Strategic Writing Across the Curriculum in Grades 712

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Strategic Writing Across the Curriculum in Grades
7-12

• Christine LaRocco
• International Center for Leadership in Education
• clarocco_at_aol.com

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National Commission on Writing for America's
Families, Schools, and Colleges

• Survey says
• People who cannot write and communicate clearly
  will not be hired, and if already working, are
  unlikely to last long enough to be considered for
  promotion.
• Two-thirds of salaried employees in large
  American companies have some writing
  responsibility.
• More than 40 percent of large corporations
  remediate salaried employees with writing
  deficiencies.

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Survey of 400 business leaders

• 72 percent responded that high school graduate
  entry-level workers are deficient in the basics
  of writing.

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New Resource Kit Strategic Writing Across the
Curriculum in Grades 7-12

• I. Strategic Writing in All Classes
• Chapter 1 Why Write in All Classes?
• Chapter 2 What Is Writing to Learn?
• Chapter 3 Rigorous and Relevant Writing
• Chapter 4 Technical and Business Writing in
  the Classroom

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II. Writing in the Content Areas

• Chapter 5 Writing in Language Arts
• Chapter 6 Writing in Math and Science
• Chapter 7 Writing in Social Studies,
  Career/Tech. Ed

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III. Strategies for Projects /Presentations C
hapter 8 Technology Applications in Writing and
Research Chapter 9 The Role of Writing in
Project-Based Learning Chapter 10 Writing for
Presentations
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• IV. Writing Assessment
• Chapter 11 Assessing Writing Across the
  Curriculum
• Chapter 12 Tips for State Writing Examinations

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Appendices

• Technical Writing Packet
• Reading Strategies that Promote Writing
• Successful School-Wide Programs
• Workplace Document Examples

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Writing Across the Curriculum

• Two Parts
• In every class, students should be involved in
• writing to learn
• learning to write.

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Writing for Learning is

• Different from Writing to Demonstrate Learning

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Writing to Learn

• Different from traditional writing
• Different goals
• No polished finished product
• Focused on higher order thinking, analyzing and
  summarizing.

Writing to Learn helps build relationships, the
third R between students and teacher.

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Peter Elbow

• Students need low stakes writing to learn the
  content.
• The goal isn't so much good writing as coming to
  learn, understand, remember and figure out what
  you don't yet know.
• Elbow, P. (1994). Writing for learning--not just
  for demonstrating learning. University of
  Massachusetts, Amherst, 1-4.

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Writing in response to course content helps
students

• Think independently
• Develop insight
• Explore thoughts and feelings
• Develop intellectual courage
• Reason logically
• Follow the thread of the lesson in their minds
• Visualize a concept and make it more concrete by
  writing down their thoughts

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Writing to Learn

• 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.

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Research on Writing to Learn

• Student achievement on state assessments, exit
  exams, and other measurements greatly improves.
• Students demonstrate growth in core academic
  learning and stretch learning.
• North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

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Most surprising

• Student comfort level in school increases, and
  students become more encouraged and optimistic
  about their future.

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Examples of Writing to Learn

• Journals and Learning Logs
• Quick Writes
• Narratives
• Summaries
• Dialogues
• Readers Logs
• Double Entry Journals

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Math Prompts Content and process

• Describe square root.
• Describe the difference between parallel and
  perpendicular.
• Tell everything you know about prime numbers
• Describe the difference between area and
  perimeter.
• Write a word problem that involves measuring
  square feet.
• Describe the key idea of todays lesson.

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General Science Writing Prompts

• Describe something you have done that involved
  science concepts.
• What scientific concepts regarding the weather do
  you wonder about?
• What is the greatest scientific discovery in the
  world, and why?
• What scientific invention would you like to make
  that would help the most people?

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• Social Studies Prompts
• Why is it important that people have choices?
• What does interdependence mean among the
  peoples of the world?
• From what countries did people come to the U.S.
  during the 1800s?
• What is your definition of justice?
• What human rights should all people have?
• If you could start a non-profit foundation to
  make a difference, what issues would you support?

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Language Arts Prompts

• What is the author saying about society in
  general?
• What does the title of the reading imply?
• How would I feel in this situation?
• What different effects do fiction and non-fiction
  have on me?
• How does this topic apply to my world?

