Writing – Page 2

March 20, 2016May 9, 2016

76: Drafting Writing

Chapter 8 in Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.

These are examples of activities that guide students to create writing drafts for public writing. To see the difference between public writing pieces and write-to-learn pieces, go here. To see an overview of all the steps that go into creating a piece of public writing go here or here.

Four-Card Stud

Uses:
- helps students get started with writing
- helps students identify logical sequences for writing
- helps students learn how much explanation to include with each part
Play by play:
- Hand out 4” x 6″ note cards to each student (or letter size paper cut into 4 equal parts)
- On top of first card, jot down phrase or title describing topic
- Quick brainstorm of related topics on 1st card
- Circle one phrase on 1st card that student can tell more about
- Transfer topic to 2nd card
- Brainstorm related ideas and topics for 3-4 minutes on 2nd card
- Circle another phrase from 1st or 2nd card that can be expanded upon
- Write phrase/topic on 3rd card.
- Brainstorm related ideas and topics for 3-4 minutes on 3rd card
- Circle another phrase from 1st, 2nd or 3rd cards that can be expanded upon
- Write phrase/topic on 4th card.
- Brainstorm related ideas and topics for 3-4 minutes on 4th card
- Order cards in sequence that makes sense for writing piece

Letting It Rest

Uses/Purposes:
- Real understanding takes time
- See work with fresh eyes
Tips:
- Have students put away first draft for a couple days
- Collect student work if students might lose it
- Explain to students the reason for the letting the writing rest and how it relates to developing understanding

The four card stud activity can help students develop quick rough outlines that contain main arguments and related evidence. This activity can help students get started with writing. It can be run more than 4 times to generate more ideas.

Letting work rest will help students revise and polish their work with fresh eyes. This strategy can also be used to teach students how developing understanding takes time.

Preparation Steps

Facilitate pre-writing activities aimed at building student interest and knowledge of writing topics.
Set aside time in project calendar for drafting activities (see 4 card stud) and for letting work rest.
If running 4 card stud – gather index cards or cut letter size paper into quarters.

Early Implementation Steps

Facilitate 4-card stud activity.
Work the room to make sure students use entire set times to brainstorm.
Work the room after activity to see if students are able to successfully use the sequenced 4 cards to develop their first drafts.
Have students reflect on 4-card stud activity and describe whether or not it helped them draft their writing and how.
Ask students to reflect upon new ideas and insights they got while letting their first draft rest.

Advanced Implementation Steps

If students like the 4-card stud activity and are able to use it effectively, integrate it into a routine repertoire of writing activities used in multiple projects to scaffold writing.

March 20, 2016May 9, 2016

75: Public Writing Conditions & Stages

Chapter 8 in Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.

These are examples of activities one can run to prepare students to create public writing pieces. To see the difference between public writing pieces and write-to-learn pieces, go here.

Elements that Promote Good Public Writing:

student choice of topic – enhances student ownership
time to write in class – provide in-class support that helps students write, talk, and think in specific academic genres
response – formative feedback that is provided to students as they write, not when they are finished
good models – uses concrete examples to demonstrate key features of high quality work
process approach – approach writing as a craft-like series of steps and stages that can be mastered over time
supportive environment – positive learning environment that promote learning as a process, that value risks and mistakes
real audience – real people (ideally outside school) who will read the writing. possible audiences include:
- your own class
- adult panels
- other students in other classes or schools
- special interest groups and orgs
- targets for advocacy
- experts in particular fields
- contest judges

Writing Process Stages: For another look at writing stages, go here.

Before writing activities – Writing Activities – raises student interest, builds student knowledge
Gathering information – researching and learning information related to writing topic
Organizing – organizing information, steps, arguments so reader can follow writer’s lines of thinking
Getting ideas down on paper
Letting early drafts rest – permits writer to come back with fresh eyes
Review the work – clear, concise, organized, communicates what’s intended, prune out extraneous information
Revising – refine ideas and explanations
Polishing – grammar, spelling, tone check
Publishing – get student writing in front of a real audience where results matter

The elements and writing stages that support good public writing can be used to analyze, reflect upon, and refine projects that scaffold writing. The writing process stages can be used to organize project calendars that have public writing pieces as products.

