Coaching the Writing Instruction: An Approach to School-wide Practices Paul Holimon paulholimon.com paulholimon@gmail.com

Writing Is . . . https://padlet.com/paulholimon/WritingIs QR Code:

Writing Isn’t . . . https://padlet.com/paulholimon/WritingIsNot QR Code:

Jeff Anderson Says: Writing Is Writing Is Not Messy Artificial Joyous Checklist-driven Inside-out Outside-in An art Step-by-step Powerful Scripted Captivating A program Experimental A kit Transactional Test preparation

Jeff Anderson Says: Writing Is Writing Is Not Messy Artificial Joyous Checklist-driven Inside-out Outside-in An art Step-by-step Powerful Scripted Captivating A program Experimental A kit Transactional Test preparation

Jeff Anderson Says: Writing Is Writing Is Not Messy Artificial Joyous Checklist-driven Inside-out Outside-in An art Step-by-step Powerful Scripted Captivating A program Experimental A kit Transactional Test preparation

Jeff Anderson Says: Writing Is Writing Is Not Messy Artificial Joyous Checklist-driven Inside-out Outside-in An art Step-by-step Powerful Scripted Captivating A program Experimental A kit Transactional Test preparation

Jeff Anderson Says: Writing Is Writing Is Not Messy Artificial Joyous Checklist-driven Inside-out Outside-in An art Step-by-step Powerful Scripted Captivating A program Experimental A kit Transactional Test preparation

Jeff Anderson Says: Writing Is Writing Is Not Messy Artificial Joyous Checklist-driven Inside-out Outside-in An art Step-by-step Powerful Scripted Captivating A program Experimental A kit Transactional Test preparation

Jeff Anderson Says: Writing Is Writing Is Not Messy Artificial Joyous Checklist-driven Inside-out Outside-in An art Step-by-step Powerful Scripted Captivating A program Experimental A kit Transactional Test preparation

Jeff Anderson Says: Writing Is Writing Is Not Messy Artificial Joyous Checklist-driven Inside-out Outside-in An art Step-by-step Powerful Scripted Captivating A program Experimental A kit Transactional Test preparation

Arthur N. Applebee and Judith A. Langer, 2011 “The actual writing that goes on in typical classrooms across the United States remains dominated by tasks in which the teacher does all the composing, and students are left only to fill in missing information, whether copying directly from a teacher’s presentation, completing worksheets and chapter summaries, replicating highly formulaic essay structures keyed to the high-stakes tests they will be taking, or writing the particular information the teacher is seeking. Given the constraints imposed by high-stakes tests, writing as a way to study, learn, and go beyond—as a way to construct knowledge or generate new networks of understandings (Langer, Envisioning Knowledge, Envisioning Literature)—is rare.”

Snowball Fight! 1. Write your reaction on a sheet of paper, crumple it up into a ball, or “snowball,” and toss it across the room on the count of three! 2. Open a snowball that landed near you, read the text, and respond to it. Then, toss it across the room on the count of three! 3. Open a snowball that landed near you, read the two messages, then have a brief discussion at your table about what you’ve read.

Shanahan and Shanahan: “Teaching Disciplinary Literacy to Adolescents: Rethinking Content-Area Literacy” “Traditional efforts to encourage every content-area teacher to be a reading teacher by pressing them to teach general-purpose strategies have neither been widely accepted by teachers in the disciplines nor particularly effective in raising reading achievement on a broad scale. More recent treatments and the data from this study suggest that as students move through school, reading and writing instruction should become increasingly disciplinary, reinforcing and supporting student performance with the kinds of texts and interpretive standards that are needed in the various disciplines or subjects.”

Enter the Interdisciplinary Text Set Writing Project https://padlet Fall Semester – Every student (over 1,100) in our middle school studies a text set that aligns with the content and sequence of the district social studies curriculum map/pacing guide. Students study the texts, take notes, and complete activities as directed by the social studies teachers for 5-8 days. Students place all of their work in a folder with their language arts teacher’s name and class period, which is then given to the ELA teacher. Students then participate in a writers’ workshop in which they write an essay responding to the prompt. Each student receives a grade in each course; the ELA teacher evaluates the quality of the writing, and the SS teacher evaluates the accuracy of the content. Spring Semester – Repeat with the Science and ELA departments.

BUT HOW DO STUDENTS PREPARE FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS?

Enter the ELA Writing Instructional Focus Calendar https://padlet Two main sources influence this: Kelly Gallagher’s Write Like This and Rozlyn Linder’s The Big Book of Details

“Writing floats on a sea of talk.” - James Britton

Hard work worth doing. We’re saving the world, one kid at a time.

Sources Anderson, J. (2014). What Writing Is and Isn't. Educational Leadership, 71(7), 10-14. Applebee, A. N., & Langer, J. A. (2011). A Snapshot of Writing Instruction in Middle Schools and High Schools. English Journal, 100(6), 14-27. Retrieved April 16, 2017, from https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/ 15436/snapshot.pdf?x-r=pcfile_d. Hess, K. (2009). Local Assessment Toolkit: Exploring Cognitive Rigor. Retrieved May 27, 2015, from http://www.nciea.org/publications- 2/?keywords=hess%2Brigor&x=0&y=0&action=search¤t_page=1&items_per=1 0&sort_ by=pub_ date&sort_dir=DESC.