Writing - What’s Hot, & What’s Not

Writing - What’s Hot, & What’s Not

Amy Goodman

MS Literacy Support Teacher

Anchorage School District

Amy Goodman

MS Literacy Support Teacher

Anchorage School District

AIM!AIM!

To review six-trait writing and rubrics forassessment

To discuss current research on the teaching of writing

To brainstorm how to prepare students for the SBA’s

To introduce some new tips and tricks

What Is “Good” Writing?What Is “Good” Writing?

Ideas Organization Voice

Word Choice Sentence

Fluency

Conventions

P r e s e n t a t i o nP r e s e n t a t i o n

6 + 1 Traits6 + 1 TraitsP r e s e n t a t i o nP r e s e n t a t i o n

“Presentation combines both visual and verbal elements. It is the way we "exhibit" our message on paper. Even if our ideas, words, and sentences are vivid, precise, and well constructed, the piece will not be inviting toread unless the guidelines of presentation are present…”

Northwest RegionalEducational Laboratory

Oregon Public Education Network (O.P.E.N.)

Oregon Public Education Network (O.P.E.N.)

Need practice scoring student papers using a 6-point scale?

Nine student papers Several genres of writing Electronic scoring Anchor scores suggested Justification provided

Mechanics Organization Voice Ideas & Content

EffectiveWord Choice

Sentence Fluency

M. O. V. I. E. S.5 6 4 5 44

(2003) (2004)

(Dec. 2006)

The Writer’s NotebookThe Writer’s Notebook1. What Should I Write? (brainstorming)

2. Writing & Literary Terms (explanations & examples)

3. Spelling Demons (personal word lists)

4. Craft (mini-lessons)

5. Editing (mini-lessons on correctness)

6. Writing (the heart of the notebook)

(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

Improving RevisionImproving Revision

S.Substitute

T.Take

things out

A.Add

R.Rearrange

M.Move

A.Add

P.Prune

(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

Levels of RevisionLevels of Revision

SurfaceSurface DeepDeep

Changing a word,phrase, or sentence

Changing the focus, the purpose, thesequence, the discourse, or the point of view

Extreme

Makeover!

(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

Surface Revision with Sentences

Surface Revision with Sentences

MondayMonday - The teacher walked across the room.(Use drama and snake around the class for sharing)

TuesdayTuesday - The teacher sauntered across the room.(Mini-lesson on strong verbs)

WednesdayWednesday - Laughing hysterically, the teacherwalked across the room.(Mini-lesson on participial phrases)

(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

1. COMPLEXCOMPLEX (subordinate conjunctions)Although pizza is popular, it is not considered ahealthy snack for school parties.

2. COMPOUNDCOMPOUND (coordinate conjunctions)Pizza is not considered a healthy snack, and it should not be served at school functions.

3. HOWEVERHOWEVER (conjunctive adverb)Pizza is popular with teens; however, it is not considered a healthy snack.

4. TO + VERBTO + VERB (infinitive)To follow district guidelines, only serve healthy snacks at school functions.

Sophisticated SentencesSophisticated Sentences

Conjunction PostersConjunction Posters

B.O.Y. F.A.N.S. or F.A.N. B.O.Y.S.

Sentence BranchingSentence BranchingFront Branch:Front Branch:Hurriedly, I drove my car tothe mall.

Middle Branch:Middle Branch:I drove my car, radio blasting, tothe mall.

End Branch:End Branch:I drove my car to the mall, praying the parking would be easy.

(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

IMAGE GRAMMARby Harry Noden

IMAGE GRAMMARby Harry Noden

The Basic Four

Brushstrokes

The Basic Four

Brushstrokes1. Painting with Absolutes

2. Painting with Appositives

3. Painting with Participles (3-in-a row) and Participial Phrases

4. Painting with Adjectives Out of Order

(Retrieved from Image Grammar by Harry Noden)

Let’s Practice!

Let’s Practice!

As a group, select one of the photos

Have each person practice witha different brushstroke

Imitate the model sentence in order tolearn the brushstroke

Share your sentences out loud

ConventionsConventions

Spelling (sp.) - Read the paper in reverse, highlight errors in “blue”

Paragraphing (¶) - Indent with change time, place, and speaker

Outside Punctuation ! ? .

Inside Punctuation , : ; - ( ) “ ”

S.M.I.L.E.S.M.I.L.E. (Sentences, Marks, Indents, Letters, Editor)

(Quick Tips)

Independent Correction SheetIndependent Correction Sheet

Teacher:Teacher:

Highlight sentences with problems.Point out no more than six errors.If there is more than one error in a sentence, code it.

