Writing Across the Curriculum

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Writing Across the Curriculum

• Brought to you by
• Shaggy and Theresa Margarita

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Carousel Brainstorming

• With your table group, review the statements on
  the construction paper hanging around the room.
• Place a Green or Red sticker to indicate if you
  individually agree or disagree with each
  statement.
• Rotate to each station.
• At the LAST station, use an index card to draft a
  short summary of what the groups seem to think
  about this particular statement.

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Essential Questions

• Why is writing a critical component to student
  achievement?
• How can a K-12 educator integrate writing into
  his or her subject?
• In what ways can a K-12 educator assess writing
  across the curriculum?

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Traditional Hurdles to WAC

• Fear of grading
• Limited assignments/tasks
• Time constraints
• Its not my job.

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Keys to Success

• Shared responsibility not just the English
  teachers job
• Shared decision making?create accessibility,
  limit reaction
• Embed writing into every subject every day
  throughout the year avoid artificial writing
  days

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Research Says

• Students demonstrate higher levels of critical
  thinking when they use writing to make
  associations, comparisons, and connections.
• Cobb schools with Writing-across-Curriculum
  initiatives improved the most on the GHSWT.

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Bottom Line

• Teachers at every level and in every subject must
  make writing a regular practice.

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WAC-versus-WWD

• Writing across the Curriculum
• Writing in all content areas in a given school
  using similar methods, assignments, and forms of
  assessment
• Writing within Discipline
• Writing specifically for a given content area
• Unique form, vocabulary, style, citations,
  rubrics, etc.

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Types of Writing

• Expressive Writing allows the student to write
  in his/her own vocabulary without fear of being
  "corrected
• Examples learning logs, journals, exit summaries
  and peer dialogues
• Product Writing products that students have
  been taught to create in English class
• Both used across the curriculum!

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Sample Products

• Eulogy
• Eyewitness Account
• Greeting Card
• Grocery List
• Informative Essay
• Interview
• Job Application
• Menu
• Monologue
• Movie Review
• Narrative Essay
• Newspaper Article
• Persuasive Essay
• Play
• Poem
• Resume

• Advice Column
• Autobiography
• Advertisement
• Announcement
• Book Jacket
• Business Plan
• Campaign Speech
• Cartoon/Comic Strip
• CD Cover
• Character Sketch
• Descriptive Paragraphs
• Dialogue
• Diary Entries
• Email
• Encyclopedia Entries

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Easy Paths to Integration

• Assignments/Activities
• Methods of Assessment

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Strategy 1 RAFT

• Role of the Writer - Who are you as the writer?
  Are you a Trojan warrior? A proton? An integer?
  The endangered bald eagle?
• Audience - To whom are you writing? Is your
  audience the American people? A friend? The
  nucleus? An equation? Readers of a newspaper? A
  local bank?
• Format - What form will the writing take? Is it a
  letter? An advertisement? A speech? A poem? A
  song?
• Topic strong Verb - What's the subject or the
  point of this piece? Is it to persuade the jury
  to spare your life? To describe your
  relationship to electrons? To call for stricter
  logging laws?

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Sample RAFTs
Science Role a planet Audience readers of advertisements Format personal ad Topic describe self Geography Role a canyon Audience a plateau Format a letter Topic explain how you are formed
PE Role basketball Audience an alien from Mars Format instructions Topic list the rules of the game Math Role a ruler Audience an ant Format a poem Topic explain purpose of measurement using millimeters
WritingFix's R.A.F.T. Writing Assignment
Builders Create your Own RAFTS Prompts for Math
Class.
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Why RAFT Works

• Integrates reading and writing in a
  non-traditional way
• Asks that students take what they have read and
  create a new product that illustrates their depth
  of understanding
• Incredibly flexible and offers limitless
  opportunities for creativity for both you and
  your students
• Easy differentiation teachers can develop any
  number of possible RAFTs based on the same text
  that can be adjusted for skill level and rigor.

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Strategy 2 Cubing

• Students consider a subject from six
• different angles.
• Students describe, compare, connect, analyze,
  apply and argue a topic of your choosing.
• Students learn to examine a topic from a variety
  of perspectives.
• Remember to teach students what these verbs mean
  (12 Power Words)

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Examples of Compo-Cubes

• World Lit Achilles from The Iliad
• Describe him
• Compare Achilles to Trojan heroes
• Connect him to Greek values
• Analyze his motivations for joining the war
• Apply our contemporary definition of hero
• Argue for or against his decision to leave the war

• Chemistry Carbon
• Describe the element
• Compare it to another basic element
• Connect carbon to important compounds
• Analyze how carbon reacts to
• Apply your knowledge of carbon dioxide to
  ecological problems.
• Argue for or against reducing carbon dioxide
  emissions

