Studio WISE…a mosaic of literacy, history, and creativity

Until now, this blog has been geared toward educators, but now topics will be any and everything about literacy and will be for everyone!!  It will be a mosaic of  book discussions, opportunities  available, tips  for improvement, and whatever else related to literacy that hits my fancy.  I do have to warn you that I love writing  and discussing safety plans, so there is a good possibility you might read a bit about that topic, as well.

I took several years away from updating this site as I concentrated on my work as Assistant Superintendent.  I have officially retired now from so many wonderful years as an educator in school districts, but I have not retired from my life as an educator…Studio WISE was birthed from WISE Writing Consulting, and one day I might share that story .

Talk with you soon…

SL

Coming soon…

Ready or not, Common Core and lots of writing opportunities are headed our way!!  I love it, but also realize there are many out there that don’t see the need for all the hoopla surrounding writing.  After looking at the latest research I am including here, maybe there will be more believers.

I won’t really discuss the research per se,  but  I will list it and the authors  as food for thought for the readers. It is my hope that we will embrace it and make the necessary changes to our curriculum and instruction to ensure success for our students.  As we implement Common Core,  let’s base all that we do on the research, best practices, and the standards.

National Commission on Writing, 2004, 2005 

Writing directly affects hiring and promotion decisions.

NAEP, 2002

Many adolescents need interventions to help them become better writers–some require more help than others.

Saddler & Graham, 2005 ;Anderson, 1997

Traditional grammar instruction is unlikely to help improve the quality of students’  writing. In fact, it can have a negative affect.

Judy Willis, doctor and teacher

Writing can help the brain develop the logical functions required for sucessful math and science learning. When writing is embedded throughout the curriculum,  it boosts long-term memory and can be a source of conceptual development.

Nancie Atwell

Writers learn mechanics in context. Writers need response to their writing, conferencing used as formative guidance. Writers need to read.

Dan Kirby in Inside Out

“When developing writers are required to focus on forms, they learn to plug lifeless words and mundane ideas into the formula…”

CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING REFERENCES FOR MORE INFO:

Effective Literacy Instruction: Building Successful Reading and Writing Programs by J.A. Langer

Inside Out by D. Kirby

Guiding Readers and Writers by Fountas and Pinnell

National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges

http://www.ncte.org/prog/writing/

Graham and Perin, 2007

Effective Programs for Students at Risk by Slavin, Madden, and Karweit

MORE TO COME…

Guess what?  With Common Core Standards rolling out, all teachers  are going to be held accountable for implementing writing-across-the-curriculum. Whew! That is really something to think about.  We have talked about it all these years and many systems have begun, but to say that the entire country will have all teachers responsible for some aspect of writing has been a long time coming. Since writing and reading are skills to help us reach success in all subjects, it only makes sense that we all take some responsibility. With that said, I do want to discuss what I see as the language arts teacher’s role in the big picture because that sits in contast to the role of other teachers. Once we understand the language arts role, I will attempt to outline some ideas for other curriculum areas as we begin this new journey together. I especially want to look at persuasive writing, a huge part of the Common Core Standards.

Language arts teachers will still carry the burden (or the blessing , depending on your paradigm) of teaching the parts of an essay: thesis, evidence, and the commentary.  They will also need to work with students on organization, style/word choice, how to write a hook and a conclusion, and what transitions are and how to use them.  With that behind them, students should be held accountable in ALL classes to a high standard of persuasive writing.

All teachers, and I mean ALL,  should look for and expect a thesis in any persuasive papers students are assigned and they should look for hard evidence( statisitics, quotes, etc.) to support the argument.

The main change we should see in  writing is the distribution of  it throughout all classes.  Language arts teachers need to provide professional learning in persuasive writing  to other teachers so that they are comfortable in holding all students accountable in all classes.  This will take support and planning from administrators, but it can be done.  We really have no choice any longer.

The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has powerpoints about formulaic writing for 5, 8, and high school.  I am including here the link to the fifth grade one.

http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/WA-Grade-5-Resources.aspx

       C onventions occur within context.

       O rganization is paramount.

       N ever give up on success for all.

       T each the writing process.

      E xpand ideas and vocabulary and engage the audience.

    e  X amine own writing to improve.

       T echnology is used as a tool.

We can no longer rely on a quick fix to teach student writing any more than we can use the excuse that we are poorly trained to keep us from teaching it.  Students must be taught how to write and teacher ed programs have got to rise to the occasion to make sure all teachers are aware of what the teaching of writing entails.

Many of us were taught to write by using the five-paragraph essay: introduction, 3 body paragraphs and the conclusion that many times restated the introduction.  This formula did offer a framework and some structure and was easy for the teacher to grade since it basically departmentalized the information. Was there a thesis? Were there topic sentences?  I suppose formulaic writing did and does, as it is still alive today, help students who struggled , but it didn’t give students any help in knowing what an essay looks like or how to actually put one together without the five-paragraph method.  Also, students do not like to move away from this and writing becomes stagnant. In the real world, students must learn how to make choices about genre, content, structure, organization, and style (Mark Wiley 2000) so formulaic writing does hinder this process.

