The FluencyFactor

Taking Writing to a Higher Level

The Problem

A continuing trend of casual interaction

A decline in reading

A relaxation of standards

A tendency toward laziness

Exhaustive grading that does not impact students

Examples

I didnt like it the first couple of months because i missed all my friends,family and my old school. but i had to get used to it. There is alot of restaurants there, alot of cars and trucks on the street. There wasn’t alot of places were i can go with my friends and have fun.

Examples

Each setting plays an important role by allowing each significant item they find to more understanding of why each item is there. The meaning shows an overall attitude and allows the reader to visualize these events that’s occurring.

Examples

It was in the beginning of the school year. I was in the 5th grade. It was in science class. When it comes to your grades you have to take it seriously.

When I was in the 5th grade I would never do my homework. The reason I would not do my homework was because I was too lazy to do it or I didn’t know how to do it. Everytime I didn’t do my homework my teacher would tell me to just do my homework but I wouldn’t. For not doing my homework I would get bad grades on my homework. I would also fail tests because I didn’t do my homework.

Examples

Blood, sweat, and tears, and yet that barely scratched the sacrifices we made.

We were fraught with hope starting into our tournaments, but they all demised when we saw the other teams.

Examples

After they leave the graves, they went back to their side of the fields.

This shows that the mother rabbit becomes a grave herself; it’s representational to with every life comes death.

Even all grown up, Miranda goes about her normal every day activity but only does she call upon that day when at the market.

Examples

Esperanza experiences change with her father through the author’s use of imagery and diction.

Our Objectives

•Clear expression

•Engaging sentence structure

•Standard usage

•Thoughtful diction

Implementation

•Rewriting program for grades 9-12 (excluding dual credit)

•Instructional focus on organization and fluency

•Standardized rubrics for all grade levels

•Open workshop format for rewrite tutorials

How will the rewrite program work?

•All significant writing assignments will be categorized as test grades and will be subject to rewrite standards.

•While these assignments may be turned in one day late (30% deduction in grade), students will not have the opportunity to rewrite late papers and the grade given will stand.

•Likewise, a paper that is turned in incomplete shall be graded as it is with no opportunity for a rewrite.

Tune- Up

•A tune-up is reserved for the paper that scores below a 70 but does not warrant dropping all the way to a 20.

•A tune-up will give the student the opportunity to fix significant or pervasive problems that can be easily remedied.

•A tune-up will follow the guidelines of a secondary rewrite•Students may earn up to an 80 on a tune-up.

• An absence of a clear and relevant thesis statement

• The writing does not support the thesis

• An absence of topic sentences in paragraphs

• Information within the paragraphs does not support the topic sentence

• At least two awkward or incoherent sentences or sections (due to style or usage)

• Multiple errors (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, usage)

• Handwriting is illegible.

•Writing assignments will be returned to the student (with a grade of 20) for rewriting if one or more of the following elements are present:

What happens next?

•When a writing assignment is returned, it will have

1. An attached rubric

2. The date the paper was returned

3. The date that the rewrite is due with the letters IR (for Initial Rewrite)

4. Initial Rewrites will have a deadline of TEN days.

5. When the due date falls on a weekend, the due date will automatically shift to the next school day ( even if that is not a day the student has that class).

6. Initial Rewrites may earn up to an 80.

•Students must attend at least one full workshop tutorial .

•The tutorial will allow a teacher to go over the paper with the student, discuss problems, explain

errors, and offer help in the rewrite.

•The student will need to at least begin the rewrite in the tutorial session.

•A teacher may release the student to finish the rewrite outside of the tutorial. This decision will be based on how much one-on-one help the student needs and will be at the discretion of the teacher.

•Upon turning in a rewritten assignment, it is possible that there may still be significant problems.

•In that case, students will be given the option of a Secondary Rewrite (SR).

•Secondary Rewrites may earn up to a 70.

•Secondary Rewrites will follow the same procedure as the Initial Rewrites with one exception: They will have only THREE days between the return of the paper and the due date.

General Information

•A student may attend a workshop with any English teacher in the department.

•Teachers shall maintain regular workshop hours. These will be posted in each English classroom as well as on teacher web pages.

•Should a change in workshop hours be necessary, teachers will publicize the changes through verbal announcements, posts in the classroom, and posts on the web page.

•Students will keep all drafts and related pages stapled together and will turn in all drafts with each rewrite.

General Information continued

•Teachers will be mindful of eligibility checks, progress report dates, and ends of grading periods when assigning

writing.

•It is possible that a writing assignment may be given within one grading period but not be recorded until the next grading period to allow for rewrite time. Students will

be informed of these situations well in advance of the end of the grading period.

•For students to earn the maximum number of points in a rewrite, effort must be made to improve the quality of

the writing, not just correct errors.

General Information concluded

•Assignments that are not returned by the rewrite due date will keep the original grade that was given.

•Rewritten assignments will not be accepted late.

•There are guidelines in place to address unforeseen absences, and they will be followed.

•Planned absences, such as extra-curricular activities, will not affect the due date.

•If a situation occurs in which an assignment scores below an 80 but is not weak enough to warrant dropping to a 20, the student will be given a chance to rewrite for an 80. This situation will be treated like a Secondary Rewrite.