improving student writing
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KATIE BAINENGLISH LANGUAGE FELLOW
Improving Student Writing
“We learn to swim if there is a body of water available and usually only if
someone teaches us.
We learn to write if we are members of a literate society, and usually only if
someone teaches us.”
Eric Lennebergpsycholinguist, 1967(Brown, 2007, p. 390)
Objective
Participants will be able to identify principles for teaching writing skills ways to assess writing strategies and activities to teach writing
ANDParticipants will discuss how writing principles could influence their classroom practice.
Considerations
Process versus ProductContrastive RhetoricDifferences between L1 and L2AuthenticityVoice and Identity
Process vs. Product
Discuss: What is “a process approach” to teaching writing? Do you foresee resistance to this in your classrooms?
How so? How can you mitigate these problems? Are there alternatives to teaching writing as a
process?
Contrastive Rhetoric Theory
Different types of languages have different trends or patterns in writing. –Kaplan
English in the U.S. Deductive & linear: Thesis/topic sentence, main idea, support . . . , conclusion5
Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian)
Development by digression; takes lots of time; begin with topic, go off on tangent, contradict tangent, conclude with main idea; flowery, fancy, formal, intensifiers, reiteration, say it up to 7 times (average is 3 times) each time gets bigger, better, more flowery than before.10
• Sending a message in English discourse pattern may come across as a rude command • English speakers want them to get to the point quickly • Credibility issue for interpreting/translating (longer in Spanish)
Contrastive Rhetoric and L1 / L2 Differences
Do you agree with contrastive rhetoric? Do you know of differences between your
students’ writing (in English) and the type of writing you are familiar with at the university level?
List some differences that you predict or know about.
How do these differences influence how you
might approach teaching writing?
Characteristics of Written Language
PermanenceProduction TimeDistanceComplexityVocabularyForm
(Brown, 2007)
Permanence
Once a writer publishes or sends a written message, it is gone! The power to amend has
left!
(Brown, 2007)
Production Time
The battle between the quick nature of classroom writing tasks and the need for TIME
to develop writing skills.
(Brown, 2007)
Distance
Writers need to be able to understand their audience…their anticipated background knowledge, cultural, age, interests, etc.
Complexity
Good writing is usually different than speaking. Writers have to think about avoiding
redundancy, combining sentences, and syntactical variety.
Vocabulary
Writing requires a higher development of vocabulary than speaking.
Form
The conventions of different forms of writing must be understood. Describing, explaining,
illustrating, defending, arguing, criticizing, etc.
Principles for Teaching Writing
1. Teach, model, explain practices of good writers.
2. Think about your students’ backgrounds.3. Make connections between reading and
writing.4. Authenticate writing as much as possible.5. Get students used to the steps of process
writing.6. Be kind but specific when giving feedback.7. Give clear instructions on form or types of
writing. (Brown, 2007)
Teach, model, explain practices of good writers.
Good writers…Write a lot!Are not afraid to write their thoughts
freely.Edit and revise.Think about their audience.Think about the format and know its
structure (but are not married to the structure).
Think about your students’ backgrounds.
Make connections between reading and writing.
Students can write about what they read.Students can write in similar ways that
authors have written, on a sentence or structural level.
She raced fast, determined, her lungs bursting.
He moved slowly, afraid, his heart pounding.
High School Grammar Guide.pdf
Give students authentic writing opportunities as much as possible.
Think of ways that students can write for “real” audiences.
Brainstorm how!
Get students used to the steps of process writing.
Be kind but specific when giving feedback.
Recognize their voice, and praise it. Focus on a couple of key aspects to grade. Be clear about what you want.
Give clear instructions on form or types of writing.
Forms of Writing
Assessing Writing
RUBRICS!!!!!!Self-evaluationsPeer evaluationsInformal discussions about writingResponding in written form to student
writing
RUBRICS/Checklists
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/Essay Writing ChecklistRubric Rubric Writing Portfolio Example Writing Portfolio Example - High Level
Activities for Students Writing
MODEL, model, modelFreewritingJournal WritingAssess writing samples as a classFacebook status updatesTwitter postsBlogsWriting contestsCreate a class book or newspaperExit slipsWriter’s workshopLearning Logs
More Activities
ComicsPicture sequencingStorytelling
Abstract (Let me tell you about a time when…) Orientation Remarkable event Reaction Coda (Jones, 2012)
Summarizing (WHO, WANTED, BUT, SO)Re-write lyrics to a song.Write the script for a TV episode (or portion of) that you
watch in class.Write new endings for stories or movies.Tutoring
StorytellingAbstract (Let me tell you about a time when…)
OrientationRemarkable eventReactionCoda (And that’s why…/Ever since then…)
Graphic Organizers for Pre-Writing
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/Cluster 1Sandwich Sequence Graphic Organizer Story Map 1Story Map 2
A Writing Lesson Plan
Writing Plan Lesson Plan
What other ideas do you have that you have used or
could use?
Sources
Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy. (3rd ed., pp. 390-419). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.
Jones, R.E. (2012) “Creating a Storytelling Classroom for a Story Telling World.” Forum. V. 50 N. 3
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