Scaffolding Young Writers

ScaffoldingYoungWriters

Scaffolding Young Writers: A Writers Workshop Approach by Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos. Copyright 2001. Stenhouse Publishers. All rights reserved. No reproduction withoutwritten permission of the publisher.

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ScaffoldingYoungWritersAWritersWorkshopApproach

Linda J. Dorn Carla Soffos

Stenhouse PublishersPortland, Maine


Stenhouse Publisherswww.stenhouse.com

Copyright 2001 by Linda J. Dorn and Carla Soffos

All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photo-copy, or any information storage and retrieval sys-tem, without permission from the publisher.

Every effort has been made to contact copyrightholders and students for permission to reproduceborrowed material. We regret any oversights thatmay have occurred and will be pleased to rectifythem in subsequent reprints of the work.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataDorn, Linda J.

Scaffolding Young Writers : a writers work-shop approach / Linda J. Dorn, Carla Soffos.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 1-57110-342-2 (alk. paper)1. English languageComposition and exercisesStudy and teaching (Primary) I. Soffos, Carla.II. Title.LB1528.D67 2001372.623044dc21 2001042983

Cover design by Richard Hannus, Hannus DesignAssociatesCover photographs by Carla SoffosFigure 3.4 by Matthew Uyeda

Manufactured in the United States of America onacid-free paper

07 06 05 04 03 02 01 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


www.stenhouse.com

This book is dedicated to the many Arkansasteachers who have shared their knowledge andexperience with us.


Contents

vii

Acknowledgments ixIntroduction xi

1. The Development of Young Writers 1

2. Assessing Writing Development 10

3. Organizing for Writers Workshop 32

4. Designing Productive Mini-Lessons 48

5. Writing Conferences 60

Appendixes 69References 93Index 95


IIn writing this book, we recognize the work ofother educators who have influenced our pro-fessional lives. First, we acknowledge theteachings of Donald Graves, Lucy Calkins, andRalph Fletcherfrom them, we have acquiredknowledge of the writing process and tools forimplementing writers workshop in our class-rooms. Also, we acknowledge the tremendousinfluence of Lev Vygotsky (1978)through hiswork, weve learned the importance of lan-guage in promoting literacy, the need to workin childrens learning zones, and the role ofinstruction in developing self-regulated learn-ers. His theories permeate our work, specifical-ly as they relate to the cognitive and socialaspects of teaching and learning. Most impor-tant, we acknowledge the enormous influenceof Marie Clay on our teachingthrough herwork, weve learned the importance of build-ing on the strengths of young learners. Mariehas taught us to look for changes over time inthe development of a literacy system, and shehas cautioned us to hold a tentative theory, onethat can be continually tested with observa-tions of children in the process of learning.Through Marie Clays work, we have learned

the importance of teaching for strategy devel-opment, continual and ongoing assessment toguide instruction, and focusing on processingversus items of learning.

These acknowledgments would not becomplete without recognizing a special groupof teachers who have worked alongside us inthe Arkansas Literacy Coaching Model. Wewould like to express our sincere thanks to thefirst group of Arkansas literacy coaches. Thesetalented teachers have enthusiastically sharedtheir knowledge and classroom experienceswith us. On a moments notice, they have sentus writing samples and videotaped examplesof mini-lessons and writing conferences. As wewrote this book, the literacy coaches were therefor us, only a phone call or an e-mail away.Their numerous trips to Little Rock and thedaily listserv discussions are a testament to thehard work and commitment of these teachers.During the past two years, this group has helda tentative theory, one that was revisited andrefined as we problem-solved together onteaching and learning issues. We thank youKim Mitchell, Laura McKinney, Donnie Skinner,Sue Tilley, Annita Bogard, and Angela Owen

Acknowledgments

ix


for your dedication and belief in children andteachers. Together, these talented educators arecreating real change in Arkansas schools.

Also, we offer our heartfelt thanks toStephanie Copes and Mike Moss, the literacycoaches at the University of Arkansas at LittleRock. Without these two committed educators,our work in schools would be incomplete.Thank you, Stephanie, for your problem-solv-ing attitude and your enthusiasm for the writ-ing process. Mike, thank you for your willing-ness to learn about new areas of technologyand research. Additionally, we offer a specialthanks to Debbie Williams, our university col-league, who has worked alongside us in imple-menting the literacy coaching model. Thankyou, Debbie, for your willingness to managethis project as well as for your knowledge in lit-eracy. Also, we acknowledge Teresa Treat, ourfriend and a first-grade teacher at Jim StoneElementary, for sharing her classroom experi-ences and students work with us. Teresa is alifelong learner and a masterful teacher. Thankyou, Teresa, for your continued support of ourliteracy initiative. A final acknowledgmentgoes to Krista Underwood, our friend and col-league at the Arkansas Department ofEducation. Kristas belief in children and teach-ers is evident in her words and actions. Thesededicated and passionate educators are mak-ing a difference in the literacy lives of Arkansaschildren and teachers.

As always, we acknowledge the help of theStenhouse team. During the process of writingthis book, weve been mentored in how to teachwriters workshop to our students. Our person-al experiences with writing have carried over toclassroom teaching of children. To PhilippaStratton, our editor, and Martha Drury, our pro-duction manager, youve taught us some valu-able lessons about publishing that weve incor-porated into our work with young writers; forexample, the student publishing checklist wasrevised to include text layout and paragraphorganization. We thought about how you sup-ported us in writing; and we applied the sameunderstandings to the teaching of young writ-ers. For instance, as we revised our lead para-graphs, our mini-lessons with students shiftedto include these experiences. Through writing,weve learned more about the writing process,and were becoming better teachers of writingto our youngest students. So, again, thank you,Philippa and Martha, for scaffolding us in thewriting process. And to the entire staff atStenhouse, thank you for your support of ourwork, with special thanks to Tom Seavey, ourmarketing director, who has worked diligentlyto spread our theories and practices to teachersacross the country.

Finally, we thank our families for scaffold-ing us as we spent many long hours on writingtwo books. Without your encouragement andpatience, we could not have accomplished this.

x Scaffolding Young Writers


WWhat makes this book on writers workshopdifferent? We have been teachers of writing formost of our educational careers, and weveread many books on the writing process.Although weve experienced success withmost of our students, weve not always been assuccessful with our lowest-performing writers.Too often, weve observed struggling writersbecome passive writers, simply because theydid not have the necessary strategies, knowl-edge, and skills to help themselves. As wevelearned more about how children learn, weveincorporated these lessons into our teaching ofwriting. Weve tried to present a practical bookthat is grounded in sociocognitive learning the-ories. Here are some major themes throughoutthis book.

The act of writing is a cognitive processthat involves comprehension of ideas,expressive language, and mechanicalskills.

All writing instruction must be based onwhat children already know. Anythingless can promote passive learners who feelinadequate about writing.

Teachers must provide young writers withassisted and unassisted opportunities tolearn about writing. First, the child accom-plishes a task with teacher assistance; thenthe child accomplishes the task alone. Thewriting environment is structured to allowfor the transfer of knowledge, skills, andstrategies from assisted to unassistedlearning zones.

In Chapter 1, we discuss how childrenbecome writers and the tension that can occurbetween early transcribing and composingprocesses. We present benchmark behaviorsthat children exhibit as they become more com-petent at orchestrating the writing process. Thegoal of writing instruction is to create condi-tions that promote self-regulated writers whounderstand how to guide and monitor theirown writing. Writing instruction that includesexplicit language in how to use relevantresources can provide young writers with self-help tools for regulating their own work.

In Chapter 2, we describe the link betweenassessment and instruction. Teachers mustknow how to observe writing behavior for

Introduction

xi


changes over time. They can use assessment tofind out what children know, plan instructionbased on their strengths and needs, and evalu-ate how well teaching has influenced studentslearning. Teachers should understand thatchanges in writing behavior can representchanges in a students understanding of thewriting process. In this chapter we presentteachers with formal and informal writingassessments, including writing rubrics andchecklists from kindergarten through thirdgrade. Also we share examples of studentswork in the three modes of writing: expressive,transactional, and poetic.

