

4 Writing to Learn (WTL) Strategies (for more WTL’s go here or here or here)
- Written Conversations
- students process material by passing notes to each other about the material
- wonder if technology like Twitter, Todaysmeet, etc can be used to support this strategy
- quiet, energetic way to process content
- Play by play:
- set times for writing and exchanging notes
- introduce norms – stay on topic, write the whole time, silent writing
- work the room to make sure students are on task and to note interesting ideas
- don’t feel pressured to read every note, believe in the power of unguided writing-to-learn exercises
- Types of exchanges
- live – quick, occurs in real time
- take-away – slower, students have more time to compose notes
- Variations:
- attach reading to large poster
- have team of 2 or 3 read reading silently and write notes to each other about the reading in the poster margins (use a unique color per student so you can see individual contributions)
- students process material by passing notes to each other about the material
- Write-arounds
- using passing and writing protocols to facilitate written conversations about content within small and large groups
- can enable students to expand each other’s knowledge and correct each other’s misconceptions
- Play by play:
- arrange students into groups of 3 to 5 (4 is ideal)
- hand out large pieces of paper
- introduce norms: silent writing, write the whole time
- each student start the paper by writing their name or initials at the top of the page
- instruct students to write all their thoughts related to a topic for a set period of time (1 – 5 min)
- observe students and instruct them to pass their paper to their right (within their team) after most of the class has written about a quarter of the page
- students write name or initials on next line of new paper and write a reaction to previous student’s work
- rotate until original papers return back to their initial writers
- can do another cycle with a more specific prompt
- then have spokesperson from each team share highlights in the silent conversation in a whole group conversation
- Variation (Silent group discussion):
- students write 2 questions on a paper
- then instruct students to pass papers in directions that result in all students getting a new paper
- students then answer 1 of the 2 questions and add a new question
- pass papers again
- students then answer 1 of the questions and add a new question
- repeat for 5 rotations
- discuss interesting exchanges in whole group or small group discussion
- Carousel brainstorming:
- students rotate in teams to discuss, brainstorm and write about several topics (1 per rotation)
- purposes:
- introduce new topics (could be a good K/NTK activity)
- active review activity
- Play by play:
- design 3 – 4 questions, headers, or statements and post on posters on walls spread out around the room
- group students into teams of 3 or 4, each team has it’s own color
- disperse teams among the poster
- give a set time for students to discuss the header and write as many related ideas as possible
- teams rotate to a new poster
- instruct teams to read over poster first, discuss its contents, and brainstorm only NEW related ideas (no repeat ideas), team members assign a new recorder per rotation
- students follow instructions and rotate when instructed by teacher
- teams continue to read, discuss and brainstorm NEW ideas, team members assign a new recorder per rotation
- teacher can make time durations shorter and shorter as it becomes harder to produce NEW ideas as posters fill up
- Analyzing brainstorming:
- when teams return to original poster, they digest entire poster and discuss it – notice what’s new, new connections, new questions, etc Teams assign a speaker to present key findings on each poster
- can go on a gallery walk of completed posters and take note of the top 3 ideas in each poster
- can facilitate a silent gallery walk – after viewing all posters students can complete a WTL that describes their findings
- after rotations, have teams decide on what topic they’d like to become experts on – have them research the topic and report it to the class at a later time
- Double – entry journal
- 2-column way of recording and processing learning
- left column = notes to summarize information. right column = reaction to notes
- Examples of column headings for double-entry journals: column 1, column 2
- computation, explanation for each step
- problem, solution
- reasons for, reasons against
- opinion, proof
- quote, explanation of importance
- quote, personal connections
- quote, discussion questions
- observations, inferences
- pros, cons
- words, images
- facts, feelings
- information, values
- interesting visual, associated thought or feeling
- Play-by-play
- decide on headings that enhance learning targets
- model the process to get students started
- explain purpose of assignment (ex: evidence of completing reading, basis for an upcoming discussion, etc)
- work the room – see if students are using the strategy to make deep connections
- if the connections are superficial, pause activity and model how to make deeper connections
- uses of notes:
- basis for discussions
- collection can be used to review material
- variation:
- if double-entry notes occur several times – let them write them on left-side pages and leave partner right-side pages blank; for review, they can fill up the right-side pages with summaries of their notes
- can be used to help students actively process videos and readings

Teachers can use a variety of Write-to-Learns (WTLs) to get students to actively process information in a variety of ways. The written dialogue, write-around, and carousel brainstorming activities can be used to get peers to expand each other’s knowledge and correct misconceptions. The double-entry journal technique can get students to make powerful associations between new material and their thoughts and feelings.

Preparation Steps
- Analyze standards and generate learning targets
- Use knowledge of content and students to identify which WTL’s can be used to process information in ways that highlight useful connections
- Develop prompts and tools related to selected WTL’s
Early Implementation Steps
- Implement WTL’s. See ideas above.
- Facilitate follow-up discussions and activities that make use of the WTL’s.
Advanced Implementation Steps
- Have students reflect on WTL’s and try to identify which strategies are the most helpful. Use their suggestions to build WTL routines that match their preferences.
- For individual WTL’s – give students choice among several strategies that match their preferred modes of communication.