Preparation Steps

Analyze past projects that scaffold writing using stages and conditions listed above.
Research and develop tools and strategies that enhance discovered strengths.
Research and develop tools and strategies that bridge discovered gaps.
Create project calendar that contains enough time to accommodate activities from writing stages students need to be successful at creating writing products.
Gather resources to organize and store student writing and feedback.

Early Implementation Steps

Facilitate writing activities that cover writing stages needed for student success. See above.
Have students regularly set, achieve, and reflect upon goals that relate to writing products.
Gather feedback from students to identify effective writing activities and to fine-tune activities.

Advanced Implementation Steps

Use student feedback to identify most effective writing activities. Incorporate these activities into routines that appear in several projects to support student writing.
Use observations and data to Identify common areas of writing need and design activities to bridge these gaps.
Recruit authentic audiences to raise the stakes of writing pieces.
Use technology to publish student writing in meaningful settings.

March 20, 2016May 9, 2016

74 : Pre-Writing Activities

Chapter 8 in Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.

These are examples of activities one can run to prepare students to create public writing pieces. To see the difference between public writing pieces and write-to-learn pieces, go here. To see an overview of all the steps that go into creating a piece of public writing go here or here.

Anticipation Guide

thinking activity that helps build a sense of purpose for upcoming research and writing
provide a couple questions (controversial or open ended)
have students just down answers with justifications
in small groups, students compare and discuss their answers
report small group observations to whole class
then begin research on related lessons

Four Corners

uses controversy and multiple perspectives to generate interest in a topic
pose a question with four possible choices – 4 points of view, Likert scale, etc.
students move to corners of the room that represent 4 possibilities
talk with students in same corner about why they picked that corner
spokespeople summarize discussion
let students from different corners meet to share their perpsectives

Gathering Information & Ideas

Advance preparation
- prepare resources students can use to research topics in advance
Jigsaw reading
- students read different articles and meet in small groups to discuss their articles
- can exchange articles to gain more information on chosen topics
Using the internet
- use evaluation form to help students select valid internet and helpful internet sources
Organizing:
- some students find outlines helpful, some not
- can provide thinking sheets and templates that outline key features of major sections of specialized reports
Looking at samples:
- Discuss pros and cons of past writing samples
- Snip apart writing sample into parts and have students order snippets in logical order and explain order
- Use prompts to help students notice key features in writing samples and how they work

Pre-writing activities help students build engagement and knowledge needed to create writing pieces. These activities fall into the build the field phase of scaffolding academic writing. The anticipation guides and 4 corner activity can be used to make students aware of their assumptions and perspectives and to build interest in controversial topics. The gathering and organizing information strategies can be used by teachers and students to gather and organize information from valid sources.

Preparation Steps

Research and gather valid resources that can help students research project topics
Decide which strategy will be used to generate sense of purpose and interest.
Develop controversial prompts or questions for 4 corners activity and/or anticipation guide.
Research and prepare lessons and tools aimed at guiding students in the research process. See above for some ideas.

Early Implementation Steps

Facilitate activities to generate interest. See 4 corners and anticipation guide above.
Facilitate activities that teach students how to gather and organize information. See above and here for ideas.

Advanced Implementation Steps

Follow by other phases in writing process
Build pre-writing routines that incorporate activities that students enjoy and that stimulate deeper student thinking.
Have students reflect on how pre-writing activities impact how they achieve content and writing goals

March 20, 2016May 17, 2016

73: Writing Workshops

Chapter 8 in Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.

Main components of writing workshops

students write during workshops that occur during class
teachers observe and give individual feedback
teach writing skills in a step-by-step manner

Reasons to Run Writing Workshops

ensures that students get writing done
diagnostic – learn what students are succeeding at and not
individualize instruction
can be more efficient than whole group instruction
model discipline specific thinking patterns and writing styles

Play by Play:

Building engagement, choice & individual goal setting:
- students list possible writing topics they’d like to explore
- teachers assign topics based on their interests and to ensure class-wide variety in topics
- students conduct preliminary research to narrow down writing topic
- student complete individual goal setting sheets that list specific content and writing goals they’d like to achieve in the project
Students working independently:
- students conduct more research on color-coded notecards that categorize types of information and that record summaries and resources
- students create outlines and draft pieces while waiting for conferences
- set norms for independent work so that conferences can occur simultanously
  - write need-to-knows on sticky notes and place them on designated board
  - if you finish writing early, work on editing and revising
  - use low voices and sit close to thought partners
  - go to writing resource area for more ideas if you get stuck
Brief, Focused Teaching & Modeling:
- assign a thinking sheet that outlines how to think / draft a small section of writing piece
- conduct a mini-lesson on contents of thinking sheet
- also support mini-lesson with modeling
- can assign thinking sheets, teach mini-lessons, and model other key features of the writing pieces
- could use tree diagrams and other graphic organizers to represent and outline arguments
Teacher Student Conferences and observations:
- doesn’t instruct on right and wrong – instead asks questions that get students to make connections, justify arguments, etc.
- can be short – 2-3 minutes and focused
  - commit to a learning target (writing or content) and focus feedback and inquiries on that focus to keep meetings targeted and short
- could address any idea that students need help
- possible prompts –
  - what are you working on?
  - how is it going?
  - what help do you need to move forward?
  - tell me more about why you …
  - what else do you know about …
  - how are you achieving your goals?
- incorporate individual goal sheets – lists skills students want to master in current project
- incorporate rubric
  - highlight rubric together or go over student highlighted rubric
  - give feedback specific to the rubric
  - use a rubric reflection sheet with columns: rubric criteria, successful or not, evidence, next steps
- another way to share feedback
  - take notes on post-its while working the room
  - place on student work during work time or during conference times
- storing conference notes
  - write on sticky notes that start on clipboard
  - move to student work
  - after it is used by student, move to a notebook that has pages for each student
Writing Folders:
- keep work organized in writing folders – contain note cards, drafts, outlines, brainstorm ideas, individual goal sheets, peer review sheets, etc
Share the Results:
- conclude with oral presentations to share findings

Making time:

focus writing assignments on topics that involve big subtle ideas that are need to be taught over time
use writing workshop format for other types of problem solving – e.g. solving real world math problems, writing lab reports, etc

See Reasons for running writing workshops above.

Teaching students how to write within discipline-specific genres is tricky. The elements of the writing workshop can be used to scaffold key features of writing pieces, guide students during work time and give specific formative feedback on work. Incorporating student goals and student choice into the work builds student engagement, agency, and ownership of the work.

Preparation Steps

Develop thinking sheets and mini lessons and gather models to scaffold key features of the writing piece
Develop overarching topic or essential question that can be used to stimulate and focus student-geneterated topics and questions
Develop assessment sheets – could have columns for rubric criteria, successful or not?, related evidence, next steps
Plan logistics and gather resources – writing folders (physical or online), sticky notes
- Tech Note: Google keep might be a good substitute for conference sticky notes because they can be shared with students and organized by tags and students can check off items in the list as they complete them. Google keep may be good for storing student goals for similar reasons.

Early Implementation Steps

Run writing workshop that focuses on 1 to 2 elements of writing piece. See elements listed above for details:
- build engagement though some student choice
- conduct mini-lessons, provide thinking sheets and model each feature (1 at a time)
- facilitate independent work time – focus work time goals and communicate norms
- meet with students in conferences and record feedback
- organize work in writing folders

Advanced Implementation Steps

Make writing workshops part of work time routine in multiple projects
Track writing samples over several projects and use these to help students reflect and set progressive writing goals

March 20, 2016May 9, 2016

72: Writing to Learn (2 of 2)

Chapter 4 in Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.

