Writing to learn instructional strategies for nonfiction writing

using themI use some strategies for NF writing and get mixed results I use several different strategies for NF writing and get good results I use many strategies for NF writing and get e

Optimal Learning Environment

Welcome! ☺

Complete engagement and respect

Electronic devices in silent mode

using them

I use some strategies for NF writing and get mixed results

I use several different strategies for NF writing and get good results

I use many strategies for NF writing and get excellent results

Learning Experimenting

Getting Comfortable

Developing Expertise

Today’s Objectives

Review the rationale for using more

nonfiction writing as a strategy

Practice specific nonfiction writing

strategies

Writing can increase engagement,

especially when used in conjunction

with talking/sharing activities

Students can feel more in control of

their learning when using writing

Is the Hypothesis True?

Writing Assessment Time and Results

Source: NASSP Bulletin, Dec

2000, “Standards Are Not Enough”

More Writing Increases Test Scores

8 th Grade Writing Correlation Math = 83 History = 79 Science = 86

5 th Grade Writing Correlation Math = 77 History = 75 Science = 85

3 rd Grade

English Correlation

Students Need to Improve

Writing!

80% of 4 th and 8 th graders taking the

2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress writing test scored in the basic range

The Reading-Writing Connection

Using strategies like journal writing, learning logs, entrance/exit slips, looping,

cinquains, and KWL assists students in learning reading through writing

Why Write?

Writing, more than any other subject, can lead

to personal breakthroughs in learning

Writing is a highly complex act that demands

the analysis and synthesis of many levels of

thinking

Writing develops initiative In reading,

everything is provided In writing, the learner

must supply everything

Why Write?

Writing develops courage At no point is the

learner more vulnerable than in writing

Writing can contribute to reading from the

first day of school

Writing contributes strongly to reading

comprehension as children grow older The

ability to revise writing for greater power and

economy is one of the higher forms of

reading

Why Write?

Writing contributes to a sense of

connection and personal efficacy by

participation in society.

Writing, particularly with evaluation,

editing, revision, and rewriting, will

improve the ability of a student to

communicate and succeed on state and

local writing assessments.

Reason to Write, D Reeves

Quick Write: Your Response

Think about the information presented

Write for 2 minutes, silently and

nonstop, about what you’re thinking

Demonstrating Understanding

Knowing the Strategies:

KWL: Volcanoes

(Later) What I Learned about Them

What I Want to Learn about Them or What

result in percentile gains as high as

28 points

What benefits do you see of these two

Why Summarize?

47 Raphael & Kirschner, 1985

31 Rosenshine, et al., 1996

31 Hattie, et al., 1996

35 Rosenshine & Meister, 1994

27 Crismore, 1985

25 Pflaum, et al., 1980

Percentile Gain Study

Doing: Let’s Try It!

Processing Strategies:

Debriefing What thought processes did you go

through?

What writing processes did you go

through?

How could writing in these types of

non-threatening situations increase

The Academic Essay

Doing: Let’s Try It!

ABC list/taxonomy

Debriefing

Doing: Let’s Try It!

Graphic organizers

The helping hand

to teach essay structure Other organizers

to help students generate and organize ideas

Doing: Let’s Try It!

Importance of persuasive writing

PEAS organizer

Applying:

How Will I Use This?

Table discussion, 6-7 minutes

Select one or two ideas to share with

whole group

Reporter will be designated and have 1

minute of preparation time

Doing: Drafting Strategies

Teach someone else

Assume a persona or take a

perspective

An endangered mammal

Presentation

at local government meeting

Local citizens Biologist

Taking care

of the animal properly

Letter Family that owns the pet Household

pet

“Mammals You See in Everyday Life”

Lecture Kindergarten students Kindergarten

teacher

“All About Our Mammals”

Brochure Visitors to

the zoo Zookeeper

Topic Form

Audience Role

Doing: Let’s Try It!

Topic Form

Audience Role

Applying: How Will I Use This?

Having students write as if they are

teaching someone else

Having students write using different

Completing a research paper is like

assembling a puzzle While the

complexity of the puzzle grows as

students get older, the essential steps

to solving the puzzle remain the same.

Douglas Reeves, Reason to Write

Making the Old New

Have you assigned research papers

about

the Presidents of the United States famous explorers, inventors, mathematicians scientific discoveries

a country or state?

How can we ENLIVEN these

assignments?

Monitoring: Did It Work?

The value of formative assessment

The value of tracking student

performance data

Monitoring: Did It Work?

