ISBE Content Specialists – Writing Strategies

Strategies for Writing Standard #10

Explore Writing

Two-Column Notes

Standard #10 Guidance Documents Routine Writing Toolbox

Instructional Writing Time Guidance Document

ELA 6th - 8th Grades

Developed By: Illinois State Board of Education English Language Arts Content

Specialists

Illinois State Board of Education www.isbe.net

100 N. 1st Street • Springfield, IL 62777 100 W. Randolph, Suite 14-300 • Chicago, IL 60601

ISBE ELA Content Specialists – Writing Strategies

Explore Writing Targeted Standards: W. 6.10 –Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. W. 7.10 - Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. W.8.10 - Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. EXPLORE writing is a tool students can use to respond to different types of text in writing. This graphic organizer helps students take notes and organize ideas.

1. Choose something you have read recently. 2. Show a sample of the template shown below so the class can see. 3. Think aloud as you fill in each part of the EXPLORE organizer.

EXPLORE EX

Examples This is an example of what

genre/author/style?

P Purpose

What was the author’s purpose for writing?

Why am I reading the text?

L Language

What are the key words/names/places/lines

worth remembering?

O Organizational

Features What organizational features or supports

helped me read this text?

R Relate

How can I relate to what I just read?

E Evaluate

What are my ah-has? What questions do I

have?

4. After filling in each section ask students if they have questions. 5. Explain to students that this organizer is what will be used to write a response to the text. 6. Begin writing your response by taking the components of the notes and placing them in the

response in an organized manner. Students may not all organize their responses in the same way. Discuss different ways of organizing before giving students an opportunity to write. While doing this, explain to the students how the organizer acts as a note taking tool and organizer for a published piece of writing.

Attachment/Resources: N/A Reference/Research: Allen, J. (1995), It’s never too late: Leading adolescents to lifelong literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

ISBE ELA Content Specialists – Writing Strategies

Two-Column Notes Targeted Standards: W. 6.10 –Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. W. 7.10 - Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. W.8.10 - Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. A two-column note taking strategy can be used with a variety of sources; lecture, text, video. A note taking strategy appears to be writing in a shorter time frame, but note taking is necessary for writing in extended time frames such as research. This strategy helps students organize their thinking about specific content. The two-column note-taking method requires active reading. In order to actively read, processing must occur for the notes to be taken. See resources below for examples of different templates of two column notes. Procedure:

1. Model the 2-column procedure with students. 2. Assign a short selection to be read. 3. Using a projector, construct your own notes on the selection and share them with your

students. 4. Discuss the decisions you made, thinking aloud about certain things you noted such as:

• Why you wrote that you were confused on a certain section, • Why you made an illustration instead of a note in another part ,and • How another section made you ask a question.

Variation: Make two column notes in a group setting, again using a projector. This allows the students to see the order of the text and a possible outline take shape as they participate in its construction. Activities such as this can be repeated numerous times with the double benefit of teaching about note taking and providing a springboard for discussion of the content. Attachment/Resources: Video and Article: How to Take Two-Column Notes http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol9/903-video.aspx Blank Template: http://goms.rocklinusd.org/subsites/Scott-Victor/documents/Reading%20and%20Literature/Two%20Column%20Note%20Taking%20Strategy%20Blank.pdf Samples of Two-Column Notes

• http://www.asdk12.org/MiddleLink/HighFive/TwoColumn/TwoColumn_examples.pdf • http://www.keystoliteracy.com/wp-content/pdfs/5b-wkshp-templates/Two-

Column%20Notes%20Template%20Vocab.pdf • http://www.norwellschools.org/Page/4477

Reference/Research: Pauk, W. (1974). How to study in college. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Strategy Description Purpose Context Additional Resources/Links and Considerations

Admit Slip/ Exit Slip (completed on index cards or small slips of paper)

Admit Slips are similar to Exit Slips, but are done prior to or at the beginning of instruction. Students may be asked to reflect on their understanding of their previous night's homework, reflect on the previous day's lesson, make comments about the material being studied or answers questions.

To make connection to the new day’s learning, to process lesson/work of one class. Allows student to activate prior or recent knowledge.

Beginning of class or assigned as homework and discussed upon entry/exit of class.