4 Writing to Learn (WTL) Strategies (for more WTL’s go here or here or here)

Nonstop write:
- students write nonstop in response to a prompt for set time (3-5 min)
- write in sentences and paragraphs
- focus on quantity, not on perfect grammar
- uses: varied, include by not limited to:
  - reflection
  - introduce material
  - recall material just covered or uncovered
  - build up student perseverance
  - practice for essay writing on timed tests
  - watch how thinking evolves over a project
- Play by play:
  - start with shorter period of time and build to gradually build up student stamina
  - explain purpose of writing activity and how writing will be used
  - explain norms – silence write for entire period of set time
  - to alleviate writers block – give students 1-2 min to brainstorm what to write with a partner
  - quick class brainstorm on class visuals
  - reasons students may shut down before time expires:
    - putting thoughts to paper is a skill that needs to be practiced
    - continuous sentence and paragraph writing takes effort
    - requires students to expand on details until exhausted
  - work the room and encourage students to continue writing who stop early – ask for more examples and details
  - leverage the work:
    - use as conversation starters:
      - read aloud in pairs and discuss and report out findings
      - share in groups of 3-4 and identify common threads and report out findings
    - guided rereading – reread piece and look for:
      - sentences that get to heart of your message
      - examples that illustrate message
      - off topic and vague sentences
      - 3 favorite words
    - self evaluate writing style
      - rank how quickly one gets off topic
      - rank how well you keep writing for set time
      - number of words in entry
      - what do you need to do differently to meet later expectations (ex: min 150 word count)
Reflective Write:
- writing piece meant to get students to reflect on learning
- uses:
  - pause and note what was learned and how learning occurred
  - situate learning in larger context
  - diagnostic tool – are students on track? what’s hard? how deep is their thinking?
  - process readings
  - gather thoughts for upcoming task
- play by play:
  - model what reflective writing could look like, include:
    - reflections on mistakes and confusion
    - reflections on learning processes
  - read and analyze features of sample reflections from previous years
  - practice reflective writing on a simple common process
  - work the room
    - encourage individual students who struggle
    - if most struggle, stop work time and model again
  - leverage the writing:
    - follow up with one-on-one conferences on student thinking and struggles
    - use as conversation starters in reflective conversations
KWL:
- brainstorming used to drive instruction:
  - K – what do I know
  - W – what do I want to know
  - L – what have I learned
- used throughout the project (note – another form of this is a Knows, Need-to-Knows and Next Steps chart)
- uses:
  - expose and build on prior knowledge
  - expose need-to-knows and want-to-knows
  - expose misconceptions
  - review what has been learned
  - engage students in co-planning upcoming learning activities
- play by play
  - prior to teaching a topic have students individually brainstorm everything they know about the topic
  - gather student ideas on flip chart in the K column – record all ideas, even misconceptions
  - can put question marks next to statements that contradict each other
  - students brainstorm list of questions about the topic in groups of 3-4
  - remind students they can ask questions that go with disputed ideas (ones with ?)
  - gather student ideas on flip chart in the W column
  - encourage students to nod heads if they have the same question being put on the flip chart
  - later in the project, have students brainstorm more questions – gather these in the W column
  - later in the project, have students brainstorm list of what they have learned – gather these in the L column
  - tips:
    - if students hesitate on the want to learn lists – ask them to predict what they are about the learn
    - do not use on topics that students have no prior knowledge of
    - prior to gathering whole class lists, ask students to share what they wrote in groups of 3-4 and come up with list of 5 common items and report these to the whole group share
    - could ask students to brainstorm next steps to learn what’s in the W column
Teacher student correspondence:
- teachers and students passing notes / letter over extended period of time
- uses:
  - model writing
  - individualized texts
  - get to know students
  - gather feedback to target instruction
  - improve morale
  - deeper learning
  - build relationships with students
  - hear from students who don’t talk much
  - cues for guiding individualized instruction
  - cluster student needs for responsive teaching
  - self-assessments
  - classroom management
- play by play
  - get students set time (~ 15 min ) to respond to prompts such as
    - how is the course going?
    - how can I help you be more successful?
    - anything you want to tell me about your life out of school?
    - what kind of things do you do outside of school?
    - what makes the course challenging?
    - what connections do you see between the course and your life?
  - alert students that you will alert the guidance counselor if they reveal things that need guidance counselor follow-up
  - write a short note back in response to each student’s writing
  - tips
    - do with one period a week to avoid getting overwhelmed
    - if individual letters take too much time – read all letters and write one long letter in response to all of them to the whole class, try to work all students input and questions into the letter

Teachers can use a variety of Write-to-Learns (WTLs) to get students to actively process information in a variety of ways. Teachers can use the non-stop writes to see how student thinking is evolving and to help students gather thoughts that can impact products. Teachers can adapt the KWL steps above to facilitate more detailed and helpful Know, Need-to-Know, Next Steps discussions. Teaches can use teacher student correspondence to model writing, convey caring, and build up moral and relationships.

Preparation Steps

Analyze standards and generate learning targets
Analyze behavior norms and student behavior and generate character 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 that target academic and character learning targets

Early Implementation Steps

Implement WTL’s. See ideas above and also here, here and here.
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.

