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Step by Step???Scaffolding Student Writers
About Me I just finished my 5th year in teaching
3 years in 2nd grade, 1 year in 1st grade, 1 year in reading intervention
Next year, I’ll be in 3rd grade I work in a Champaign public school, mainly
consisting of African American and white students 70+% low SES, 50% not reading at grade level
Contention #1
Choice and student agency are an essential part of the writing process.
Time to Try On Your Own… Grab a few pieces or one piece of writing
paper Do any sort of writing with the paper you have
chosen You may work with someone sitting by you if
you would like
Contention #2
Writing teachers should constantly take what their students already know and build upon that knowledge to further guide their instruction towards deeper understandings of writing and its process.
The Zone of Proximal Development Vygotsky’s ZPD (1978) is often linked to the
idea of scaffolding ZPD is the difference what a student can do
without help and what they can accomplish with help
“with scaffolding, students’ potential is far beyond what it would be without” (Benko, 2012, p. 292) Forms of instruction that can help students move
through their ZPD
Contention #3
In order to make scaffolds useful and meaningful, we need to know our students. Not all scaffolds will work and it is a constant trial-and-error process. There is no full proof method which will work.
Instructional Scaffolds Scaffolds are created for tasks which may be
beyond what a student can do independently Things to consider when creating instructional
scaffolds (Langer & Applebee, 1986): Appropriateness: considering what a student
already knows and moving students beyond (to the next step)
Ownership: allow students the opportunity to create something authentic and of their own interest, not just out of compliance
Instructional Scaffolds, cont. Ways to structure scaffolds (Wood et al.,
1976): Reduce degrees of freedom: simplify the demands
of the task and perfect components before taking on the whole
Mark critical features: find points of confusion for students and guide them through those points of confusion
Direction maintenance: guide students in the right direction when they are distracted or stop making progress
Demonstration: model ways to help students move along in their writing
More Examples of Scaffolding The 5-paragraph essay and other graphic
organizers Feedback/Conferencing Mini-lessons Strategy groups Modeling Mentor texts Writing and sharing with students
The Transfer of Responsibility Teachers begin with a high degree of
responsibility (consider constant modeling of a skill or task)
Over time, there is a gradual release and the responsibility is transferred over to the student
“In their instructional practices, teachers too often forget to let the scaffolding self-destruct.” (Langer & Applebee, 1986, p. 188)
Discussion What do you think the purpose of the previous
types of paper you used was?
How could they be seen as a scaffold for students?
In my classroom… For each of my writing units, I develop
different types of paper to help scaffold my students in the writing process
I never force them to have to use a certain type of paper, but I give them the opportunity the choose the type of paper that best fits the writing they are producing
Thinking about Your Own Classroom… Think of one writing activity you do in your
classroom that could benefit from a design scaffold
How would the design look and how would it provide both choice and guidance to your students?
Further Considerations What if students were able to co-construct
different types of paper with me?
What if students were able to construct paper of their own?
ReferencesApplebee, A. N. & Langer, J. (1987). How writing
shapes thinking: A study of teaching and learning. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers English.
Benko, S. L. (2012). Scaffolding: An ongoing process to support adolescent writing development. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(4), 291-300.
Dorn, L. J. & Soffos, C. (2001). Scaffolding young writers: A writers’ workshop approach. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 17(2), 89-100.