Links: https://clearlakeiowa.wikispaces.com/file/view/Admit-Exit+Examples.pdf K-2: Notecards may include drawing and/or writing

Book Commercials Using the book commercial form created by Hoyt (1999), students create an advertisement for a narrative book they have read. An example from the book is: “Are you tired of being hungry? Wondering where your next meal will come from and which day of the week you might find it? At 8:00 P.M. every Monday on Channel 8 you can join The Very Hungry Caterpillar for your most challenging food solutions!” (Hoyt, 1999)

Students will synthesize the information that is learned from a narrative book and create a persuasive advertisement using their grade level as the target audience.

Students use this after reading a narrative piece and have had instruction regarding advertising, target audiences, and persuasive writing.

Template is attached to this document Other Links: http://www.scholastic.com/admongo/lesson1.htm http://www.scholastic.com/admongo/lesson2.htm http://www.scholastic.com/admongo/lesson3.htm

Brainstorming Brainstorming is a group process for generating questions, ideas, and examples, and is used to illustrate, expand, or explore a central idea or topic. Brainstorming involves students' sharing whatever material comes to mind and recording every idea, without making judgements about the material being generated.

To inventory what students know or think they know about a topic. Allows students to discover connections, create new ideas, solve problems, map out resources, and energize thinking.

Used at the beginning or middle of a lesson, and activates knowledge.

List format

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Strategy Description Purpose Context Additional Resources/Links and Considerations

Carouseling (Type of Brainstorming used in any discipline)

Carousel brainstorming requires groups of students to share ideas on chart paper and respond to 3-4 prompts concurrently. Students move from sheet to sheet and add their contributions. Students see patterns as well as other’s thinking. A variation of this strategy is called graffiti — particularly if it has students producing images as well as words.

To review what students have learned by thinking about subtopics within a broader topic; to stimulate discussion

Used at beginning as new content is introduced or at the end to facilitate a review of content.

Links: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/1989?ref=search List or note form (K-2 may include drawing and/or writing)

CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) * Also called Focus and Elaboration

The students write down an idea but use evidence from the text to explain their thinking.

Use it to begin argument work, to pose theories in their reading, to synthesize thinking about a text, and use inferring skills

This strategy is an introduction to argument; it allows issues and claims about a topic to surface

Link: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/science-inquiry-claim-evidence-reasoning-eric-brunsell One sentence to support each (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) based on grade level standards and should build toward paragraph structure in older grades.

Different Same Different

Attributes from two different texts are compared and contrasted using three-columns (different-same-different). The students compare and contrast the attributes of two stories such as characters, settings, subjects or topics, events, etc by taking notes underneath the columns. The students share their notes with the class, and may extend the activity by putting their information into paragraph form.

Template Structure: Different Same Different

Drawings/ Illustrations

Quick drawings, sketches, diagrams and illustrations are used to share ideas, events, experiments, or even math processes.

This helps students to visualize learning and information; allows students

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Strategy Description Purpose Context Additional Resources/Links and Considerations

EXPLORE: Examples, Purpose Language, Organizational Features, Relate, Evaluate

EXPLORE writing is a tool students can use to respond to different types of text in writing. This organizer is used to write a response to the text.

This graphic organizer helps students take notes and organize ideas.

Useful in a variety of classes including the content areas.

Template Link: http://www.deltaetc.com/uploads/1/0/3/6/10363529/explore.pdf https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1571107711 Click on link, click again, and scroll to description

Fan Fiction Students become very familiar with a story or tale. After reading, students rewrite the text based on four categories: in-canon writing, alternate universe stories, cross-overs, and self-insert. The basic premise is to place themselves into a text and rewrite the story with their inserted character and respond to events. An adapted chart by Lankshear and Knobel (2006) explains the categories. (Lankshear & Knobel, 2006)

Fan Fiction allows students to apply critical thinking to support narrative elements, specifically setting.

This strategy should be used after reading a narrative story and instruction regarding narrative elements has been given.

Adapted Fan Fiction Template: Attached to this document (categories are described)

Flow Chart Retellings

The student begins by drawing the first box and writing the first event inside. S/He then connects the next box with an arrow and writes the second key event inside, continuing to add boxes until the retelling is complete. Adding boxes one at a time helps the child consider what information is important enough to add and the order in which events occurred.

This helps students to organize sequential information and consolidate information in a structure.