Chapter 3 provides teachers with a roadmap for implementing writers workshop inthe primary grades. We discuss ways to orga-nize and manage a writers workshop, includ-ing how to introduce a writers notebook andwriting forms. Routines and procedures fordaily writing are established and studentsexpect writing to be a regular part of their lives.

Chapter 4 focuses on the role of mini-lessons for shaping writing development.Young writers need explicit teaching with clearand relevant demonstrations. Too many new

things to learn can overload the childs work-ing memory and interfere with sustainedlearning. Instruction should be aimed at thewriters zone of proximal development(Vygotsky 1978). In this chapter, we presentfour categories of mini-lessons: organization,strategies, skills, and authors craft.

Chapter 5 emphasizes the importance oftalking with children about their writing.During writing conferences, teachers providesupport that is aimed at a students zone ofproximal development. If a writer does notunderstand the intention of instruction, theteacher must scaffold the student in ways thatallow him to develop some degree of under-standing. The level of teacher scaffolding isadjusted according to the needs of the youngwriter. The writing conference plays a criticalrole in developing self-regulated writers.

All the ideas and theories in this text havebeen applied by teachers in primary class-rooms. Our purpose in writing this book hasbeen to provide teachers with some details andvaluable resources for implementing a success-ful writers workshop.

xii Scaffolding Young Writers


WWhen Jessica, my [Lindas] granddaughter,was three years old, she kept a journal withmarkers and crayons on the bottom shelf of thebookcase in my office. Very quickly, shelearned that the journal was a place where shecould record messages; and she knew that thescribbles on the page represented somethingvery important. As I worked in my office, sheworked alongside me, writing notes, letters,stories. On her fifth birthday, I was presentingat a conference, so we had planned to have herbirthday party on the following weekend. OnFriday, I received a telephone call from Jessica,who informed me that she was mad because Ihad missed her birthday. Again, I told her howsad I was, but on Saturday we would have herbirthday party. Saturday came; she was happywith her presents; but later that afternoon, shedecided to write me a lettera reminder that Ihad missed her birthday. She went into myoffice, got her journal and markers, theninformed me, Nana, Im writing you a letter.Cause you forgot my birthday. What areyou going to say in your letter? I asked. Sheresponded, Im mad at you cause you forgotmy birthday. After she finished her letter, I

inquired, Can I read it now? No, sheanswered, cause I need something to put itin. An envelope? I asked. Yes, she said, Ineed an envelope. My husband, Jan, handedher an envelope, and she crumpled the letterinto uneven folds and shoved it into the enve-lope. Again, I asked, Can I read my letternow? In a firm tone, she explained, I have toput your name on it. Then she asked, Howdo you write Nana? I said, Just write it theway you think it would look. She acceptedmy response, addressed the envelope, andhanded it to me: Now you can read it. Andthats so you wont ever forget my birthdayagain!

What does Jessica know about writing?First, she knows that writing is a meaningfuland functional task. When she has somethingto say, she can write her words down for some-one to read. She understands the power andpermanence of putting her thoughts on paper,and she knows that a letter is one way she cancommunicate her message. Also, she knowsthat she can address the letter to a specific per-son. She understands the purpose of writingeven before she has acquired the mechanical

1

1The Development of Young Writers


skills to transcribe her message in convention-al forms. At barely five years old, Jessica is awriter.

The Social and Cognitive Sides of Writing

Writing is by nature a social process. Writingrepresents the means by which a message canbe communicated to someone else. Childrenlearn how to become writers through mean-ingful interactions with more knowledgeablepeople. In an environment where writing is aneveryday occurrence, young children learnimportant lessons about the writing process.They begin to talk about their transcriptions assigns of meaning. They make inquiries such as,What does this say? or How do you makemy name? These early observations aboutprint are the foundations for learning how towrite. If children come from a writing environ-ment prior to first grade, they have alreadyacquired critical understandings for learningabout the writing process.

In her book for parents, Healy (1994)describes the cognitive side of the writing pro-cess. First, she explains, the child must under-stand and pull together ideas or knowledge.This implies that the child must search his ownmemories for the information he desires tocommunicate. These ideas can be global repre-sentations of feelings, emotions, and images.Language becomes a tool for consolidating big-ger ideas into original statements while choos-ing the best words and placing them in the cor-rect order. This complex process is driven by apersonal need to express a just right mes-sage. For the beginning writer, Healy explainshow the child must hold the ideas in workingmemory long enough to transcribe the mes-sage. This becomes a challenge if the child haslimited transcribing skills. Yet, if the message is

meaningful and personal, the child is less like-ly to forget it while dealing with the mechani-cal aspects of recording. The childs ability toorchestrate the social, cognitive, and mechani-cal sides of writing are mediated by a moreknowledgeable person, who scaffolds the childat appropriate points in the writing process.

Writing is a learned skill that is shapedthrough practice and constructive feedback. Itrequires motivation, strategies, skills, andknowledge. When children write, they acquirecognitive strategies for attending, monitoring,searching, evaluating, and self-correcting theiractions (Clay 2001). A self-regulated writer isone who knows how to guide and monitor herwriting actions toward achieving a specificwriting goal. This implies that the self-regulat-ed writer understands how to use specificstrategies for planning, generating, organizing,and revising the writing process (Harris andGraham 1999).

The Writing Process

In teaching writing to young children, we mustrecognize the complexity of the process. Thinka moment about what happens in the mind ofa writer as he creates a written piece. The intri-cacy becomes clear when we apply this con-cept to our own writing. The first step, that ofcoming up with the idea, is based on our expe-riences and knowledgein other words, ourthoughts. These ideas can be spontaneous,elaborated, or general. In either case, the nextstep, that of finding the right words to expressthe idea, is a more challenging task. Thisinvolves rereading and revising the text, forexample, deleting unnecessary words or sec-tions, rearranging sentences and paragraphs,and clarifying concepts. Here, the writer mustalways consider the needs and experiences ofthe reader: this drives the purpose of the writ-

2 Scaffolding Young Writers


ing act. Throughout the process, a writerapplies strategies of organizing, monitoring,and revising with a goal of communicating aspecific message to a particular audience. Thisis a learned process, a skill that develops overtime and requires good models, extensive prac-tice, and constructive feedback from others.

For the beginning writer, the difficult partis finding the right words and phrases toexpress the ideas in logical and sequentialways while simultaneously dealing with themechanical limitations of transcribing the mes-sage. The tension that can occur between themechanics of recording and composing themessage can affect how children (and teachers)view the writing process (Smith 1994). Forinstance, from a mechanical perspective, ayoung childs writing might look accurate, butthe composition could lack depth or variety. Asteachers, we can all relate to the child whowrites the same story day after day using thesame known words. For these children, neathandwriting and accurate spellings representtheir theory of writing. On the other hand, forthe child who focuses exclusively on the mes-sage but lacks the skills for transcribing thewords, the message can be impossible to read.The challenge for the teacher is to validate thecomposition while teaching for the transcrip-tion of the mechanical skills. Here, the goal ofwriting is to develop a well-orchestrated pro-cess that depends on the interrelatedness ofthree aspects of writing (Healy 1994):

Comprehension of ideas Expressive language Facility with mechanics

Lets apply this theory to two beginningwriters. In the first example (Figure 1.1),Heather, a first-grade student, has composed astory about losing her Beanie Babies at daycare. The narrative reflects a personal experi-

Chapter 1 The Development of Young Writers 3

One day I went to day care and I brought two beaniebabies. One was a rabbit and one was a duck. When Ilaid them at my backpack and then when I came backto my backpack, they were gone. It was a big night-mare. Once we looked everywhere. The teacher putup a sign about my beanie babies. They were missing.

