Helping Students Become Better Writers Grades 7-12

1. Helping Students Become Better WritersGrades 7-12 Sue Anderson Nebraska Department of Education sue.anderson@nde.ne.gov

2. Topics • Why Writing Matters in School and Beyond • How Students Become Better Writers • Best Instructional Practices for Improving Student Writing

3. Connections Between Writing, Learning and Thinking Facilitates making connections, describing processes, raising questions and finding answers. Facilitates assimilation of information through the recording of new information. Promotes accommodation of information as it is constructed into new meaning. Time invested in writing can and should enhance understandings in all content areas. Danielson, L. The Improvement of Student Writing: What the Research Says. Journal of School Improvement, NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (Spring 2000).

4. Why Writing MattersWriting is associated with… Improved Math Scores Improved Social Studies Scores Improved Science Scores Reeves, Douglas B. (2003). Building on Success: Case Studies in Collaborative Success in Omaha.

5. Why Writing MattersWriting Across the Curriculum Students benefit three ways: • better understanding of the content • practice a technique that aids in retention • they begin to write better -Walker, 1988; Kurtiss, 1985

6. Reasons Students Should Write • Writing improves reading comprehension • Writing improves achievement in other academic areas • Writing contributes to a sense of connection and personal efficacy Reeves, Douglas B. 2002.Reason to Write: Help Your Child Succeed in School and in Life Through Better Reasoning and Clear Communication. Kaplan: New York

7. Why Writing MattersPreparation for Success in the Workplace Writing: A Ticket to Work…Or a Ticket Out - A Survey of Business Leaders Report of The National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools and Colleges – September 2004

8. Survey Findings • 80 percent of companies with greatest growth potential – assess writing during hiring • Half of all companies take writing into account when making promotion decisions • Whatever the form of communication, these skills are expected: • Accuracy • Clarity • Correctness

9. Survey Findings • More than half of responding companies report they “frequently” or “almost always” produce • technical reports • formal reports • memos and correspondence

10. “…the most worthwhile goals of writing… • Writing • to think • to move another person • to create something that will be remembered • to develop a unique personal voice • to develop and maintain a spirit of unrelenting curiosity • to be wholly comfortable with the act/process of writing” - Vicki Spandel, The 9 Rights of Every Writer, 2005

11. “Writing is how students connect the dots in their knowledge.” - The Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution. The National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges (2003)

12. Why Writing MattersLiteracy for Life • Writing is a way to understand what we know • Writing is an act of discovery • Writing is learning • Writing competence builds confidence

13. Topics • Why Writing Matters in School and Beyond • Best Instructional Practices for Improving Student Writing • How Students Become Better Writers

14. What makes better learners? • Identifying similarities and differences • Summarizing and note taking • Reinforcing effort and providing recognition • Homework and practice • Nonlinguistic representations • Cooperative learning • Setting objectives and providing feedback • Generating and testing hypotheses • Questions cues, and advance organizers Marzano, Pickering and Pollock. (2001) Classroom Instruction That Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, Virginia. ASCD.

15. Improvement of Student Writing: What the Research Says • In General: • Provide a language rich environment. • Increase the frequency and amount of writing. • Use writing across the curriculum in both instruction and assessment. • Provide models. • Use a sequenced, yet individually flexible writing process. From Danielson, L. (Spring 2000). The Improvement of Student Writing: What the Research Says Journal of School Improvement, NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement

16. Effective Writing Instruction • Students learn by reading and discussing samples of writing • Students learn from seeing writing modeled • Sharing writing is important • Revising the work of others has great instructional benefit • Writing frequently is important • Writing is a reflective process

17. Essential Writing Classroom Elements • Safe Environment • Unconditional acceptance (Avery 1999) • Optimal learning occurs when learners are challenged without feeling threatened (Lyons 2003;Kohn 1999; Goleman 1995) • Teacher as Close Observer • Trust

18. Essential Writing Classroom Elements • Student Talk • Verbal language and conceptual thought develop simultaneously (Vygotsky,1986) • New Doors for Learning • Allow students to use a variety of literacies to explore and share their learning – art, music, drama

19. Essential Writing Classroom Elements • Authentic Experiences • Small Group Activities • Reflective Self-Assessment Daniels, Harvey & Marilyn Bizer. 1998. Methods That Matter: Six Structure for Best Practice Classrooms

20. Writing Instruction EVERY Student Needs • Access to the tools for writing • Editing checklists • Word wall/lists • Dictionaries/thesauruses • Publishing materials • Technology • A predictable structure

21. Classroom Structures for Best Instructional Practices • Integrated Units • Workshops • Authentic Experiences • Small Group Activities • Reflective Student Self-Assessment Daniels, Harvey & Marilyn Bizer. 1998. Methods That Matter: Six Structure for Best Practice Classrooms

22. Topics • Why Writing Matters in School and Beyond • Best Instructional Practices for Improving Student Writing • How Students Become Better Writers

23. How Students Become Better Writers • Utilize the Writing Process • Make Time for Writing • Encourage Student to Share Their Writing • Connect Writing with Reading • Connect Assessment to Revision of Writing • Teach the Qualities of Good Writing

24. Utilize the Writing Process • Prewriting • generating ideas • mental rehearsal for writing • Drafting • Revising • Sharing Writing with Others • Editing • Publishing Emig, 1971 From Danielson, L. (Spring 2000). The Improvement of Student Writing: What the Research Says Journal of School Improvement, NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement

25. The Writing Process The Writing Process Not every piece of writing needs to be taken to the final stage of publication. Not every piece of writing needs to be assessed. From Danielson, L. (Spring 2000). The Improvement of Student Writing: What the Research Says Journal of School Improvement, NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement

26. Let’s Write About… Your Name • Listen to/read the short essay by Sandra Cisneros, “My Name,” in The House on Mango Street. • Think about your name • Are you named after someone? Who? • Do you know this person very well? • What do you like about your name? • Does your name have a special meaning? • Do you have a nickname or some some other name by which you are known? • Now write about your name.