This strategy can be used for both fiction and nonfiction texts and it supports retellings of key ideas and details.

Flowchart Maker Link: http://www.softschools.com/teacher_resources/flow_chart_maker/

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Strategy Description Purpose Context Additional Resources/Links and Considerations

GIST: Generating Interactions Between Schemata and Texts

Have the students predict the gist, or main point, of the text by scanning the page to get a feel for what it will be about. Record predictions about the topic on the board. Read the first paragraph to the class. Ask students to write a summary of the first sentence in 15 words or less. Write the class summary on the board. Read the second paragraph and ask students to write a summary of the first two summaries in 15 words or less. Write the group summary on the board asking students to take all of what has been read so far and create a 15 word summary from the 2 previous 15 word summaries.

GIST teaches students to use prediction as a comprehension aid when reading expository text. This strategy was created to help students write well organized summaries.

The ability to predict what a passage will be about is often based on prior knowledge. Tapping this background knowledge can effectively increase the students’ comprehension of the text to be read.

Link: http://fcit.usf.edu/FCAT8R/home/references/additional-reading-strategies/gist-strategy.html http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson290/Template.pdf

Identifying Theme Two Column Chart

Students create a T-chart with "Theme" on the left side and "Evidence from the Text" on the right side. As the story is read, students should note the theme on the left side, and must provide evidence from the story that supports it on the right side.

This strategy allows students to discover theme. The theme is revealed by the way characters change in a story, conflicts in the story, and statements made by the narrator or characters.

Theme is the central idea or message and usually inferred. Understanding theme involves understanding plot, characters, and setting.

Most Interesting Character Debate

Students read an historical fiction story and then select or are assigned a character to defend as the most (your choice here: interesting, important, meanest…). In a group, using explicit details and examples from the text, students prepare a defense of their character. Groups then debate, using their information, as to who is the most interesting (or whatever).

This strategy allows students to incorporate narrative structure with argumentative writing.

Students learn to synthesize material read and create an argument piece.

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Strategy Description Purpose Context Additional Resources/Links and Considerations

One Sentence Paraphrase (1SP)

Select a section of text that includes several paragraphs. Read the first paragraph with the class. Cover the paragraph. Ask students to write one sentence—and only one sentence—that reflects their understanding of the paragraph. Share several sentences, looking for similarities and differences. Read the next paragraph and continue the process. After students feel comfortable with the process, have them work independently. (Lawwill, 1999)

Allows students to summarize material read and transform it to their own words.

Any content area can utilize this strategy to synthesize information and identify the most important learning.

Plot Conflict Examination

Students explore picture books to identify the characteristics of four types of conflict: character vs. character, character vs. self, character vs. nature, and character vs. society. Next, students write about conflict in their own lives and look for similarities among all the conflicts shared by the class, ultimately classifying each conflict into one of the four types. Finally, after investigating the compare and contrast format, students conclude with a compare and contrast essay that focuses on two conflicts— one from their own experience and one from a picture book or story that they have read. (Daniels, 2003)

This strategy assists students with comparing and contrasting and the element of conflict in plot development.

Use this strategy to build stamina and fluency of the writing process.

Full lesson idea: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/examining-plot-conflict-through-802.html

Power Writing Power Writing should be used to build writing fluency and stamina by having students generate as many words as they can on a given topic in a set period of time.

When combined with instruction, this strategy builds proficiency and writing volume.

Use this strategy to build stamina and fluency of the writing process.

Attached is a summary of a writing blog adapted from Ryan McCarty.

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Strategy Description Purpose Context Additional Resources/Links and Considerations

Quick Write/ Quick Draw

The teacher selects a topic related to the text being studied and defines the purpose for the Quick Write / Quick Draw. S/He draws a T-chart. On the right side of the organizer, students respond to a question or prompt related to the text by writing down whatever comes to their minds without organizing it too much or worrying about grammar. On the left side of the graphic organizer students are to draw an illustration of the topic.

Gives students the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned. This strategy can help students build stamina for longer, more complex writing.

The idea is for students to write as much as they can during a timed period. The amount of time depends on the age of student as well as the prompt and the standards being addressed.

