Written Conversation An Effective Strategy for Thinking and Writing

Cause for Alarm United States graduates’ literacy skills are lower than those of graduates in most industrialized nations, comparable only to skills of graduates in Chile, Poland, Portugal, and Slovenia (OECD, 2000).

Cause for Alarm About 30% of government and private sector employees require on-the-job training in basic writing skills.

Cause for Alarm State governments spend an estimated $221 million annually Private companies spend an estimated $3.1 billion annually on writing remediation (National Commission on Writing, 2005).

Why Reading and Writing? While readers form a mental representation of thoughts written by someone else, writers formulate their own thoughts, organize them, and create a written record of them using the conventions of spelling and grammar…What improves reading does not always improve writing. ( Graham and Perin, 2007).

Written Conversation isn’t…

Written Conversation Guarantees every student reads, writes, and demonstrates thinking for at least twelve minutes! Prepares every student for whole class discussions Builds classroom cohesion as students work together in pairs or groups Allows for individual student- teacher interaction Adapts easily to online variations

Written Conversation 1. Form groups of three or four. Make sure each group member has a full- size piece of paper. Write your name in the upper left-hand margin. Make sure you tell the class you will be collecting the papers. 2. Read “Study: Girls More Plugged in Than Boys.” 3. Explain the three rules for written conversation: Write so others can read what you are saying. Write until you’re told to stop—Don’t stop writing! Don’t talk, even when passing papers. 4. Write an informal note to other group members. What did you think about while reading article? Write what is on your mind about the article. Feel free to write thoughts, reactions, questions, and/or feelings. Time limit = 2 minutes. You will be given a one minute warning to finish your thought.

Written Conversation 5. At the time limit, pass your paper clockwise. Read the reaction from your group member. Write an answer, just like you were talking out loud. Write your reaction, make a comment, ask questions, share a connection you’ve made, agree/disagree. Remember to keep writing the entire time! Time limit = 3-5 minutes. You will be given a one minute warning to finish your thought. 6. Continue passing until everyone has responded to all the notes. It will take more time as more and more has to be read and then responded to so plan accordingly. 7. In your groups, discuss your “conversation” out loud. Use the writing as you discuss what you’ve learned together OR give students a prompt to discuss while using their conversation notes.

Discussion Prompt Do you agree with the findings from the Pew Research Center’s Project? Why does the data change as teens get older? What are the implications for the future of social networking and human interaction?

What Next? Extension: Whole class discussion—have group members share one highlight or one thread of the conversation. Reflection: Have students write or share what worked and what made it difficult. Ask what could improve the written discussion next time.

Flexibility Live Work in pairs or groups Use paper and text Immediate—students read, write, and share in one class period Allows for simple classroom monitoring Teacher can participate in groups Allows every student a voice in the classroom Legalize drawing in one round for differentiation Digital Messages are sent online Not limited to pairs or assigned groups— all students in class can respond to previous posts Different experience because no immediate feedback or face-to-face reaction Requires online monitoring, computer access, and set-up Teacher can respond individually to students Allows every student a voice in the classroom if they have computer access

How Will Written Conversation Work in My Classroom?

How Will Written Conversation Work in my Classroom? Introduce new topics/concepts/content Connect new content with something students have already learned Review and prepare for quizzes/tests Analyze informational and expository texts Create debates--students are assigned either a pro or con position and must write their conversation using only that side Use sentence format to solve equations or to explain a process

Assessment This is a writing to learn process. Give students participation points/credit. Skim for writing content. Don’t count writing conventions! Join in groups and participate to check for understanding. Use as a formative assessment. What do they need to learn? Already know? Need to reteach?

Challenges and Tips

Students don’t stick to the assigned task and go off topic—Remind them that you will be collecting these and that names are required—this usually works Students don’t write the entire time. Don’t tell them the time limit and remember that the more that is written, the more students need to read first. Monitor the pairs/groups closely and adjust the time accordingly. Students claim they have nothing to say. Make sure you have prepared well. The first few times, select articles or assignments that are highly-relevant or controversial so that students will have opinions. Pairs/groups don’t work well together. You may need to assign pairs/groups homogenously or heterogeneously depending on the task.

Your Turn Using your textbook or curriculum map, select a student text you will assign students to read in the next 30 days. Discuss how you will use and adapt Written Conversation in your own classroom with a partner.