Writing to Learn Activities & Assessment

Elizabeth S. Priest

CETL June 12, 2009

WTL Activities

Help students be prepared for class

Encourage active class participation

Support student engagement and active learning

Help Studentsbe Prepared for Class

Students respond in writing before class, then:Bring responses to class, or

E-mail responses to teacher before class, or

Post responses on Blackboard○ Bring hard copy to class for continued in-class discussion

Encourage Active Class Participation

 Students respond in writing during class, then:

Students exchange papers with neighbor

Students exchange papers in small groups

Teacher calls on students to read papers aloud

Teacher collects papers to read aloud

 

The Basics: The 5x8 Notecard

Entry Slip

Exit Slip

Think ~ Pair ~ Share

Microtheme ~ The Three-Minute Paper

Mini Letters ~ Memos ~ Postcards

Focused Freewriting

The Complaint!

Read ~ Stop ~ Write

Create the Missing Scene

Switch It Up!

Just for Fun

Summarize It

5 x 8 Card: Entry Slip

Before beginning a new unit, students respond in writing to a question about the new subject:

* The instructor can more clearly assess what students already know about the subject

After completing assigned readings, students respond in writing to a question about the assignment:

Example: In what ways is the article you read for today persuasive (or not persuasive)?

Warm-ups: When students enter the classroom, they respond in writing to questions about material covered in the previous class

5 x 8 Card: Exit Slip

At the end of class, students respond

to questions such as:

* What were the three most important things you learned in class today?

* I used to think ____________, but now

I think _______________.”

* Collect the exit slips as students leave and read some of them at the beginning of the next class to focus the class discussion

5 x 8 Card: Think~Pair~ShareIn-class:

Think: Students ponder a thought-provoking question and then write their responses

Pair: Students read their written responses to the person next to them—or share their writing in small groups

Share: Students then share their group responses with the whole class

Homework:

Students come to class with questions written on 5 x 8 cards, exchange and discuss questions with their neighbor, then share with the group

5 x 8 Card: Microtheme: The Three-Minute Paper

* Students respond in writing to focused questions that allow them to explore their current understanding of the material and to identify questions they may have

* Stop in the middle of a lecture, pose the question, students respond in writing, then students break into pairs or small groups for discussion

5 x 8 Card: Mini Letters, Memos & Postcards

Students write a letter/memo/postcard to the teacher to:

Reflect and evaluate challenges and accomplishments; ask questions; propose revision plans, or maintain a progress report log

Students write a letter/memo/postcard to respond to the following prompts:○ How much of the reading did you do?○ How much time did you spend studying?○ Did you take notes in class?○ Did you take notes while you read?○ Did you mark your book when you read?○ Did you mark passages in your book that the teacher referred to in class?○ Write a memo explaining how you studied○ Did you make a study plan?○ Did you allow enough time for each step?○ What grade did you receive?○ What grade did you expect?

Bretcko, Barbara. Writing to Learn.

http://www.raritanval.edu/Innovative/caitl/prof_development/Writing_To_Learn.html

5 x 8 Card: Focused Freewriting

Students respond in writing to a specific prompt, such as:

Why is this knowledge valuable?

How does what you are studying apply to the world around you?

If you had been a peasant during the French Revolution, what would your greatest fear have been?

What assumptions do you make about the author of the piece you just read?

What is the cause/effect relationship between A and B?

Writing Across the Curriculum. University of Richmond

http://writing2.richmond.edu/wac/freewrit.html

5 x 8 Card: The Complaint!

* When students get bogged down during a difficult assignment, ask students to vent their frustrations and list all of the things that are upsetting them on one side of the card.

* Then, turn the card over and students write possible ways to solve their problems so they can proceed successfully. Students can keep these cards— or turn them in.

Baer, Dee and Dorry Ross. Low-Stakes Writing and the 5x8 Notecard.

http://www.english.udel.edu/wc/faculty/5x8sPrintable2008.pdf

5 x 8 Card: Read, Stop, Write

Students read a passage aloud, stop, then write down what they predict what will happen next.

Prediction gets students to participate, interact, and engage more fully with the text

* Colorful Post It notes pasted liberally in book margins are great for this activity.

5 x 8 Card: Create the Missing Scene

Extend and/or embellish the reading selection by writing an imaginary scene that might have been included in the original piece, but is not. Honor the context of the story.

○ Write bits of dialogue or text messages between two characters

5 x 8 Card: Switch It Up! * Change the rhetorical mode:

Write an editorial, journal, letter, debate, interview, poem, campaign speech, police report, bumper sticker, testimonial ad, dialogue, newspaper article . . .

* Change the point of view:

Write the scene from a different character’s perspective

* Change the audience:

Write to another character in the text, characters in other texts, the author of the text, each other, teacher. . .

* Change the time: transport characters to different time periods

* Change the voice and tone

Gardner, Traci. Designing Writing Assignments. Urbana, Il: NCTE, 2008.

5 x 8 Card: Just for FunWhat songs are on the character’s iPod playlist?

What documents are on the character’s flash drive?

What messages are in the character’s e-mail inbox?

Write an eBay listing for an item the character is selling

Write a police report describing an item stolen from the character

Write a headline for a news story about the character

Rewrite the character’s monologue as a blog entry and write some comments the other characters post

Gardner, Traci. Designing Writing Assignments. Urbana, Il: NCTE, 2008.