Links: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1053/quick_write_draw.pdf http://www.monroe.k12.ky.us/userfiles/1029/file/QuickWriteQuickDraw.pdf Variations: • Summarize what was learned or applied • Explain content concepts or vocabulary • Pose a question that addresses a key point

in the reading selection Reading Response Journals

Reading response journals are informal, written communications between two or more people about something one person has read about. These journals can include personal reactions to, questions about, and reflections on what has been read. Students can respond to what they've read, or, to what has been read to them. Even kindergarten and first grade students can respond to a story using illustrations, scribbles, random letters, and invented spellings.

Journals provide learners with an opportunity to record their personal thoughts, emotions, ideas, questions, reflections, connections, and new learning on what they hear, view, read, write, discuss and think.

Response journals can be implemented at all levels. Response journals can be used with any genre of literature (poetry, short stories, media text, novel studies) and in different content areas that use expository text.

Link for prompts: http://sbo.nn.k12.va.us/library/docs/reader_response_journal_prompts_form.pdf

Retellings

After reading a story and discussing the main events, young students draw pictures on a small piece of paper that show the main events in the book. Write captions for each picture. Have the students put the pictures in the order in which they occurred in the story. Older students write their thoughts in event sequence using descriptive details and effective technique according to standards. .

To capture the key ideas and details in a text.

After students have read material and can summarize key ideas and details in a text.

Link: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/strategies-promote-comprehension Variation using illustrations: K-2 use pictures on yardsticks, timelines, or place ideas in a mystery bag or can and students sequence as pull out. Older students may use comic strips).

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Strategy Description Purpose Context Additional Resources/Links and Considerations

Story Maps Story maps are graphic organizers that allow students to organize their understanding of a story. Templates are filled in and then can be used to summarize a story that has been heard, plan out a new story, or focus on specific elements of narrative writing.

This technique uses visual representations to help students organize important elements of a story to determine theme.

Story Maps are used for teaching students to work with story structure for better comprehension.

Template links: http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/story_maps http://www.adlit.org/strategies/22736/ Sample: scroll for Alice in Wonderland Example http://tccl.rit.albany.edu/knilt/index.php/Unit_2:Graphic_Organizers

Summary Frames Allow students to answer the summary frame questions based on the structure of the reading they have done. These frames list the main elements of the type of text the teacher has selected. For example, a narrative story’s elements would include the setting, main characters, problem, steps to solve the problem and solution. Students can also end the summary frame with a reason the author may have written the text and what the intended purpose of the text would be. See template link for variety of summary frames.

Summary frames are a series of questions that emphasize the important elements within a text pattern. Students answer the questions, then write summaries based on their responses.

For use with all types of text structures and all grade levels. Throughout the answer to these questions, stress the importance for students to support their answers with evidence from the text.

Template Link: http://writingfix.com/PDFs/RICA_PDFS/summarizing/Summary_Frames.pdf (Scroll for variety of samples and text structures)

Three Column Comparison Chart

The teacher lists specific main events down the middle of a three column chart from a story the class has read. On the left side of the chart list certain characters. The student fills in how those characters responded to the event that is listed in the center. On the right side of the chart, the student reacts to the text and writes their own thoughts to the event in the middle. This could be how the student would react to the event or what they believe the character’s reaction should have been. (Adapted from Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001)

This strategy distinguishes the point of view of characters from that of the students.

Template Link: https://www.eduplace.com/ss/socsci/books/content/gfxorganizers/graph_3-col.pdf

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Strategy Description Purpose Context Additional Resources/Links and Considerations

Two Column Notes Assign a short selection to be read. List key ideas on the left and questions or details on the right. Using a template, construct your own notes on the selection and share them with your students. Discuss the decisions about certain things noted such as: •What part of text was confusing? •Were illustrations used instead of notes? •Did any sections foster other questions?

This strategy helps students pull the main ideas out of what they read and organize the information effectively. In a way , it is very much like outlining without all of the strict rules of formatting,

Template: http://goms.rocklinusd.org/subsites/Scott-Victor/documents/Reading%20and%20Literature/Two%20Column%20Note%20Taking%20Strategy%20Blank.pdf Samples: http://www.asdk12.org/MiddleLink/HighFive/TwoColumn/TwoColumn_examples.pdf

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Book Commercial Form (Hoyt, 1999)

Name of copywriter for this ad ____________________________________Date_______________________

Media to be used: Radio, television, magazine ad, newspaper ad, other_______________________________

The Book to Be Advertised___________________________________________________________________

Important Characters_______________________________________________________________________

Important Points__________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Art for the Ad

My opening question:_____________________________________________________________________

Details for the middle:____________________________________________________________________

An ending that will sell this book!____________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

“If you can read everything your students write,

you’re not assigning enough

writing”- Doug Fisher.

