Writing/Comprehending/Organizing/Thinking

Brandon Literacy Support TeachersJanuary 27th, 2010

Presented by Faye BrownlieReferences:

Grand Conversations, Thoughtful ResponsesStudent Diversity, 2nd Ed

It’s All about Thinking

Managing the Writers Workshop

• Work with large chunks of time• Build criteria with students• Teach one specific criteria at a time,

over time• Model, model, model• Focus on pre-writing • Coach students as they are writing• Goal-set with students• Increase your silent writing time

ModelGuided practiceIndependent practiceIndependent application

Pearson & Gallagher (1983)

How can we best use our resource time together? Can we introduce writing in a playful way to a diverse group of K children?

Students need:

• To see themselves as writers• To have fun• To develop a sense of sound/symbol

relationships• To find their stories• To work with criteria• Teacher’s Need: What’s Next for

This Beginning Writer? – Reid, Schultz, Peterson (Pembroke Pub)

K-1 Writing:Model - pictures & printRefer to criteriaKids draw & writeRefer to criteria

Pearson & Gallagher (1983)

Power Paragraphs

• Create a power structure:• Power 1 – the big idea• Power 2 – 3 big details about the big idea• Power 3 – 2 more precise details/examples about the

2nd powers• Together, write the paragraph, 1 topic sentence

(power 1), and 3 explanatory sentences (powers 2 and 3)

• Reread for fluency• Do several together, then students can create their

structure, get feedback before writing, then write independently

power 1

power 2 power 2power 2

2 details 2 details (power 3)

Response Journals

 

double-entry journals

 initially, written in class, together

 develop criteria for powerful responses

Left Side Right Side Notes Early Stages:

1 Title of the Book One sentence I can read from the book. 2 Title of the Book (After reading a pattern book)

A sentence of my own following the pattern of the text.

3 Title of the Book My Opinion (e.g. The part I like best is ...

My favourite character is …)

Writing is very limited in the early stages.

End of Grade 1/ Beginning of Grade 2:

4 Summary (What Happened?) My Thinking About What Happened Initially, expect a lot more writing on the left side than on the right at this stage.

Later:

5 Two Events My Thinking About These Events Gradually expect the length of the writing to become more balanced on each side.

6 A Quotation from the Text My Interpretation/Thinking of the Meaning of this Quotation

By Intermediate, expect 1 – 2 sentences about an event and a paragraph of personal response.

Online literacy videos

• www.sd72.bc.ca Literacy Videos• Clustering from Text• Squiggles• It’s All in the Bag

Learning Intention:

• I can examine a picture and infer what is happening

• I can provide ‘because’ reasoning (evidence) for my inference

• Peter’s Poofect Pet - Tina Powell

• www.bigfatpen.com

Gr. 3 Writing:Model – a small momentEstablish criteriaKids writeDescriptive feedback on

criteriaPearson & Gallagher (1983)

Learning Intention: I can write and describe a small event from my morning.

• Choose a topic• Write in front of the students• Students describe ‘what works’ in your

writing• Students choose a ‘morning’ topic• Students write• Students self-assess• Students meet with peers to share and

provide feedback

All alone, I stepped into my car. With my map in hand, I began to drive. At the lights I turned left, then the map said to turn right. “Oh, no!”

The sign said, “Road closed”. “Help,” I thought. “What am I going to

do?”

Notices…criteria

• Mystery

• Opening

• Detailed

• Sounds like you (Voice)

Lori JohnsonGrade 1

Coldstream ElementaryRichmond

Learning IntentionsSelf AssessmentDescriptive Feedback

Ownership

Browsing Bags– Lousesa Newman, Jennifer Hall

Tait Elementary

Click icon to add picture

Browsing Bags

What’s working?

What’s not?

What’s next?

Descriptive Feedback

Descriptive Feedback

• Give a specific compliment

• Set a goal

• Have an action plan

Descriptive Feedback

• In guided reading groups• In 1:1 reading conferences• In whole class strategy sequences

• Choose a partner. What does descriptive feedback look like in this scenario?

• Report back to your table group.

Formative assessment to determine students strengths and needs

Brownlie, Feniak & Schnellert, 2006; Earl & Katz, 2005; Schnellert, Butler & Higginson, in press; Smith & Wilhelm, 2006

My students need to learn to record notes when reading information text.

Can I introduce the double-entry journal to my grade 2/3 class?

Students need:

• A model• Guided practice in following the

model• An opportunity to practice the

strategy, with support as needed• Choice in the degree of complexity

they use to complete the task