March 20, 2016May 9, 2016

71: Writing to Learn (1 of 2)

Chapter 4 in Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.

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)
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.

March 20, 2016May 9, 2016

70: Quick Writes (2 of 2)

Chapter 3 in Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.

4 More Quick Writes (for 3 other straggles, go here)

Brainstorming:
- coming up with lots of ideas in a short amount of time
- goal = quantity over quality
- Possible uses:
  - could be part of writing break:
  - list every detail and idea you remember from the past 10 minutes
  - at end of list could supplement and revise this list
  - could be used to identify multiple ways to solve a problem
  - review content
  - inventory knowledge
  - connect content to things outside the classroom
  - correct previous misconceptions
  - pre-reading activity
  - vocabulary processing activity – provide as many examples of possible of this word
  - recap reading
- Play by play:
  - select brainstorming topic, time, duration (1 – 2 minutes), and goal
  - at the appointed time, give students brainstorming topic and have them write for set time
  - student share lists with partner and extend their lists
  - create a class master list with ideas from each pair
  - work the room during individual brainstorming and pair discussion times
  - reprocessing lists
    - what would you like to add to your list now that you know more?
    - what are the top 3 things on your list and why?
    - what would you like to remove from you list now that you know more?
  - Pro tips:
    - select topics that students have some prior knowledge of
    - have students correct errors and misconceptions at a later time

Drawing & Illustrating:
- quick drawings, sketches with captions that show understanding of an idea or problem
- good for visual learners
- Play by play:
  - can ask students to diagram/sketch what they learned the previous day
    - ask students to draw without the aide of the internet, on their own
    - encourage non-artists to relax
    - provide other options to students who are not visual learners
    - use to make a class-wide collection of pictures – note Nearpod is good at consolidating these drawings and sharing select drawings
    - OR use to made a single class-wide picture
  - work the room – scan for key ideas, common themes, misconceptions, struggling to draw/caption
  - have students reflect on how drawings are helping them visualize and grow their own learning
- Types of drawings
  - cartoons
  - timelines
  - cycle drawings
Clustering:
- similar to concept mapping
- start with a single word/topic in the center, draw related topics on hubs extending from the center
- Uses:
  - helps students learn what they know and how to organize their learning
  - help student process information prior to discussions
  - make sense of reading (textbooks, articles, etc)
- Play by play:
  - Model it first – think aloud to model thinking that goes with clustering
  - Students can start using this strategy working in pairs
  - Can create cluster individually after they become familiar with the strategy
  - Assign a key word to start the cluster (the central word)
  - Have students explain connections between central word and words on the hubs
  - Work the room – look for misconceptions, struggles, interesting connections, recurring connections
  - Reassure students who are uncomfortable with associative thinking
  - Can provide words in center and hubs if topic is new
  - Word splash variation – show a word cloud of key words and have students write as many sentences as possible that connect the words
Mapping
- arranging ideas visually to show relationships
- leverages fact that brain works by associating images with words
- examples:
  - Venn diagrams
  - flow charts
  - concept wheels
- purposes:
  - represent nonlinear processes
  - organize, synthesize, digest knowledge
  - recall problem solving steps
  - review material near end of unit
  - relate ideas to a larger whole or big ideas
  - organize projects
  - generate ideas
  - process reading
- Play by play:
  - model creating type of map and use think aloud to link map creating to thinking
  - show students models of maps
  - use graphic organizers with targeted model
  - give students time to complete the map with the use of graphic organizer
  - work the room to see struggles, common ideas and misconceptions
  - discuss maps – call on students to explain where they placed information and why
    - display student suggestions / ideas on a class map
  - variations:
    - could start map in class and finish at home to give more processing time
    - do gallery walk with maps – write comments on blank paper by the maps while rotation around
    - complete maps in pairs
Bonus Strategy: Learning Logs:
- Collect WTL’s in a learning logs – could be pasted into a notebook or kept in a large envelope
- Ask students to examine WTL’s at key milestones in projects, correct them, and create pieces that synthesize key information in the WTL’s

Recommended Reading & Viewing:

Write-to-Learns (WTLs) can help students learn how to think. Using quick strategies can help students reprocess information and can help teachers notice trends that help them build bridges between ideas and fine-tune lessons. Using mapping and sketching activities can help visual learners make stronger associations with and among ideas.

