Writing and the Common Core

State Standards

Joey Hawkins, Vermont Writing Collaborative

A bit of reading, thinking, and writing (about

complex text)

“Disaster in a Massachusetts Mill”

At the end of the article, the author uses the word “philanthrope” to describe the northern mill owners. Why does he use this word? Use information from the article and your own knowledge to support your answer.

Common Core Literacy:What are the key shifts in ELA?

3. Knowledge Base

1. Increasingly complex texts2. Evidence matters

“The Longest War”

• 5th grade report (writing to inform)

• scored “2” on 5-point scale (well below standard, but not as low as “1”)

• What strengths do you see in this piece?• What weaknesses do you see? So…what barriers got in the way for

this student?

What does it take for students (or anyone) to be able to produce an

effective piece of writing - about anything?

• Adequate knowledge and understanding of their subject

• An appropriate focus to guide their thinking

• A clear structure within which to develop their focus with information and ideas

• Control over conventions• Expectation of success (from lots of successful experiences)

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Effective WritingCommon Core

WritingWriting for Understanding

Informative / Explanatory Writing

Write informative / explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content

“Hmmm……seems to have a lot to do with critical thinking and deep understanding!”

Complex textWhat could working with complex text and evidence based writing to build knowledge look like in the Kindergarten classroom?

Unit on Seasonal ChangesFocus on how animals survive in winter

Backwards Planning: UbDKeeping the End in MindBy the end of the sequence, what does the

teacher want kids to know and understand?

BIG IDEA / Enduring Understanding

Animals have certain behaviors that help them survive.

Hibernation is one of these.

Focusing Questions and Focus Statements

?Evidence Elaboratio

n

Focusing Question and Focus Statement

How do animals survive in winter?

Focusing Question

Focus Statement

Some animals hibernate in winter.

?

Close Reading

Drawing Students Back Into the Text

"Let's look for that in this picture."

"Does anyone remember what word the

author used to tell us …?"

"Let me see if I can find that part so we can read it again."

"How do you know?"

"Where did you see that?"

"Help me find that part in the book."

Taking Notes

Records Information

Important at ALL Grade LevelsEvidence Elaboratio

n

Can Take Many Forms

Requires Direct Instruction

Evidence Matters

EvidenceWhat the animals do to survive in winter.

Elaboration Where do the

animals hibernate?

Bears Hibernate

log or a lair

Snakes hibernate

mud

Frogs hibernate

by a pond

Bats hibernate

caves

How do animals survive in winter?

Many Ways to Take Notes

Oral Processing

?Evidence Elaboratio

n

Write!

?Evidence Elaboratio

n

Group Write

Big Books!

Individual WriteScaffolded

“Chunked”

Elaboration in pictures

Student work

2. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, andwriting to compose informative/explanatorytexts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

8. With guidance and support from adults,recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Impacting Human History

Integrating Content with Literacy and the Common Core

in Grades 6-8

Joey Hawkins, Vermont Writing Collaborative

Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement

• The texts: “Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dies at 71” (New York Times)

Complex text

• “Wangari Maathai: Trees for Peace” (Faces)Less demanding text

The Student Writing

What does a good piece look like?

What did it take, on the part of teacher planning and student time and effort, to get it?

Addressing the Common Core Shifts

?Evidence Elaboratio

n

Backwards Planning: UbDKeeping the End in MindBy the end of the sequence, what does the

teacher want kids to know?

BIG IDEA / Enduring Understanding

Wangari Maathai had a big impact on human history. She made Kenya green again, which

in turn helped empower poor Kenyan women.

What Focusing Question will drive this thinking in the final essay

students will write?

How has Wangari Maathai affected the lives of poor

people in Kenya?

Focusing Question and Focus Statement

How has Wangari Maathai affected the lives of poor people in Kenya?

Focusing Question

Focus Statement

Wangari Maathai’s work helped give poor Kenyans trees again, which in turn has helped empower poorKenyan women..

?

Take Notes

?Evidence Elaboratio

n

•Before writing, very close

reading!• Remember, the New York Times text is a

complex one

• As the teacher, I want ALL my students to be able to successfully read and understand this text

• Hmmm….how will I do that?

• Aha – closely guided close reading!

What can guided close reading look like?

• First, students read in their heads while the teacher reads the text aloud.

• Next, students work with a partner to re-read and answer the text-dependent questions. Re-read as many times as you need to – this is NOT a test, it is a LEARN!

• When students have finished each question, we’ll discuss as a class. (Remember – this is a LEARN..)

Notes Matter!!

• If students are going to write precisely and knowledgably, they need a way to “capture their knowledge”

• A simple T-chart organizer – with lots and lots of talking – can be a huge help

Oral Processing

?Evidence Elaboratio

n

More About These Notes

• It’s important to give students as much guidance as they need here.

• For some students, talking out every idea with a partner is a necessary bridge to writing clearly

• Writing is probably the hardest thing we ask kids to do. Struggling kids cannot write what they did not speak – so talking ideas matters

Write!

?Evidence Elaboratio

n

Provide a model• Often the teacher provides a model of what this

kind of thinking / writing can look like.

• Remember, we all learn by imitation – basketball coaches show kids how to do foul shots, writing teachers show kids how to write

But wait: shouldn’t the writing be independent?

Yes, absolutely – once you know your students are capable of that.

• If they have had very little instruction with writing, building writing instruction into reading instruction helps both with deep understanding of the reading, and more facility with writing.

What questions do you need to have answered to begin to build Common Core

writing into your curriculum?