Figure 1.1 Heathers writing sample (first grade).


ence, one that is meaningful and relevant toher. As a result, Heather uses vocabulary andsentence structures that are consistent with heroral language. She develops her topic with flu-ency and ease; furthermore, she sustains theidea (losing her Beanie Babies) throughout thepiece. She uses time cues and complex sentencestructures to create a transitional flow (one day,once we looked, and then). Her piece containsabout sixty words, including seventeen differ-ent high-frequency words that are spelled cor-rectly. Moreover, Heather shows an ability toapply strategies for solving unknown words,including compound words, multisyllabicwords, digraphs, and blended sounds. We canassume from Heathers piece that her theory ofwriting is a message-making theory. In the pro-cess of composing a meaningful message,Heather is acquiring knowledge for transcrib-ing her ideas in more conventional language.During conferences with her teacher, Heatherwill sharpen her mechanical skills as a writer;at the same time, she will refine her ability tocompose more sophisticated texts.

Now lets compare Heathers writing tothat of another first-grade writer (Figure 1.2).What is this childs theory of writing? Since thegoal of writing is to communicate images andideas, does this piece meet the writing goal? Incontrast to Heathers message, this particularcomposition lacks depth and emotion. Also, ifwe compare the structure and vocabulary, wecan see a dramatic difference, for this piececonsists of four sentences that are similar instructure and word choices. The entire piececontains only sixteen words, nine of them dif-ferent. All words are familiar, one-syllablewords; therefore, this text does not provide theyoung writer with opportunities to try outstrategies for unknown spellings. From thissample, we can assume that the childs theoryof writing is one of neat handwriting and accu-rate spellings.

When teaching writing to young children,teachers must strive to create a balancebetween composing and transcribing skills. Ifour teaching becomes unbalanced, this willinfluence how children view the writing pro-cess. The ultimate goal of teaching is to pro-mote an orchestration process. It is importantto note that orchestration occurs at the pointwhere old knowledge meets new knowledge: ifthe child has too many new things to learn, thiscan interfere with the orchestration process.The primary grades are critical times for shap-ing orchestration. When teachers analyze chil-drens writing, they can design their writingprogram based on what children already knowand what they need to know to move theirwriting forward.

Table 1.1 lists the cognitive and perceptualchallenges that young writers must deal withas they attempt to orchestrate the writing pro-cess. These phases are not intended to be static,for the process is much too complex to place ina sequence. However, in our experiences withyoung writers, we have found that childrenexhibit specific benchmark behaviors along acontinuum of writing control. The processes ofcomposing, transcribing, editing, and revisingwork together to shape writing knowledge.This implies that teachers must recognizebehaviors that indicate how students arebecoming writers; and we must teach for theorchestration of the writing processes (see


Figure 1.2 A first-grade writing sample.



Composing (Writing Fluency)

Emergent Writers

Generates topic or idea with teach-er assistance

Uses an emerging sense of writersvoice based on oral language struc-tures

Holds the language in memorywhile transcribing the message

Returns to the beginning of the sentence; rereads to remember thenext word

Writes a simple message of one tothree sentences

Beginning Early Writers

Generates topics or ideas with orwithout teacher assistance

Begins to use a topic list to recordideas

Holds ideas in memory while tran-scribing the message

Records series of events in chrono-logical order from beginning to end(e.g., bed-to-bed)

Uses simple transition words to sup-port time flow

Uses dialogue

Late Early Writers

Creates an opening sentence orphrase that leads into the writing(once upon a time, last night, oneday)

Develops and maintains the ideathroughout the piece

Begins to experiment with usingdescriptive words, strong nouns,and muscular verbs

Begins to develop an awareness ofwriters voice

Ends with a closing statement (theend, that was a good day)

Begins to develop an awareness forpublishing criteria

Table 1.1 Orchestrating the Writing Process in Narrative Writing

Transcribing (Encoding)

Emergent Writers

Attends to early concepts aboutprint

Attends to letter formation

Says words slowly

Hears and records sounds in words(not necessarily in sequential order)

Uses resources to help with tran-scribing letters and words (e.g., ABCchart, name chart, word book)


Records letters and known wordsmore fluently

Analyzes unknown words usingslow articulation

Records letters in word sequence

Tries out spellings on practice page

Spells most high-frequency wordsaccurately

Late Early Writers

Attends to spelling patterns; recordswords more fluently

Editing and Revising

Emergent Writers

Edits by crossing out letters or par-tially known words (e.g., name,high-frequency word)

Edits by trying out letters and exper-iments with recording new words


Edits by crossing out unwanted let-ters and words

Edits by circling words that do notlook right

Revises message by adding a wordor two to the text

Late Early Writers

Edits by recording word attempts onthe spelling trial page

Edits by looking up circled words ina simple dictionary

Uses forms in writing notebook toassist with better word choices

Uses a writing checklist to edit andrevise writing

Revises message by using caret ^ toadd new words or ideas to the text

Revises message by deleting somewords and using proofreading tech-niques, such as drawing a linethrough unwanted text

Uses publishing checklist to preparea piece for publication


Dorn and Soffos 2001a). Teachers can ask foursimple questions to promote this process:

What is easy for the writer to do?What is hard for the writer to do? What does the teacher expect the writer to

do?What does the teacher expect to do for the

writer?

As an example, lets apply this concept tothe task of revision. First, it is important tokeep in mind that revision relates to the mean-ing level (in contrast to editing at the mechani-cal level). In scaffolding young writers, therevising process can occur along a continuumof easier to harder tasks:

Adding words to a text is easier to do.Therefore, the teacher can introduce acaret and show the students how to usethis mark for inserting a word or twowithin their text.

Deleting words from a text is harder to do;deleting lines or phrases is even more difficult.Thats because young writers haveworked hard to record longer stories, andthey think every word is important. Thisrevision skill is more difficult because itrequires writers to think critically abouttheir piece and eliminate unnecessarywords or phrases that can muddy themessage. As writers develop longer texts(mostly chronological recounts rather thanstories), the teacher can scaffold them tothink about the main idea of the text andintroduce proofreading techniques (e.g.,lines drawn through phrases or words)that support the revising process.

Substituting words for other words is moredifficult because it requires writers to knowmultiple meanings for words. This complexskill is developed as teachers provideyoung writers with opportunities to devel-op rich vocabularies and explore wordmeanings. During mini-lessons and writ-


Transitional Writers

Uses good leads that grab the atten-tion of the reader

Uses strong nouns and muscularverbs

Uses descriptive language to createmind pictures

Uses transitional words and phrasesfor time flow

Recognizes and applies writersvoice

Ties text together with interesting orcreative endings

Understands and applies publishingcriteria in preparing a piece for anaudience


Creates and revises multiple draftsof leads

Revises word choices and substi-tutes richer vocabulary

Revises message by eliminatingredundant and unnecessary infor-mation

Revises and groups ideas by re-arranging words, sentences, orphrases; uses proofreading toolssuch as cut-and-paste, asterisks, circles, and lines to group ideas

Uses editing and revising checklists

Uses dictionaries and thesauruses

Incorporates revisions and editinginto final draft

Increases accuracy of final draft


Attends to word meanings

Increased speed and accuracy

Spells most unknown wordsaccording to word parts

Table 1.1 Orchestrating the Writing Process in Narrative Writing (continued)


ing conferences, the teacher guides youngwriters to think about better word choicesand use resources as tools for examiningword meanings (see Chapter 3).

Rearranging sentences and paragraphs is themost difficult skill. To accomplish thissophisticated task, writers must under-stand how to organize smaller detailsunder a bigger idea, including knowledgefor how sentences and paragraphs aregrouped into related themes. For begin-ning writers, teachers can scaffold thisprocess with mini-lessons and conferencesthat focus on simple cut-and-paste tech-niques that allow writers to physicallymove their text around. At the same time,teachers provide explicit lessons in proof-reading techniques, such as asterisks forinserting new information and circles andlines for rearranging texts.

In this example of revision, weve illustrat-ed the change over time that can occur as thewriter becomes more skilled at organizing andcommunicating her ideas. For the proficientwriter, the process is working smoothly, simplybecause the writer has developed control of thetranscribing process, and she can devote herattention to the craft of writing. However,along the way to proficiency, it serves us wellas teachers to consider the cognitive andmechanical demands on beginning writers asthey refine their composition skills.