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Double Entry Journal Prompts

• comparisons to information learned earlier
• associations with information from other courses
• Related personal experience
• effects of this information when applied in the
  world outside the classroom

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Responding to Writing to Learn

• Collect after several entries
• Check for Student Understanding
• Chance to Listen to Students
• Chance to Connect by Responding
• Judge Whether Lesson Needs Re-teaching
• Skim Write Quick Note of Encouragement

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Responding to Learning Log Entries

• I remember when I felt that way about math.
• Dont worry, well go over it again.
• You missed a step right here.
• ! 4 ? P

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Learning to Write
Rough draft, editing, final copy Introduction,
body, conclusion
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Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs

• From 4th Grade on, students write too many
  reports
• Reports are written at the comprehension level of
  Blooms Taxonomy.

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Not So Many Reports

• So we must find other products that
  incorporate analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and
  higher order thinking skills.

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Look Outside the Schools

• What kinds of writing occur after academia?
• Hint
• Not comprehension level reports

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Technical Writing Examples

• Field Test Report
• Incident report
• Set of Instructions
• Mechanism Description
• Observation Report

• Process Explanation
• Product Comparison
• Progress Report
• Proposal, Action Plan

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What schools teach

• Purposes for Writing
• Display mastery of knowledge, skills, format
• Types of Writing reports, essays, book reports,
  poetry, narratives research papers, letters

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What the workplace requires

• Purposes for Writing
• Inform, persuade, clarify, soften the blow,
  explain, direct others, recommend, sell
• Types of Writing
• Brochures, letters, memos, proposals, surveys,
  ads, instructions, planning documents, messages,
  recommendations, personnel evaluations, news
  releases, etc.

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Audience and Content are different

• Audience
• Teacher, test grader
• Content
• Teachers assign the topics
• Reveal all the information researched

• Audience
• People with differing knowledge, needs,
  motivations, and uses for the information.
  Supervisors, clients, co-workers, general public
• Content
• Undefined or ill-defined problems (open-ended,
  relevant, messy)
• Tell what the reader needs to know.

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Four writing skills for transition from academia
to workplace

• Writers need to complete whole, complex projects,
  the final product representing only one part of
  the whole.
• Writers need to use collaboration as a resource,
  with individuals and with groups, to solve
  problems.

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• Writers need to adapt both text products and
  production processes for specific audiences and
  purposes.
• Writers need to understand electronic tools and
  their role in shaping communication and social
  responsibility.

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To simulate workplace writing, include

• Research on audience
• Collaboration on design and content
• Attention to budget and time constraints

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• 4. Quality controls in editing workplace
  writing must be 100 accurate.
• 5. Production of a visually informative,
  marketable text using available technology.
• Fennick, Peters, and Guyon. Solving Problems in
  21st Century
• Academic and Workplace Writing. English Journal,
  March 1993.

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Assignment Social Studies

• Students research recent magazine and newspaper
  articles on immigration to the United States.
• Investigate the steps immigrants must take to
  become US citizens.
• Write a report on the naturalization process.
  (research paper)
• What must a person do to become a U. S. citizen?
  (essay question)

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Take It Further Add Technical Writing

• Design a brochure for distribution to local
  immigrants outlining the steps they must take to
  become a citizen.
• Translate the brochure into the appropriate
  languages.
• Write an action plan for a half-day workshop
  about changes in the immigration regulations.

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Technical Writing Examples

• Field Test Report
• Incident report
• Set of Instructions
• Mechanism Description
• Observation Report

• Process Explanation
• Product Comparison
• Progress Report
• Proposal, Action Plan

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Academic Workplace Writing

• Descriptive Writing Job Description
• Incident Report
• Resume
• Process Explanation
• Narrative Writing Observation Report
  Progress Report
• Cause Effect Product Field Test Report

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Academic Workplace

• Analysis Performance Evaluation Feasibility
  Report
• Comparison/ Product Comparison
• Contrast Feasibility Report
• Persuasive Essay Proposal
• Action Plan

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Advantages of Technical Writing

• Prescriptive Writingtheres a recipe
• Must Apply the Highest Standards Business
  English
• ShorterEasier to Grade

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Technical Writing
Only two grades A NY (not yet)
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Analyze Identify the Audience

• Who is the audience?
• What does the audience already know?
• What background do they have? Education, culture,
  experience?
• What must this person do, once he/she receives
  the information?

