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Lifting the Level of Informational Writing : Keeping the Core in Mind. Tara Falasco Kathleen Masone. Informational Texts in the Classroom. What role do informational texts play in your classroom ? What types of informational writing do your students engage in ? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Lifting the Level of Informational Writing: Keeping the Core in Mind
Tara FalascoKathleen Masone
Informational Texts in the Classroom
• What role do informational texts play in your classroom?
• What types of informational writing do your students engage in?
• In what ways do you teach your students to read/write within the informational genre?
CCSS: Focus on Writing
Why Informational Texts Matter• Builds knowledge of the natural and social world/Helps us to
understand our world more fully • Addresses students' questions and interests • Appeals to readers' preferences /satisfies and broadens curiosity • Offers an option to students who prefer facts to fiction/narrative
writing • Prepares students to handle real-life writing for later schooling • Helps students to understand the importance of valid and interesting
research, specialized vocabulary and using knowledge from prior studies
• Allows students to see the importance of clarifying facts with visuals • Allows students to see the importance of various informational text
features • Demonstrates the need for logical organization • Appears on many high-stakes tests - CCSS
Types of Informational Writing That Can Be Used in the Classroom
Common Core State Standards - Writing StandardsK-5
EngageNY
Informational Writing StandardsIncreased Complexity Across the Grades
Kindergarten
3rd Grade
6th Grade
Topics to Address in Writing Workshop
4th Grade Topics
* Introduce topic clearly
* Organization (paragraphing, text features)
* topic development (facts, definitions, quotes)
* linking words
* use domain specific vocabulary
* conclusion
5th Grade Topics
* introduce topic clearly
* organization
* linking words
* concluding statement
* domain specific vocabulary
* develop with facts, definitions, details
* text features: headings, pictures, labels
Student Exemplar
• 4th grade: Coral Reefs
• What did you notice the student did well?
• What possible minilessons were done to support this student writer?
• Were the CCSS met?
Task Writing vs. Process WritingWhat does the CCSS say about this? Students
should be engaged in both types of writing instruction throughout the year.
Task/Prompt Writing Process Writing
Usually takes one sitting in a language arts block
Can take between 3 - 6 weeks, depending on the text type, genre,
grade level and schedule
Has a specific prompt/task/assignment connected to it
Focuses on a genre
Less explicit teacher instruction, more assignment based
Every day, students are taught a specific writing strategy
Has students go through a condensed "writing process" in one sitting
Students spend multiple days in each stage of the writing process
Connection between Reading and Writing Workshop
“Choose just a small number of texts that resemble those you hope your children will
write in this unit, making the choice not by the topic of the texts but rather with an eye to the
structures within which you hope your students will write.” ~ Lucy Calkins
What is Process Writing?"Good writing happens when human beings follow particular steps to take
control of their sentences-to make their words do what they want them to do." ~ Ralph Fletcher
• Explore• Discovery Draft/Rough Draft• Revision: Big and Small• Edit• Conference• Final Draft• Publish• Celebration
Sample Writing Unit: Informational 4th grade Unit
Things to notice - • Timeframe• Attention to the Writing Process• What Teacher is Doing• What Students are Doing
Fourth Grade Sample
Considerations When Writing a Unit of Study
• Select a style of writing to create a unit of study for informational writing.
• Spend time looking over the common core standards for your grade level.
• Look at student exemplars for that grade level and think about: "What are my expectations?"
• Find mentor texts that support what you want your students to accomplish in their writing.
• Consider what both the teacher and student are doing throughout the workshop.
Writing A Unit
Share• What are some new ideas you are walking
away with?
• What do you intend to "try out" when you return to school?
Workshop materials can be found at:
Questions or comments?
Please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
Tara Falasco: Tara.Falasco@gmail.comKathleen Masone: khickson@optonline.net
http://twogirlsandawritersnotebook.wordpress.com/
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