What Does it Really Mean to Write in Response to Text

1. What Does it Really Mean to Write in Response to Text Timothy Shanahan University of Illinois at Chicago www.shanahanonliteracy.com

2. A Bit of Writing History • In the 1960s, James Moffett complained that writing instruction focused solely on the “school report” • He defined four kinds of writing (on basis of audience type): reflection, conversation, correspondence, publication • The “school report” fit into the publication portion of the continuum • He argued that kids should do a lot less writing for publication and more of the other categories

3. A Bit of Writing History (cont.) • Big transformation took place in writing instruction from 1960s to 1990s • Much less attention to academic writing—with much more accorded to writing diaries, logs, daybooks, and the like • Instead of focusing writing on content, the focus was much more on writing to express oneself, writing about one’s own experiences, and engaging in the writing process

4. A Bit of Writing History (cont.) • “The problem with using books to prime the pump for writing is that this strategy works almost too well, and it’s easy for our children to get into the habit of needing a daily jump-start for their entries” (Calkins, 1994)

5. Winds of Change • The Common Core State Standards were adopted by more than 40 states • These standards emphasized public writing or academic writing over the personal or literary writing emphasized prior to this • The major form of writing emphasized by these standards is writing “about text” (in other words, students are preparing for the major kinds of writing that are required in colleges and universities) • Makes the emphasis of writing about learning content

6. National Assessment

7. According to NAEP… • Students can write, but they cannot produce writing at high levels of skill, maturity, and sophistication • Few students can produce precise, engaging, and coherent prose • Fewer than a quarter can write convincing, elaborated responses with compelling language

8. Two Approaches to Writing...

9. Learning Two Approaches to Writing Communication Have students completely study a topic before they write about it Standard English only to maximize communication Read all student writing Have students write about topic while they study it Clear expression of ideas is central Use writing as a stimulus to learning

10. 3 Conceptions of Reading-Writing Relations • Shared knowledge/cognitive substrata • Reader-writer relations • Processes combined towards a common goal

11. Shared knowledge/cognitive substrata • This research explores the cognitive/linguistic similarities and differences • R/W depend upon shared domain knowledge (content) • Shared meta-knowledge about written language (functions, meaningful, monitoring meaning) • Text attributes (e.g., words, text, etc.) • Procedural knowledge (access, use, generate info during reading)

12. WRITING READING

13. Reader-Writer Relations • Focus is on effective communication • Examines readers consideration of authors during reading and writers consideration of audiences during reading • Perhaps insights drawn from writing may make readers more aware of authors, and vice versa may help writers to be more aware of readers

14. Communication

15. Reader-Writer Relations • Reader-writer relations are developmental • Much of the development seems to be due to maturation and increasing social awareness • Author awareness is not always good • Possible to teach audience-awareness (peer conferencing, assigned audiences, etc.)

16. Combined Processes • How reading and writing can best be used to improve learning from text or the writing of synthesis papers • Different combinations of reading and writing lead to different outcomes (perhaps because of the cognitive separations)

17. Combined Processes

18. Writing to Comprehend • Graham & Hebert (2010) review • Writing about text improves comprehension and learning from text • More extensive writing is more effective than shorter writing • Differences in benefits unless explicit writing instruction is provided

19. Experimental Studies • 93% of study outcomes in which students wrote about text had a positive impact (grades 2-12) • When students were taught explicitly how to write (not just assigned writing), then these impacts were equally large with poor readers • Writing about text was more powerful than just reading it or reading it and rereading it/studying it/discussing it • Average effect sizes .40 (11 studies with standardized tests) and .51 (50 studies with other assessments)

21. Why We Learn from Writing • Writing about text is effective because it encourages deeper thinking about ideas • Requires students to draw on their own knowledge and experience • Helps them to consolidate and review information • Inspires the reformulation of thinking • Requires the organization and integration of ideas • Fosters explicitness • Facilitates reflection • Encourages personal involvement • Requires translation into one’s own words

