Where Will My Grades Come From?Where Will My Grades Come From?

Meaningful Assessment in the Writing Workshop

Laura ThompsonSpartanburg Writing Project 2011

My goals for this teaching demonstration are for us to gain a

better understanding of how to assess students in meaningful ways in a writing workshop and to guide them into thinking critically about

their own writing.

Two beliefs about assessment that are inherent in my teaching practices are:

I value the use of writing in student learning across all subject areas.

I prefer to use multiple strategies to assess my students rather than relying solely on pencil paper tests or worksheets.

What I Did, Why it Worked, What I Want to Do to Make it Better

*Write to Understanding – writing to understand your own knowledge/ metacognition

*Content Area Writing through project based learning – writing to learn

*Some worked well, others produced formulaic writing with little thought to process.

After SWP, I see flaws in my approach and know that I can be a better

teacher of writing. If I am better, they will benefit.

Solution:

The Writing Workshop

New Problem:How do I assess them?

Most of us are required to Most of us are required to have a set number of grades have a set number of grades

per grading period.per grading period.

Maintaining the required number of gradesis possible to achieve . However, there arevital things to consider before we loginto PowerSchools or take pen in hand andhead for the grade book.

“We don’t believe in grading everything that students write. In elementary classrooms we suggest not assigning grades to individual papers. Instead, base your grade on the body of a student’s work.”

--Ralph Fletcher & JoAnn Portalupi Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide

Types of Assessments in Types of Assessments in Writing WorkshopWriting Workshop

• Self-Assessment• Informal Assessment• Formal Assessment

Each type of assessment has its place in anysuccessful Writing Workshop. They areinterdependent.

Self-AssessmentSelf-AssessmentSelf-AssessmentSelf-Assessment will most likely not comeautomatically to students and must be taught andmodeled.

Teacher made assessment guides are a great way to getstudents involved in metacognition.

Base the guides on what YOU as the teacher want themto think about every time they sit down to write. Then,put it into words that they can understand. Equip yourstudents by modeling how to go through the selfassessment process.

Self-AssessmentsSelf-Assessments can be graded for participation, thoroughness, or evidence of growth as a writer. The value of the assignment is up to you, the teacher.

Informal Assessment in the Informal Assessment in the Writing WorkshopWriting Workshop

“Status of the Class” was developed by NancieAtwell, founder of the Center for Teaching and

Learning in Maine.

Status of the Class Status of the Class gives the teacher “a glimpseof students’ process over time” while proactivelyadjusting those students are not focused orthose that are not using time wisely. It also helpsin scheduling conferences. Status of the Classserves as a management tool as well.

Informal Assessment in the Informal Assessment in the Writing WorkshopWriting Workshop

ConferencingConferencing allows the teacher and student to engage inmeaningful conversation about the piece of writing. It ismore personal than the teacher writing notes on a paperbefore the student completes the FINAL COPY. It is also agreat time for the student to ask questions. This allowsthe teacher to gain valuable insight on what may beunclear to her students. If several students areexperiencing the same issue, a minilesson is needed toaddress that particular skill. In this case, your assessmentguides your instruction and according to Katie Wood Ray,becomes your curriculum (The Writing Workshop p. 211).

So what do I ask in a conference?So what do I ask in a conference?

Katie Wood Ray makes the following suggestions:Katie Wood Ray makes the following suggestions:• What kinds of things have you done inside your

notebook and outside it to get ready to write this piece?

• Where are the places in this piece where you really tried to craft the writing?

• Who is your audience?• What was your process for proofreading this? What

things did you check for? What corrections did you make? (Ray, 215-217)

Formal AssessmentsFormal Assessments

Formal Assessments Formal Assessments should take place ONLYafter Self-Assessment and Informal Assessmenthave occurred.

How fair would it be to the student if youskipped the first two steps?

Formal Assessment in the Formal Assessment in the Writing WorkshopWriting Workshop

Formal Assessment in the Writing Workshop cantake place through the use of rubrics, checklists, or some form of agreement between thestudent and teacher that takes place at theonset of the writing process.

Above all else, students should knowAbove all else, students should knowAnd understand our expectations. And understand our expectations.

The state rubric for writing addresses many aspects of writing. We can choose to use it as a whole document, or we can adapt parts of it for different pieces based on the needs of our writers.

Students should become familiar with the language of the PASS rubric from the start. You can

accomplish this through a word wall and by using the language in

conversations about writing. Students will be more likely to

actually use the rubric if they know how to do so.

How will I keep a record of How will I keep a record of students’ progress?students’ progress?

A Writer’s Portfolio Writer’s Portfolio serves as an excellent “container” because it:

allows students and teachers to map the growth of budding young writers .

provides meaningful conversation for student-teacher conference.

houses the work in a “real writer’s” fashion, giving a sense of pride and ownership to students.

allows students to go back to previous work in order to revise or convert to a genre that may be better suited to the piece.

prepares the students to keep records of their own work, much like they will need to in the real world.

provides a tool for the organization of a collection of work.

The Birth and Death of Portfolio AssessmentBy: Pauline Sahakian

Publication: The Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1Date: Winter 2002

To move our process forward, Joan suggested we write for fifteen minutes about why we would want to assess student writing through portfolios. When we shared our quick-writes, we gave surprisingly similar reasons. We believed that we could see what students were actually learning if we compared early work to later work. We believed we could determine which assignments were well presented and which were confusing. We believed students would be able to see their progress in fluency and idea development and be inspired to work harder, that they could focus their problem solving if they saw patterns of repetition in their writing. We concluded that the more students were required to think about how they wrote, the more their writing would improve. After much discussion, we ultimately settled on two purposes for our portfolio design: we wanted students to see how they were growing as writers and thinkers from their freshman to senior year, and we hoped to collect information on how well we were teaching our curriculum.

nwp posting winter 2002

Okay, so if this is real world Okay, so if this is real world writing, what about PASS testing? writing, what about PASS testing? It doesn’t seem to be going away It doesn’t seem to be going away

like I was hoping!like I was hoping!

Wrap Up: Making it RealWrap Up: Making it RealAccording to According to Study Driven Study Driven (Ray, 185), if we equip our (Ray, 185), if we equip our students to be able to do the following;students to be able to do the following;1.To become so comfortable with the writing process that it is “no big deal”2.The stamina to write for an extended period of time3.To recognize quality writing and how to craft it4.Some experience with “the weird process” of prompt writingwe will ensure their success as writers in the real worldwe will ensure their success as writers in the real worldwhere it matters and on the PASS test.where it matters and on the PASS test.

Ralph Fletcher goes into detail about how to prepare students to read the

prompt on a standardized test.• Think about the prompt and identify the dind

of writing being asked for. Does the test ask you to write a story, persuasive piece, explanation, or a descriptive paragraph?

• Once you’ve identified the kind of writing, think about what you know about how to write well in that area.

• After you have written a draft, have a conference with yourself. Make revisions as needed.

• Once you are satisfied with the content, turn your attention to editing. Make corrections by reading carefully and slowly using the process we use during writing workshop.

Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher & JoAnn Portalupi