Collaboratively

Individually

Assess Research Reflect Innovate Verify Evaluate

Evaluation and Feedback

Your ideas and reflections are important to

us Please take time to complete the short

evaluation form that we reviewed at the

beginning of this seminar.

Center for Performance Assessment

(800) 844-6599 www.MakingStandardsWork.com

Center for Performance Assessment

(800) 844-6599 www.MakingStandardsWork.com

Writing to Learn: Instructional Strategies for

Nonfiction Writing (Seminar 2)

Notes about the Agenda and

Logistics

Notes about Materials

Learning Objectives

z Review the rationale for using more nonfiction writing as a strategy

z Practice specific nonfiction writing strategies

z Create plans for using the strategies immediately in the classroom

z Consider ways to track student achievement data related to the use of the strategies

Rationale: Why Write?

Quick Write: Your Response

Write silently and nonstop for 2 minutes in reaction to the information presented

Then we’ll debrief

Strategies for Engaging

QUICK WRITES can be done during a teacher’s lecture, instructional video, etc

Prediction Paragraph Frame (Example):

My teacher has asked me to make predictions/form hypotheses about _

The things I see in the photograph include _ (Add a few sentences of

description and/or tell what you think it is.) I think we are going to study this

because _ I would also like to learn about _ These are my initial

predictions/hypotheses

Your Prediction Paragraph:

(Later) What I Learned about Them

Prediction Paragraphs and KWL: Debriefing

z What benefits do you see of these two activities?

z How could you use prediction paragraphs and KWL writing?

z What activities could be done AFTER these to extend the learning?

Calendar Template

M T W Th F This week

Æ

Next week

Strategies for Processing

z Summary paragraphs

z Double-entry journals

z Cubing

Create a Summary:

• Within three minutes, write a summary of your day so far

• Then there will be three minutes for you to pair-share

• We will then debrief the process as a whole group

Your Summary:

Rules for Summarizing:

The Safety Net is a very limited set of learning objectives organized for each

grade and for each subject It is not the total curriculum – just the “safety net”

that every teacher should ensure that every student knows

What Is the Purpose of the Safety Net Curriculum?

The purpose of the Safety Net is to empower teachers to make wise decisions

about what is most important in the curriculum The Safety Net is not a device to ignore everything else in the curriculum, but rather a mechanism to help teachers separate the critical elements of a curriculum from learning objectives that are

less important Different teachers will make different choices, depending on the needs of their students, about what they will cover outside of the safety net But every teacher should ensure that every student understands the items inside of the Safety Net The simple truth is this: few teachers ever cover the entire

textbook or the entire curriculum Often the decision about what to cover is based

on sequence – we cover the items that are listed early in the curriculum

document or textbook, and so we do not cover the items that are listed late in

those documents The Safety Net offers a better alternative: student learning of what is most important The focus of the Safety Net is on learning, not on mere coverage The Safety Net acknowledges that different teachers cover different

curriculum in their classroom based on different interests and varying student

needs However, every student in the district deserves an equal opportunity for learning Safety Net standards However different teaching approaches may be from one teacher to another, the Safety Net allows every student in the district an opportunity for learning what is most essential From the teacher’s point of view, the Safety Net rejects the approach of some states that insist on micro-

management of daily lesson plans and district-imposed daily learning objectives Rather, the Safety Net provides teachers with broad discretion on teaching and

curriculum provided that the students have achieved the Safety Net objectives

What’s Wrong with the Standards and Curriculum We Already Have?

of what is necessary for all students The Safety Net specifically provides an

emphasis on student learning of a few objectives rather than student exposure to many objectives

How Did You Choose the Learning Objectives in the Safety Net?

Three questions guide the selection of Safety Net learning objectives:

(1) What endures? In other words, what skills and knowledge will students

gain that last from one academic year to the next? For example, the skill

of constructing an informative essay is something that students need

throughout their academic career It is a skill that endures over time The same cannot be said, for example, of the requirement that a student

memorize the formula for the area of a trapezoid

(2) What is essential for progress to the next level of instruction? In a

continuing dialog with teachers at all grade levels, we much determine

what is essential for future success For example, when 11th grade history teachers are asked what is essential for success in their classes, they

rarely respond with items of historical knowledge that should have been memorized in middle school Rather, they typically respond that students should have skills in reading and writing, knowledge of map reading, and

an understanding of the difference between democracy and

authoritarianism

(3) What contributes to understanding of other standards? The safety

net should comprise “power standards”– that is, those standards that,

once mastered, give a student the ability to use reasoning and thinking

skills to learn and understand other curriculum objectives outside of the

safety net For example, in a middle school mathematics class, the

properties of a triangle and rectangle might be in the safety net, because this understanding will allow students to comprehend information about

other shapes – rhombus, trapezoid, parallelogram – that are outside of the safety net

If Students Know the Safety Net Objectives, Can We Ignore All the Other

Standards?