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Project Based Learning

• Add Technical Writing at
• Each Phase

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At the Start

• Formal Proposal
• Overall Concept
• Estimated Budget
• Timeline
• Estimated Date of Completion
• Sketches

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Work in Progress

• Progress Report outlining
• Original Goals
• Attained Goals
• Remaining Goals
• Projected Completion Date (adjusted)

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After the Project

• Process explanation
• Product Description
• Set of Detailed Technical Instructions

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Take Assignments One Step Further

• Typical Assignment
• Students research recent magazine and newspaper
  articles on immigration to the United States.
• Investigate the steps immigrants must take to
  become US citizens.
• Write a report on the naturalization process.
  (research paper)
• What must a person do to become a U. S. citizen?
  (essay question)

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Take It Further Add Technical Writing

• Design a brochure for distribution to local
  immigrants outlining the steps they must take to
  become a citizen.
• Translate the brochure into the appropriate
  languages.
• Write an action plan for a half-day workshop
  about changes in the immigration regulations.

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Designing a D-Quadrant lesson

• Example Biology or Health Class
• Students have completed a unit on the Auditory
  System.

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Role, Audience, Format, Topic

• Assign students a real-world role.
• Workplace, Citizen in Community
• Give them a problem (or topic) to tackle.
• Determine the audience.
• What will the product (format) be?

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Biology Auditory System

• Role
• You are a health care intern for a pediatrician
  who works with young families.

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Topic

• Because so many children contract ear infections,
  the doctor wants you to develop a handout to
  explain the problem, the cause, the typical
  location of the infection, treatment options, and
  prevention.

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RAFT

• Role Health care intern
• Audience Parents of young children
• Format Brochure or flyer
• Topic Ear infection, auditory system, treatment
  options, prevention.

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Why Brochures?

• Calls for higher order thinking
• Students work in groups.
• Nobody works too hard.
• Each learner is assigned a panel.
• 6 panels -- 5 students (Cover--together)
• Learners must condense what they know.

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Integrated Lesson

• High School in Indiana
• English Class Wrote the Brochure Text
• Spanish II Translated the Brochures
• Technology Designed the Brochures

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Ideas for Complex Tasks

• Create a city-wide program and write an action
  plan for...
• Design a brochure
• Design a performance review form
• Develop a proposal
• Write a letter of recommendation
• Design and conduct a survey
• Prepare a multimedia presentation
• Write an observation report
• Write customer service guidelines
• Conduct interviews of community leaders and write
  a...
• Write a feature article for the local paper
• Design a newsletter

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Incident Reports

• Used by
• Insurance companies, sheriffs offices, schools,
  businesses.
• Why so serious?
• Legal document, used in court

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Incident Reports

• Obtain an authentic incident report
• Phone the Public Information Officer in the
  Sheriffs Department.
• Explain how you will use it.

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State Writing Exams

• How does technical writing help students prepare
  for the state writing exams?

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Oregon

• Topic
• Your friend has very poor eating habits.
• Convince your friend that a nutritious diet is
  important.

• Same thinking skill as
• Persuasive Proposal

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Delaware

• Same skills in a
• Product Description
• Technical Definition
• Process Explanation
• Operation Manual
• Persuasive Proposal

• Topic
• For a museum contest, write an essay identifying
  the invention you consider most notable and how
  it has impacted the world positively or
  negatively.

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Georgia

• Topic
• Write an persuasive editorial that presents
  alternative solutions for reducing the amount of
  solid waste in your school environment.

• Persuasive Proposal
• Marketing Advertisement
• Observation Report
• Feasibility Report
• Training Materials

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Lesson Plan Magazines

• Ask students to bring hobby magazines
• (or teacher provides them)
• Find and share articles that are examples of a
  product description, a process explanation,
  instructions, persuasive piece, product
  comparison, etc.

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2008 Model Schools Conference

• Christine LaRocco
• clarocco_at_aol.com