Write well updates teacher's meeting

Jennifer Evans

Assistant Director ELA

St.Clair County RESA

Evans.jennifer@sccresa.org

http://www.protopage.com/evans.jennifer#Untitled/Home

Kelly Gallagher, Author and Teacher

http://www.kellygallagher.org/index.html

“Assigning writing is easy. Teaching writing is really

hard.”“We need to teach our

students to read like writers and write like

readers.”

The most effective strategy to improve writing…

Increase the amount and quality of writing.

Increase writing proficiency for life

endeavorsIncrease test scores

Coordinate and refine writing

instruction

Create a unified writing program K-12

Increase use of research-based

instructional practices during

writing instruction

Mini-Lesson

(10-15 min.)

Independent Practice with

Conferring

(30-40 min.)

Sharing

( 5-10 min.)

How Often

• Everyday

• Everyday

• Everyday

How Long

• KDG – 45 minutes

• 1st Grade –45 minutes extending to 60 minutes

• 2nd – 12th

Grades – 60 minutes

When

• Beginning the first day of school

• A single block of time at the same time everyday

Management

• Same format used everyday

• Same rules and procedures used everyday

• Keep it simple

Why

• Consistency

• Consistency

• Consistency

Grades 2-5

K-1 staple small unit booklets for their notebook

Specific notebooking directions for grades 2-5 first unit of study in WriteWell

Write everyday on mini-lesson topic or other notebooking ideas

Immerse in the genre

Identify distinguishing features of the

genre

Choose an idea to write about

Choose a mentor text to help you

writePlan your draft Draft long and fast

Revise Edit Publish/Celebrate

30-40 Minutes

Students work independently while the teacher meets with small groups or individual students

• Conferring Talking Cards

Possible mid-workshop teaching point

• Occur naturally when the teacher notices something that needs clarification or further explanation to help students as they write

Research

•Ask “What are you working on as a writer?”

•Have the student read aloud his/her work

Decide

• Synthesize what is learned

• Decide what to compliment: “What has this child done that I can name and make a fuss over?”

• Decide what to teach: “What does this child use but misuse? or“What is nearly there in his or her writing that I can help them with right now?”

Compliment

•Point out writing strategies the child used well

•Say “I like how you…”(give specific example)

Teach

•Teach only one thing

•Teach to the compliment

•Teach to today’s teaching point

•Negotiate a strategy

When choosing your teaching point think: Of all the options I have, what can I teach that will make the biggest difference for this writer?

5-10 Minutes

Notice

Question

Personal Connection

Compliment and Suggestion (glow & grow)

Partner

Small Group

Whole Group

◦ Teaching Kids About Revising (Writing Workshop Lesson)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBKqgOvmJ8w

Grammar Units Pre/Post TestsUpdates – see grade level

representative

Information/Explanatory;

Opinion; ReadWell units

developed last summer

Video Lessons Rubrics

Aligned to CCSS

Weekly concepts

taught

approximately five

minutes a day

Follows Jeff

Anderson’s format

PowerPoint to match

each weekly lesson

Same Assessment to

be given at the

beginning of the year

and the end of the year

Use to show

growthSee Sample

Video Library ◦ All grade levels

◦ Various lessons

Kindergarten

2nd grade

10th grade

http://sccresa.org/toolsforschools/curriculumtools/writewell/introductiontowritewell/writewell3rdgrade/◦ Notebooking

◦ Explanatory Unit

◦ Grammar Units

◦ Assessments

WriteWell©

◦ http://www.sccresa.org/toolsforschools/curriculumtools/writewell/

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