students know all the parts? Can students do all the parts?

20. Putting Theory into Practice Select a “hot topic” in education – an issue about which there is currently discussion and disagreement – and write a paper of 800-1200 words in which you explain the topic and the different views, cite at least four published articles (or editorials or book chapters) relevant to the discussion, and state and support your position on the issue. Use MLA format for citations, and include a Works Cited page. This is an actual assignment given to high school seniors in a dual-credit Education 100 class. How would you help them read and understand the assignment?

21. Select a “hot topic” in education – an issue about which there is currently discussion and disagreement – and write a paper of 800-1200 words in which you explain the topic and the different views, cite at least four published articles (or editorials or book chapters) relevant to the discussion, and state and support your position on the issue. Use MLA format for citations, and include a Works Cited page. What do students need to be able to do to complete this assignment successfully? What constitutes a “hot topic”? Is it OK to have 795 words? Do the words in the Works Cited count toward the total? What does it mean to “explain the topic”? (Is that the thesis?) How many “different views” must be included? Does an website count as a “published article”? Must I “state [my] position” in the opening paragraph? How much support is required? How do I cite a website? an interview? Must the paper have a running header? Are footnotes OK?

22. Once students write, they expect you to respond…

23. Roles Readers Can Play When Responding Proofreader Fixes errors (and assumes responsibility for finding errors) Editor Polishes the text; tells writers what to do to improve (and assumes some responsibility for the quality of the revised draft) Critic Evaluates quality; points out positives and negatives (and assumes responsibility for “correctness” of evaluations)

24. Roles Readers Can Play When Responding Cheerleader Praises the “good stuff” (and, like the critic, assumes responsibility for “correctness” of evaluations) Facilitator Helps writers make their own decisions; points out potential problem areas and suggests options (and makes the writer responsible for his or her decisions)

25. Roles Readers Can Play When Responding Ally Tries to help authors get by the gatekeeper (and shares some responsibility with the writer, at least for offering good advice) Gatekeeper Stops sub-standard material from passing (and is responsible to the institution for “quality control”)

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

27. 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 think 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

28. More Options for Responding • No Responding: Sharing • Sometimes it’s enough simply to let the writer read aloud • Descriptive Responding • Sayback – Tell the reader what the text says to you • Pointing – Point to, or identify, key words or phrases • What’s Almost Said – Identify what the writing implies • Structure / Voice / Point of View / Level of Abstraction / Attitude toward Reader / Language / Diction / Syntax – Identify these aspects for the writer • Metaphorical Description – Describe the shape or some other feature of the text From Elbow & Belanoff, Sharing & Responding

29. More Options for Responding • Analytical Responding • Skeleton feedback – Identify reasons & support, assumptions, and the implied audience • Believing – Accept everything & offer additional ideas to help build the case • Doubting – Challenge everything & offer counter arguments that are not addressed • Descriptive outline – Explain what the text says and does • Reader-Based Responding: Movies of the Reader’s Mind • Criteria-Based Responding: Compare Text to a Rubric From Elbow & Belanoff, Sharing & Responding

30. Putting Theory into Practice In pairs, read the two sample student papers. Spending about 10-15 minutes on each paper, provide written comments to the student and assign a grade to the paper. A = exceptional B = above average C = adequate (pass) D = fails to meet one or more requirements F = fails to meet one or more requirements and has additional problems

31. Select a “hot topic” in education – an issue about which there is currently discussion and disagreement – and write a paper of 800-1200 words in which you explain the topic and the different views, cite at least four credible sources (such as journal articles, book chapters, or news reports) relevant to the discussion, and state and support your position on the issue. Use MLA format for citations, and include a Works Cited page. A = exceptional B = above average C = adequate (pass) D = fails to meet one or more requirements F = fails to meet one or more requirements and has additional problems

32. How did you phrase your comments? Which aspects of the textdid you respond to? Quality of ideas Appropriateness of the material Accuracy of content presented Organization of ideas Depth/development of ideas Likely audience reactions Stylistic issues Grammar/mechanics issues Make a correction Give a command Make a judgment Offer a suggestion Request a change Request additional informationAsk a questionReact subjectively Give a related assignment Acknowledge effortOffer encouragement Now imagine that you are the student. Write your reaction/response to the teacher’s comments on your paper.

33. Teacher Comments on Effective and Ineffective Responses… Traits of Ineffective Responses Generic (“nice,””good,””awk”) Not fully explained Too many comments per paper Incomplete thoughts Illegible Traits of Effective Responses Specific goals/questions/tasks Focused/targeted Positive (i.e., praise) Evaluations included suggestions Not too numerous: just a few comments per paper Maybe combine with a short conference to be sure students understand comments Train students how to read our particular comments

34. For next week, read and respond to TAW, Ch. 7-end.