Preparation Steps

Decide what types of Quick Writes can be used to highlight key ideas and connections in learning targets
Model how to create Quick Writes. Use think aloud strategy while modeling. Also let students examine and discuss examples to get more familiar with the strategies.

Early Implementation Steps

Use quick write strategies (variety) to give students varied ways to process content in workshops
Use pair share protocols to discuss and consolidate quick writes
Have student reflect upon and add additional comments to their quick writes in order to develop students’ metacognition

Advanced Implementation Steps

Use quick write strategies (variety) to give students varied ways to process content in workshops at their beginning, middle and end
Set up routines that have students assemble quite writes into learning logs and use these learning logs to review material at project milestones

March 20, 2016May 9, 2016

69: Quick Writes (1 of 2)

Chapters 2 & 3 in Daniels, Harvey, Steven Zemelman, and Nancy Steineke. Content-area Writing: Every Teacher’s Guide. Portmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007. Print.

WTLs (left) vs Public writing (right)

short vs substantial
spontaneous vs planned
exploratory vs authoritative
informal vs conventional
personal vs audience centered
one draft vs drafted
unedited vs edited
ungraded vs assessable

WTLs: Why they work

students need to act upon ideas to develop understanding
understanding increases when people write ideas down
part of learning ideas is putting them in own words
goes beyond transcription (beyond fill-in-the-blank, recall questions)
can expose prior knowledge and misconceptions
can help students set and achieve academic goals
increase active participation during class discussions

WTLs: Quick Writes: 3 Examples (4 more examples are here)

Writing break:
- create opportune times to stop learning activities to give students a chance to process new learnings by writing
- frequency – recommends every 10-12 min in long lecture (equals max attention span of an adult)
- could occur after examining a dense visual for a couple minutes
- Suggested prompts:
  - What info stands out? Why?
  - What does this remind you of?
  - What questions do you still have?
  - Rate you understanding from 1 to 5. Explain why.
  - What makes sense? What’s confusing?
  - Higher order textbook questions
- cruise around the room while students are taking their writing break – skim students’ writing, notice if students are struggling to get started
- have students pair share their writing immediately after writing break
  - read about their writing and then
  - continue the academic conversation
- call on 2 to 3 pairs for quick summary of what was discussed
- Easing students in:
  - start with specific, short prompts
  - after doing writing breaks several times, ask students reflect by considering;
    - did I write through the whole break?
    - did I justify my ideas with evidence?
    - did my writing start a good conversation with my partner?
- Prepping for tests –
  - have students review what they wrote in their writing breaks and create lists of key things to remember
  - focus test review on key things that rarely or do not make it to student lists
Exit slips:
- takes place during last 1-5 minutes of class
- on small slips of paper, Post-Its, index cards, etc
- possible prompts:
  - what was the best discussion you brought to the group? why?
  - what did you learn today?
  - how is the project going for you?
  - what was the most important idea discussed today? why?
  - what was the most confusing idea discussed today? why?
  - predict what we will need to learn in this project and why?
  - what would you like me to review tomorrow and why?
  - design an essay question that goes with today’s material. why this question?
  - what goals can you set for yourself to learn this material successfully?
  - what would be some good review questions relating to today’s lesson?
  - what can I do to help you learn bettering this class?
  - summarize today’s lesson using 25 carefully chosen words?
  - Process prompts: what did you notice while discussing your writing break work with your partners
  - Classroom management prompt: how will classroom learning change if … improves?
- work the room while students write to ensure that they use the whole time to write and to quickly scan what they write
- have students write their names on the tickets for accountability
- analyze exit tickets
  - look for common themes
  - common misconceptions
  - unique comments and questions
  - identify what can be highlighted tomorrow and what needs reteaching or re-clarification
- share synthesis/analysis of exit tickets with class on following day
Admit slip
- piece of writing students bring to the start of class
- usually a review of previous day’s material
- prompts:
  - thought-provoking questions that go with previous lesson’s learning target?
  - examples:
    - How could this formula be applied in a real-world situation?
    - Explain the advantages and disadvantages of indicators vs meters.
- how to use admit slips:
  - scan quickly and read 1 to 3 discussion starters aloud and have students discuss in pairs and share summaries with class
  - find 2 opposing slips, read aloud and discuss
  - ask volunteers to read slips aloud
  - shuffle cards and pass out randomly and have pair read cards aloud to start a discussion
  - pass out randomly and students write comments on slips (do several times) – then volunteers start conversation by reading aloud original writing and added comments
- troubleshooting
  - if students have trouble doing homework, dedicate first 5 minutes of class to writing slips – during writing time, work the room to scan writing and to encourage students to use the whole time to write
- other use:
  - assign a problem that bridges yesterday’s and today’s material