Levels of Writing Competence

The Emergent Writer

At the emergent level, the greatest challengeoccurs with transcribing the message: writingletters and words, hearing and recordingsounds in words, and conventions of print(spacing, directional movement across print).

With teacher guidance, the emergent writerlearns to use simple resources (ABC charts,name charts, word books) to assist problem-solving efforts. When teachers coach emergentwriters to cross out letters and experiment withnew words, they are building editing skills.These risk-taking behaviors are the basis forearly monitoring, searching, and self-correctingactions, all of which are the foundation for suc-cessful writing. Here, childrens stories are shortenough to be held in memory as they deal withthe mechanical issues of getting the message onpaper. Using their oral language as a scaffold forwritten language, children expect writing to bemeaningful and functional. Therefore, theypractice rereading behaviors that allow them tomake logical and realistic predictions for theupcoming words and phrases. The goalthat ofmaking meaningis achieved as young writerswork to create a balance between composingand transcribing the message. (See Figure 1.3 fora writing sample by an emergent writer.)


One day me and my doll went to jump and my dollgot caught in the fan.

Figure 1.3 A writing sample by an emergent writer.


The Early Writer

As young writers acquire more skill with print,they can attend more actively to the composingprocess. About this time, they begin to thinkabout the length of their stories; in many cases,they fill in the page with repetitive words andstructures that resemble the patterned (styl-ized) stories they are reading. Here, it is com-mon for children to evaluate their work withcomments such as, Look at how many pages Iwrote! or I wrote a lot today! Generally, thisphase is followed by the bed-to-bed storywhere childrens writing consists of an accountof the day from the time they get up in themorning until they go to bed at night. Here is aclassic example of a bed-to-bed story writtenby Mary Catherine, a first-grade writer:

What a day, I said. It is Easter Sunday. I raninto my moms bedroom. I jumped on her bed. Isaid, Wake up. My mom woke up. I said, It isEaster. Then we went into the living room. Isaw my Easter basket. I saw my brothers baskettoo. It had a lot of things in it. Then my dad wokeup. He said, Happy Easter. He looked into mybasket. He said, You got a lot of toys. I said tomy mom, Can I fly my kite. My mom said,No you cant. So I did not get to fly my kitethat day. It was okay. My mom said, Maybeanother time. Then my grandmother came overto my house to eat with us. Then we got to eatstrawberries. I got to eat my strawberries in mymom and my dads bedroom. Then my grand-mother went home. Then I put my bowl in thesink. Then I went back into my moms and mydads bedroom. I played with the bunnies. It wasfun. Then my mom said, It is time for you to getto bed. Before I went to bed my mom read abook to me. Then I went to bed.

From these chronological accounts, youngwriters learn how to select one event anddevelop the idea. When this happens, the writ-

ing becomes shorter and more focused. In thefollowing example, written six weeks later,Mary Catherine focuses her attention on oneidea (learning to ride her bike) and sustainsthis theme throughout her writing piece:

One day my mom was teaching me to ride mybike without training wheels. I didnt knowhow to ride my bike without training wheels. Itried but I kept falling off my bike. My momleaned over me so I would not fall off. I startedto fall but my mom caught me. I rode my bikefor a long way and then my mom let go of mybike. I did not fall off. I had a great day ridingmy bike!

The benefits of writing longer texts are evi-dent in the increased number of words thechild writes. As a result, the transcribing pro-cess becomes smoother and more automatic.Now the writer records letters and words withgreater ease, analyzes unknown words usingslow articulation, and records letters in wordsequence. The very act of writing increases thechilds attention to print; thus, the young writ-er begins to notice more about the visual infor-mation. This leads to early editing strategiesa time when the writer begins to circle wordsthat do not look right. It is important to notethat early writers do not have to correct allwords; instead they are learning to self-moni-tor their work, thus laying the foundation formore overt searching and self-correctingbehaviors. In writers workshop, studentslearn the importance of recording ideas fluent-ly in first drafts and then applying editing andrevising techniques to refine the message.

The early writer moves along a continuumthat reflects greater skill with the writing pro-cess, including good opening sentences, betterword choices (descriptive words, nouns, andverbs), and a sense of closure. About the sametime, the teacher introduces the early writer to



new resources, including writing forms andchecklists (see Chapter 3). These tools serve asself-help guides to promote independentthinking. The important point is that the childmust possess the knowledge and skills to usethese resources in productive ways.

The Transitional Writer

At the transitional level, the transcribing skillsof young writers are faster and more automatic.This control frees their attention to focus moreactively on the craft of writing. By this time, thewriter has acquired greater competence withthe processes of writing, including composingmultiple drafts, editing and revising tech-niques, incorporating changes into the finalversion, and preparing a piece for publication.The transitional writer is able to pull out specif-ic sections from a draft and attend more closelyto specific details within the writing piece, forexample, creating good leads that grab thereaders attention and developing vivid set-tings and characters (see Chapter 4). Duringrevision, writers rearrange sentences and para-

graphs, substitute richer vocabulary, use strongnouns, muscular verbs, and descriptive lan-guage to create mind pictures. The transitionalwriter has become more efficient at orchestrat-ing the processes of writing.

Closing Thoughts

In developing independent writers, we mustconsider the cognitive and social sides to learn-ing. Since all new learning is grounded in oldlearning experiences, teachers must be attunedto what the child already knows. Thus, thewriter learns how to use existing knowledge toguide and regulate new learning activity. In theprocess, knowledge becomes organized into awell-orchestrated network of related experi-ences. The important point is that the writercan access this knowledge more efficiently andrapidly because of its interrelated nature (incontrast to isolated information). For us, asteachers, the goal of writing instruction is toprovide young writers with opportunities forlearning about the processes of writing.



TThe link between assessment and instruction isindissoluble because we cannot plan writinginstruction for our students without under-standing what they know about the writingprocess. Teachers should create instructionalopportunities that allow students to applyproblem-solving solutions to their writing. Inscaffolding young writers, primary teachersmust

Recognize and understand the develop-mental changes that occur over time as thewriter becomes more competent in a par-ticular area

Understand the role of the curriculum inshaping the writing development ofyoung children

In this chapter, the assessment of writing isinfluenced by a process-oriented theory. If chil-dren are not progressing as writers, then wemust examine our writing program for theopportunities it provides them to learn aboutwriting. To assess childrens writing develop-ment, we can ask questions, such as

Do they have a habit of writing? Do theychoose to write?

Can they select their own topics? Do they understand the writing process,

including prewriting, first draft, revis-ing, editing, final draft, and publica-tion?

Do they know how to use editing check-lists and rubrics to evaluate their ownwriting?

Do they use resources, such as dictionariesand thesauruses, to check theirspelling and vocabulary?

Do they understand the craft of writing?Do they read like a writer?

Do they attend to the writing techniquesand language used by their favoriteauthors?

Can they write for different purposes? Dothey understand how to organize theirwriting to accommodate a particularaudience? Can they use knowledge oftext genre to plan their writing?

Do they use spelling that is developmen-tally appropriate for their grade level?

10

2Assessing Writing Development


Is their language appropriate for theirgrade level?

Formal Assessments of Primary-Grade Writers

Based on these questions and standards fromthe New Standards Primary Committee (1999),we worked with classroom teachers and litera-cy coaches to develop end-of-year rubrics toassess the writing development of primary stu-dents who were in writers workshop class-rooms. During the first year, we scored 245first-grade writing samples; during the secondyear, we scored over 1,500 first-grade writingsamples and over 250 second-grade writingsamples. In the process, we refined some of thecategories, eliminated redundant categories,and placed quantitative parameters (e.g.,some versus all) around particular areas ofcompetence. Our goal was to develop a stan-dardized tool that would allow us to examineyoung students understanding of the writingprocess.