5 x 8 card: Summarize It!

* The Précis: Write a clear, thorough, and accurate summary, or a precise explanation, on just one side of a 5 x 8 card

* Critical thinking: Challenge students to summarize a reading assignment, definition, or problem in 50 words or less, 25 words or less, or in just 1 sentence

In-class WTL Group Activity

The Pass Along:

* The teacher or student writes an important point or passage at the top of the paper

* Pass the paper to the next student in the group. Each student writes a response to the passage at the top

* Continue passing the paper to other students in the group, each of whom adds another written response

* When complete, students in the group discuss their responses

* Groups then share their responses with the class

Out-of-Class or In-Class Revision Memo

* Students actually read teachers’ comments on drafts, so respond to drafts with questions and suggestions that help shape revision

* Between drafts of a formal writing assignment, students submit revision memos with reflections about purpose, strengths, weaknesses, changes to be made, questions, etc

 

WTL for Test Prep

* Students write the definition of a term using full sentences in an appropriate context

* Students write practice test questions. Students work in pairs or groups

* Students collaborate with a partner to discuss why multiple choice or true/false questions are, or are not, correct, then explain the reasons in 1 or 2 sentence explanations.

Bretcko, Barbara. Writing to Learn.

http://www.raritanval.edu/Innovative/caitl/prof_development/Writing_To_Learn.html

AssessmentWriting to Learn

Handling the Paper Load

What’s Myth?

What’s Fact?

Handling the Paper Load. University of Hawaii at Manoa.

http://www.mwp.hawaii.edu/resources/qt-paperload.htm

Myth: Conscientious teachers mark all grammar and language errors

Research shows: students can catch 60% of their own errors but let teachers copy edit for them. Strategies include:

Mark errors on first page only Mark representative errors only Place checkmarks in margins where errors occur Review and return error-laden papers to student

for correction Create peer editing groups in classroom

http://www.mwp.hawaii.edu/resources/qt-paperload.htm

Myth: Teachers need to read everything that students write

Research shows: informal writing doesn’t even have to be collected. Its purpose is to stimulate discussion and encourage active engagement with the material

 

http://www.mwp.hawaii.edu/resources/qt-paperload.htm

Myth: Teachers need to evaluate every piece of writing they collect

Research shows: students often don’t read faculty comments or corrections. Strategies include:

Minimal marking: check, plus, and minus Credit for number of entries submitted Select a single or limited piece for grading

and response

http://www.mwp.hawaii.edu/resources/qt-paperload.htm

Myth: The more thoroughly teachers respond to writing, the better

Research shows: students are often overwhelmed and paralyzed by red ink and give up. Instead, choose two or three elements for specific commentary

http://www.mwp.hawaii.edu/resources/qt-paperload.htm

Myth: Requiring two or more drafts requires more work

Research shows: students usually pay little attention to comments on final draft, but read comments on rough drafts carefully because they can revise.

Make comments to rough draft substantive to guide student’s revisions

Make brief final evaluative comments to final draft

http://www.mwp.hawaii.edu/resources/qt-paperload.htm

Myth: Writing intensive courses require many separate papers, each of which requires extensive time to respond to.

Research shows: students benefit most when one large writing assignment is broken down into stages of logical sequences that build on developing material.

Respond to small components and stages of a developing project before the final project is submitted

http://www.mwp.hawaii.edu/resources/qt-paperload.htm

Easy Does It

No response: Everyone gets the same credit for completing the writing activity

Count the pages: If complete, give full credit  

Credit/No Credit ~ Pass/Fail~ Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Responding: Keep It Simple

Smiley Face/Sad Face

Straight Underlines/Squiggly UnderlinesCheck ~ Plus ~ Minus

Ask a single question

Write a simple statement, such as: effective argument ~ I agree ~ strong point ~ well expressed, etc.

Use Peer Response for Feedback

Partners or small groups of 3 or 4 respond to their peers in class, at home, or on Blackboard.

Ask students to:Paraphrase: Restate in their own words what the writer is saying

orProvide positive feedback: Identify and respond to two points

that were clear and well supported orProvide both positive and negative feedback: Identify an area

for improvement, balanced with an area of strength

* Collect these peer responses and write one additional comment before returning the paper to the writer

Bretcko, Barbara. Writing to Learn. http://www.raritanval.edu/Innovative/caitl/prof_development/Writing_To_Learn.html

Works Cited

Baer, Dee and Dorry Ross. Low-Stakes Writing and the 5x8 Notecard.http://www.english.udel.edu/wc/faculty/5x8sPrintable2008.pdf

Bretcko, Barbara. Writing to Learn. http://www.raritanval.edu/innovative/caitl/prof_development/Writing_To_Learn.html

Handling the Paper Load. University of Hawaii at Manoa.

http://www.mwp.hawaii.edu/resources/qt-paperload.htm.

Writing Across the Curriculum. University of Richmond http://writing2.richmond.edu/wac/freewrit.html

What’s Next?Why? Why do I want to use WTL activities in my

course? What’s my rationale?

Where? Where do I want to use WTL activities?

How often? How often should I use WTL activities in this course? How often should I use WTL activities in each Learning Unit of my syllabus?

What? What WTL activities do I want to use?

How? How do I want to assess WTL in my class? Assess impact of WTL activities on course outcomes?Assess impact of WTL activities on student preparation?

Student involvement? Student collaboration?Assess individual WTL activities?