class presentation - chapter 4

1. Chapter 4
Writing: Composing text
Alana Cross

2. What do you think??
 70-75% of students K-12 –
low achieving writers
 College instructors say –
50% of high school grads
are unprepared for college
level writing
 2/3 of students say – weekly
writing assignments add up
to less than 1 hr., actual
teaching of writing -15
min./day
 81% of employers – recent
high school grads. deficient
in written communication
 The nation’s private
companies now spend
an estimated $3.1
billion per year—and
state governments
spend an additional
$200 million—teaching
their employees to
write
 Students average
3 minutes. of
prewriting
• Some Interesting Stats….

3. What Writing Is……???
 Words
 Purposeful
 Risky
 Assessment
 Thinking
 An art
 Linear, process
 Self-expressive
 Reading
 Communicative
 Meaning
 Grammar based
 Self-taught
 Quick
 A springboard
 Our Learning

4. The writing process
 Considered a big step forward in writing
 Prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing
 Always intended to be optional and recursive
 Allowed for writing to be “messy”
 Not useful for every kind of writing
 Not a recipe or “magic formula”
 Not neat and simple
“Writing is both an art and a craft. Writing consists of recursive,
discrete, tasks, including planning, drafting, revising, editing,
and publishing.” (NWP)

5. “Some would argue that you aren’t
really writing until you are revising.”
Videos
 Revision – Janet Angellilo
 Revision – Linda Rief
 Peer Review – writing Instruction
 Scholastic Videos

6. The four Lenses
 Meaning Centered – “We want students to
mean what they say.”
 Social – Writing should be surrounded by
talk!! Problem with this?????
 Language Based – the way we learn to
write – related to how we learn to speak
 Human – Finding your voice;
“Writing with voice is writing into which someone has
breathed…writing with real voice has the power to make you
pay attention and understand.” (Peter Elbow)

7. Writing from different points of view can
broaden your VOICE as a writer!
 Tend to ask kids to write in first
person POV – can be stifling!!
 How many points of view
could we ask kids to write from
here?

8. Literacy Stages
1. Early Literacy Stage – preschool/kindergarten
o Written language reflects speaking vocabulary
2. Expanding literacy Stage – grades 1-3
o Begin to master print/sound code/ can write about what
they have learned/different types of writing
3. Enhancing Literacy Stage – upper
elementary/ middle grades
o More awareness of what they like and want to write about
4. Lifelong Literacy Stage – high school level
o Functional writing is important!

9. What writers need
 Rich environment of
varied literature
 opportunity to
write/discuss
 Instruction – good
readers/writers/
strategies
 Choice
 Direction
 Learn at own pace
 Clear expectations
 Opportunity to write
about what they
know best
 Use writing to learn
new material
What do you see
missing in today’s
classrooms???

10. True then and now…
• “Most of us write in multiple
genres and formats determined
by our needs, purposes and
interests,. Our students’ writing
can and should reflect the
same authenticity, even within
the bounds of required
curriculum and standards.”
(Routman, 1996)

11. Technology and writing
 Not much to be said in this chapter…..
 Can’t make anything required until there is
equal access by all to computers
Articles:
Davis, A. (2009). “Proof-revising” with podcasting: Keeping
readers in mind as students listen to and rethink their
writing. Reading Teacher, 66(6) 522-529.
Sweeney, S. (2010). Writing for the instant messaging and
text messaging generations: Using new literacies to
support writing instruction. Journal of Adolescent and
Adult Literacy, 54(2) 121-131.

12. Additional Resources
Articles:
Baroudy, I. (2008). Process writing: Successful and
unsuccessful writing behaviors. International Journal of
English Studies, 8(2), 43-63.
Gibson, S. (2008). An effective framework for primary-
grade guided writing instruction. The Reading
Teacher, 62(4), 324-334.
Kaplan, J. (2008). The national writing project: Creating a
professional learning community that supports the
teaching of writing. Theory in Practice, 47(4), 336-344.
Read, S. (2010). A model for scaffolding writing instruction:
IMSCI. The Reading Teacher, 64(1), 47-52.
Wall, H. (2008). Interactive writing beyond the primary
grades. The reading Teacher, 62(2), 149-152.

13. Websites:
Alliance for Excellent Education Policy Brief
http://www.all4ed/org/files/WritPrior.pdf
KidPub
http://www.proteacher.com/cgi-
bin/outsidesite.cgi?id=1179&external=http://www.kidpub.com/
kidpub/&original=http://www.proteacher.com/070046.shtml&titl
e=KidPub
Kid Writing
http://kidwriting.homestead.com/Index.html
OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/587/01/
Penn State Online Pro Teacher Directory
http://www.proteacher.com/070037.shtml
Sue LeuBeau: The Writing Process
http://www.suelebeau.com/writingprocess.htm
Survey Report: Problems With Writing Instruction
http://www.physorg.com/news193475433.html

14. Websites
The ABC’s of Writing
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/
The Writing Process: An Overview of Research on Teaching Writing as
a Process (Research and Evaluation Report)
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/index_authors.htm
The Writing Process: The Most Important Things to Know
http://www.arcanum-butler.k12.oh.us/writing_process.html
Writing with Writers
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/index_authors.htm
Videos
Scholastic (Includes revision videos)
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3749217
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=178
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/auth
ors/ta_rief_motivation.htm
Peer Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWPK6lgcsl0

15. Books