The rubrics were categorized to cover threeareas of writing development: (1) process andhabits, (2) audience, purpose, and authorscraft, and (3) language use and conventions(see Appendix A). Here, we use the rubrics toexamine the writing processes of first-, second-,and third-grade students.

Under Standard I, primary students wereassessed on their understanding of the writ-ing process, including first draft, revising,editing, and final draft criteria. UnderStandard II, students were assessed on theirknowledge of the writing craft, specificallytheir ability to compose a focused piece ofwriting with a good opening, logical orderingof events, and a sense of closure. UnderStandard III, students were assessed on theirmechanical and language skills, including

style and syntax, word choice, spelling, andpunctuation. The point of this assessment wasto provide us with a tool for evaluating howwell the students understood the writing pro-cess. Were they able to guide and regulatetheir own learning with no teacher interven-tion? Could they take a standard prompt anddevelop this idea into a focused piece ofexpressive writing? Could they apply theirknowledge of the writing process to theirindependent work? Could they use writingresources to self-evaluate and improve theirown writing? Simply put, we were interestedin seeing if the children could transfer theirunderstanding of the writing process to astandardized writing context.

The three-day setting for this end-of-yearassessment was during the regular forty-five-minute block for writers workshop. The sameprompt was given to all first-, second-, andthird-grade students. On day 1, the studentswere given the following prompt: Write abouta special time that youve had with your fami-ly or friend. This will be your first draft copy. Iwont help you in any way because youalready know so many ways to help yourself.The children were allowed to use the entireperiod to develop their topic. However, whenthe first draft was completed, the teacher filedit away for the next days step. On day 2, theteacher passed out the first draft version andsaid, Today, I want you to reread your firstdraft and revise and edit your work. You canuse dictionaries, checklists, or other resourcesto help yourself. I wont help you in any waybecause you already know how to help your-self. After the children had completed thisprocess, they attached their editing checklistsor practice pages to their edited version andturned all materials in to the teacher. On day 3,the teacher passed out the writing, and sheprompted, Today, you will write your finalversion. Reread your story; then write your

Chapter 2 Assessing Writing Development 11


final copy. I wont help you because you knowhow to help yourself.

First-Grade Writers

Lets look at three examples of work by first-graders. In the first example, Asia takes theprompt about a special time with her familyand develops an expressive story entitled

Candyland (Figure 2.1a). She uses a writerstechnique of heavy, bold lines to express herfeelings of anger, and she applies her knowl-edge of repetitive text structure to create a storythat resembles many of the books she has read.For a first-grade writer, Asias piece shows asophisticated attempt to produce a contrastingpattern of images (And it made me feelANGRY! But it was just a game). Toward the


Figure 2.1a Edited draft of Asias story (first grade).


end of her story, she describes how they wereall proud of her dad because he didnt cry.Although in the last two sentences, her storyseems to fall apart, overall, Asias writing is astrong piece with good qualities of a first-gradewriter. In assessing her understanding of thewriting process, Asia applies editing techniques

(circling misspelled words); she uses the dictio-nary to correct all spelling errors (angrie/angry;agine/again; prowde/proud; wone/won; sesid/said); and she uses ending punctuation (excla-mation mark, period) and capitalization withaccuracy. Her final draft (Figure 2.1b) reflectsall her revisions and corrections.


Figure 2.1b Final draft of Asias story.


In the second example, Tharisha describes aspecial day at the park with her family (Figure2.2). The story concentrates on a focal event, thatis, playing hide-and-seek. Tharisha includesdetailed sequences with repeated phrases (Ihid behind the tree. My mom hid behind theslide. Grandma hid behind the tall green grass)that build up to a culminating event (Daddysaid, Ready or not, here I come. So he found mymom first and my grandma next and me last).She uses transitional words to create time flowin her story (then, first, next, finally). Her use ofdescriptive words (tall green grass) reflects herexperience with book language. She concludesher story by telling about how she played thegame with her thirteen-year-old brother. In herfinal statement, she revisits the intention of thestoryto describe a special day with her family.For a first-grade writer, Tharisha shows a goodunderstanding of writing purpose, and sheknows how to develop a topic, add details, andsustain the idea throughout her piece. In thearea of mechanics, Tharisha uses hyphens inhide-and-seek, a form of punctuation that wemight not expect to see in first-grade writing.This can also be said of her accurate use of sub-jective pronouns (my family and I) in her firstdraft. In her edited version, she circles words,corrects saed/said, and uses her practice page(not shown) to try out several spellings forunknown words. These behaviors indicate thatTharisha understands the writing process and isable to write a well-focused story without teach-er assistance.

In the third example, Anna takes the topicof a special time and develops an expressivestory about a skiing trip with her family(Figure 2.3). In her edited draft, she circledwords that did not look right to her and self-corrected most of them. Her writing reflectsher understanding of narrative text; she has abeginning, middle, and ending; and she usesdetails to expand upon her topic. Annas writ-ing is a nice example of how the voices of

young writers can creep into their writing. Thisis characterized by writing that sounds likespeech written down. In Annas case, it isalmost like a sideline conversationher per-sonal commentsthat she interjects into the


Figure 2.2 Edited draft of Tharishas story (first grade).


story line (Where we went was, I think that itwas the lake. Me and Austin went because wedid not have anything going on and plus theyinvited us to go). She uses transitional wordsand adds a conclusion that focuses on the topicof a special day with her cousins.

Second- and Third-Grade Writers

Now lets look at the writing performance ofsecond- and third-grade students. At the end of

the year, the students were given the promptWrite about a special time youve had withyour family or friend. On the second- andthird-grade rubrics (see Appendix A), writingcriteria are slightly adjusted to reflect studentsexperience and knowledge with the writingprocess. For instance, on Standard II (audienceand writing purposes), first-grade students areexpected to include an opening sentence, butby third grade the students are assessed ontheir ability to develop good leads. A similarshift occurs in concluding the story: in firstgrade a sense of closure is appropriate, but bythird grade students are expected to summa-rize their stories with a more interesting end-ing. This implies that knowledge of the writingprocess develops through meaningful and rel-evant practice over an extended period of time.In other words, in the primary grades, this is acase of becoming a better writer by practicingdaily habits of writing.

Katie is a second-grade writer from a writ-ers workshop classroom. She builds on theprompt of a special time by describing a writ-ing contest that she entered (Figure 2.4). Shecomposes a lead section that establishes thetheme of the story. In contrast to early writers(who generally write a single sentence or two),Katies lead includes an opening sentence anddialogue. (My class was reading a book. ThenMr. Barnhill said, We are going to enter a con-test. It will be fun. You have to write a storywith five pages and one hundred words).Her voice comes through in her writing (I hadfun writing. Not to brag but I think it wasgood) and is documented in her style of com-posing; for instance, she uses a range of sen-tence lengths, dialogue, transitional words,students names, reactionary phrases, and avariety of punctuation. Katie uses words tocommunicate emotions (I was ready to jumpup! And thats when all the excitement fellout of me). Her text has the characteristics ofa story, with a beginning, middle, and ending,


Figure 2.3 Final draft of Annas story (first grade).



Figure 2.4 Katies story (second grade).


including a sense of suspense that builds up tothe announcement of the winner in the writingcontest. In the area of mechanics, Katie showsknowledge of punctuation and grammar. Onthe writing rubric, Katies overall piece meetsthe requirements for a proficient second-gradewriter.

Darren, a third-grader, introduces the topicof a special time with his dad by establishingthe scene for a frog gigging trip:

One dark and cloudy night my dad and I wentfrog gigging in my Uncle Davids pond. Thepond was not just any old kind of pond. It was aspecial place for my dad and me to spend timetogether doing what we both love to do . . . froggigging! The frogs love the pond, I think becauseof the tall spiny weeds for them to hide in whendanger appears, the huge rocks for them to leapabout on and the tremendous amount of cricketsand bugs that swarm the top of the water.