Teachers tend to think about building fluency in terms of reading, but now more than ever, teachers should be helping their students build writing fluency as well. Readers who don’t read fluently devote much of their cognitive energy to decoding individual words and phrases, making it difficult for them to focus on the meaning of what they read. Similarly, students lacking writing fluency devote lots of cognitive energy to forming individual words or basic sentence structures, making it harder for them to focus on conveying their thoughts and feelings effectively.

CCSS Writing Anchor Standard 10 addresses the importance of students writing routinely over extended and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. The PARCC assessment requires students to type at length on demand, constructing a response to a prompt that requires them to read and synthesize multiple documents including videos, articles, and graphs. They’re also often argument prompts.

Many teachers are nervous about these tasks, not just because they are cognitively demanding, but because they worry students won’t write fluently enough to succeed. Students may struggle to generate ideas about an unfamiliar topic, to organize their response, or to generate an entire essay quickly (and with minimal errors). They’ll have to do this without the usual scaffolding or encouragement.

In a recent PD, literacy expert Doug Fisher recommended a simple instructional routine to help address these concerns called Power Writing. Research shows that when combined with instruction, writing proficiency increases when writing volume increases. Power Writing should be used regularly to build writing fluency and stamina by having students generate as many words as they can on a given topic in a set period of time. While similar strategies exist, this approach is versatile and useful as a formative assessment of both writing and content knowledge.

Procedure Step 1: Give students an important vocabulary term or question and write it on the board.

Step 2: Instruct students to write (or type) “as much as they can, as well as they can” for 60 seconds. Have them always write in the same place (writer’s notebook, science notebook, etc. depending on class).

Step 3: At the end of 60 seconds, tell them “pencils up” and ask them to count the overall number of words and tally it in the margin. Have students circle the errors they noticed while rereading their writing.

Step 4: Have students repeat this procedure two more times, giving them a new related vocabulary word or relevant question each time.

Step 5: For each session have them graph the highest number of words they wrote in any one minute period. Have them set goals for the numbers of words they will write in any one-minute period next time.

Step 6: At least once a week, have them choose a previously written entry to revise and extend into a more formal explanatory or argumentative piece for homework.

Power Writing

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

Q&A What should I do with the student errors? Pay attention to errors students DON’T circle. Not circling it means they don’t realize it’s an error and need to be taught that skill. Skim the notebooks each week and look for patterns in errors to address in minilessons. How much should I expect students to write per minute? According to Doug Fisher, by the end of fourth grade, good writers can get as high as 40 words per minute. In 9th grade and beyond, many students remain the 40-45 word range, because they are using longer words and conveying more complex ideas. The important thing is growth, not hard and fast norms. Should I subtract errors from their total? I wouldn’t, particularly when you are starting out, as students may be worried about making errors and slow down. As time goes by, you can subtract for errors involving skills that have been extensively taught if you wish. What if students get wise and start writing shorter words to get a higher total? There is always someone trying to outsmart the system! As in reading fluency, emphasize that speed is only one component. The quality of writing and thinking also matters. If you require students to periodically revise their entries, they’ll realize that writing short, choppy words means more revision work in the long run. Can I use this to give students practice with particular skills? Yes. For instance, you can require a particular sentence structure or usage issue such as their, there and they’re you’ve been teaching. Your prompt can target generating a particular text structure, such as compare and contrast. You can also differentiate by adjusting the prompt for more capable writers, adding audience or genre elements. Just take these additional layers into account when judging growth as they may slow students down. Do I have to read everything students write? Absolutely not! Tell students they’re not writing for you to read it, they’re writing because writing is thinking. Skim entries once a week for patterns in errors. Target particular entries to read for a formative assessment of content knowledge. Should I have students share their number of words or their entries? Sure, but keep the emphasis on growth. You can also have students pick their favorite entry and read it to their partner, or pick an entry to revise together. Now get your students writing! The most important thing is to get students writing. What do you do to build writing fluency and stamina in your classroom? Have you tried this or a similar routine? Share your ideas and experiences in the comment section below! Learn more about the Power Writing strategy in Scaffolded Writing Instruction: Teaching Writing Within a Gradual Release Framework (Fisher & Frey, 2007)

