TEACHING WRITING

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TEACHING WRITING

• The real question for writing teachers is, how
  do we
• help our students develop a repertoire of
  approaches to
• writing that are comparable to reading
  strategies .
• How do we help writers identify problems, solve
  them,
• take charge of their writing and thinking.
• (Nancie Attwell In the Middle, 2003, p.xvi)

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KEY IDEAS

• Writing provides students with opportunities to
  explore topics that are important to them and to
  develop a voice for expressing their ideas,
  feelings and points of view
• Writing helps students to develop higher-order
  thinking and critical literacy skills, to solve
  problems and to consolidate their learning in all
  subjects.

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• Students begin to gain control of a greater
  variety of writing forms and use them for
  different purposes in all subjects.
• Students need support and timely feedback to
  develop as independent writers.
• The recursive writing process helps students to
  approach each writing task in manageable stages
  in order to produce texts that reach their target
  audience and achieve their purpose.

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Our Developing Writers will become

• MEANING MAKERS Develop understanding and think
  about their writing process, purposes, word
  sentence choices, revision, connections between
  reading and writing, clarifying ideas.
• TEXT USERS Know and use different text forms,
  their features and conventions for a range of
  purposes and audiences use an author voice.
• TEXT CRAFTERS know and attend to writing
  conventions, use supports to draft and edit
  writing use strategies to build new writing
  vocabulary develop a writers ethic to use
  information responsibly
• TEXT ANALYSERS Develop the writers craft
  learn about the work of experienced authors
  respond and write critically to relevant/personal
  issues express point of view

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The Recursive Writing Process

• There are clearly defined stages
• Provides for carefully planned instructional
  approaches that immerse students in the writers
  craft
• Provides opportunities for mini-lessons on
  specific strategies and skills
• Students apply what they learn
• Provides opportunities for students to confer
  with teacher and peers to receive feedback

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1. Generating Ideas

• Immerse in ideas, information, experience about a
  topic, relating prior knowledge, text forms
• Identify a purpose or goal, determine an
  audience, select a text form, collect and
  organize information, brainstorm ideas
• Talk and confer with teacher/peers, Teacher
  modeling the structure and features of text forms

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2. Drafting

• Students use webs, idea logs, graphic organizers,
  writers notebooks to organize and plan ideas
• Create a written draft, use word processing if
  appropriate
• Writing is organized to reflect text form, text
  features and audience
• Teachers use modelled and shared writing to teach
  mini-lessons, coach individuals, small groups

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3. Rethinking and Revising

• Focus on clarity and content, adding, deleting
• Teacher uses modelled, shared, guided writing for
  mini-lessons to demonstrate revision process
• Reread to revise word choice, writing style
• Use reference materials Thesaurus, dictionary,
  other writers work
• Confer with teacher/ peers
• Use revision checklists or guiding questions

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4. Editing and Proofreading

• Reread and edit for grammar, spelling,
  punctuation, consult references
• Teacher used modelled, shared, guided writing to
  teach mini-lessons for editing
• Confer with teacher/peers
• Use editing checklist, guiding questions, anchor
  charts/writing
• Teacher coaches individuals/small groups

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5. Publishing or Sharing

• Rewrite revised and edited drafts to present to a
  pre determined audience
• Polish the format (fonts, graphics, text layout)
• Teachers use modelled, shared and guided writing
  for mini-lessons on the publishing process for
  specific audiences
• Provide publishing resources (slide show
  software, websites)
• Present, share, display completed texts

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Teaching the Recursive Writing Process

• Teachers
• Regularly confer with students and provide
  opportunity for teacher and peer feedback
• Establish Writers Workshop that focuses on
• - Before writing process
• - Before and during writing
  process
• - After writing process

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e.g.,

• Provide a balance of direct, explicit instruction
  and student choice (e.g., topics)
• Use a variety of instructional approaches to
  model effective writing and engage students
• - Read-alouds
• - Shared reading
• - Modelled writing
• - Shared writing
• - Interactive writing
• - Guided writing

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Writers Workshop Format (60 min)

• BEFORE Large group (5-15 min.) Community
  meeting writers talk and mini-lesson (modeled
  and shared writing)
• Status of The Class (2 min.) optional
• DURING Independent Writing (35-50 min) Includes
  individual writing, conferencing, guided writing,
  Research/Genre/Author/Content Area study
• AFTER Large Group (5-10 min) Sharing and
  Consolidation/Evaluation

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Role of Word Knowledge

• Word knowledge includes spelling, grammar,
  language conventions, literary devices, word
  choices
• Instruction leads to students becoming problem
  solvers and word detectives
• Instruction must be developmentally appropriate,
  interactive and constructive

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To Develop Word Knowledge

• Teachers
• Model strategies to deconstruct and rebuild words
  (e.g., using prefixes, suffixes, roots,
  derivatives, compound words, pattern detection,
  analogy)
• Demonstrate how to choose words for specific
  purposes (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, descriptive
  words)

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• Create word walls lists of interesting, good to
  know, or confusing words, content specific
  vocabulary
• Study words that convey critical concepts (e.g.,
  word origins Latin roots letter patterns tion
  endings semantic connections descriptive,
  action words)
• Spelling instruction must be embedded in reading
  and writing activities and focused on meaning
• Students need to develop a spelling conscience

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Assess Student Writing using a Variety of Tools

• Attitude and interest surveys
• Writing conferences
• Teachers observations
• Rubrics using the Curriculum assessment criteria
• Anchor texts
• Writing Exemplars of leveled writing samples
• Student reflections and self assessment
• 61 Write Traits