1. Susan Diaz Literacy Specialist ESC XIII
Writing to Learn
Susan Diaz
Literacy Specialist
ESC XIII

2. Have been started by it…
Revolutions:

3. Has been toppled by it…
Oppression:

4. Has been richer for it…
American Life:

5. Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King, Jr. changed the world because of it…

6. What Is It?

7. From the “The Neglected R”
“Because writing requires time, The Commission is troubled by findings that most students spend little time writing. It is a small wonder that students do not write well. Most do not have sufficient time to practice the art.”

8. Best Practices Writing Process Strategies Mentor Text
Modeling the Writing Process
Increase Writing Frequency and Duration
Setting Goals and Using Rubrics
Collaborative Writing
Grammar in Context
Writing Across the Content Areas
Word Processing Programs

9. Best Practices Writing Process Strategies Mentor Text
Modeling the Writing Process
Increase Writing Frequency and Duration
Setting Goals and Using Rubrics
Collaborative Writing
Grammar in Context
Writing Across the Content Areas
Word Processing Programs

10. Best Practices Writing Process Strategies Mentor Text
Modeling the Writing Process
Increase Writing Frequency and Duration
Setting Goals and Using Rubrics
Collaborative Writing
Grammar in Context
Writing Across the Content Areas
Word Processing Programs

11. National Commission on Writing Recommendations for Change
The amount of time and resources devoted to student writing should be at least doubled.
Writing should be taught in all subjects and at all grade levels.
All prospective teachers should be required to take courses in how to teach writing.
New technologies should be developed to improve the teaching and assessment of writing.
From “The Neglected R”

12. The Why: Writing makes thinking visible.
Writing promotes student participation.
Writing helps students gain access to further education.
Writing paves the way to fulfilling employment.
Writing allows teachers to appraise students’ knowledge and understanding.
Writing helps students pass high-stakes tests.
From “The Neglected R”

13. “Writing today is not a frill for the few, but an essential skill for the many.”
The College Board and the National Commission on Writing
From “The Neglected R”

14. The How:

15. The How:

16. The How: HISTORICAL MARKERS:
Using information from classroom studies or independent research, ask students to create an historical marker to be placed beside a highway, next to a building, etc. which points out the historical importance of a particular place.
By writing historical markers, students learn how to condense information, highlighting just the most significant details, as well how to summarize the lasting impact of an event into one concise statement.

17. “If students are to make knowledge their own, they must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts, and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else. In short, if students are to learn, they must write”
The College Board and the National Commission on Writing

18. Contact Information
Susan Diaz
Literacy Specialist