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More Examples of Composition Cubes

• Math quadratic equation
• Describe its components
• Compare it to another formula you learned
• Connect it to Geometry
• Analyze its functions
• Apply the quadratic equation to a real life
  scenario or problem
• Argue for or against learning how to use it

• Business marketing
• Describe what it means
• Compare it to other business operations
• Connect it to advertising
• Analyze how it improves profits
• Apply your knowledge to a current ad campaign
• Argue for or against the success of the ad
  campaign

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Strategy 3 Visualization

• Provide students with a visual prompt--a
  magazine photo, an illustration, a slide,
  transparency, snapshot, etc.
• Students compose narrative, descriptive,
  persuasive, or expository responses to the visual
  text.
• Great exercises across the curriculum to
  reinforce voice, form, vocabulary, style, and
  understanding of content.

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Sample Activity
Write a diary entry for this girls life today.
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Strategy 4 Open Prompts

• Standardized Writing Assessments
• Third Grade
• Fifth Grade
• Eighth Grade
• GHSWT
• SAT Essay
• In order to scaffold successfully, we MUST
  incorporate timed prompts at every level.

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Format of Prompts

• Sentence 1 generalization about a particular
  subject
• Sentence 2 a question that leads students to
  have a response to the topic mentioned in the
  first sentence
• Sentence 3 the directive with specific
  instructions for the task

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General Sample Prompt

• Think about a club, sport, or activity
• youve enjoyed at school. What would
• you say to other students to persuade
• them to join?
• Write a speech to deliver to incoming
• freshmen urging them to participate in
• one or more extra-curricular activities.

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Sample Prompt Science

• Don Marquis once said, What man calls
• civilization always results in deserts. Each
• generation wastes a little more of the future
• with greed and lust for riches.
• With our modern awareness of ecology, are
• we still in danger of damaging the earth
• beyond repair?
• Write a letter to the editor of your local
• newspaper explaining the value and purpose of
  ecological conservation.

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Sample Prompt Social Studies

• Your city has decided to build a statue
• or monument to honor a previously
• unrecognized historical person of significance.
• Who would you choose to recognize in
• this manner?
• Write a persuasive essay describing why
• your choice would be the best for the city.

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Sample Prompt Art

• Art takes many forms--painting, sculpture,
• architecture, film, etc.--and can tell us a lot
• about the artist, country, and culture from
• which it comes.
• When have you learned about a particular
• culture as a result of its art?
• Write an essay describing how art helps
• promote worldwide cultural awareness.

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Strategy 5 Summarizing

• Students give brief statements of the main
  points, events, or ideas.
• Ranks 2nd on strategies that most impact student
  achievement.
• Evidence of active processing.

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Sample Summarizing Techniques

• Lets look at your packet
• 3-2-1
• Word Splash
• Carousel Brainstorming
• Share One, Get One
• Exclusion Brainstorming
• Tic-Tac-Know
• P-M-I

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Assessment Made EASY

• Checklists and Rubrics
• Begin with a checklist for students. The
  checklist then becomes the rubric.
• No surprises for anyone involved.
• Teacher provides clear expectations, and a grade
  is based on how well product meets those
  expectations

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Sample Checklist
Criteria and Performance Indicators derived
DIRECTLY from writing standard
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Hillgrove High School Rubric
Adapted from Campbell High School
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More with Assessment

• Easy/Fast Methods for All Content Areas
• Exit Tickets
• Journals
• Student Logs
• Write-Pair-Share

• Examples would include
• How can I apply what I learned to another
  subject?
• When you get home, what could you tell your
  family you learned today?
• Describe three occupations that utilize the
  skills we practiced today.

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Secret Suggestions

• Dont grade every single assignment
• Grade part of an assignment
• Grade only one or two elements
• Use highlighters to identify areas of strength
  and growth

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Regarding Feedback

• Timely, quality feedback impacts learning
• Use Descriptive Feedback
• Indicate WHY they are correct/incorrect
• Pinpoint strengths they have
• Specify how to improve

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Effective Feedback?

• Try harder next time
• B
• 72
• Good work
• Developing idea
• Your work is above average
• You are close to meeting the standard, and with a
  little work on paragraph organization, you will
  be there.

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Area 6 Resources

• Power Writing
• 61 Writing Traits
• www.writingfix.com
• Standardized Writing Assessments
• www.gadoe.org

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CHECKLIST
VISUALIZATION
TIMED WRITING
RAFT
GOT WRITING?
RUBRIC
EXIT TICKETS
COMPO-CUBING
OPEN PROMPTS