Content Area Writing

Content Writing

Writing to Learn

Key Concepts

• Part 1: Active engagement in subject matter through writing

• Part 2: Standards and structures

• Part 3: Writing: part of a better life

Today…

• What is written, published and demanded by readers is non-fiction.

• Experts in all content areas agree that students need more writing instruction,

• And teachers need to teach students to write well about the world in which they live.

Experts: National Council for Teaching of Mathematics, National Science Educational Standards, National Council of Social Studies, et.al

Students’ complain about writing…

“We are forced to write what the teachers ask!”

by Blaisr

Writing about student interests and questions makes non-fiction writing non-boring.

Benefits of Content Writing

• Students get more actively engaged in the subject matter.– Students understand information and

concepts more deeply.– Students make connections and raise

questions more fluently.– Students remember ideas longer and apply

learning in new situations.

Active engagment in the subject matter

“Best non fiction writing emerges from topics the writer knows, cares, and wonders about and wants to pursue.” Harvey, 1998

For more information about engagement in writing: www.literacymatters.org

From On Writing Well by William Zinsser

• Students willingly write about subjects that touch their lives or at which they are skilled

• Students learning to write are most comfortable with nonfiction

• “Motivation is at the heart of writing…Go where your interests lies, or your heart or your passion” (Zinsser, 1990).

Understand information and concepts more deeply

“Writing provides a status of our thoughts and forces us to grapple with what we know and what we don’t know.”

Santa and Havens (1991)

• “The act of writing by its very nature may enhance thinking. Writing may achieve this by demanding the learner to organize knowledge.”

• “Writing is an important tool for transforming claims and evidence into knowledge that is more coherent and structured.”

The Effect of Talking and Writing on Learning Science: An Exploratory Study (Rivard amd Straw. 2000)

Long term retention of learning and application in new situations

TALKING + WRITING =Improved Retention of Science Learning over time.(Rivard and Straw, 2000)

Writing may force the integration of new ideas

and relationships with prior knowledge andencourage personal involvement with the

newinformation. (Kleinsasser, et al, 1992)

Written and oral language opportunities toexplain, describe, predict and integrate newinformation allow students to make

conceptualshifts and facilitate retention. (Fellows, 1994)

Make connections and raise questions more fluently

Students search for answers to their own questions about their world.

Computer Lab by Old Shoe Woman

Coherent Instruction…is teaching that connects. It connects the student’s reading skills to writing. It connects reading and writing to content. It links content learning to student interests. Coherent teaching makes it easy for students to learn because it combines the strange-new with the familiar-old. When the classroom is coherent, teachers help students make connections among reading, writing and content.

(Guthrie, 2000)

Related Video

• The Power of Non Fiction Writing by Doug Reeves (5 min.) http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/april18.shtml

Part 2: Standards and Structures

Top 10 Reasons to Engage in Expository Writing

“Good non-fiction writing is ‘facts ignited by passion’”—Jean Fritz

10. To share our expertise with others and develop self-confidence

and self-esteem• allows young writers to express their

interests and expertise for both personal knowledge and expertise—Kletzien and Drehr (2004)

9. To write for wider audiences with authentic purposes

• addresses issues of audience, purpose and form—Pike and Mumper (2006)

• gives opportunity to write for many audiences and purposes

8. To obtain a thorough understanding of a topic of study

• writers of non-fiction become teachers who help others learn what they know—interested and knowledgeable about one’s topic

7. To enhance our vocabulary, visual literacy, and use of

technology• engages students in non-fiction writing so

can read non-fiction text with deeper understanding—Calkins and Pessah (2003)

6. To demonstrate our ability to write in different text forms

• acquire understanding of features, structures, point-of-view, and voice—Calkins and Pessah (2003)

5. To take ownership for learning about our world and being able to share that knowledge with others

• gives opportunity to go beyond classroom walls and make a connection with global ideas from around the world

4. To make use of powerful scaffolds to help create new and enjoyable patterns for our writing

• immerses us in reading the genre while learning to writing it

• unique and interesting use of language

3. To develop myriad strategies for building content and to find ways to

organize and synthesize our learning

• writing non-fiction refines thinking skills and the organization of ideas and our understanding of the world—Laura Robb (2004)

• improves communication and problem-solving skills in writing and eventually changes problem-solving strategies in all arenas of learning

2. To continue to build our curiosity for our world by promoting a spirit

of inquiry• collecting data from numerous sources

both primary and secondary

1. To provide choice—especially for those of us who would prefer

reading and writing nonfiction over reading and writing fiction

Stylistic Features of Good Non-Fiction Writing

• clear, cohesive organizational structure• style

– ability to creatively combine words, forms and content with creative vision

• emotional involvement• language

– balancing creative use of language with clear, precise language structures

• leads and conclusions• vocabulary

– use of proper terms, but audience appropriate• tone

Resources• Bamford, Rosemary and Janice Kristo, 1998.

Making Facts Come Alive: Choosing Quality Nonfiction Literature K-8. Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc., Norwood, MA.

• Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman & Nancy Steineke, 2007. Content-Area Writing. Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH.

• Dorfman, Lynne and Rose Cappelli, 2008. Nonfiction Mentor Texts: Teaching Informational Writing Through Children’s Literature, K-8. Stenhouse Publishers, Portland, ME.

Part 3: Writing, Part of a Better Life

History to 21st Century

“National Council of Education 1894 report of the Committee of Ten on Secondary School Studies, headed by Harvard President Charles Eliot, urged “That the admission of a student to college should be made to depend largely on his ability to write English…”

• Holding On To Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones by Thomas Newkirk. P55. Heineman. 2009

21st Century Demands

“Visual, aural, and textual elements – in combination – are the norm…

Literacy requires fluency in each element.” YouTube-”21st Century Literacy”

“Literacy implies the ability to speak and write as well as to read…”

YouTube-”21st Century Literacy”

21st Century Demands

• “NEA (National Endowment for the Arts published a study showing the decline in book reading but…the study also noted that there was a 30% increase in the number of people engaged in creative writing.”

• Holding On To Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones by Thomas Newkirk. P55. Heineman. 2009

21st Century Demands

• “Brandt has shown how societal shifts have increased the demand for writing.”

21st Century Demands

• News & Observer – July 27th, 2009 “They’ll (students) need new and enhanced

skills: analytical and critical thinking, science and math literacy, global and cultural awareness, excellent communication skills and foreign language proficiency.” by Susan Parry, Kenan Fellows Program for Curriculum and Leadership Development.

21st Century Demands

Case Technologies to Enhance Literacy Learning:

Charles K. Kinzer Teachers College, Columbia University

Linda D. Labbo, University of Georgia

Donald J. Leu, University of Connecticut

William H. Teale, University of Illinois, Chicago

This group is an example of how we need to change how we teach our pre-service teachers. See PDF