AUTHENTIC WRITING INSTRUCTION Seward Middle School October 24, 2013 Jill Johnson, ESU Please sit with your team.

NOTECARD  Front:  First & Last Names  address  Back:  One thing you hope to learn today  One way you celebrate student successes  (Pass to the front when finished)

TODAY’S AGENDA  Part One: 8:15 – 9:00 a.m.  Step 1: Becoming Aware of Our Writing Practices  Step 2: Unifying Instruction According to Grade Levels  Part Two: 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.  Step 3: Using a Common Language of Instruction (six traits)  Step 4: Incorporating Writing Across the Curriculum  Part Three: 10:15 -11:30 a.m.  Step 5: Recognizing Good Writing Qualities

Current Writing Instruction Teams: specific writing pieces observations struggles successes missing elements

WRITING: ASSIGNED VS. TAUGHT  Read the following article  Think about the three most significant points of the article  Pair with someone NOT on your team  Share those ideas  Return to your table and reflect on the current writing practices noted on our shared Google doc

BRAIN BREAK?

WHAT DOES GOOD WRITING LOOK LIKE?  Have a two minute conversation with your elbow partner  Create a POWER SENTENCE definition of “good writing”  Compare your definitions with your table family and create a new definition Interaction Sequence

Goals The Six +1 Traits  Ideas: the heart of the message  Organization: the internal structure of the piece  Voice: the feeling and conviction of the writer  Word Choice: the precise language chosen to convey meaning  Sentence Fluency: the rhythm and flow of the language  Conventions: the mechanical correctness  Presentation: how the writing looks on the page Understand the purpose of trait-based language Apply a trait-based rubric to student writing

“WHICH TRAIT IS IT?” ACTIVITY

PURPOSE OF THE TRAITS  an answer to the question “What makes writing work?”  consistent “writer’s language that opens the door to revision”  a way to:  organize and clarify good writing instruction  encourage consistent assessment  empower and motivate young writers  encourage thinking skills and self-monitoring NOT meant to replace the INSTRUCTION of writing (Spandel, Creating Writers)

TRAITS VS. WRITING PROCESS The Six +1 Traits The Writing Process  Ideas: the heart of the message  Organization: the internal structure of the piece  Voice: the feeling and conviction of the writer  Word Choice: he precise language chosen to convey meaning  Sentence Fluency: the rhythm and flow of the language  Conventions: the mechanical correctness  Presentation: how the writing looks on the page  Prewriting  Drafting  (Sharing writing with others)  Revising  Editing  Publishing &

Student-Friendly Scoring Guides

HOW CAN I ADD MORE WRITING IN MY CLASS? I’m not a writing teacher, so

Idea #1: Writing Frames 1.Create 2.Model 3.Practice 4.Review

Idea #2: Sentence Stems 1.Create 2.Model 3.Practice 4.Review I learned... The main ideas... We agreed...

IDEA #3: BUILDING R.A.F.T.S.  Role  Audience  Format  Topic  Strong Verb  reporter, observer, eyewitness  teacher, students, people who lived during a specific era  letter, article, poem, song  famous person, event, place  explaining, informing, persuading Get students involved in the planning!

CHALLENGE: Create at least one R.A.F.T.(S) relative to something you will be teaching in the next two weeks and add it to this Google doc. Feel free to partner with someone.

BRAIN BREAK?

RUBRIC REVIEW

SCORING PRACTICE  Each person should score at least two papers.  If you are the first scorer, fold the bottom up after you score.  After the second person scores the paper, have a conversation about your scores.

WRITING PRACTICE

 The prompt is provided.  You have ______ minutes.  Read one other person’s essay and leave a post it note on their screen with positive feedback:  Name it.  Describe it.  Say why it’s good. You had strong voice (1). When you described the loneliness you felt in the crowded room (2), I could picture myself there (3).

CHALLENGE:  In the next two weeks, try at least ONE new type of writing in your classroom.  Be ready to share!

EXIT TICKET—STICKY NOTE  Write one POWER SENTENCE stating what you know to be true about writing instruction.  Be sure to use at least one of the terms used to describe the six traits in your statement.  Please put your name on your paper

THANKS FOR YOUR HARD WORK TODAY! Have a fantastic weekend!