1. How to Enhance Students’ Writing
By Sasha Vargas

2. Quickwrite….
What do students need to become proficient writers?

3. Background Information on the CA Standards K-6 for Writing
Kindergarten:
Students can write about experiences, stories, people, objects, or events.
1st Grade:
Students can write brief expository description of a real object, person, place, or event, using sensory details.

4. 2nd Grade
Write a friendly letter
Write an expository description
Write a personal narrative
3rd Grade
Write a narrative
Write personal and formal letters, thank-you notes and invitations
Write a summary

5. 4th grade
Write multiple paragraph essays on following genres: narrative, summary, response to literature, informational reports
5th grade
Write multiple paragraph essays on following genres: narrative, summary, response to literature, informational reports, persuasive letter or composition, expository compositions

6. 6th Grade
Write multiple paragraph essays on following genres: narrative, summary, response to literature, research reports, persuasive letter or composition, expository compositions

7. Discuss at your group:
What do you notice in the writing standards K-6?

8. What can a proficient writer do?
Value writing and have a positive attitude towards it
Use writing extensively for personal and social reasons
Revise and edit their work
Use a variety of strategies
Receive teacher feedback on their writing
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (1990)

9. What your writing program should have:
Do teachers model the steps they go through to choose topics? Do they help students go through these same steps as they choose topics to write about?
Are students encouraged to draw on their own personal experiences when they choose topics? So they write for authentic purposes?
Do students make connections between their reading and writing? Do they see that reading provides ideas for writing?
According to Freeman, Y.S. and Freeman, D.E. (2006).

10. Do students keep and update list of topics that they have written about and that they plan to write about?
Do students see writing as a process, and do they understand the various activities they should engage in as they move a piece of writing toward its final form?
Does the classroom have ample accessible literature, content, and resource book for students to reference as they write?
According to Freeman, Y.S. and Freeman, D.E. (2006).

11. Are students allowed to invent spellings, drawing, on their internal phonics hypotheses and their pictures of words derived from their reading experiences?
Do students have opportunities to share their writing with others? Is there authentic response, which is both critical and sensitive to the writer’s needs?
According to Freeman, Y.S. and Freeman, D.E. (2006).

12. Discuss with a partner:
How can you use the previous list about effective writing programs in your classroom?

13. Traditional Writing Classrooms Process Writing Classrooms
Focus on the product
Focus on the process and product
Begin with parts and build to whole messages
Begin with the messages and then focus on the parts
Teacher directly instructs on how to form letters, then words, and combine words into sentences
Teacher creates conditions for authentic written responses
Teacher gives topics
Teachers help students learn to choose good topics
Topics may or may not relate to students’ lives
Topics come from students’ background of interest
Time for writing is restricted and flexible
Time for writing is open and flexible
Few resources are available for writers
Many resources are available
Writing product must be conventional
Writing moves naturally from invention to convention
Students write for teacher
Students write for read audience
The teacher corrects
Classmates and others respond
Writing is private and individual
Writing is shared and social

14. I do (Modeling portion of a writing lesson)
Purpose: teacher models their own writing and thinking to show how to complete a task
Outcome: As a result students see the process of how to complete a writing task from beginning to end

15. Presentation of Bing Bang Bango

16. Student example

17. Student’s Brainstorm of ideas for essay

18. Student Rough Draft/ Graphic Organizer

19. Student Rough Draft/ Graphic Organizer

20. Final Draft

22. Self evaluation and peer evaluation

23. We do (Guided Practice)
Purpose: provides students to self-check for understanding, students give suggestions while teacher is writing/recording
Outcomes: students will participate and practice writing skill/strategy to enhance understanding

24. You do (Independent Practice)
Purpose: provide opportunities for students to apply target skills and strategies
Outcome: the goal is that students can write independently and improve writing achievement

25. Conclusion:
Questions, Comments, Concerns…
Evaluation form