Launch Into Teaching

Writing ModuleWeek Two:

Components of Writing Instruction and Looking

at Student Work

Welcome to Week Two!

Thank you so much for completing Week One. We appreciate all the thought you put into your surveys and the discussion board.

Now that you have all been inducted into the organizational aspects of the course, it is time to dig into the content of writing instruction!

Power Point Scope & Sequence

Some Housekeeping (slides 4-5) Our Central Questions (slide 6) Components of Writing Instruction: Genre,

Craft & Convention, Process (slides 7-21) Overview of The Writer’s Workshop(slides 22-25) Looking at Student Work (26-34) Next Steps (slide 35)

Housekeeping

We are currently reading through all of your surveys and discussion posts. We will provide feedback to all of your posts by the end of the week.

This Week’s Design

The new content for this week will be delivered in two ways that are designed to supplement each other– Through these power point slides– Through 2 readings posted in the Wiki:

The Writer’s Workshop Packet Student Writing Samples

Check out the Week Two page on our Wiki for the best way to navigate through this week’s material

Central Questions

By the end of our exploration of the Week Two content, we should be able to answer the following questions:– What are the different components of writing?

(genre, process, craft and convention)– What can I learn from my students' writing?

Let’s get started…

Components of Writing Instruction

When teaching students to become authors, we must help them understand several components of writing:– Genre– Craft– Conventions– Process

Components of Writing Instruction - Genre

Genres have been defined as: “Flexible models, not merely generic forms

into which writers slot ideas - they reflect an integration of

• content (what we want to express)• form (ways of organizing words and

ideas)• function (purposes for writing)”

Components of Writing Instruction - Genre

Four common genres that students should learn how to read and write are:

Narrative Expository Poetry Persuasive

Components of Writing Instruction - Narrative Genre

A narrative tells a story or part of a story Some features of narrative craft that

students can be taught:• Plot structure

o introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, conflict

• Characterization• Setting• Theme• Point of view• Sequencing• Transitions

Components of Writing Instruction - Expository Genre

An expository text seeks to inform, explain, clarify, define or instruct

Some features of expository craft that students can be taught:

• focus on main topic• logical supporting facts• details, explanations, and examples• strong organization• clarity• unity and coherence• logical order• smooth transitions

Components of Writing Instruction - Persuasive Genre

A persuasive text intends to convince the reader of a stated opinion or belief

Some features of persuasive craft that students can be taught:• stating a position or belief• use of factual supports• persuasive techniques (appealing to feelings; knowing

the audience; strong language - i.e., using must instead of should)

• crafting a logical argument• writing a call to action• differentiating between fact and opinion

Components of Writing Instruction - Poetry

Poetry is an art form that uses evocative language and form to communicate an idea or an experience. Because it is highly individual, the structure and elements are varied and unlimited in scope

Some features of the craft of poetry that students can be taught:• figurative language• rhyme and euphony (the sound of language)• meter (The recurrence of a pattern of stressed and unstressed

syllables)• poetic devices (alliteration; simile and metaphor; repetition;

personification)• free verse (no set or fixed pattern)• blank verse (regular meter, but no rhyme)

Teaching Genre

Please refer to the “Genre Description Sheet” on our Wiki resources page for more information

Now that we have explored several genres, let’s think about the best ways to teach our students about genre.

To Teach Genre We:

•Emphasize ideas rather than form in the early stages

• Through discussion, focus students’ attention first on the genre as a way of thinking and communicating ideas within a particular context; for example, teach legends as ways of representing and communicating history by people within a particular culture

• Begin by immersing children in the genre

To Teach Genre We:• Help students notice a genre’s text features and how they function and develop an awareness of readers’ and/or audiences’ needs as they relate to this genre; consider creating a web or list of criteria or attributes collaboratively with students

•Share mentor texts of various genre with students to help demonstrate the criteria and attributes of particular genre

•Encourage students to explore a genre through writing of their own

• Use a process approach to writing - prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing - but incorporate genre specific techniques and strategies

Mentor Texts: Genre Following are some “mentor texts” you might consider sharing

with your students on various genre. Narrative

– Barefoot: Escape on the underground Railroad, Pamela Duncan Edwards– Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, Mem Fox– Imagine a Day, Sarah L.Thompson– Steal Back the Mona Lisa!, Meghan McCarthy

Expository– Tell Me, Tree; Gail Gibbons (or any of Gail Gibbon’s texts)– Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Joy Cowley– Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear, Nicola Davies

Poetry– The Important Book, Margaret Wise Brown– Rap a Tap Tap: Here’s Bojangles- Think of That!, Leo and Diane Dillon– Farmer’s Garden: Rhymes for two voices, David L Harrison– Poetry Speaks to Children, Elise Paschen

Persuasive– Courage, Bernard Waber– Don’t take your Snake for a Stroll, Karin Ireland– Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Mo Willems– The Perfect Pet, Margie Palatini

Components of Writing Instruction - Craft vs. Convention

As noted in previous slides, each genre has different elements of craft that we introduce to students to help them become writers of that genre

In addition to teaching elements of craft, we also must teach our students elements of convention.