This article is adapted from Ryan McCarty’s Blog on Teaching Channel https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/ausl/2013/12/15/building-writing-fluency-a-simple-routine-for-any-classroom/

Toolbox for Routine Writing In Illinois, grade levels may or may not have district mandates regarding writing outcomes and lengths. Routine writing could be collected in journals or notebooks to accumulate thinking over time. CONSIDERATIONS: Students should be asked to meet their grade level standards in reading and writing with Standard 10 acting as the guide for rigor in regards to the amount of time spent on a specific piece, (i.e., less time at the beginning of the year and increasing to extended periods of time over the course of the year).

ISBE ELA Foundational Services: Writing To Read, 2016

ISBE Foundation Services: Writing to Read, 2016

Schools should specify when (a) explicit writing instruction will occur, and (b) when students will practice writing. It is critical that writing instruction and student engagement in writing practice occur across the curriculum.

Unfortunately, students often spend very little time in school participating in explicit instruction of having varied opportunities to practice their writing.

A national survey (Gilbert & Gra-ham, 2010) indicates that prima-ry grade students spend only 20 to 30 minutes per day actually writing, and very little time is de-voted to teaching students how to write (e.g., to use the writing process).

In the intermediate grades, stu-dents spend approximately 25 minutes per day writing and about 15 additional minutes are spent directly teaching writing.

At the secondary level, many students spend little time writing in any of their academic subjects, including English (Applebee & Langer, 2006).

Specific guidelines are not pro-vided for the amount of time re-quired for explicit writing instruc-tion, or how much time each day students should spend engaged in the writing process, but there is consensus among experts that schools should substantially in-crease the amount of time devot-ed to writing instruction and the amount of time students actually spend writing.

What Does Teaching Writing Involve?

Overall, writing involves the inte-gration of several skills. Effective written communication includes the clear expression of ideas and requires time to develop in stu-dents.

Writing requires a very different type of engagement than learning mathematics or how to read with comprehension. Therefore, writ-ing requires the consistency of dedicated time each school day.

WRITING TO READ RECOMMENDATION #3:

HOW MUCH TIME?

INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING

TIME

What Do the Experts Say?

The National Commission on

Writing, recommends that the

amount of time students write

in school each day should at

least be doubled, that writing

assignments should be as-

signed across the curriculum,

and that students should

spend significantly more out-

of-school time writing

(National Commission on

Writing, 2006). The Commis-

sion states that this change

alone ―will do more to im-

prove student performance

than anything else states or

local leaders can do (p. 31).

It is important not to assume that writing is the flip side of reading and that if students are good read-ers, they must also be good writers. Good readers do not necessarily have all the skills necessary to become good writers just because they have been given some application and practice. Though re-search has found a strong association between reading and writing proficiency, improvements can’t be expected by simply combining reading and writing together or by replacing one with the other. Alt-hough proficient reading is an important component to becoming a successful writer, many students learn to read and comprehend difficult academicmaterial but still struggle to write coherent texts of their own (Fitzgerald & Shanahan, 2000). Therefore, students must receive instruction in both reading and writing so that writing development will be influenced by reading instruction and reading development will be influenced by writing instruction.

ISBE Foundation Services: Writing to Read, 2016

Elementary-level instructional time should focus on founda-tional aspects of writing, including basic skills like spelling and handwriting. Instruction on the me-chanics of writing should be integrated with instruction on higher-level skills and other grade-specific standards outlined in the K-12 Illi-nois Writing Standards. For example, a writing lesson might include an instructional warm-up with

instruction focused on handwriting, spelling, or mechanics

(transcription skills) followed by instruction focused on composition and the writing process.

explicitly teach a writing strategy for summarization, and then assign the students a writing assignment to summarize findings about a science unit they just completed. In a mathematics class, students might first learn to complete a multi-step calculation then write a paragraph sequencing

Writing instruction should also be integrated into the content areas. Writing, like reading, has a discipline-specific aspect. Students who learn to write effectively about history, for example, require writing instruction and practice during history class. In an elementary science class, the teacher might

the steps to solve the problem. Limitless opportunities exist to teach and practice writing in content-area classes.