When I broach this subject, I see the nervousness in teachers’ faces and hear the concern in their voices as they ask why it matters because that was how they were taught and they have done ok.  Could that be why we are many times reluctant as writers ourselves? Could we and our own teachers have been so consumed with structure that we failed to have any sustenance to our writing?  It is afterall about the content which is what we have to say and what we are thinking.

Mark Wiley says that “formulaic writing short-circuits the discovery process” for students.  It is our job to teach students different strategies that can be an arsenal of information for them as they choose their purpose for writing and the audience to whom they are writing.  Students need to know when to use certain strategies in different writing situations not just rely on the five-paragraph quick fix.  Relying on this approach stifles ideas, organization, style and conventions, as it limits the variety seen in effective writing.  Students are not able to display their understanding of transitions and organization when they are limited to the five-paragraph essay.

I am not saying to never use this approach.  It might be what some struggling students need for structure, but they have to be given the chance to advance beyond this.  We owe all students more than the teaching of the five-paragraph essay.

Next: Formulaic Writing: Take 2

How many of you have ever taught persuasive and expository writing just to have students confuse the two? Join the crowd.   I hope to clear up any confusion by sharing the definitions of both modes that are provided by the GaDoe (Georgia Department of Education).  Students need to know the definitions and the characteristics of each if they are to effectively compose them.

Persuasive writing has as its purpose convincing others to accept the writer’s position as valid, adopt a certain point of view, or take some action. It clearly establishes a position on a topic.  The argument should be defended with specific details and examples. The evidence should be appropriate for the audience. This writing uses specific facts, personal experience and knowledge, and/or statistics to support the author’s position. It contains an organizational structure appropriate for persuasion.

It is NOT copying words or information from the writing topic, nor is it formulaic writing that repeats the position and supporting reasons. It is not a list of facts, a story, or any other personal anecdote that is unrelated to the writer’s position. It is not a chance for the writer to vent about a topic.

Expository/Informational writing enhances the reader’s understanding of a topic by instructing, explaining, clarifying, describing, or examining a subject or concept. It provides facts, statistics, descriptive details, comparison, contrast, analysis, evaluation, definition, humor and personal anecdotes that are related. It contains an appropriate organizational strategy for the purpose of explanation, description, comparison/contrast, or problem and solution. It is information that is presented in the logical order.  It is NOT an encyclopedic coverage of facts or an abundance of facts that are unrelated to the topic.

Informational writing is meant to give information.  It is nonfiction/factual.

Key words: First, after, next, then, last, finally

Avoid first person pronouns. (I, we, us, me)

Informational writing should not give an opinion.

Examples: driving directions, instructions, newspapers, biographies, almanacs, research papers, business reports, letters, guidebooks, how-to writing, pamphlets

Some strategies to engage: anecdote, facts, statistics, quotes, vivid word choice, mood, real-life connections, descriptions, narration

Strategies to inform: facts, statistics, quotes that lend credibility, descriptions, and explanations

Expository structures: description (for example…characteristics are…), explanation , compare/contrast(different, alike, same), problem/solution (problem is…question…answer), cause-effect (reasons why, because, if)

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR PROMPTS: 

Students must have practice with prompt analysis and initial planning.

Students must understand the terms persuasive and expository/informational.

Students must be aware of the different structures that expository prompts might ask for: description, explanation, c/c, problem/solution, and cause/effect.

Examples of informational topics:

1. Describe the causes and effects of pollution on the environment. Narrow your topic to one form of pollution.

2. Compare and contrast two different types of transportation. Consider issues such as speed, comfort, enjoyment and expense.

3. Compare and contrast an insect to an arachnid.

4. For primary, write, draw, or dictate to your class about what you will bring to Show and Tell. Tell what you know about this object.

5. Discuss and then write your own Bill of Rights.

6. Write a letter that gives next year’s class specific advice on what they really need to know before they enter your grade. Tell what teachers will expect and how to succeed as a student.

7. Compare and contrast healthy individuals to unhealthy.

8. Tell what happened when…

9. Write a report about…

10. Explain how…

11. Describe how to …

Students need specific information and instructions if they are to understand persuasive and informational writing.  Let’s help them succeed.

Periodically, I will be sharing books that I have read that might be of encouragement to you. Some of these will deal with writing instruction and others may be about best practices for all teachers.  It is very rewarding to me to lead or participate in book studies about current educational issues and research, so I think it will be beneficial for me to introduce these books to you all.

1. Teach Like your Hair’s On Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56 by Rafe Esquith

Rafe is a trail-blazing, fast-talking, fifth grade teacher who works at a Los Angeles public school. Ninety-two percent of the students in the school live below the poverty level.  Regardless, his students tackle  Algebra, philosophy, and Shakespeare.  He says this book is like a cookbook for teaching in an urban classroom.  The main two rules he operates by are “Work Hard” and “Be Nice.”   The title of the book comes from an incident while he was helping a student in class with a chemistry experiment.

2. Writing Strategies for All Primary Students:K-3

This is a model for incorporating writing-strategy instruction.  If you have ever wondered how to incorporate mini-lessons into any writing program, this is the book for you.

3. Day One and Beyond by Rick Wormeli: geared to middle and high school teachers

This book has practical ways of setting up your grade book, classroom management, what to do if you have only one computer, how to give homework, how to understand this age student and many other relevant topics.  Wormeli  is known worldwide in the educational community and was one of the first Nationally Board Certified teachers in America.  He is a master of differentiation.