22. Writing about Text • Text modeling • Summaries • Analysis and critique • Synthesis

23. Writing To Text Models • Good writers usually become good writers because they imitate when they write • They imitate structure, style, language • Writing on the basis of models –that is trying to imitate features of what we read—can both improve reading and writing • To do this requires analytical reading that looks carefully at how the text was composed • And for the writer it provides valuable scaffolding

24. Graham & Perin Results

25. Text Modeling • Select strong text examples • Read and reread the text trying to identify or describe its features • Decide which features need to be repeated • Then try to compose your own text by varying the key features • Re-read the original text and revise

26. Whistle, Mary, Whistle Whistle, Mary, whistle and you shall have a cow. I can’t whistle Mother because I don’t know how.

27. Whistle, Mary, Whistle Whistle, Mary, whistle and you shall have a goat. I can’t whistle Mother because it hurts my throat.

28. Whistle, Mary, Whistle Whistle, Mary, whistle and you shall have a pig. I can’t whistle Mother because I’m not that big.

29. Whistle, Mary, Whistle Whistle, Mary, whistle and you shall have a man. Tweeeeeet! I’ve just found out I can.

30. Pattern • Mother speaks and then Mary speaks • Mother each time asks her to do something (whistle is a verb) • Verb, name, verb (6 syllables) • And you shall have a ________ (6 syllables) • Mary responds each time with a refusal—until the end • I can’t ______ Mother ( 6 syllables) • Explanation always rhymes (cow/now, big/pig, etc.)

37. Summarization • Writing about text is effective because it encourages students to think about what the author wrote (more effective with elementary than secondary) • Requires students to identify the key ideas and details and to think about how those ideas are organized • More explicit consideration of the text than if the reader were only reading

38. Graham & Perin Results

40. Summaries of Short Texts: • Identify/select the main idea of a paragraph • Delete trivial information • Delete redundant information • Write a one sentence synopsis of the main and supporting information for each paragraph

41. a. Read the text You can see some small things with your eyes. With a microscope, however, you can see much smaller details. Think of a butterfly’s wing. You can see it with your eyes. But a microscope can show you small parts of the wing called scales.

42. b. Identify main idea You can see some small things with your eyes. With a microscope, however, you can see much smaller details. Think of a butterfly’s wing. You can see it with your eyes. But a microscope can show you small parts of the wing called scales.

43. c. Delete trivia You can see some small things with your eyes. With a microscope, however, you can see much smaller details. Think of a butterfly’s wing. You can see it with your eyes. But a microscope can show you small parts of the wing called scales.

44. d. Write one sentence summary Microscopes let you see things so small that you can’t see them with just your eyes. (written with text removed)

45. Summaries of Longer Texts: • Identify/select the main idea of a text • Create a skeleton outline using the subheadings from the text • Identify 2-3 important ideas for each subheading • Convert the outline into a summary

46. GIST • 1. Read text (section) • 2. Identify 5Ws and H • 3. Write 20 word summary __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________ __________

47. Summary Writing Skills • Comprehension of the text • Identification of key ideas and details • Identification of the text structure • Ability to paraphrase and translate ideas into your own words • Ability to combine subpoints into generalizations

48. Analytical/Critical Response • Extended writing opportunities that encourage analysis/critique matter in learning (more learning than from short-answer writing) • Research is clear that writing more critically and extensively requires students to think more deeply which raises understanding (and achievement) • About 40% of high school seniors report that they never are expected to write papers of 3 or more pages

49. Analytical/Critical Response • Define significant parts and how they are related • Look for patterns of repetition and for anomalies • Make comparisons and contrasts • Connect problems and solutions • Connect causes and effects • Determination of merit, worth, or value through reasoning or judgment • Comparative evaluation

50. Analytical/Critical Response (cont.) • Given what you learned from the passage, what were the two or three most important reasons for industrial growth in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries? Explain the reasons for your choices. • Compare concepts: equation/graph; line/plane; number line/coordinates; linear equation/quadratic equation; function/relation • Describe the structure and function of parts of the cell to an audience that knows NO biology (use descriptive analogy). Include cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, nuclear membrane, chromosomes, ribosomes, lysosomes.