In Common: Effective Writing for All Students A Resource for Writing Instruction NC DPI English Language Arts Section

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“Standards will never be clear until we know how it looks through student outcomes.” - Ron Berger, Expeditionary Learning “If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.” - Yogi Berra

A joint project of Student Achievement Partners and The Vermont Writing Collaborative…

In Common A Resource for Writing Instruction Purpose: O Develop a clearer understanding of the qualities of effective writing as described in the Writing Standards. O Provide some examples of how writing can be meaningfully integrated into the curriculum.

What is “In Common”? A collection of annotated student samples K-12 O On Demand Writing O Range of Writing

On Demand Writing Uniform Prompts Three Writing Types K-12 Text Based – 2-3 class sessions Similar Prompts K-5 and 6-12 Purpose: O Highlight the developmental progressions in the standards O Build an understanding of grade specific expectations

Range of Writing Classroom Samples K-12 to illustrate Writing Standard 10: Writing for a range of discipline specific tasks, purposes and audiences Purpose: O Breadth O Ideas for integration

For use by educators and students… Several versions of each piece Annotated Not Annotated Edited

Some Clarifications: O They are examples of competent writing at each grade level, not benchmarks. O Chosen specifically to illustrate Writing Standards 1, 2 and 3 (Argument/Opinion, Informative/Explanatory and Narrative). Mastery of conventions was not evaluated in choosing and annotating these pieces.

How can you use In Common? O To help both students and teachers better understand the qualities of effective writing. O To provide a foundation for analysis and discussion that can lead to a deeper understanding of the Writing Standards.

“The pieces in this collection are meant to be a starting point for inquiry and discussion, not a final destination.”

A Work in Progress… o The Writing Standards are meant to broaden, not narrow, our understanding of effective writing. This resource has a similar purpose. o In Common is intended to be a “living document”, which will be added to, revised, and improved as more teachers and students work with the Writing Standards.

Presenters’ Names Diana Leddy Educational Consultant Joey Hawkins Educational Consultant For more information, contact:

Common Ground Protocols for Working with the K-12 Writing Samples in In Common

What are Protocols? The protocols in this resource consist of guidelines for conversations about and around student writing and Writing Standards. Why are we using them? Protocols encourage building the culture and the skills that are necessary for collaborative work.

In Common O A set of activities designed to help educators and students understand the elements of an effective piece of writing as defined by the Writing Standards. O Activities can be adapted to any writing type, grade level or cluster of grade levels. O Materials in the training include: 1. In Common Overview 2. Protocols with Student Writing

Before we begin Protocol 1, read the On-Demand writing prompt, teacher directions, and texts for your grade band. Elementary – pg. 9 Middle – pg. 25 High – pg. 39

Protocol 1

Overview: In this exercise, you will compare student pieces within a grade cluster and note the similarities and differences of effective writing. The pieces in your packet have been written to a set of uniform prompts purposefully designed to produce student pieces in a single writing type, on the same topic, across a range of grade levels. Analyzing these pieces can help you distill the core elements of each writing type and gain a better understanding of expectations at each grade level. Purpose: O To identify the core elements of one type of writing. (Opinion/Argument, Informative/Explanatory, or Narrative). O To refine and deepen understanding of grade level expectations in the Standards. O To trace a developmental progression in one type of writing required by the Writing Standards. Similarities and Differences (How Does Your Garden Grow?)

1. Highlight the core elements in W.2 for your grade span. 2. Read all pieces in the grade span that you have chosen. Using the Writing Standard (W.2), what core elements of effective writing are evident in these samples? Annotate the student writing keeping these core elements in mind. Discuss your observations with a partner. 3. Record the similarities in both the student writing and the Standards across the grade span in the far right column of your graphic organizer. 4. Record the differences in the student writing and the Standards by grade level in the far left column of the graphic organizer. Similarities and Differences (How Does Your Garden Grow?)

Protocol 1 Reflection Reflect: How might this exercise help educators to develop a deeper understanding of a particular writing standard?

Gathering Ideas What can I do with the data from this protocol?

Protocol 2

Overview: In this exercise, you will gain a better understanding of expectations at each grade level by annotating student samples using the words of the standards. Attaching descriptors to actual student writing will help clarify what each descriptor means at a particular grade level. Purpose: O To refine and deepen understanding of grade level expectations in the Writing Standards. O To become familiar with, and clarify, terminology used in the Standards. Learning by Example

Learning by Example Protocol 1. Choose a grade band text and locate the appropriate Writing Standard for Opinion/Argument W.1. Read and determine the descriptors. What are Descriptors? O Parts of a standard that help define student expectations. O The descriptors show that the standards are the rubric.

Learning by Example Continued 2. Annotate the student writing by finding and labeling examples of each descriptor in the standard. You may annotate by writing words and phrases in the margin or, where appropriate, by noting the lower case letter that appears before the descriptor in the standard.

GRADE 2 WRITING W.2.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Grade Band Texts K-2  “Opinion Essay” (Grade 2) pg  “Wow I am glad we have zoo” (Grade 4) pg  “We Need the League” (Grade 8) pg  “Is It Love?” (Grade 9) pg. 101

GRADE 2 WRITING W.2.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Learning by Example Continued 3. When you have finished, check your observations against the annotated version of the same piece. Be sure to note any questions you have.

Protocol 2 Reflection What did you learn from looking for the standards’ expectations in student writing? How will what you learn inform your instructional practices?

Gathering Ideas What can I do with the data from this protocol?

Inspire and focus students with a vision of quality work O As teachers, our goal is to promote high-level thinking and high-quality work. O The quality of student thinking and work is directly tied to their investment – how much they care – and their clarity of what they are aiming for.

Inspire and focus students with a vision of quality work O Inspiring models of high-quality student work make the goal clear. O Rubrics are important, but for many students they are just a page of words until they can connect that rubric to a concrete exemplar.

Inspire and focus students with a vision of quality work O If we want students to create great work – whether an essay, scientific report or mathematical proof – they need to look at a strong example in that format or genre and define what makes it strong.

Finding In Common

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Contact Information Julie Joslin, Ed.D. Kristi Day, M.Ed Section Chief K-5 ELA English Language Arts Consultant Lisa McIntosh, MSA Anna Lea Frost, M.Ed K-5 ELA 6-8 ELA Consultant Angela Stephenson, M.Ed 9-12 ELA Consultant

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