Building Writing Fluency “Write, write and write some more. Think of writing as a muscle that needs lots of exercise.” -Jane Yolen

Outcomes Deepen understanding of the purpose of writing fluency and using the strategy to build student stamina in writing Obtain activities to build fluency and stamina daily in your classroom

Common Core Standard Range of Writing 10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences

Building Stamina RIGORREFLECTANALYZECREATE QUALITYFOCUSDAILY PRACTICE

Building Fluency Part 1: STAMINA Write routinely over… shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences

What is Fluency? “Fluency is the ability to generate text– a lot of it– in a short period of time.” Aimee Buckner “This gives students something to work with when rereading, revising, and even editing.” Aimee Buckner “To get past “page fright,” writers need to experience the power of motion. Before we start a piece of writing, the page is blank. To get the ballpoint rolling, we must simply begin.” Jeff Anderson “Fluency is the ability to generate text– a lot of it– in a short period of time.” Aimee Buckner “This gives students something to work with when rereading, revising, and even editing.” Aimee Buckner “To get past “page fright,” writers need to experience the power of motion. Before we start a piece of writing, the page is blank. To get the ballpoint rolling, we must simply begin.” Jeff Anderson

Three Things To Remember about Writing Fluency Students who write every day will become good writers. Fluency builds stamina. Fluency pushes students past writer’s block.

Aimee Buckner “Notebook Know-How” “When I think about my most reluctant writers, I realize they are the ones who don’t write fluently. They have trouble thinking of what to write, or what not to write, or they forget what they wanted to write.”

How to Launch a Writer’s Workshop Supplies: – Composition books – Questions to Help Mine Your Heart – Samples of Heart Map

Rules!!! Establish the rules of Writer’s Workshop Chart them 1.ABSOLUTE SILENCE WHILE WRITING! 2.You must write for the entire time. If necessary, take time to think. Then start writing again. 3.All ideas are valued.

Writer’s Notebook Students begin their notebooks by collecting ideas Provide copies of “Questions to Help Mine Your Heart” and have students glue the sheet into the left-hand side of their notebook On the right, draw a big heart Inside the heart, students brainstorm important events, people, and places that have stayed in their hearts

Questions to Help Mine Your Heart What has stayed in your heart? What memories, moments, people, animals, objects, places, books, fears, scars, friends, siblings, parents, grandparents, teachers, other people, journeys, secrets, dreams, crushes, relationships, comforts, learning experiences? What’s at the center? The edges? What’s in your heart?

“Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.” -Willa Cather

Model Model your own heart map as you think out loud. Give the students ten minutes to create their heart maps. At the end of ten minutes, have them exchange notebooks and share Give them additional time to add ideas

Writing Students choose one topic from their heart map and free-write about it on the next right-hand page in their notebook (use the right side for writing and the left side for gluing instructions, illustrations, notes, etc.) Give them a set amount of time (15-30 minutes) As students finish their journal entry, quietly collect a few notebooks Read the journal entries out loud to the class and have them guess the author (celebrate writing!)

Journal Entries Have students choose different topics to free-write about each day Have them choose one to use as the seed for their personal narrative The following weeks, explicitly teach the steps in the writing process as well as the Six Traits of Writing (Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions) Connect this to reading by teaching the characteristics of narratives

Entry 1: My Interests Look over your heart map. Choose one topic and write a descriptive paragraph about it.

Entry 2: Fear Write about a time when you were afraid. When was it? Where were you? Who was with you? Why were you scared? How did it end?

Entry 3: Joy Write about an event that made you happy. When was it? Where were you? Who was with you? Why were you so happy? How did it end?

Memoir Questions for Memoirists What are my earliest memories? What are the most important things that have happened to me in my life so far? What have I seen that I can’t forget? What’s an incident That shows what my friends are like? What’s something that happened at school or home that I will always remember? What’s a time when I had a feeling that surprise me? What’s an incident that changed how I think or feel about something? What’s an incident that changed my life? What’s a time with a parent family member that I’ll never forget? Can I remember a time I learned to do something, or did something for the very first time? What memories emerge when I make a time line of my life so far and note the most important things that happened to me each year? From Nancy Atwell’s Lessons That Change Writers

When Will I Fit This In??? Where can you find 15 minutes for your students to write and share every day? Discuss with your table group. (Remember, it can be in any content area, any time.)

Write Across The Curriculum Write in content areas “Quick writes” in science, math, reading, and history will reinforce learning and build fluency

History of a Name 1. Put your name (a family name, your child’s name, a pet’s name) at the top of your page. 2. Write about the name. – How was the name chosen? – Who chose the name? – Why is it significant? – What do you like/dislike about the name? Put subject at the top of your page (Native American Cultural Regions). Write about topic – Where located? – Climate & Geography – Natural Resources – Technology – Adaptations

Lift A Line “Fluency is the ability to generate text– a lot of it– in a short period of time.” Aimee Buckner “This gives students something to work with when rereading, revising, and even editing.” Aimee Buckner “To get past “page fright,” writers need to experience the power of motion. Before we start a piece of writing, the page is blank. To get the ballpoint rolling, we must simply begin.” Jeff Anderson “Fluency is the ability to generate text– a lot of it– in a short period of time.” Aimee Buckner “This gives students something to work with when rereading, revising, and even editing.” Aimee Buckner “To get past “page fright,” writers need to experience the power of motion. Before we start a piece of writing, the page is blank. To get the ballpoint rolling, we must simply begin.” Jeff Anderson

Part 2: Text Types and Purposes Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision)

Content Area Writing History Science Math Language Arts – Narrative – Opinion / Response to Literature – Report on Information

History

Students use their quick-writes to write reports

Science quick-write on the back

Composition Book

Writer’s Log

Web Resources for Content Writing Document Based Questions (DBQ) – Use for timed-writing or assessments – –

Share Your Best Practices As a table group share activities that you do in your classroom to build writing fluency.

Resources Professional Texts Notebook Know-How Aimee Buckner 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know Jeff Anderson Writer’s Log. Elements of Reading Program by Steck- Vaughn