Effective Writing Practices Ready to use teaching strategies that promote student engagement & learning for the homeschooled student. Presenters: Samantha Bartrom Heather Rawley

What Research Shows... ❖ Steve Graham, Arizona based professor and published author, has made it his career and life’s work to monitor studies on teaching writing. ❖ Looked at over 200 studies on how to teach writing to K-12 students. ❖ His conclusions do not reveal a “quick fix” or guaranteed method that will work for every student. ❖ However, there ARE effective practices which every piece of research supports.

How is a teaching practice deemed effective? ❖ Proven record of success (via scientific studies). ❖ Recurring patterns present in instruction of teachers and schools that produce exceptional literacy achievement. ❖ Aligned with the stages of learning and development (novice writer skilled writer).

So...what did his research show?!

1. Dedicate time to writing, with writing occurring across the curriculum, and involve students in various forms of writing over time. 2. Increase students’ knowledge about writing. 3. Foster students’ interest, enjoyment, and motivation to write. 4. Help students become strategic writers. 5. Teach basic writing skills to mastery. 6. Take advantage of technological writing tools. 7. Use assessment to gauge students’ progress and needs Seven Recommendations for Teaching Writing

1.Dedicate Time To Write... ❖ “The more a man writes, the more he can write” (William Hazzlitt). ❖ Frequent and sustained writing ❖ At least an hour a day ❖ Write for a variety of purposes

Making It Happen At Home... ❖ Predictable, consistent schedule ❖ Varied length of assignments (timed essays, longer essay projects, etc). ❖ Cross curricular integration ❖ Incentives work!

2.Increase student knowledge ❖ Use well-crafted literature as a model ❖ Read, discuss, practice, apply ❖ Explicitly study the various genres of writing. ❖ Model the thinking process (metacognition).

Making It Happen At Home... ❖ Offer parent workshops focused on instruction. ❖ Provide an easy to follow structure and sequence. ❖ Don’t hang them out to dry! The partnership between schools and parents is essential to student success.

3.Foster student’s enjoyment to write. ❖ Purpose ❖ Supportive and pleasant place to learn ❖ Collaborative ❖ Choice ❖ High, but realistic expectations ENTHUSIASM IS CONTAGIOUS!

Making It Happen At Home...

Why Kids Should Blog: ●Provides students with a voice ●Instills tech. savviness and confidence ●Teaches constructive feedback ●Cements proofreading and spell check ●Easy, electronic writing portfolio to track progress ●It’s fun!

4.Help students become strategic Describe the writing strategy and the purpose for learning it. Make it clear when students should use the strategy. Show students how to use the strategy. Provide students with practice applying the strategy, giving assistance as needed. Continue instruction until students can use the strategy independently. Encourage students to apply the strategy in appropriate situations once instruction has ended. Ask students to evaluate how the strategy improved their writing

5.Teach basic writing skills to master ❖ There are supplemental skills students need to actively practice so that they may reach a point of automaticity and include such skills in their writing with ease. These skills include: 1)Typing 2) Handwriting 3) Practical grammar 4) Spelling

Making It Happen At Home... Best free typing tutors: 1.Keybr: Power Typing: Typing: 3.E-Learning For Kids: For Kids: 4.Upbeat:

Keyboarding vs. Handwriting ❖ Graham found in 83% of 30 studies, students’ writing quality improved when they wrote their papers on a computer instead of writing by hand. BUT! Graham’s research, along with numerous other studies, show the act of writing neurologically imprints stronger memories.

So what does that mean for the writing student? Handwrite or type? ❖ Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of the assignment?” ❖ Memorization/ note taking = hand written USE COLOR (pens, paper, etc.) ❖ Writing quality (upper elementary and above)= type Establish clear writing goals and expectations

6.Take advantage of technological writing tools Why use technology for writing? 1)Revisions can be made easily 2)Provides an easier means of producing text for many children with fine motor difficulties. 3)Preparing students for SBAC testing and beyond!

Making It Happen At Home...Google Docs! ❖ Anytime, anywhere access ❖ Collaboration support ❖ Writing Conferences ❖ Autosave and revision history ❖ Connect More Apps Option -Powtoon-Screencastomatic

Powtoon

Google Presentation & Screencast-o-matic

Step 1: Install Screencast-o-matic on computer and play around with it. Step 2: Have students create a presentation and “script” to accompany. Step 3: Record voiceover Step 4: Publish and celebrate

7.Use assessment to gauge students’ progress and needs ❖ Assessment allows teachers to: 1)Determine if their writing program is working 2) What adjustments need to be made? 3)Identify students that need extra help

Teaching Kids to Self-Assess

Making It Happen At Home...

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