Step by Step???Scaffolding Student Writers

About Me I just finished my 5th year in teaching

3 years in 2nd grade, 1 year in 1st grade, 1 year in reading intervention

Next year, I’ll be in 3rd grade I work in a Champaign public school, mainly

consisting of African American and white students 70+% low SES, 50% not reading at grade level

Contention #1

Choice and student agency are an essential part of the writing process.

Time to Try On Your Own… Grab a few pieces or one piece of writing

paper Do any sort of writing with the paper you have

chosen You may work with someone sitting by you if

you would like

Contention #2

Writing teachers should constantly take what their students already know and build upon that knowledge to further guide their instruction towards deeper understandings of writing and its process.

The Zone of Proximal Development Vygotsky’s ZPD (1978) is often linked to the

idea of scaffolding ZPD is the difference what a student can do

without help and what they can accomplish with help

“with scaffolding, students’ potential is far beyond what it would be without” (Benko, 2012, p. 292) Forms of instruction that can help students move

through their ZPD

Contention #3

In order to make scaffolds useful and meaningful, we need to know our students. Not all scaffolds will work and it is a constant trial-and-error process. There is no full proof method which will work.

Instructional Scaffolds Scaffolds are created for tasks which may be

beyond what a student can do independently Things to consider when creating instructional

scaffolds (Langer & Applebee, 1986): Appropriateness: considering what a student

already knows and moving students beyond (to the next step)

Ownership: allow students the opportunity to create something authentic and of their own interest, not just out of compliance

Instructional Scaffolds, cont. Ways to structure scaffolds (Wood et al.,

1976): Reduce degrees of freedom: simplify the demands

of the task and perfect components before taking on the whole

Mark critical features: find points of confusion for students and guide them through those points of confusion

Direction maintenance: guide students in the right direction when they are distracted or stop making progress

Demonstration: model ways to help students move along in their writing

More Examples of Scaffolding The 5-paragraph essay and other graphic

organizers Feedback/Conferencing Mini-lessons Strategy groups Modeling Mentor texts Writing and sharing with students

The Transfer of Responsibility Teachers begin with a high degree of

responsibility (consider constant modeling of a skill or task)

Over time, there is a gradual release and the responsibility is transferred over to the student

“In their instructional practices, teachers too often forget to let the scaffolding self-destruct.” (Langer & Applebee, 1986, p. 188)

Discussion What do you think the purpose of the previous

types of paper you used was?

How could they be seen as a scaffold for students?

In my classroom… For each of my writing units, I develop

different types of paper to help scaffold my students in the writing process

I never force them to have to use a certain type of paper, but I give them the opportunity the choose the type of paper that best fits the writing they are producing

Thinking about Your Own Classroom… Think of one writing activity you do in your

classroom that could benefit from a design scaffold

How would the design look and how would it provide both choice and guidance to your students?

Further Considerations What if students were able to co-construct

different types of paper with me?

What if students were able to construct paper of their own?

ReferencesApplebee, A. N. & Langer, J. (1987). How writing

shapes thinking: A study of teaching and learning. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers English.

Benko, S. L. (2012). Scaffolding: An ongoing process to support adolescent writing development. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(4), 291-300.

Dorn, L. J. & Soffos, C. (2001). Scaffolding young writers: A writers’ workshop approach. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 17(2), 89-100.