This night was no different. My dad camein from work late and said, How about a tripto Uncle Davids pond tonight? I jumped upwith excitement and headed for the garage togather our spears, flashlight and buckets. Thendad and I hopped in the truck and drove to thepond. When we arrived the crickets were chirp-ing, chirp, chirp and the frogs were croakingloudly. I could hardly wait to spear the firstfrog. Dad and I crept quietly toward the watershining our flashlights along the way. Finally,we were at the pond. I spotted two huge frogson a rock. I wasted no time. I lifted up my spearand aimed it right toward the biggest frog.Whew . . . Got him, I yelled. Dad gigged oneand I gigged three! We ended up with twelvefrog legs to take home that night.

Going to my uncles pond with my dad is aspecial time for me that I will never forget. I willalways remember everything about our froggigging trips and I know we will always gothere as long as the frogs are still around.

In his opening paragraph, he uses words to cre-ate images of a special kind of pond (not justany old kind of pond) where frogs are plenti-ful. He adds supporting details that describethe special nature of the pond (tall spinyweeds for them to hide in when dangerappears, huge rocks for them to leap about onand the tremendous amount of crickets andbugs that swarm the top of the water). It isclear that Darren understands his topic, for hiswords provide a rich setting for a successfulfrog gigging trip. His voice is clear throughouthis piece; for instance, he includes a variety ofsentences, enthusiasm for the topic, effectiveuse of dialogue, strong verbs, solid nouns, andrich descriptions. Furthermore, his writingreveals an understanding of paragraph struc-ture: in his concluding paragraph, he revisitsthe topic of his writing and ends with closingstatements that tie his piece together. Darrensfinal draft reflects proficiency in areas of punc-tuation, capitalization, and grammar. On thewriting rubric, Darren exceeds the standard fora proficient third-grade writer.

Informal Assessments of Second- andThird-Grade Writers

In the previous section, we used a standard-ized assessment to provide us with valuableinformation on students understanding of thewriting process. In this section, we look atexamples of informal writing assessments.Appendix B provides two forms that teacherscan use with second- and third-grade students.First, the informal writing checklist providesteachers with an assessment tool that enablesthem to study childrens writing developmentover time, including their ability to write textsin different genres (autobiography, biography,report, tall tale, folk tale, fairy tale, mystery, let-ter, note, directions, instructions, recipe, story



retelling, innovation, and poetry). The secondform is an example of a text guidein thiscase, for tall talesthat can provide studentswith a temporary scaffold for composing (andevaluating) their own genre writings. Letslook at two examples of students work from athird-grade classroom.

In the first example, Jackies draft versionof a tall tale (Figure 2.5) indicates her under-standing of the writing process; for instance,she rearranges her text to clarify meaning,inserts words and phrases, revises word choic-

es, and circles words that do not look right. Inthe area of mechanics, Jackie shows proficiencywith capitalization, punctuation, pronounusage, and subject-verb agreement. In lan-guage areas, Jackie uses a variety of sentencestructures. In her first draft, she does not attendto paragraph structure, but in her final draft(not shown), which resulted from a teacherconference, Jackie indicated that she is aware ofthis skill.

A secondary goal of this assessment is tostudy how well the student applies knowledge


Figure 2.5 Jackies tall tale (third grade).


of genre to independent writing. Thus, teach-ers have prepared text guides that students canuse to organize and evaluate different forms ofwriting. Jackie has written a tall tale entitledOld Betsy Sue. She includes many of thecharacteristics associated with this genre. Forinstance, in her lead sentences, she uses wordsto create an image of the night that Old BetsySue was born. (The wind was blowing hard,the moon was glowing bright, and that nightOld Betsy Sue was born). Jackie displays anunderstanding for how exaggerations can beused for developing character traits: WhenOld Betsy cried, she made the wind blow, theclouds move, and the crops grow. She usesphrases that create an atmosphere of a story-teller sitting on a porch while spinning a yarnof exaggerated events (I tell you what, notto mention). Here, Jackie meets the criteria forwriting a tall tale, yet as her story continues, itbegins to lose its quality as a tall tale. Withmore experience in this genre, Jackie willacquire greater proficiency in writing this typeof story.

Now lets look at Mahdis writing sampleof a tall tale, a final draft of a story that he com-posed in writers workshop:

The Tale of Jack GreenOne stormy night a baby was born in a oneroom house in Texas. He could pick up onehundred pounds with one hand. When he criedhe would scare a bear one hundred miles away.His name was Jack Green. Jack was as strong asthree hundred bears and could run so fast thathe could beat four hundred cheetahs. Jack wasthe strongest man in Texas.

Jack learned about cowboys and he was thebest cowboy across the state. Then he met abull. I bet I can ride that bull just like a horse.

Do you want to ride that bull? asked astranger. Thats the wildest bull in the westand nobody can ride it.

I want to ride it today, Jack said.The bull did not buck Jack. Jack made the

bull his friend. One day a girl was riding a bearand her name was Sue Blue. She was thewildest girl in the west. Her horses name wasLightning. Sue and Jack got married.

Jack had to do a pounds test to see who wasthe strongest man in the world. The first onewas 50 pounds, then 60 pounds, then 100pounds, then 1000 pounds and Jack won thetest. Sue was as happy as a cat.

Sue had a fight with a lion and she won.Sue and Jack went east to Little Rock, and onthe way, they met Paul Bunyan. Paul was goingto Texas in the South. Sue, Jack, and Paul weregoing across the world, but Sue left Jack. Jackwas mad at Paul and he had a fight with Pauland won.

Jack went to Texas. There was a flood andJack had to do something, so he got a big buck-et and put the water in it and poured it in thehole and he made a lake. It was the biggest lakein the world. He saved everyones life and hewas made the smartest man in Texas.

In contrast to Jackies story, Mahdi shows a bet-ter understanding of the tall tale genre. Forinstance, he uses exaggerations to illustrate thesize and strength of the characters (scare abear one hundred miles away, lift 1000pounds, fight a lion and win, stop a flood witha bucket, and make the biggest lake in theworld). In his setting, he places his charactersin real locations (Texas, Little Rock), thus bring-ing truth and fantasy together to create a talltale. In his piece, Mahdi describes how thecharacter deals with hardships by using hisstrength and size to overcome challenges.Based on this writing sample, Mahdi under-stands this genre form; as he reads more, hisskills with writing tall tales will improve. Afilled-in checklist for Mahdis story is shown inFigure 2.6.



Benchmark Writing Behaviors

Kindergarten Writing

During literacy team meetings (see Dorn,French, and Jones 1998; Dorn and Soffos2001a), teachers have analyzed childrens writ-ing samples over time, and theyve identifiedbenchmark behaviors for proficiency at differ-ent grade levels. Lets take a look at someexamples of proficient writing for kindergartento third-grade students. At the end of the

kindergarten year, teachers can expect stu-dents to:

Generate topics and lists for writing Understand that writing should make

sense Write a narrative that includes three or

four events in order Produce writing that uses some of the

words and phrases from read-aloud books Write a reaction to a story Maintain a focus for writing about a topic


Figure 2.6 Checklist for Mahdis tall tale (third grade). Appendix B provides a blank form.


Read their own writing to others (soonafter the writing is completed, they canstill remember the message)

Write initial sounds and some endingsounds to represent words (semiphoneticstage of spelling)

Leave spaces between words Experiment with punctuation (e.g., use

periods or exclamation marks throughouttheir writing)

Rachels writing (Figure 2.7) meets the pro-ficiency standard for a kindergarten writer atthe end of the year. Here, she responds to aninformational book, Where Are the Eggs?, a textshe has read in her kindergarten guided read-ing group. In her piece, Rachel maintains a

focus for the story and includes specific detailsthat relate to the topic (mothers and their eggs).In the area of spelling development, Rachelexceeds proficiency for her grade level. Shewrites six different high-frequency words accu-rately (is, in, the, are, for, looking), and herattempts to spell unknown words can be clas-sified as being at the phonetic stage (Muther,trtl, sea, hr, chikin, fiding, bloow, brd, srching,fluminggo). She understands the concept ofspace and shows an awareness of capitaliza-tion (Muther) and ending punctuation (sheadds a period in two placesafter feeding yardand at the end of her story). Rachel has devel-oped important skills and strategies for writ-ing; furthermore, she has acquired a habit ofwriting.


