2. How Can We Possibly Do It All??? Informational reading/writing Argument reading/writing On-demand practice Portfolio writing Multiple choice practice

3. On-Demand Writing Tested years: sophomore and junior years Timed writing 2 prompts (60 minute prompt and 90 minute passage-based prompt) Students are expected to: Observe the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising) Show mastery of the criteria on the rubric: audience awareness, purpose, idea development, organization of ideas, grammar, mechanics and word choice.

4. PLCs Working to Create Writing Opportunities Common text (may be an article, short video clip, poem, novel, short story, chapter in a textbook,etc.): The Kite Runner by Khalid Hoessini What big ideas do you find in this text? (Choose 1 for the focus of this writing assignment.) Cultural Differences Betrayal Friendship Father/Son Relationships

5. PLCs Working to Create Writing Opportunities What mode(s) of writing is required for this task? Informational Narrative What additional texts will you pull in for this writing assignment? “For Afghan Boys and Men, Kite Flying is a Way of Life”

6. PLCs Working to Create Writing Opportunities What skills will students need to complete this task? Organizing an informational piece Embedding a narrative in an informational piece Comparing cultural similarities Annotating an article and a writing task/prompt What is the timeframe for this writing assignment? Day 1: Read and annotate article and writing assignment Day 2: Write in class Day 3: Peer response groups Day 4: Edit/Revise

7. You Try It!  Use the template “Creating Common Writing Opportunities” to guide your work.  Create a writing opportunity that requires students to write in argument or informative mode.  Locate an additional text to pull into the task for students to reference.  Be ready to share ideas for articles/writing tasks before we break.

8. Additional Text Sources New York Times & Upfront Magazine www.NYTimes.com Izzit (Free Videos and Current Events Lessons) www.izzit.org Scholastic (Scope, Action) www.scholastic.com/scope News ELA (for articles with quizzes and varying lexile levels) www.newsela.org Kelly Gallagher- Story of the Week www.kellygallagher.org CNN Student News www.cnn.com/studentnews PBS Newshour For Students & Teachers http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra / Current event articles (weekly quizzes, editorial cartoons with questions) www.studentnewsdaily.com Health and Science articles/blogs/podcasts www.naturalnews.com/high_school. html High teen interest current events www.tweentribune.com/teen Satire articles www.theonion.com News articles www.wsjstudentweeklywrapup.com

9. Use your PLC for feedback Share your writing task with your PLC to get feedback. Some questions you might have for your group: Is there enough context given for students to understand what’s being asked of them? Is it clear what form the writing is to take? Does the outside text provide background or support for the writing task?