Writing Instructional Time: Elementary

Content Writing

Effective Use of Time

and related student writing activities starting in first grade. As writing demands become more complex, the amount of time for writing instruc-tion should increase.

Teachers must set aside a time for writing instruc-tion and practice, includ-ing writing that requires deep engagement with text – text students dis-cuss, read, and consider

as they learn to express their own ideas and communicate effectively through their own writing.

To ensure students’ pro-ductive use of time throughout the school day, teachers should increase the amount of time each day they de-vote to teaching writing skills and processes. Long-time writing expert and researcher Don-ald Graves suggests that elementary grade teachers should spend at least 35-40 minutes on daily writing instruction

Occasionally

devoting short

blocks of time

to writing

instruction (or

incidentally

when students

appear to need

it) while

teaching other

content such

as reading will

not provide the

time

necessary for

students to

become

effective

writers.

(National

Commission on

Writing)

Page 2 INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING TIME

Limitless opportunities exist to teach and practice writing in

content area classes.

ISBE Foundation Services: Writing to Read, 2016

The K-12 Illinois Standards for Writing include writing standards for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. These stand-ards are listed across content areas in grade level bands for students in grades 6-12.

Incorporating writing across the curriculum increases the opportunity for both writing instruction and practice opportuni-ties. It also acknowledges

that effective writing can occur in different ways, with different struc-tures, and with different production procedures depending

upon the context, audience, and purpose for which written communication is produced.

be enhanced by teachers who focus on helping their students develop strategies for reading and writing within their respective content areas. A written report for a science experiment, for example, will differ in process and form from a multi-paragraph essay prepared for an English class. Writing to advertise a product in a business

The research is clear: discipline-based instruction in reading and writing enhances student achievement in all subjects (National Com-mission on Writing, 1993). Reading and writing in science is not the same as reading and writing in social studies or a technical subject like drafting. This means that student achievement can

class requires a different approach from writing a persuasive piece on a contemporary issue in a social studies class. Learning to write across the curriculum helps students employ a life-long need to understand how audience, purpose, and type of writing task influence the written prod-uct.

Writing Instructional Time: Secondary

Content Writing

Effective Use of Time

of daily writing instruction related to hypothesis test-ing and the scientific method while a social studies/history class might devote a daily 20-mintues to argument-writing related to current or historical events.

For schools to double the amount of time for writing instruction and practice at the secondary level, writ-ing instruction cannot be

confined to the English classroom, but should occur across the curricu-lum in all content areas.

Secondary students should spend at least one hour engaged in writing-specific tasks each day(Graves, 1994). The one hour daily recommen-dation can be distributed across secondary classes if subject- area classes deliberately schedule and coordinate how writing time is fo-cused across classes. For example, a science class might include 15-minutes

College

instructors

estimate that

50% of high

school graduates

are not prepared

for college-level

writing (Achieve,

Inc., 2005).

Recent reports by

the National

Commission on

Writing (2004,

2005) reveal that

the majority of

both public and

private employers

say that writing

proficiency has

now become

critical in the

workplace and

that it directly

affects hiring and

promotion

decisions.

Page 3 INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING TIME

History and writing are insep-arable. How would we know about history if it wasn’t documented? (Marius & Page, 2010)

ISBE Foundation Services: Writing to Read, 2016

References

Applebee, A. N., & Langer, J. A. (2006). The state of writing instruction in America‘s schools: What existing data tell us. Albany, NY: Center on English Learning & Achievement University of Albany.

Englert, C. S., Hiebert, E. H., & Stewart, S. R. (1998). Young writers’ use of text structure in expository text generation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(2), 143-151.

Fitzgerald, J. & Shanahan, T. (2000). Reading and writing relations and their development. Educational Psy-chologist, 35(1), 39-50.

Gilbert, J, & Graham, S. (2010). Teaching writing to elementary students in grades 4-6: A national survey. Ele-mentary School Journal, 110(4), 494-518.

Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2010). Writing to read: Evidence for how writing can improve reading. A Carnegie

Corporation time to act report. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

Marius, R., & Page, M. (2010). A short guide to writing about history. New York: Pearson Longman.

National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools and Colleges (2003). The Neglected ―R‖: The Need for a Writing Revolution. College Entrance Examination Board.