No The state standards and district curriculum remain important guides for

teachers in planning their instruction However, few if any teachers will actually cover every element of every portion of state standards and district curriculum

To the extent that a teacher, by virtue of a careful analysis of the needs of

students, covers less than the entire curriculum and state standards, the Safety Net provides a guide on the essential core curriculum that must not only be

covered, but that the students must learn

Double-Entry Journals

Quoted or Summarized

Information

Reactions, Questions, and Connections

Cubing: The Six Sides of the Cube

1 Describe it (physically, using the 5 senses, if applicable)—How would you

6 Argue for/against it—Why would you support this? Why would you argue

against it? Who should be in favor of it? Who should be against it? Why?

Describe Analyze

Double Entry Journals and Cubing: Debriefing

z What thought processes did you go through?

z How could writing in these types of non-threatening situations increase

learning?

Calendar Template

M T W Th F This week

Æ

Next week

Æ

Strategies for Demonstrating Understanding

z Shared expectations among faculty

A Helping Hand for Writing a Composition

Middle School Common Writing Rubric

Ideas -The writing is

focused on one clearly

identified main idea

-The main idea

is supported by relevant

supporting details

-The writing is focused on one main idea

-The main idea is supported by supporting details

-The writing has an attempt at a main idea

-More supporting details are needed

-A main idea cannot be identified

-Details are absent

Organization -The writing

has a clear beginning, middle, and end,

appropriate for the writing task

-Details are presented in an interesting and logical order

-The writing has a clear beginning, middle, and end

-Details are presented in a logical order

-The writing is missing either

a clear beginning, middle, or end, or is missing more than one of these parts

-Details are presented in a disorganized way

-The writing has no clear organizational plan

Conventions -The writing

has no errors in capitalization of first words of sentences or in end marks (periods, exclamation points, question marks)

-The writing is free of

unintentional fragments and run-ons

-The writing may have minimal errors

in initial capitalization

or end marks, but these do not detract from the overall meaning

-The writing may have minimal fragments and run-ons, but these do not detract from

-The writing has several serious errors

in initial capitalization and end marks

-The writing has several fragments and run-ons that detract from the overall meaning

-The writing has many serious errors

in initial capitalization and end marks

-The writing has many fragments and run-ons

SECONDARY HOLISTIC SCORING GUIDE

Reprinted from the Write to Know Series, Advanced Learning Press, with

permission

4

ƒ Demonstrates essential understanding(s) about the content and gives supporting details that go beyond the predictable Maintains a

consistent point of view

ƒ Uses an organizational structure that fits the purpose of the writing

task Constructs inviting introductions and satisfying conclusions

Consistently uses paragraph breaks that reinforce organization and

meaning Uses effective transitions and pacing that moves the reader easily through the text

ƒ Demonstrates understanding of vocabulary related to content Uses

fresh and lively expressions that at times include figurative language or slang

ƒ Demonstrates strong audience awareness; there is a sense of a

person and a purpose behind the words Consistently employs an

appropriate voice or tone Brings topic to life through conviction,

excitement, or humour; there is a strong interaction with the reader

ƒ Demonstrates stylistic control The sentence structure strengthens the meaning of the text and draws attention to key ideas Correct grammar and usage contribute to clarity and style Little editing is needed

3

ƒ Demonstrates essential understanding(s) about the content

Supporting details and ideas may at times be too general or out of

balance with the main idea, but maintains a consistent point of view

ƒ Uses an organizational structure that fits the purpose of the writing

task Creates clear introductions and conclusions Employs paragraph breaks that generally reinforce organization and meaning Uses

adequate transitions Pacing may be inconsistent

ƒ Demonstrates understanding of vocabulary related to content Uses

words in an interesting, precise, and natural way appropriate to

audience and purpose

ƒ Demonstrates audience awareness; there is a sense of a person and purpose behind the words Employs an appropriate voice or tone most

of the time

ƒ Demonstrates reasonable control of standard writing conventions

Some syntax, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation errors occur, but