27. The Writing Process Make Time for Writing • 3-5 blocks of 50 minutes or more per week • Ask yourself: • What lessons or other activities • could the writer’s workshop replace? Adapted from Fletcher,R. and Portalupi, J. (2001) Writing Workshop the Essential Guide. Portsmouth, NH, Heinemann

28. Let’s Write About… Your Name Pre-writing • Listen to/read the short essay by Sandra Cisneros, “My Name,” in The House on Mango Street. • Think about your name • Are named after someone? Who? • Do you know this person very well? • What do you like about your name? • Does your name have a special meaning? • Do you have a nickname or some some other name • by which you are known?

29. Let’s Write About… Your Name • Now write about your name. Drafting

30. What might 50-60 minutes of writing time look like? Mini lesson: 5-10 minutes short lesson related to a single topic (e.g. use of quotation marks, transition words,sentence structure, etc.) Sharing Writing: 10-20 minutes In pairs or small groups or in conferences with teacher Writing: 35-45 minutes Pre-writing, drafting, revising Adapted from Fletcher,R. and Portalupi, J. (2001) Writing Workshop the Essential Guide. Portsmouth, NH, Heinemann

31. The Writing Process Encourage Students to Share Their Writing • Sharing with a Partner • Small Group Sharing • Conferencing with Teacher

32. The Writing Process Connect Writing with Reading • Writing about texts for reading can enhance comprehension • Using texts selected for reading as models for writing is effective • Processes for reading and writing are similar and tend to reinforce each other

33. The Writing Process Connect Assessment with Revision What Qualities Do Teachers Look for in Student Writing?

34. Ideas Organization Voice Word Choice Sentence Fluency Conventions/Presentation Content, details, clarity, focus Structure, transitions, sequencing Style, tone, expression Precise language, vocabulary, Sentence structure, length, readability Mechanical correctness/How the writing looks on the page Traits of Writing

35. Writing About ... Your Name Revising • Could you add more details? (Ideas/Content) • How do you want to organize your ideas? (Organization) • How can you show the reader there is a person “behind your words”? (Voice) • Can you add more vivid, descriptive words? (Word Choice) • Are all your sentences alike? (Sentence Fluency)

36. Ideas/ Content Organization Voice/Tone Word Choice/ Terminology How Do Writers Revise Their Writing? Sentence Fluency

37. The Writing Process Teach the Qualities of Good Writing Word Choice/ Terminology Ideas/ Content Organization Sentence Fluency Voice/Tone Conventions/ Presentation

38. Unit of Study: Lesson Title: Activities: Reading Writing Other Assessment: Lesson Planning to Include Writing • Writing Process • Pre-writing • Drafting • Conferencing • Revision • Editing • Publishing • Traits of Writing

39. What Does Effective Writing Instruction Look Like in the Classroom?

40. Writing for UnderstandingProcess • Select an enduring understanding or BIG IDEA that students should demonstrate in their written product • Develop a focusing question that will enable students to approach the BIG IDEA in a specific, manageable way • Build a working knowledge of the content

41. Writing for UnderstandingProcess • Help students process the knowledge, capturing it in notes so they can use it in their writing. • Help students structure their writing so that their THINKING is clear. • Use the writing process (draft, confer, revise) to help students produce a written product that is focused, organized, and developed to show understanding of the BIG IDEA.

42. What’s Often Missing in Most Student Writing? • Students have not built a working knowledge of the content • Developing vocabulary/terminology • Teaching students how to comprehend text • Refining understanding through discussion Students have not built a working knowledge of the content • Students do not know how to capture and process knowledge • Note taking • Summarizing

43. What makes better learners? • Identifying similarities and differences • Summarizing and note taking • Reinforcing effort and providing recognition • Homework and practice • Nonlinguistic representations • Cooperative learning • Setting objectives and providing feedback • Generating and testing hypotheses • Questions cues, and advance organizers Marzano, Pickering and Pollock. (2001) Classroom Instruction That Works: Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, Virginia. ASCD.

44. Teacher selected topics Audience/topic may not be specified Much teacher time spent grading Students create topics that matter to them Audience and purpose are clearly specified Teacher time spent teaching skills/strategies WritingAssigning vs. Teaching

45. Few strategies provided to complete writing tasks Students not aware of their own improvement Rewriting generally limited to editing vs. revision Students given strategies/models for writing Students reflect on significant growth Revision/resubmission is encouraged WritingAssigning vs. Teaching

46. Students are required to write without much forethought Students and teachers are bored by what students write Students use a variety of pre-writing activities Enthusiasm for student writing leads to publishing WritingAssigning vs. Teaching

47. Topics • Why Writing Matters in School and Beyond • How Students Become Better Writers • Best Instructional Practices for Improving Student Writing

48. The power of teacher comment in response to student writing “As a writing teacher, it is my experience that if I praise a student’s strengths, the weaknesses will eventually fall away. If I focus on the weaknesses, the strengths, too, may wobble and even vanish.” -Julia Cameron, Right to Write

49. “If students are to make knowledge their own, they must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts, and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else. In short, if students are to learn, they must write.”- The Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution. The National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges (2003)