WTLs can help students learn how to think. Using quick strategies can help students reprocess information and can help teachers notice trends that help them build bridges between ideas and fine-tune lessons. Admit and exit tickets can help frame the lesson like a narrative that has a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Preparation Steps

Plan learning activities and identify good spots and create writing prompts for writing breaks.
Plan writing prompts for admit and exit tickets.

Early Implementation Steps

Use writing breaks during scaffolding activities to give students time to actively process new learnings by writing about and discussing it with a partner
Assign and analyze admit and/or exit slips.
Use admit and/or exit slips to start classroom discussion that build a bridge between current and prior knowledge.

Advanced Implementation Steps

Develop routines that involve regular use of writing breaks, admit and/or exit slips.
Have students reflect upon multiple writing pieces from writing breaks, admit sips, and exit slips in order to be aware of how their knowledge and skills are evolving over time

March 20, 2016May 10, 2016

68: Models, Critique & Descriptive Feedback

Chapter 4 in Berger, Ron, Leah Rugen, and Libby Woodfin. Leaders of Their Own Learning: Transforming School through Student-engaged Assessment. Print.

Key terms:

models:
- exemplars that demonstrate key features of a genre
- can be student work, teacher work or professional work
critique lessons:
- lessons that define qualities of high quality work by analyzing models
- aimed at improving skills of whole group
descriptive feedback:
- forms: teacher-student conference, written comments, peer-to-peer feedback
- precise constructive comments that help students improve quality of work

Tips for Building Safe Culture:

norm: be kind, be specific, be helpful
be clear and encouraging
shape descriptive feedback with individual in mind
be aware, stop comments that are unintentionally or intentionally unkind
practice critiques on examples generated outside the classroom

Tips for Choosing Models:

models show students where they are headed
include examples of features tied to learning targets
gather good examples of student work from previous projects
file models by genre
create models if needed
use models from professional world
choose models that illustrate different approaches to the same assignment or different strong features

Modeling with Weak Work

work must be anonymous
model respectful critique
has compelling, common flaws
can have a mixture of strong and weak elements
best examples are results of students who tried hard but had confusions that created specific problems

Critique Lesson Steps:

choose work samples that go with learning targets
students individually examine multiple samples and try to make sense of them – what’s good, what’s confusing, etc.
students in small groups discuss what features were strong and provide evidence
teacher facilitates whole group discussion of models
- gathers general observations
- gathers observations that relate to learning targets
- discusses which parts are strong/accurate and explains why with evidence
students in small groups brainstorm attributes of good work
teacher facilitates whole group discussion to synthesize their tips for producing strong work

Critique Lesson Tips:

target critique to specific features that tie to learning targets
clarity of learning targets should not prevent students from sharing unrelated surprises and discoveries
focus on content, concepts, skills, genre features, habits of scholarship

Possible Times to Implement Critique Lessons:

at start of project to introduce a genre
in middle of project during work time to support focused revision
just before presenting work to fine-tune final revisions
just before self and peer assessment sessions to teach students how to give effective feedback
after assignment is due to reflect on quality and set new goals

Facilitating Discussions Tips:

define sequence of discussion prompts that align to learning targets
structure time, set amount of time per section
define and assign discussion roles
define norms relating to participation and listening

Gallery Critique:

all students post work to examine
good for identifying good features and strategies
too many samples to analyze gaps
for written work – short excerpts of larger piece work best
Steps:
- Introduce norms and goals
- Post work
- Silent gallery walk and take notes of strong examples
- Discuss what was noticed
- Discuss what’s working using specific examples and explanations

In-Depth Critique

single work is analyzed for what’s working and not working

Critique Facilitator Tips:

Strategically choose students for comments
Radiate enthusiasm and positivity
Offer compelling statements to build interest and add key points
Reframe student observations to make them more clear when needed
Guide discussion towards learning targets
Make sure students observe discussion norms
Have student rephrase vague statements for more clarity
Model good critique
Make clear that the work itself, not the author, is the subject of critique
Model use of “I” statements – “I think … “
Start discussion with warm feedback before moving to cool feedback
Frame ideas as questions whenever possible
Keep discussion moving at an energetic pace
Help students notice and remember key comments in discussion
Direct attention to important examples (if not mentioned)
Guide discussion towards specific strategies that meet learning targets
Display key ideas and strategies in clear specific language
Guide students to use academic vocabulary in discussions that go with learning targets

Features of Descriptive Feedback

Focused on growth of individual student’s skills and/or understanding
Typically a one-one-one teacher-student exchange
Rests on base of a strong positive teacher-student relationship
Includes strategic positive comments that make feedback easier to hear
Based on strong knowledge of students’ strengths, areas of growth, and goals

Continuum of How Students Hear Feedback

Blames teacher for being mean
Ignores feedback
Hears feedback but doesn’t know how to use it
Receives feedback, uses it but doesn’t meet goals
Receives feedback, uses it, reaches goals and can teach others

Planning for Effective Feedback

Know that students who are most likely receive to feedback well are already successful, see continuum above
Communicate belief in students’ ability to use feedback to meet high expectations
Teach students the language of critique related to learning targets
Consider good timing:
- Provide enough time for students to use the feedback
- Immediate feedback is best for factual knowledge
- Time delay in feedback is better for more complex tasks
- Provide frequent ongoing feedback on major assignments
Consider quantity:
- Prioritize feedback related to learning targets
- Consider how much feedback individual student can take in at once
Written vs Oral feedback?
- oral feedback while student is working is more effective and efficient
  - get students to paraphrase oral feedback
  - give within teacher-student conference
- written feedback on a checklist, assignment sheet, or rubric
Group vs Individual feedback?
- individual feedback conveys caring
- whole group feedback is good for correcting a common error
Consider tone:
- positive, constructive
- suggestions not prescriptions
- avoid pointing out what’s wrong without offering suggestions
- avoid punishing tone
Aim for clarity:
- student-friendly, specific
Keep Learning Target in mind:
- connect feedback to how to improve on learning goals
- avoid making it personal
Leverage comparisons:
- use checklists or rubric with criteria to compare student work to
- avoid comparing work to other students – can damage student motivation
Be aware of student perceptions of feedback
- does student understand feedback?
- does student feel safe and valued?
- situate feedback within positive culture and positive relationships that value student-engaged assessment
Feedback Implementation Tips:
- Teacher-Student:
  - plan and schedule conference times
  - be concise and clear
  - target one skill at a time
  - use student work to assess effectiveness of feedback
- Peer and Self Feedback
  - teach students purpose and strategies for giving feedback
  - revisit learning targets often and check that students know how to recognize them in student work
  - model giving effective feedback
  - emphasize self over peer feedback – research has shown that the former is more effective
  - precede feedback sessions with whole group critique lessons that scaffold how to give effective feedback

Models, critique, and descriptive feedback are tools for improving performance in school and in many other settings and professions. Students can’t visualize quality work in a genre without having seen and analyzed examples. Examining models makes standards real and tangible. Critique and descriptive feedback help build a culture that promotes agency (effort develops skills). They teach students how to achieve quality standards more independently.

Preparation Steps

Gather strong models that demonstrate key learning targets
Research activities aimed at identifying strategies for analyzing models, peer/self critiques, and generating quality feedback. See above and literacy articles for ideas.
Build culture that values critique and constant improvement

Early Implementation Steps

Teach students how to be kind, specific and helpful in their feedback
Incorporate critique lessons and descriptive feedback into product scaffolding and benchmark days
Use learning targets to frame critique and descriptive feedback
Facilitate critique lessons using tips listed above.
After critique lessons have modeled effective feedback, facilitate peer and self feedback activities. See tips listed above.
Provide ongoing individual feedback to students in short conferences. See tips above.

Advanced Implementation Steps

Use practiced protocols to reflect on work during process of creation, right before presentations and after presentations
Use critique lessons to help students co-author or author rubrics for products
Use checklists of common pitfalls gathered over time to guide peer/teacher critique sessions