LLED 400 & 401

seeing

hearing

imagining

selecting

exploring

connecting

creating meaning

writing

Rubric- Reveals the scoring rules & explains to the students the criteria by which their work will be judged. Gives teachers a better sense of qualitative differences in students' writing.

Strategies to help students prepare for reading assignments

Guided writing procedure- brainstorm as a class, organize ideas in groups, write individually on the topic. Students then read the text and revise their writing.

Learning Logs- well structured prompt encourages writing; students make predictions, active prior knowledge etc.

Quick Writes- teacher directed questions

Structured Note-Taking- Main ideas and keywords on one side of the paper, details on the other side, summary at the end.

Listen-Stop-&-Write- 3 minutes of teacher talking; 2 minute writing period

Reviewing & Summarizing Strategies

Microthemes- students draw together main ideas in their own words on a notecard (can be used to study later)

Framed Paragraphs- Skeletal paragraphs with strategically placed transitions or cue words that signal to students a particular way to think about & write about a concept

Text Boxes- boxes of a reading guide correspond with the paragraphs, diagrams, and photos on a particular page of text

Sentence Synthesis- students use 3-4 keywords from the lesson to construct a sentence that summarizes the main point of the lesson

Critical & Creative Writing-to-learn Strategies

Biopoems- requires students to think carefully about the content of the text and make inferences about what a historical figures actions and statements imply

Words maps- Three main questions to investigate new terms; What is it, what is it like, & what are some examples?

"The writing workshop puts students on the spot and requires them to be active learners." (F & P, 37)

"Is this something I could try in my writing?" (Ray, 28)

The Crafton article really drove home a point I have been thinking about for awhile.  Through an emergent curriculum unit focused on the Iditarod, Linda Crafton is able to help her students ask endless questions, think critically, and explore multiple perspectives. These are AMAZING skills to give your students, and the kind of traits that a life-long learner and open minded individual possesses.

Let me tell you why I love the workshop model. It can be summed up by one quote: 

“In a writers’ workshop, there are potentially as many teachers as there are members of the class. The teacher, however, is the head teacher, as well as the fellow writer and mentor” (Samway p. 95). 

I like that the playing field is leveled during a writing workshop. The teacher steps back and gives her students autonomy. The students are then free to make meaning in their own way. This really promotes divergent thinking in a way that giving students a standard writing prompt does not. I also love that the teacher is free to conference with students during the workshop and encourage them to share what they have learned to benefit the rest of the class.