Group items tagged

Goals: Set specific goals for the writing assignments that students are to complete.

Effective writing practices

Writing strategies: Explicitly teach students strategies for planning, revising, and editing their written products.

Summarizing text: Explicitly teach students procedures for summarizing what they read.

Collaborative writing: Allow students to work together to plan, write, edit, and revise their writing.

Evidence of the effectiveness of each strategy or technique was compiled from research studies that met several criteria.

Goals can include (but are not limited to) adding more ideas to a paper or including specific elements of a writing genre (e.g., in an opinion essay include at least three reasons supporting your belief).

Word processing: Allow students to use a computer for completing written tasks.

Sentence combining: Explicitly teach students to write more complex and sophisticated sentences.

Process writing: Implement flexible, but practical classroom routines that provide students with extended opportunities for practicing the cycle of planning, writing, and reviewing their compositions. The process approach also involves: writing for authentic audiences,

Inquiry: Set writing assignments that require use of inquiry skills. Successful inquiry activities include establishing a clear goal for writing (e.g., write a story about conflict in the playground), examination of concrete data using specific strategies (e.g., observation of students arguing in the playground and recording their reactions), and translation of what was learned into one or more compositions

Prewriting: Engage students in activities prior to writing that help them produce and organize their ideas

Evidence-based practices for teaching writing include:Teaching strategies for planning, revising, and editingHaving students write summaries of textsPermitting students to write collaboratively with peersSetting goals for student writingAllowing students to use a word processorTeaching sentence combining skillsUsing the process writing approachHaving students participate in inquiry activities for writingInvolving students in prewriting activitiesProviding models of good writing

May 9 - Mr. Salsich's Class (Connecticut, USA) May 14 - Mrs. Yollis' Class (California, USA) May 17 - Mrs. McKenzie's Class (New Zealand) May 22 - Mr. Avery's Class (Massachusetts, USA) May 25 - Mrs. Watson's Class (British Columbia, Canada) May 30 - Mrs. Morris and Miss Jordan's class (Australia)

we'll be taking part in a collaborative project called The Tale Trail. Classes will be joining together to write and illustrate a story through their blogs.