Figure 2.7 A writing sample from a proficient kindergartner.


First-Grade Writing

The first-grade teachers identified the follow-ing behaviors as goals for first-grade writers.The checklist provides teachers with a roadmap for planning focused mini-lessons. By theend of the first-grade year, teachers can expectthe writer to

Use a topic sentence that grabs the read-ers attention

Organize texts according to beginning,middle, and ending parts

Include supporting details Write informational texts on known topics Demonstrate an awareness of how

descriptive language can be used to addinteresting details to a story

Use capitalization and punctuation cor-rectly most of the time

Think about how words look visually anduse this knowledge to problem-solve onunknown words

Write high-frequency words with ease Use a dictionary to check spellings of

unknown words Demonstrate an awareness of how a the-

saurus can help with word meanings inwriting a story

Madison, a first-grade writer, is well on herway to meeting proficiency in these benchmarkareas. Her December writing sample (Figure2.8) is a first draft of an informational text thatoutlines the steps for building a snowman. Sheuses a topic sentence to introduce the themeand includes five specific steps in sequence forbuilding the snowman. Madisons voice comesthrough in her piece, as she tells the reader, Ihope next time you will get it right. Thatswhat I did last year and I had a fun time. Heruse of transitional words (last year, then, also,after that) indicates her understanding of timeelements for explaining the order of events. Inthe area of mechanics, Madison spells high-

frequency words correctly; she makes goodphonetic approximations for unknown words;she circles several words that do not look rightto her (stec/sticks; a raned/around; hed/head;rily/really); and she uses a simple dictionary toself-correct some of these words (hat, next, how,what). Madison is in a writers workshop class-room, and she views writing as a natural partof her day. Based on this sample, we canassume that she will meet the proficiency stan-dards for writing performance by the end ofher first-grade year.

Second-Grade Writing

By second grade, students should be able tosustain their attention for longer periods ofwriting. They can spell most high-frequencywords automatically, and they have acquired arepertoire of strategies for spelling unknownwords. Their understanding of the writing pro-cess will continue to develop as they work onlonger pieces of writing and gain more experi-ence with various genres. Classroom teachershave identified the following benchmarkbehaviors as evidence of writing proficiencyfor second-graders:

Stay focused on a topic Use dialogue effectively Develop settings and characters with rich-

er details Write longer texts with multiple problems Use figurative language, similes, and

metaphors Use text maps and guides to plan and

evaluate writing Create good lead sentences that grab the

readers attention Show awareness of paragraph organiza-

tion for grouping ideas Use editing resources to check on spellings

(dictionary, checklists, wall charts)



Use a thesaurus to revise word meanings Show awareness of comma usage Use pronouns appropriately most of the

time

Molly, a second-grade student, meets profi-ciency for writing an informational text. Herpiece is a published version that includes accu-rate details and precise information about frogs


Figure 2.8 A writing sample by a proficient first-grader.


(Figure 2.9). She has written two pages of well-organized text that reveal her understanding ofthis format. She includes an opening sentencethat introduces her topic (I am going to tellyou about the life cycle about frogs!) and aclosing section that concludes her writing (Isure had a great time learning about the lifecycle of frogs. Did you? I hope so!). Herknowledge of content and text organization isadequate for a second-grade writer. Since thisis her published version, her spellings andpunctuation are accurate. Molly is in a writersworkshop classroom, and she understands theprocesses of planning, first draft, revising, edit-ing, final draft, and publication. For this piece,she used a variety of writing tools to help her-self, including an informational guide to orga-nize her writing, editing checklists, and class-room resources (dictionaries and referencebooks).

Third-Grade Writing

By the end of third grade, children have grownconsiderably as writers. They understand theimportance of their audience; and their knowl-edge of the writing craft has improved withpractice. In many of the benchmark areas,third-grade writers are similar to second-gradewriters. The major difference is that third-graders have acquired an extra year of experi-ence, resulting in their ability to producelonger texts with richer content and vocabu-lary. Also, these students have become moreefficient at revising their pieces, including cut-and-paste techniques for adding sentences andmoving around paragraphs. They carry a writ-ers log around with them and record notesand ideas as they occur. Some benchmarkbehaviors of third-grade writers include

Write longer texts with more complex lan-guage patterns

Create texts that include chapters, tables ofcontents, and diagrams

Use paragraphs to organize text Use figurative language, similes,

metaphors with greater ease Use vocabulary and phrases that stimulate

images in the minds of the reader Use lead sentences that pull the reader

into the text Use classroom references and writing tools

independently Apply standard criteria to self-evaluate

work

Following are two samples of writing thatexceed the criteria for proficiency at the end ofthird grade. The first is a poem entitledWisteria Vine.

Wisteria VineA pretty wisteria vine grows in my yard.The flowers are fragrant.Soft, purple and silky, but the vine is very hard.When Im walking with my dog or a friend,Its fragrant scent is brought to me by the wind.I feel as though it were blooming just for me.That beautiful wisteria vine growing up a tree.

In this piece, Elizabeth uses words to createimages of smell (fragrant scent is brought tome by the wind) and touch (soft, purple andsilky, but the vine is very hard). She under-stands how phrases can be arranged to create asmooth rhythmic quality that is associatedwith poetic writing. Elizabeth is an avid writer,and she carries her writers log with her every-where she goes. She records the smallestimpressions of sound, sight, and touch. Whenshe writes poetry, she uses sensory words toevoke rich images in the minds of her readers.In a second piece by Elizabeth, she writes amystery in journal form, based on the adven-tures of Sherlock Holmes. Here, we have




Figure 2.9 A writing sample by a proficient second-grader.


included one entry from her journal to illus-trate her understanding of the writing craft.

The Journal of Elizabeth Holmes, 1921The murder took place in a large city in a valleyin Egypt. There had been a terrorist attackrecently and many people had been killed. I amDetective Elizabeth Holmes and my assistant isTiffan. The mystery I am about to solve is theMystery of the Silver Perfume Bottle.

The mystery started when there was a ter-rorist attack at the Cairo Airport. One of thepeople murdered was a lantern maker.Someone had told me that the murderer wasone of the mans protectors. It was also said thatone of the mans ancestors had been one ofKing Tuts subjects and that the man knewwhere King Tuts tomb was located. The manwas rich and the heir to a fortune when hisuncle died. His protector had murdered him toget all of the money that he had just inherited. Idecided to search his house. It was there that Ifound a peculiar looking little silver perfumebottle. It had perfume in it. I sprayed some on.Along with a musty scent, a note floated out. Ithad been written by the lantern maker. It said tokeep his servant Roli undercover because hehad vowed to kill the lantern maker. The notealso said that King Tuts tomb was in the Valleyof the Kings!

I quickly wrote Howard Carter and told himabout the tomb. Later in 1922, King Tuts tombwas discovered.

She creates a setting that is based on realisticevents (a terrorist attack at the Cairo airport);she includes real people in her story (King Tut,Howard Carter); and she develops a mysteryaround a known happening (the discovery ofKing Tuts tomb). In both of Elizabeths writingsamples, she shows an ability to use languagein expressive ways.

Three Modes of Writing

An important goal of writing proficiency is thestudents ability to write for different audi-ences and purposes. This means that teachersmust provide children with a range of writingexperiences. Earlier, we shared a writing check-list that includes a section for documentingchildrens writing performance on varioustypes of text (see Appendix B). For teachers,this checklist helps to ensure that we are pro-viding our students with opportunities to learnhow to write in different forms. In classrooms,we emphasize three modes of writing, whichinclude the expressive, transactional, and poet-ic forms (Briton 1970). Here, we share writingexamples from kindergarten to third-gradeclassrooms that illustrate these three forms.

