Effective Writing Skills

Sarah DeMola and Winnie ChiuTaipei 9/23/13

Discussion Questions1st Individually, then discuss with your group

• What does writing mean to you personally and as a teacher?

• How often do your students write in class?

• Do your students write in English outside of class?

• What types of writing exercises do your students do? Please provide concrete examples.

• What are the benefits of having students write in English?

• What challenges do your students face when writing? What are the challenges that you as a teacher face when teaching writing?

4 Square Writing

• 4 Square Method is a way to learn to write• Any grade• Any proficiency level• Any subject

• It can be applied to any type of writing• Expository, Narrative, Descriptive,

Persuasive• Question: what types of writing do your

students encounter in their textbooks?

4 Square Writing

• Prewriting and organizational skills are taught through the use of a graphic organizer

• The graphic organizer helps students to conceptualize, understand, and structure a piece of written discourse successfully

• The graphic organizer helps teachers to structure lessons on developing writing skills

Guidelines

• 4 Square instruction should be done weekly to bi-weekly

• It is important for students to understand the relationship of ideas as demonstrated in the 4 square format before moving on to sentences and paragraphs

4 Square- Primary Categorizing with

Pictures

Pets

4 Square-Primary Categorizing with

WordsCat Dog

Fish Rabbit

Pets

4 Square-Primary Examples with a Product

SentenceCat Dog

Fish Examples:Pets are our best friends.My favorite pet is my cat.Dogs are cute pets. Taking care of pets is difficult.

Pets

Using Complete Sentences

Box 2Reason-

They keep us company.

Box 3Reason-

They comfort us like friends.

Box 4Reason-

They help us to exercise.

Box 5Wrap-up sentence-

Pets are great companions to humans.

Topic sentence-Pets help us in many

ways.

Writing a Paragraph

• Paragraphs are several sentences on the same topic.

• Now we will transfer the sentences from the four blocks to lined paper for paragraph building.

• Whole class modeling is best to teach this.

Pets

Pets help us in many ways. They keep us company. They comfort us like friends. They

help us to exercise. Pets aregreat companions to humans.

Adding More Detail

• To move from a 5 sentence paragraph to an 8 sentence paragraph go back to the 4 Square

• Add one additional detail sentence in each box

• Elaboration: tell more about the topic or tell what is so great about it.

Adding More Detail

Box 2Reason: They keep us company.

Detail: They are with us when we watch TV.

Box 3Reason: They comfort us like friends.

Detail: They can tell when we are sad and try to make us happy.

Box 4Reason: They help us to exercise.

Detail: We take them for daily walks.

Box 5Wrap-up sentence: Pets are great companions to humans.

Topic sentence-Pets help us in many

ways.

Multiple Paragraph Essay

• Discussion Question:• Now that your students have a

developed paragraph, how can you use this method to expand their writing into a multiple paragraph essay?

• Content: Adding detail using wh-questions, expanding the introduction and conclusion

• Mechanics: Cohesion and coherence

Task & Discussion

• Thinking about your own context and your own students, how would you use this tool in your classroom?

1. Pick a topic.

2. Generate 5-10 vocabulary items related to that topic.

3. Create 1-2 sentences for each square using some of the vocabulary.

4. Share.

5. Discussion Questions: 1. What challenges might you face when using 4-Square? How

might this method benefit your students?2. How does this method of teaching writing compare to other

methods you have previously used?

Other Uses

• Oral Communication: Use the format for organizing and giving the speech.

• Reading Comprehension: • Fill in a 4 square using the information

from a passage written by an author. Discuss the organization.

• Have students create a 4 square using a passage written by another student.

References

• Gould, E. and Gould, J. (1999). Four Square Writing Method: A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills for Grades 1-3. Teaching & Learning Co: Ohio, USA.