Transcript Slide 1
Strategies for Teaching Writing in the Content Areas
Thomasville City Schools
Activating Strategy
Results
Why Do We Need to Teach Writing?
• 2/3 of salaried employees in large American
companies have some writing responsibility.
• More than 40% of large corporations remediate
salaried employees with writing deficiencies.
• Most 4th grade students spend less than 3 hours a
week writing, or 15% of the time they spend watching
TV
• 66% of high school seniors do not write a 3- page
paper as often as once a month for their English
teachers
• 75% of seniors NEVER receive a writing
assignment in history or social studies.
Survey of 400 Business
Leaders
72% of high school graduate
entry-level workers are
deficient in the basics of
writing
National Council
of Teachers of English
Writing is an essential fundamental tool for thinking
• in every class,
• on every subject,
• and on every level of learning
Skills in writing must be
• practiced and refined.
Students must have
“frequent opportunities” to write,
• across the curriculum.
Writing
Learning
The act of silent writing, even for
a few minutes….
generates ideas, observations,
and emotions.
When Students Write
• They organize concepts in their own
language
• They connect concepts with their own
analogies
Writing Often…
… several times a week,
provides constant reinforcement of the
content.
Students Who Write in All Courses
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Think independently
Develop insight
Explore thoughts and feelings
Develop intellectual courage
Reason logically
Follow the thread of lessons in mind
Visualize concept and make it concrete by
writing down thoughts, questions, etc.
Stop and Write
So far, how’s it going?
For 2 minutes, write about what you’ve
learned so far and what questions you have
as we move forward.
Writing Purposes
• Posing questions
• Discovering answers
• Checking understanding
• Stimulating discussion
Writing to Learn – When?
• 1 to 5 minutes at the beginning,
during, or at the end of class
• Several times a week…
• Then Writing becomes a habit in the
classroom.
“Low Stakes” Writing to Learn
“The goal isn't so much good writing as
coming to learn, understand, remember
and figure out what you don't yet know.”
~Peter Elbow (1994)
Why assign low stakes writing?
• Improves high stakes writing (Writing Test)
• Eases student anxiety about writing in general
and writing in your specific class
• Makes students active participants instead of passive
• Gives students a risk-free environment to
try out new ideas and take creative risks
• Gives teachers practical information on what
students know or don’t yet understand
And don’t forget….
Low stakes writing takes the least
amount of time and expertise from
teachers.
Most Surprising Research
• Student’s comfort level in school
increases
• Students become more encouraged
and optimistic about their future.
Writing to Learn does not seek
finished product but rather focuses on
higher order thinking, analyzing, and
summarizing.
Writing to Learn helps build
relationships, the third “R” between
students and teachers.
Writing to Learn
Learning to Write
1.Journals & learning logs
Book reports
2. Lab logs and notebooks
Research reports
3. Quick writes
Essays
4. Short narratives
Lab reports
5. Summaries
Opinion editorials
6. Dialogues
Technical writing
1. Journals and Learning Logs
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Daily or weekly preferable
Practice over time is more effective than infrequent,
longer assignments
1. What did I learn today?
2. What still puzzles me?
3. Describe the process I went through in solving this
equation?
4. What do I think about this topic?
5. How would I explain this concept to someone else?
6. How can I use this in my own life?
7. Make a chart, table or graph of the information
learned.
3. Quick Writes
• Allows students to digest what they’ve
observed and heard and to consider
how it fits into their personal universe
• Writers need time to contemplate and
record ideas
• Gives abstractions and deep thoughts
form and shape
• No risk – safe way to express ideas
• Teacher can (and should) comment
4. Short Narratives
Way to build bridges between content and
students’ lives
1. Science – viruses they have contracted
2. History/Literature – in the words of a
significant character, i.e., Paul Revere
3. Technology – short history of their personal
journey with computers
4. Math – how I use algebra/ geometry, etc. in
everyday life
5. Summaries
Comprehension of main points
• Stop lesson and ask for quick write
• Students read text and make short, summary
statements
• Can use small groups for differentiation
• Important for students to share their writing with
authentic audience (not always teacher)
6. Dialogues
Diversion from journal entries
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Teacher gives the prompt
Two students – exchange entries and write responses
Discovery of new ideas developed collaboratively
Students can also write teacher who responds back
Blogs
Your Prompt
Pair off with a colleague. One of you answer
the following prompt and pass to the other
for response.
What do you think so far about Writing to
Learn? Is it do-able in your classroom?
This is what blogging with kids is like.
Writing to Learn Final Thoughts
• Way to focus students on topic and to immerse
students in content
• Informal, unfinished, non-standard
• Teachers ignore grammar, usage, spelling,
punctuation
• Depending on circumstances, can be graded or
ungraded
– Completion
– Rubric
Biology Blogging
In response to a NY Times article about eco-burial sites:
“Personally, I think that the green burial cites are an
amazing idea. We as people already use enough of
the earth during our lives. The least we could do is
give back some of what we took once we pass away.
Some people might disagree and say that they won't
be able to mourn their loved ones. I think that by
burying their family and friends in biodegradable
ways and planting some kind of greenery, they can
show how much they care for and miss their loved
one. As the memorial tree or shrub grows, each
person will see that they too can grow and blossom
without forgetting their lost friend or relative.”
Mitosis Children’s Picture Book
Students will . . .
Demonstrate the analogy of the cell
while in interphase, mitosis, and
cytokinesis.
[email protected]
CTE Courses
• Use language appropriate for audience and
purpose
– Concise, clear, direct
– 100% accurate and without errors
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Advertisements
Surveys
Progress reports
Business plans
Brochures
Travel itineraries
Brochure Projects
• Train student to summarize and synthesize
information
• Give students opportunities to write
descriptive texts
• Help student develop research skills and
integrate skills into final product
• Help student acquire publishing software
skills that combine text and images
Brochure
Computer Applications I
• Students will learn to use Microsoft Publisher
• Students will research clubs and activities on the THS
campus
– Students will interview adult sponsors
• Students will synthesize and present their findings to peers
• Students will present brochures to sponsors for use during fall
Open House
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Pro Start
Student Reflection
“Looking back, I think I should have
made more creative titles. Also, the next
time I work in Publisher, I need to come
in early and work on my layout because
I didn’t have enough time in class to
insert information and make my product
look creative.”
DECA
KMHS Administration
Social Studies
• Warm-up free writes
• Reciprocal Teaching
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Summarizer gives key ideas
Questioner responds about difficulties
Clarifier answers questions
Predictor gives ideas about what’s next
Switch roles for next section
• Three-Minute Papers – bridge for lecture
• Graphic Organizers
Assessing Writing
Across the Curriculum
Aligned with standards
1. Formative: integral part of instruction that informs and
guides teachers and students
• Not necessarily evaluated
2. Summative: determines what students have learned
• Evaluated
• Provides valuable feedback
Research Says
Only in schools where writing is a
school-wide program and is pursued
daily will students have multiple and
adequate opportunities to become
proficient writers and thinkers.