Components of Writing Instruction - Craft vs. Convention

Elements of craft are related more to the specific genre being taught and help students become experts in particular styles of writing.

Elements of convention are broader skills that can be applied to multiple genres that help students make their texts readable for an audience. Some examples are: – Capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure,

spacing between words, grammatical rules

We must balance teaching a combination of both!

Components of Writing Instruction - Process

As stated earlier, to teach genre (as well as craft and conventions), we use a process approach

By teaching students how to write using a process approach, we get our students to see that writing is more than just putting words on paper, ““Writing is actually a form of thinking,” and must be carefully planned out.

Components of Writing Instruction - Steps of the Writing Process

Prewrite• Organize ideas using: Outlines; Word Splashes/Maps/Webs; Graphic organizers

Draft• Just get it out

Revise• Look at the big picture - are you sending the message you want to send

Edit• Look at the conventions - spelling, grammar, punctuation

Publish• Get out your finest work (in either written or spoken form)

Components of Writing Instruction - Process

Each stage of the writing process will look different depending on the genre

Can you think of how prewriting for a narrative would look different than prewriting for an expository text? Or how revising a persuasive speech might differ from revising a poem?

The Writer’s Workshop

Writer’s Workshop is one of the most widely used formats to teach writing in K-12 classrooms.

It is through Writer’s Workshop that we can teach genre, craft, conventions, and the writing process

The following slides (along with the Writer’s Workshop packet on the Wiki resources page) are designed to give you an overview of the components of for Writer’s Workshop: Mini-lessons, writing, sharing

Components of Writer’s Workshop

Mini-Lessons– Brief 10-15 minute lessons begin the writer’s workshop– They are focused on a feature of a genre, one element of craft, conventions or

the writing process– Mini-lessons connect the new content to students’ previous writing, then teach

the new content, actively engage the students with the new content and then link the content to the new writing that students will do

– Teaches both genre and process (prewrite, draft, revise, edit, publish)

Components of Writer’s Workshop

• Writing– Independent writing should make up the bulk of the

Writer’s Workshop

– The writing should be personal and authentic

– Usually NOT based on a prompt - students select the topic

– While students writing independently, teachers hold 1:1 conferences:

– Let the student lead you– Only focus on one or two elements (should last 5-7

min)– Keep records to monitor student progress

Components of Writer’s Workshop

• Sharing– Students end the workshop by sharing their work with a

peer or with the class

– Sharing makes the writing an authentic experience and gives the written text a real audience

– Students can be asked to share something specific from the day’s lesson - for example if the mini-lesson was on adding details, students can share the details they added to their writing

– Or students can share about something they need help with - for example, if a student needs help with reordering their persuasive essay to make it stronger, the class or a peer can help them

Looking at Student Work

Now that we have explored the components of writing instruction and the ideal format for writing instruction, we need to examine what should guide our writing instruction: Student Work

Looking at Student Work

We can learn a lot by looking at student work:– We can look for trends across our

entire class. Are there certain elements of convention that challenge all students? Are there stages in the process that are difficult for my students to master?

– We can look at the individual needs of students to inform or 1:1 conferences

Looking at Student Work

Take a look at 2nd grader Taylor’s published work of a personal narrative on the next three slides (For this best viewing, go to the “Slide Show” drop down menu at the top of the page and select “View Slide Show” if you haven’t done so already)

As you read Taylor’s work, ask yourself:– What does Taylor know about writing

narratives? What doesn’t she know?– What conventions might she need help

with?

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Looking at Student Work

Things to notice about Taylor:– She seems to understand that for a personal

narrative, the writer must share personal memories with an audience

– But her topic choice indicates a lack of understanding about what a good narrative requires: A problem, rising action, climax, solution - the day at Six Flags seems to have been fun, but there’s not a story to be told

– But she does seem to understand sequence - the events seem to be told in order

– She has some run-on sentences that could be separated into smaller sentences

Looking at Student Work

If Taylor is one of few students struggling with narrative plot structure, we might work with Taylor one on one (or in a guided writing group) to clarify what narrative plot structure consists of

If we notice many students in our class struggling with narrative plot structure, we could do a whole class mini-lesson and use a familiar read-aloud to demonstrate narrative plot structure

Looking at Student Work

Take time this week to examine the writing of students in your classroom.

What do they know about writing craft and convention? With what do they struggle

What trends do you notice across the whole class and what do you see in individuals?

Use the Student Writing Samples packet on our Wiki resources page to help your investigation

Next Steps

After you evaluate samples of your students’ writing and thinking about your upcoming curricular content, post your response to the following question on the Week Two discussion board on our Wiki:– What genre, element of craft and convention will be your

focus for this module? Why did you choose these areas of focus? Use evidence from your student work to support your choices.

Check out pp. 1-13 of the Writer’s Workshop Packet on our Wiki resource page

As always, email Erin and Sarah with any questions:– wibbense@msu.edu– little50@msu.edu