Student:Student:

Read the highlighted error.Fix it on the Independent Correction Sheet.Unable to figure it out? Remember “three before me.”If all four of you are unable to figure it out, you will all attend a group mini-lesson.

(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)

Final Grading Is Never Easy…

Final Grading Is Never Easy…

• Use six-trait, student-friendly rubrics

• Ask students to self-reflect

• Focus on one or two traits only

• Grade one passage chosen by the student and one random passage

• Ask students to showcase skills by identifying them in the margins

Self-ReflectionSelf-Reflection

1. Explain how you chose your topic.2. What was the easiest part to write and why?3. What challenges did you encounter in your writing?4. Describe the feedback you received along the way

that helped you revise.5. What part of your piece are you the most proud of

and why?6. If you still had more time on this piece of writing,

what would you do next?7. Please score your piece of writing using the six-trait

rubrics.Mechanics Organization Voice Ideas &

ContentEffective

Word ChoiceSentence Fluency

M. O. V. I. E. S.

(Example Questions)

Students Showcase SkillsStudents Showcase Skills

Can attending summer school make a difference to a failing middle school student? I wasn’t sure I believed that; however, now I am convinced itwas the best decision I could make.

rhetorical

question

however

statement

1. The Right to Be Reflective2. The Right to Choose a Personally

Important Topic3. The Right of Go Off Topic4. The Right to Personalize

the Writing Process5. The Right to Write Badly6. The Right to See Others

Write7. The Right to Be Assessed

Well8.8. The Right to Go Beyond The Right to Go Beyond

FormulaFormula9. The Right to Find Your Own Voice

PopcornReading!

Step Up to WritingStep Up to WritingFormulaic Writing:Formulaic Writing: • Beginning foundations • Expository and persuasive writing • Functional writing (4’s on the rubric) • Need to move students beyond this

Training:Training: • Full-length training videos • Video clips on the Internet

1. Vary & Bury1. Vary & Bury First, second, third

Initially, in addition, consequently

Initially the conflict began with…

The conflict initially began with…(Bury the transition word in the middle)

2. Adding the Blues2. Adding the Blues

Adding the Blues:

anecdote, quote, definition,imagery, poem, etc.

Thesis + Projected Plan

INTRODUCTION

3. Wrap-Around Closings

3. Wrap-Around Closings

Refer back to the blues from the introduction

Restate the thesis (use synonyms) and add elaboration

CLOSING

How Is Writing an Essay Like Four-Square?

How Is Writing an Essay Like Four-Square?

Four Square!Four Square!

Writing Topic/Thesis

1st RDF withelaboration

2nd RDF withelaboration

3rd RDF withelaboration

Conclusion

TransitionWord

TransitionWord

TransitionWord

ClosingWord

(Jeannette Mulholland, Jefferson County High School, Tennessee)

1. Practice Booklets - Use a test item each day as a think aloud from which to model strategies

2. Test Item Writing - Ask students to create similar test items and use these for practice

3. GLE Test Item Bank - Use these as formative assessments (ASD and State)

SBA Writing TestSBA Writing TestWhat can we do to get our students

better prepared?

SBA Writing TestSBA Writing TestMore Ideas

4. Daily Prewrites to Prompts - Give students practice with prompts in all modes of writing

Expository and Persuasive Promptshttp://jc-schools.net/writeaway/prompts.html

5. Test Writing - Teach this as a genre of writing with its own set of unique characteristics

4. SBA Writing Skills Checklist - Attach this checklist to all practice writing

CollegeEssays

The Writing Teacher’s Strategy Guide by Steve Peha

Teaching That Makes Sense (TTMS)(Additional downloads available)

Finally…Too Good to Miss!Finally…Too Good to Miss!

Pick a Card, Any Card

Pick a Card, Any Card

1. Select a card from the deck.2. Read through the teaching idea and

prepare an oral summary of it.3. Mingle with others in the room sharing

your teaching idea and hearing theirs.4. The cards are a preview of what you will

find in The Writing Teacher’s Strategy The Writing Teacher’s Strategy GuideGuide.

Thanks for your time!Thanks for your time!

Please stay and browse through the professional books.

Web Site ReferencesWeb Site References

Northwest Regional Laboratorywww.nwrel.org/assessment

O.P.E.N. www.openc.k12.or.us/scoring

Step Up to Writing Video Clipshttp://store.cambiumlearning.com/resource.aspx?page=Video&site=sw&parentId=019005278

Image Grammarwww3.uakron.edu/noden/web/students/index.html

More Web Site ReferencesMore Web Site References

EED (GLE Test Item Bank)http://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/Assessment/FormativeAssessmentResources.html

Expository and Persuasive Promptshttp://jc-schools.net/writeaway/prompts.html

Teaching That Makes Sense (TTMS)www.ttms.org