Welcome to EWC The Writer’s Craft Course An Overview for Students February 2013

The Bicycle Model  The teacher designs and builds the bicycle.  You provide the power.  You can customize and tweak your bike.  The skills and knowledge from this course will take you off the high school track and shape your ride on the paths of your lives.

The Bicycle Model  An analogy for the relationships among  Teaching Practices,  Learning Theories,  Curriculum Documents,  Course Strands,  Course Outline,  Assignments,  Student Involvement.

The Bicycle Model Front Wheel  Teaching Practices  Learning Theory  Curriculum Document

 “…there is more to language than decoding and encoding, spelling and punctuation. There is a life of the imagination, and that makes a difference to human beings...”  Bruce Pirie Reshaping High School English, page 3. Teaching Practices

Unit 1: Reawakening Your Creativity You don’t need to already be writing. Just be willing to really try. Experiment. Intertextuality Assignment: multi-part, multi-source creativity

Teaching Practices  “Natalie Goldberg (1990, 1993) suggests that timed writings are necessary to unleash thoughts and ideas that are bubbling below the surface of our conscious daily experience.”  Dennis J. Sumara “Creating Interpretive Possibilities with Literature in the Teacher Education Classroom”

Teaching Practices Writer’s Notebooks - Tuesdays - timed writing - some topics given -three entries per week

Learning Theories  Starting with the familiar is easier – shifting to the less familiar form recreates unease, even if the group is comfortable together. It takes time to listen and respond positively.  Paraphrased from Luce-Kapler et. al. “The Design of Writing: unfolding systems of meaning”. Changing English. Vol. 8, No. 1, 2001.

Learning Theories Last Unit: Poetry -So we can used to -writing -revision -each other -sharing

Learning Theories  “In order for learners to gain insight into their learning and their understanding, frequent feedback is critical: students need to monitor their learning and actively evaluate their strategies and their current levels of understanding.”  Howard Smith How People Learn. Chapter 3.

Learning Theories Feedback: -Small steps building to larger units -Get peer assessment -A lot of writing in class -ask for my input BEFORE the assignment is due

Learning Theories  “The fact that experts' knowledge is organized around important ideas or concepts suggests that curricula should also be organized in ways that lead to conceptual understanding.”  Howard Smith How People Learn. Chapter 2.

Learning Theories Each unit has - new vocabulary, - format information, - analysis opportunities, - writing practice.

Curriculum Document Can be downloaded in PDF at: ondary/english1112currb.pdf

The Bicycle Model Back Wheel EWC’s Three Strands  Investigating Writing  Writing, Writers, and the Writing Life  Practicing Writing  Exploring Ideas, Forms, and Styles  Drafting and Revising  Editing, Proofreading, and Publishing  Collaborative Writing  Reflecting on Writing  Metacognition

The Bicycle Model Back Wheel  Course Outline  Introduction  Writer’s Notebook  Summative  Prose Elements & Short Stories  Media  Poetry  Exam  Evaluation  Knowledge 15%  Thinking 20%  Communication 20%  Application 15%  Summative 20%  Exam 10%

The Bicycle Model  The Assignment Chain  Cycles through the three strands of the course.  Is powered by the student.  Can be customized for  Student preferences  I.E.P. needs  Unexpected circumstances

Sample Assignments Media  Research with www  Create in new formats  Publishing  On-line  Contests  Bulletin Boards

Student Involvement You can tweak your bike. With each assignment, I have specific learning and evaluation goal. If you can think of a way to achieve those that would suit you better, talk to me. Often, assignments can be adjusted. Find your passion, and reach for it!

Got Problems? Contact me for a fix.

Last Step: Have Fun!

The EWC Student -Enjoys writing -Enjoys experimenting with / learning about writing -Enjoys reading – both professional and peer -Sees value in editing and revising -Can work independently and quietly in class -Can prioritize assignments -Seeks clarification in a timely fashion

Wiki EWC Introduction form on the Introduction Unit page – complete for homework

Credits  Thanks to K. Meldrum for help with PowerPoint.  Modified from ppt created for Honors Cont590 Queen’s University, Summer  Bibliography  “The Design of Writing: unfolding systems of meaning”. Changing English. Vol. 8, No. 1,  Meldrum, Tania. Photos and images. Aug  Pirie, Bruce. Reshaping High School English. NCTE: Urbana, IL  Queen’s University. Continuing Education 590 online. Module 4. Summer  Smith, Howard. How People Learn. ebook. Accessed July  Sumara, Denis J. “Creating Interpretive Possibilities with Literature in the Teacher Education Classroom” Accessed on June 23, 2008.