Helping Students Understand Purposes for Writing to Learn
Helps students: think about important issues, synthesize material,
develop opinions, and learn critical thinking skills
make connections between what they are learning to what they know and have experienced
develop a sense of learning through writing and valuing/sharing their thoughts
balance the structure of expository writing and the craft of their own writing
Helps teachers: assess students’ thinking, clarify information, and
plan instruction
Writing Sample 3rd GraderConnections to Book: Freckle Juice by Judy
Blume
Andrew Marcus feels about his teacher that he might some times feel in barest because when he was not paing utintion when they called his reading group.
My connetion is that I’m oppisit because I don’t want freckles. My other connection is I used to pass notes. How did Andrew feel when he fell out of his chair and every one laughed at him? He probley felt weak and sad because no one stop laughing at him.
Grade 3 Portfolio Writing Assessment
First assessment on March 19-30, 2007 Includes analytic scoring guide aligned to GPS
Four types of writing assessed: Writing in Response to Literature (Text to text, text
to writer, or text to outside world-making connections, asking questions, and writing using the text as a model)
Narrative Writing (Relating a Personal Experience and Creating an Imaginative Story)
Informational Writing (Reports info on a topic based on research from a variety of sources)
Persuasive Writing (Clear position/opinion with examples, anecdotes and/or details)
Grade 3 Portfolio Analytic Scoring System (Domains and Components)
Domain Response to Lit Persuasive Writing
Narrative Writing
Informational Writing
Ideas Focus, supporting details, clear understand of text
Focus, clear position, supp details
Focus, supp details, chara develop
Focus, supp details, research
resources
Organization
Org pattern, sequence of ideas, transitions
Org pattern, sequence of ideas, transitions
Org pattern, sequence of ideas, transitions
Org pattern, sequence of ideas, transitions
Style Descriptive language, audience. awareness, word choice
Descriptive Language,
audience
aware word choice
Descriptive Lang. Word choice, aud. awareness
Descriptive Lang, audience aware
Word choice
Conventions
Sentence fluency, usage, mechanics spell, handwriting
Sent fluency usage, mechanics spell,
handwriting
Sent fluency, usage, mechanics spell, handwriting
Sent fluency usage, mechanics spell,handwrit
Emergent Literacy Pre-K-2
Sulzby’s Stages of Early Emergent Writing:
Drawing as writing Scribble writing Letter-like units Non-phonetic letter strings Copying from environmental print Invented spelling Conventional spelling
Sulzby Stages of Early Emergent Reading K-2
Attending to pictures, not forming stories
Attending to pictures, forming oral stories
Attending to pictures, forming written stories
Attending to print
ELA 4R4 The student reads aloud, accurately familiar material in a variety of genres of the quality and complexity illustrated in the sample reading list, in a way that makes meaning clear to listeners.
The student: uses letter-sound knowledge to decode written English and uses a range of cueing systems (e.g. phonics and context clues) to determine pronunciation and meaning
Uses self-correction when subsequent reading indicates an earlier miscue (self-monitoring and self-correcting strategies)
Reads with rhythm, flow, and meter that sounds like everyday speech (prosody)
ELA4W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genre’s The student produces informational writing (e.g.
report, procedures, correspondence)That:a. Engages the reader by establishing a context,
creating a speaker’s voice, and otherwise developing reader interest.
b. Frames a central question about an issue or situation.
c. Creates an organizing structure appropriate to a specific purpose, audience, and context.
d. Includes appropriate facts and details.e. Excludes extraneous details and inappropriate
information.f. Uses a range of appropriate strategies, such as
providing facts and details, describing or analyzing the subject, and narrating a relevant anecdote.
g. Draws from more than one source of information such as speakers, books, newspapers, and online materials.
h. Provides a sense of closure to the writing.
Compare/Contrast
Cause—leads to—Effect CCC—leads to—E C—leads to--EEEParagraph:Introduce cause or effectDescribe event combined with other events
that begin to cause the effectBuild explanation of reason for significance
of cause/effect. Closure (Combs, 2003)
Matrix to Connect GPS to Content Area
Read/Write Text: Organizational Structures & Patterns
Read Write: Text/Graphic
Features
Word Study Strategies
ComprehensionStrategies
__Compare/Contrast
__Topic
sentences
__Chronological
order
Artifacts: GPS Self-Monitoring Progress
Start Finish Genre Title Strategies Need to work on
2/7 2/20 Fiction/Adventure
Thunder Mountain
QAR questioningstrategy
Need to use the QAR strategy in Scienceclass
QAR Strategy
Reading Quest Websitehttp://www.readingquest.orgfor comprehension strategies
Right There
Think and Search
Author and Me
On My Own
Grade 5 Analytic Writing Assessment
First assessment, March 7 & 8, 2007 Students will be given either and
informational, persuasive, or narrative writing topic as defined by the GPS
Topics will be released after each test administration and will become part of the practice topic bank
Inquiry Projects for Writing to Learn: Observations and Interviews
Observe, study, and write about observations/interview.
Example: Students observe a teacher mini-lesson with a think aloud about poetry writing in response to expository texts, then students study poems and compile a list of features of the text, vocabulary, and author’s style. Finally, students write a poetry responses to an expository text and discuss the features, vocabulary, and writing style of the poem and connect it to meaning.
