Welcome to EWC

1. The Writer’s Craft Course An Overview for Students February 2013 Welcome to EWC

3. The Bicycle Model • The teacher designs and builds the bicycle. • You provide the power. • You can customize and tweak your bike. • The skills and knowledge from this course will take you off the high school track and shape your ride on the paths of your lives.

4. The Bicycle Model • An analogy for the relationships among • Teaching Practices, • Learning Theories, • Curriculum Documents, • Course Strands, • Course Outline, • Assignments, • Student Involvement.

5. The Bicycle ModelFront Wheel • Teaching Practices • Learning Theory • Curriculum Document

6. Teaching Practices • “…there is more to language than decoding and encoding, spelling and punctuation. There is a life of the imagination, and that makes a difference to human beings ...” • Bruce Pirie Reshaping High School English, page 3.

7. Teaching Practices • Unit 1: Reawakening Your Creativity • You don’t need to already be writing. • Just be willing to really try. Experiment. • Intertextuality Assignment: • multi-part, multi-source creativity

8. Teaching Practices • “Natalie Goldberg (1990, 1993) suggests that timed writings are necessary to unleash thoughts and ideas that are bubbling below the surface of our conscious daily experience.” • Dennis J. Sumara “Creating Interpretive Possibilities with Literature in the Teacher Education Classroom”. 1999.

9. Teaching Practices • Writer’s Notebooks • - Tuesdays • - timed writing • - some topics given • three entries per week

10. Learning Theories • Starting with the familiar is easier – shifting to the less familiar form recreates unease, even if the group is comfortable together. It takes time to listen and respond positively. • Paraphrased from Luce-Kapler et. al. “The Design of Writing: unfolding systems of meaning”. Changing English. Vol. 8, No. 1, 2001.

11. Learning Theories • Last Unit: Poetry • So we can used to • writing • revision • each other • sharing

12. Learning Theories • “In order for learners to gain insight into their learning and their understanding, frequent feedback is critical: students need to monitor their learning and actively evaluate their strategies and their current levels of understanding.” • Howard Smith How People Learn. Chapter 3.

13. Learning Theories • Feedback: • Small steps building to larger units • Get peer assessment • A lot of writing in class • ask for my input BEFORE the assignment is due

14. Learning Theories • “The fact that experts' knowledge is organized around important ideas or concepts suggests that curricula should also be organized in ways that lead to conceptual understanding.” • Howard Smith How People Learn. Chapter 2.

15. Learning Theories • Each unit has • - new vocabulary, • - format information, • - analysis opportunities, • - writing practice.

16. Can be downloaded in PDF at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english1112currb.pdf Curriculum Document

17. The Bicycle ModelBack Wheel • EWC’s Three Strands • Investigating Writing • Writing, Writers, and the Writing Life • Practicing Writing • Exploring Ideas, Forms, and Styles • Drafting and Revising • Editing, Proofreading, and Publishing • Collaborative Writing • Reflecting on Writing • Metacognition

18. Evaluation Knowledge 15% Thinking 20% Communication 20% Application 15% Summative 20% Exam 10% The Bicycle Model Back Wheel • Course Outline • Introduction • Writer’s Notebook • Summative • Prose Elements & Short Stories • Media • Poetry • Exam

19. The Bicycle Model • The Assignment Chain • Cycles through the three strands of the course. • Is powered by the student. • Can be customized for • Student preferences • I.E.P. needs • Unexpected circumstances

20. Sample Assignments Media • Research with www • Create in new formats • Publishing • On-line • Contests • Bulletin Boards

21. Student Involvement • You can tweak your bike. • With each assignment, I have specific learning and evaluation goal. If you can think of a way to achieve those that would suit you better, talk to me. Often, assignments can be adjusted. • Find your passion, and reach for it!

23. Contact mefor a fix. Got Problems? tania.meldrum@ocdsb.ca

25. Have Fun! Last Step:

27. The EWC Student • Enjoys writing • Enjoys experimenting with / learning about writing • Enjoys reading – both professional and peer • Sees value in editing and revising • Can work independently and quietly in class • Can prioritize assignments • Seeks clarification in a timely fashion

28. Wiki • http://meldrumewc.wikispaces.com/home • EWC Introduction form on the Introduction Unit page – complete for homework

29. Credits • Thanks to K. Meldrum for help with PowerPoint. • Modified from ppt created for Honors Cont590 Queen’s University, Summer 2008. • Bibliography • “The Design of Writing: unfolding systems of meaning”. Changing English. Vol. 8, No. 1, 2001. • Meldrum, Tania. Photos and images. Aug. 2008. • Pirie, Bruce. Reshaping High School English. NCTE: Urbana, IL. 1997. • Queen’s University. Continuing Education 590 online. Module 4. Summer 2008. http://ctesummer.educ.queensu.ca/CONT590/ • Smith, Howard. How People Learn. ebook. Accessed July 2008. http://www.nap.edu/html/howpeople1/ • Sumara, Denis J. “Creating Interpretive Possibilities with Literature in the Teacher Education Classroom”. 1999. Accessed on June 23, 2008.