Expressive Writing

This writing is personal writing, so it oftensounds like speech written down. It is the easi-est form of writing for the beginning writerbecause it is based on the childs own languageand experiences. Students should feel comfort-able with this form of writing before they moveon to the transactional and poetic forms.Expressive forms of writing include journalwriting, personal letters, and narrative storiesthat revolve around the writers life (what helikes, what happens to him, where he goes).Figures 2.102.13 show examples of expressivewriting from primary classrooms.

First, we have a kindergarten sample writ-ten by Brooke, who tells a story about Ryanslost tooth. Brookes topic is interesting and rel-evant, and she includes herself and three ofher classmates in her story. The next exampleis an edited draft of Maribeths story, whichwas composed during writers workshop inher first-grade classroom. Here, Maribethexpresses her feelings about a tornado that




Figure 2.10 Expressive writingkindergarten.

Figure 2.11 Expressive writingfirst grade.

Figure 2.12 Expressive writingsecond grade.


had passed over her home the previous week-end. In the third example, Brittany, a second-grade student, composes a story based on bak-ing cookies with her mom. She uses words torecreate the experience in chronological order.The final example is taken from an after-schoolwriting club in an inner-city school. Here, astudent has written a personal letter to the edi-tor, who has responded to her with personal

advice. Each of these examples illustrates theexpressive writing.

Transactional Writing

This writing is explicit writing. The purpose isto communicate information in clear, precise,and accurate language. This form of writingcan present a challenge to a young writer whohas limited knowledge of a particular topic.When teachers introduce transactional writingto children, they ensure that the writing topic isa familiar and comfortable one. Some examplesof transactional writing include lists, signs,directions, recipes, reports, maps, and record-ing instructions for solving problems inspelling, math, and other work areas. Whenteachers work with children in creating literacychecklists, they are exposing them to the func-tional quality of transactional writing. InFigures 2.142.17, we have four examples oftransactional writing. In the first example,Timothy, a kindergarten student, writes a noteto the teacher and deposits it in the class TattleBox. The note is functional and purposeful,that is, in Timothys case, to tell on Austin, whopushed him off the gray monkey bars. In thesecond example, Zacoby, a first-grader, givesdirections for how to cook hot dogs. It is clearthat he understands the recipe form becausehis writing includes the appropriate ingredi-ents and a logical sequence of directions forpreparing the hot dogs. Next, Thomas, a sec-ond-grader, reports on the planet Mars; andJames, a third-grader, writes about alligators.Both of these samples include accurate infor-mation about a topic that the students haveindependently researched.

Poetic Writing

This type of literary writing is more concernedwith the role of language for expressing images


Figure 2.13 Expressive writingthird grade.



Figure 2.14 Transactional writingkindergarten.

Figure 2.15 Transactional writingfirst grade.

Figure 2.16 Transactional writingsecond grade.

Figure 2.17 Transactional writingthird grade.


and feelings. It requires the writer to under-stand how language is used to communicate arich and descriptive message. When childrenread lots of books, they acquire the tools forwriting in the poetic mode. At the emergentand early levels, during shared reading andwriting experiences, teachers expose youngchildren to literary language. Poetic writingrequires that children understand the patternsof language, including text organization, sen-tence structures, word meanings, and figura-tive language. With this style of writing, chil-dren become more conscious of word choicesfor expressing their precise meanings. Someexamples of this form of writing include poet-ry, story innovations, retellings, plays, and per-sonal reactions to literature. In Figures2.182.21, we have examples of poetic writing.In the first example, Matt, a kindergartner,reacts to The Rainbow Fish (Pfister 1992). In hisliterature response log, he records a simpleretelling of the story. In the second example,Allison, a first-grade student, writes a morecomplete retelling of the story The Great BigEnormous Turnip (Oxenbury 1968). Next, Anna,a second-grade student, writes a personal

response to a story about the experiences ofpeople who traveled to America on theMayflower. In her text, she uses words to createimages of crowded space and the difficulties ofliving on the ship. The final example shows apoem by Erin, a third-grader, in typed form. Inher piece, she uses words to describe a feelingof bright colors, falling leaves, and tantalizingsmells of food, all working together to producea feeling of a crisp autumn day. In each exam-ple, the writers have used their knowledge oflanguage to create texts of a literary nature.


Figure 2.18 Poetic writingkindergarten.

Figure 2.19 Poetic writingfirst grade.


Closing Thoughts

In this chapter, we have shared how teachersassess childrens writing for behavioral evi-dence of writing development. All the writingsamples came from kindergarten to third-grade classrooms where writers workshop is adaily occurrence. Based on ongoing observa-tions of childrens learning patterns, teachersdesign literacy opportunities that enable theirstudents to reach their highest potential. In thenext chapter, we continue to examine the linkbetween teaching and learning as we discussthe role of writers workshop in scaffoldingyoung writers.


Figure 2.20 Poetic writingsecond grade. Figure 2.21 Poetic writingthird grade.


IIn Chapter 2, we discussed the writingprogress of kindergarten through third-gradewriters. Here, we explain the importance ofwriters workshop for shaping the writingdevelopment of young children. When we lookat childrens writing, we should expect to seeevidence of two kinds of learning:

More stability and ease of using knowninformation (fluency and automaticity)

Conscious efforts to apply new learning(sustained attention and concentration)

Furthermore, if childrens writing is notprogressing, we must look at our own teaching.Are we providing children with daily opportu-nities to learn how to become a writer? Is ourteaching mediating processing activity and pro-moting independence in our students? Webelieve that writers workshop is a critical com-ponent of a primary curriculum for literacy.

What Is Writers Workshop?

Writers workshop is a literacy block where chil-dren learn the processes of how to write (Calkins

1986; Graves 1994). The teacher structures thetime to ensure that children have an opportunityto plan, organize, and carry out writing projects.During writers workshop, students learn howto select their own topics and develop these top-ics through multiple drafts. Thus, they acquirean understanding of the writing process.

Historically, the writing process has beenassociated with five stages of writing: prewrit-ing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.These stages provide the writer (and teacher)with a good framework for developing a writ-ing project.

Prewriting

The writer begins by identifying the purposeand audience for her writing. For instance, ifshe wants to write a letter to a friend invitinghim to a birthday party, she will plan her writ-ing based on a specific need to communicatethis particular message. Basically, the prewrit-ing stage is about planning, gathering, andorganizing ideas for writing. This can occur asoral discussion or as written organizing withtools such as an outline, map, or notes.

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3Organizing for Writers Workshop


Drafting

Now the writer begins to draft his ideas onpaper. At this stage, the content is emphasized,rather than mechanics. Students are encour-aged to transcribe their thoughts with fluency,thus keeping their focus on the development oftheir ideas. The drafting stage can consist ofseveral attempts to construct an idea; forinstance, a writer might draft different leadsentences to introduce his topic. The point hereis that drafting is not restricted to a first copy ofthe entire paper; it can also include multipledrafts of particular sections of the paper, suchas character development, good settings, inter-esting lead sentences, and catchy endings.Good writers use drafting as an important toolfor organizing, reorganizing, and reflecting onthe quality of their compositions. Thus, draftscan be numerous and messy.

Revising

Here, the writer rereads the message for clarityand best choice of words. He uses techniquessuch as carets (to add words or phrases), linesand crosses (to delete unnecessary informa-tion), circles with connecting lines (to movepieces of text to a new position), and cut-and-paste (to rearrange larger chunks of passagewithin the text). During revising, the writershares his piece with listeners, who providehim with constructive feedback on the clear-ness of his message; also, listeners might offersuggestions for making the composition moreinteresting. A writers piece can go throughseveral revisions prior to final draft.

Editing

During editing, the writer proofreads her com-position for mechanical mistakes, includingspelling, grammar, and punctuation. She uses

spelling tools to identify errors. For instance,she circles misspelled words, tries the spellingsout several ways on a trial page, and uses thedictionary to correct spellings. In areas ofgrammar and punctuation, she applies herknowledge of language skills to edit as manyerrors as possible.

Publishing

If a writer decides to publish her work, sheengages in a process of organizing the piece fora public audience. This means she must decidehow to lay out the text in the most appealingway to the reader. If

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Scaffolding Young Writers