Grade 5: Four Domains and Components
Ideas (main idea, supp details, relevance of detail, depth of dev, awareness of genre)
Organization (focus, sequence of ideas, grouping of ideas within paragraphs, genre-specific strategies, transitions)
Style (word choice, audience awareness, voice, sentence variety, genre-specific strategies-dialogues, suspense)
Conventions (sentence formation, usage, mechanics)
Linked to a common reporting scale to compare scores over time; Scoring rubrics are available online
All grade 5 students will take the test on the same day with one day for make-up
Testing time will be 120 minutes (sessions of 60 minutes each)
Systems have flexibility for time of day to administer each of the sessions
No extra time will be allowed except as specified in an IEP or TPP
Dictionaries will no longer be allowed except for ELL students to use a translation dictionary (paper copy only) if specified in the TPP
Grade 8 Writing Assessment
First operational assessment will be January, 2007
Students will be given either an expository topic or a persuasive topic as defined by the GPS
Topics will be released after each test administrations and become part of the practice topic bank
Grade 8 Four Domains and Components Ideas (controlling idea, supporting ideas, depth of
dev, sense of completeness, relevance of detail, awareness of genre)
Organization (focus, sequence of ideas, grouping of ideas within paragraphs, genre-specific strategies, transitions)
Style (word choice, audience awareness, voice, sentence variety, genre-specific strategies)
Conventions (sentence formation, usage, mechanics)
Students take the test on the same day with one make up dayTesting time is 100 minutes with no extra time except for IEP and TPP
plansELL students will be allowed to use a paper only translation dictionary
if specified in the TPP
“ I never have to watch television because all of their “creative” pieces are rehashes of sitcoms, action shows, and made for TV maudlin melodramas.” (p. 121)
GHSWT First administration will be Fall, 2007 (Sept. 26-27)
Same four domains (Ideas, Organization, Style, and Conventions-same component & descriptors as grade 8)
The new assessment will assess persuasive writing as defined in the GPS (writing prompts will be released after administration for practice topic banks)
Testing time will be 100 minutes (no extra time except for IEP and TPP plans)
ELL student will be allowed to use a translation dictionary in paper format if specified in the TPP
Assessment and instructional guides will be available in summer, 2007 (scoring rubric and sample anchor papers for each score point in each domain at www.doe.k12.ga.us testing)
SCSh6 and Persuasive Writing
Students will communicate scientific investigations and information clearly.
a. Write clear, coherent laboratory reports related to scientific investigations.
b. Write clear, coherent accounts of current scientific issues, including possible alternative interpretations of the data.
c. Use data as evidence to support scientific arguments and claims in written or oral presentations.
d. Participate in group discussions of scientific investigation and current scientific issues.
High School Physics SCSh9
Students will enhance reading in all curriculum areas by: a. Reading in All Curriculum Areas
• Read a minimum of 25 grade-level appropriate books per year from a variety of subject disciplines and participate in discussions related to curricular learning in all areas.
• Read both informational and fictional texts in a variety of genres and modes of discourse.
• Read technical texts related to various subject areas.
b. Discussing books • Discuss messages and themes from books in all subject
areas. • Respond to a variety of texts in multiple modes of
discourse. • Relate messages and themes from one subject area to
messages and themes in another area. • Evaluate the merit of texts in every subject discipline. • Examine author’s purpose in writing. • Recognize the features of disciplinary texts.
High School Physics Continued
c. Building vocabulary knowledge
• Demonstrate an understanding of contextual vocabulary in various subjects.
• Use content vocabulary in WRITING and speaking.
• Explore understanding of new words found in subject area texts
Science SP3
Students will evaluate the forms and transformations of energy.
Analyze, evaluate, and apply the principle of conservation of energy and measure the components of work-energy theorem by:
describing total energy in a closed system. identifying different types of potential energy. calculating kinetic energy given mass and velocity. relating transformations between potential and
kinetic energy. b. Measure and calculate the vector nature of
momentum. c. Compare and contrast elastic and inelastic
collisions. d. Demonstrate the factors required to
produce a change in momentum. e. Analyze the relationship between
temperature, internal energy, and work done in a physical system.
f. Analyze and measure power.
Feedback
Creating time!
Rubrics (Integrated GPS and open ended rubrics for student input)
Peer journals for writing (ELL-double entry journals)
Entry slips
Technique Teacher Student
Share
writing
Share/&
Ask for
Responses
Comment on writing, understand purpose
Clarify
Evaluation vs.
response
Show evaluation
is a product, while response is to the writer
Understand that response is personable & helpful
Model specific praise Show how you tell a writer what you like as a reader
Learn cheerleading is too general to be helpful
Model understanding Restate meaning of the piece
Reflecting back is helpful
Model Questions & suggestions
Create questions-what you don’t understand
Questions help with clarification & writing techniques
Comment review Review peer comments
Get teacher feedback
Read-Write Cycle (Miller & Calfee, 2004)
ExtendDraft, revise,
publish
ReflectKWLA
Self-monitor
OrganizeGraphic org, text analysis, think-aloudsVocabulary
Dev
Connect to prior
knowledge during
pre-writingKWLA
Read-Write Cycle
Acquisition, Transformation, Internalization
References
Indrisano, R., & Paratore, J. (2005). Learning to write, writing to learn: Theory and research in practice. International Reading Association.
Combs, M. (2003). Readers and writers in the middle grades, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Tompkins, G. (2004). Teaching writing: Balancing process and product, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.