Purposes of Today’s Telecast Instruction versus Practice Writing Portfolio Connection Curriculum Component

Goals of On-Demand Writing Document students’ abilities to apply writing strategies and skills independently on a single task in a limited time frame. Promote each student’s ability to communicate a single response to a prompt when given an audience, purpose, and form as is often demanded in real-life writing situations. Povide information upon which to base ongoing instruction that is responsive to students’ needs.

“We are teaching the writer and not the writing. Our decisions must be guided by what might help this writer rather than what might help this writing.” - Lucy Calkins

Purpose/Audience Have you thought about who the reader is, what responsibility that person has, and what that person or group would like or need to know? Have you narrowed the topic? Have you stayed focused on the reason for writing?

Purpose/Audience Does your writing have the characteristics of the form? Is your voice and/or tone appropriate for the reader, your purpose, and the form you have chosen for your writing?

Idea Development/Support Does your writing have a main idea? Have you supported that idea in a variety of ways? Have you used idea development strategies appropriate for the form you are writing? Have you anticipated and taken care of readers’ needs/questions?

On-Demand Writing Purposes A student may be asked to … –Narrate an event (for a purpose) –Persuade –Respond to text, graphic, or chart

On-Demand Writing Forms Grade 4Grade 7Grade 12 LetterLetterLetter ArticleArticleArticleEditorial Speech

Prompt topics should deal with ideas, events, or situations familiar to all students. School rules Field trips Censorship Candy machines in the hallway Newport Aquarium Current issue

Prompt statements should be phrased simply and clearly. Active voice Reasonable sentence length Grade-appropriate vocabulary

Three Parts of a Complete Prompt Situation or context for student writing Task statement which specifies audience, purpose, and format for the student’s response Reminder of the scoring criteria

Situation Your class won $25.00 for having the best attendance last fall. Your teacher said you can use the money to buy a classroom pet. Decide what pet you want to buy.

Situation When facing a new experience, everyone tends to react differently. Some people become anxious, some get frightened, and some people face new experiences calmly. Knowing how others have dealt with new experiences can better prepare us for similar situations.

Situation Recently, the website NAPSTER has come under investigation for making copyrighted songs available for free on the Internet. Artists say that they will not be able to continue making profits from their music if NAPSTER allows people to get it for free. NAPSTER says that it only increases the sales for the artists because people can sample the music before they buy the CD.

Situation/Task Situation:Your class won $25.00 for having the best attendance last fall. Your teacher said you can use the money to buy a classroom pet. Decide what pet you want to buy. Task: Write a letter to your teacher. Persuade your teacher to purchase the pet you choose.

Situation/Task Situation: There are many new families moving into our county. We want to be sure these families know that our school is special. Task: Write an article for the local newspaper narrating an event that made our school special to you.

Situation/Task Situation:When facing a new experience, everyone tends to react differently. Some people become anxious, some get frightened, and some people face new experiences calmly. Knowing how others have dealt with new experiences can better prepare us for similar situations. Task: Write an article for the school newspaper narrating a time you faced a new experience and how you dealt with it.

Situation/Task Situation:Recently, the website NAPSTER has come under investigation for making copyrighted songs available for free on the Internet. Artists say that they will not be able to continue making profits from their music if NAPSTER allows people to get it for free. NAPSTER says that it only increases the sales for the artists because people can sample the music before they buy the CD. Task: Write an editorial for a teen magazine, persuading the readers to support your opinion in regard to this issue.

Language Arts Program of Studies “Students use the writing process and criteria for effective writing in pieces developed over time as well as in on- demand writing situations, to compile a collection of writings for a variety of authentic purposes and audiences and in a variety of forms, including personal, literary, transactive, and reflective pieces.”

Classroom Practice That Leads To Proficient On-Demand Writing Collect examples of letters, articles, editorials, and speeches that support the content being taught as well as support the forms given for on-demand writing.

Classroom Practice That Leads To Proficient On-Demand Writing Discuss how narration, persuasion, and response look in content areas in the form of letters, articles, editorials, and speeches.

Classroom Practice That Leads To Proficient On-Demand Writing Include, in a unit of study, opportunities for students to write letters, articles, editorials, and/or speeches to authentic audiences for authentic purposes for possible inclusion in the writing portfolio.

Regional Writing Consultants Region 1Mary Ann Waltman Region 2Sylvia Abell Region 3Cindy Bradley Ellen Lewis Region 4Cathy Caudill Region 5Jamee Barton Region 6Joan Powell Region 7Deborah Hampton Region 8Modena Sallee