The Three Musketeers of Staff Development for Writing Presented by Mary Boyer Shirley Hansen Jackie Hurst

What we are Going to Cover?  Staff Development Exercise  Resources on Staff Development  Icebreaker  Writing the Perfect Paragraph  Resources on Writing  Summary/Questions

Staff Development Plan  Three - one hour sessions  Sessions held once a month  First session on how to teach adults and how to Plan  Second session will be a hands on workshop  Third Session will be assessing how their development training day went.

Characteristics of Effective Staff Development - Partial List  Involvement in planning  Time for planning  Involvement of Principals  District administrative support  Expectations  Opportunity for sharing  Continuity  Follow-up  Opportunity for practice

Bad Staff Development Sessions  Typical staff meeting  Uncomfortable chairs  Difficult to write  Topics not appropriate to all

Good Staff Development Sessions  Snacks and comfortable chairs  All members have common goal or grade level

Good Staff Development Sessions  Breaking into grade levels and getting ready to plan  Willing to interact freely, think, and plan together

Interactive During the Initial Staff Development Session 1.Identify the elements of a good staff development plan Acknowledge what we can do and by what we are inhibited. Decide how we can minimize negative issues.

Staff Development Session 2. Brainstorm areas that this staff would like to explore for staff development. Write ideas on white board. Seek input from those that ordinarily do not contribute. Give out sticky dots (2) and allow people to prioritize their choices.

Staff Development Session 3. Make decision of what direction staff will take Writing focus for the year. Involving intermediate as well as primary teachers. When to separate and when to join together, determined by relevancy of topic

Staff Development Session 4. Discuss and come to consensus of how to implement the staff development Before school starts At after school in-services How often How late During teacher work days

Staff Development Session 5. Give opportunity to discuss how we can use staff members’ expertise to provide leadership for staff development Staff members that have had writing training will volunteer to lead. Goal is to involve as many staff during the year in leading some part.

Focus: Staff Development Staff Development Teaching Tips  Guidebooks with staff development teaching tips  Quick links to specific topics  Specific articles and citations given to support assertions

Focus: Staff Development  National Staff Development Center National Staff Development Center

 National Staff Development Center National Staff Development Center Focus: Staff Development

Focus: Writing Site Six Traits of Writing Six Traits of Writing  Reference website focusing on how to establish and write rubrics that address the writing standards.

Focus: Writing Site Step Up To WritingStep Up To Writing  State Standards and how implemented in writing  Excellent reference site for teacher training in writing

Focus: Writing Site Owl Online Writing Lab Owl Online Writing Lab  Purdue has created a resource for students and teachers of writing. Students can direct questions about their writing to a online tutoring service.

Focus: Writing Site  Kim'sKorner in Language Arts Kim'sKorner in Language Arts  A teacher developed site focusing on teachers teaching writing. It has resources from a sentence to an essay.

Focus: Writing Site Paraadigm Online Writing Paraadigm Online Writing  Excellent site with specific teacher or student information.  Specific lessons and examples for the teaching of different writing styles.  Multiple ways to address different writing styles

Supported Writing Skills  Discovering What to Write  Organizing Your Writing  Revising Your Writing  Editing Your Writing  Writing Informal Essays  Writing Thesis/Support Essays  Writing Argumentative Essays  Documenting Your Sources

INTERACTIVE SESSIONS

Icebreaker: The Hat Trick  Each participant needs to write his or her name on a small piece of paper. Collect all the names in a hat.  Each person will pick a name out of the hat.  Each person will then turn to stand behind that person whose name he or she drew.

Icebreaker continued  Give the following information to the entire group:  A hidden talent of the person  The person’s secret vice  The person’s expectations for the session

The Perfect Paragraph

Perfect Paragraph for the Icebreaker

Color Coded Paragraph

Our Web Site Effective Staff Development in Writing

QUESTIONS ??