Managing CCGPS Writing Requirements First District RESAFall 2013

No, Dorothy, money does not grow on trees….. Budgets are really tight right now for all of us. With furloughs and increased costs of living, every dollar is important. How would you recommend that a young person or couple just starting out manage the money they make? What would be the financial rules to live by? Tell a neighbor and be ready to share with the group.

So what does this have to do with teaching ELA? There will never be enough time or enough money for all that we desire to do or possess. Prioritizing is our best hope for working smart.

So why are we here? What does Common Core require of students as writers? How can we maximize time for writing instruction? How can we manage grading and responding to student writing?

Clarifying expectations… Working from memory, jot a list of expectations for student writing as found in the CCGPS for ELA for your grade. Using provided standards for writing and language, highlight or mark any standards or portions of standards that were not specifically mentioned during group sharing. Using the provided curriculum maps for each grade, determine the types and number of writing assignments suggested by the GADOE in each unit of instruction.

Caution! Speed Zone Ahead! Assigning is not teaching. Often, less is more. Save time and effort by teaching well the first time….

What is the shortest distance between two points? The shortest distance between students’ “not knowing” and “knowing” is the straight line called direct instruction. I’ll do one; you watch. I’ll do one; you help. You do one; I’ll help. You do one; I’ll watch.

Watch with a pencil… View the video of a high school ELA class and note: – What students are learning – Strategies the instructor uses – Evidence of direct instruction View the video of a middle school ELA class and note: – What students are learning – Strategies the instructor uses – Evidence of direct instruction

The new assessments are a’comin! The writing prompts in the GADOE units are intended to serve as culminating assessments. If that is the case, most, if not all, teaching in the unit should lead toward student competence in addressing the prompts.

Zeroing in on Expectations…. Work in groups to deconstruct or analyze the sample culminating task for your grade level: List the component skills or information required in order to complete the task. List instructional activities that should occur to prepare students to respond to the prompt. Think about direct instruction!

Which strategies for grading and responding to student writing have worked for you? Which strategies do you currently use to manage grading and commenting on student writing? Work in small groups to share ideas, brainstorm additional strategies, and list ideas on chart paper. Take a gallery walk. Use dots to identify favorite strategies or fresh ideas.

Ways to cope with the paper load… Use rubrics Score for only one feature at a time Teach peer editing Organize everything into day books Do not take all papers to final draft; first draft is sufficient for many papers Allow student choice of papers to revisit, revise, edit, and submit for a grade Use commentary helps such as those from Teachers Pay Teachers

Come back in February! Try the strategies presented, and return with information to share in small groups. Contact me at if questions

So why did we come? What does Common Core require of students as writers? How can we maximize time for writing instruction? How can we manage grading and responding to student writing?

Save time by using formative assessment to prioritize instruction! Read through the set of student papers looking for error patterns. List in priority order the concepts to be presented in mini- lessons, practiced, and tested. Compose feedback to class as a whole, noting specific errors to be avoided.