MAKING STUDENTS INTO INDEPENDENT WRITERS: WHAT TEACHERS NEED TO DO A workshop for the Learning Network NZ Challenging Learners Conference Jul 2011 Murray Gadd ([email protected])

WORKSHOP GOAL Participants will explore a range of instructional actions needed to promote independence and self-regulation amongst students as developing writers. The focus will be on actions that lead to teachers: - holding and sharing high expectations with students; - establishing effective goals and learning tasks; - organising time and opportunities for independent and collaborative learning; - encouraging students to self-monitor their progress; - encouraging students to become more metacognitively aware.

SOME BACKGROUND NOTES NZ-based research with year 5-8 teachers of writing suggests that: - Teachers pay less attention to ‘promoting self -regulation’ than they do to other dimensions of effective practice when teaching students to write. - Promoting actions that lead to students becoming self -regulated writers is critical if students are to become efficient writers. Source: Murray Gadd’s PhD research 2009-2011.

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WHAT DO WE WANT OUR STUDENTS TO BECOME? Self-regulated students (writers) “approach educational tasks with confidence, diligence and resourcefulness…..[They are] metacognitively, motivationally and behaviourally active [or strategic] participants in their own learning.” (Zimmerman, B.J. (1990) ‘Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: An Overview’, p.4).

SOME ACTIONS THAT TEACHERS CAN TAKE TO ENCOURAGE TO MOVE THEIR STUDENTS TOWARD INDPENDENCE AS WRITERS

1)

Hold and communicate high expectations for student achievement in writing.

COMMUNICATING TEACHER EXPECTATIONS FOR WRITING ACHIEVEMENT Teachers can communicate their expectations for writing achievement, for example, by: - developing and sharing learning goals with their students that suggest high expectations; - selecting learning tasks that will engage, challenge and motivate their students to the degree that they want to meet high expectations; - demonstrating (through shared and guided writing) not only what high expectations in writing look like but also what writers need to do to achieve them; - surrounding students with samples of high quality writing and regularly discussing these samples with them; - responding positively to learning outputs that reflect high expectations and firmly to those that do not reflect high expectations.

2)

Encourage students toward undertaking engaging and challenging writing tasks that are meaningful and authentic to them. Meaningful and authentic tasks are usually for real audiences.

DEVELOPING MEANINGFUL AND AUTHENTIC WRITING TASKS This means ensuring that the selection of writing tasks is largely driven by:

a)

The cross-curricular learning challenges and opportunities that arise in the classroom programme. A science-focussed inquiry might lead to science discoveries that students want to communicate to others through well-structured reports or explanations; or an arts-focussed inquiry might encourage students to write poetically in response to the work of particular artists. Enabling students to write effectively to cross-curricular learning challenges and opportunities means teachers having to identify the literacy demands in cross-curricular tasks and teach directly to those demands as appropriate.

b)

Students’ personal understandings, experiences and interests. This means more than encouraging students to write directly from their personal experiences. It means, for example, students writing arguments around topics that they feel strongly about; or writing explanations around ideas or concepts that are very important to them. Teachers need to ‘know their students well’ if they are to successfully help them find topics or tasks that are meaningful to them. This means knowing them as unique individuals who come from particular social, linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

WRITING LONG TERM PLAN YEAR 5-6 TERM 1 2011 THEME: Our City POSSIBLE WRITING ACTIVITIES/PURPOSES FOR WRITING: •To inform (others about the history of our city). •To comment (on a community issue that concerns us). •To describe (an environmental ‘beauty spot’ to others). •To persuade (others to visit our city). •To narrate (a possible legend about how our city was formed). TEXT FORMS: •To inform – report; newspaper article. •To comment – letter to the editor. •To describe – free form poetry. •To persuade – advertisement; personal letter. •To narrate – legend. MAIN LEARNING GOALS: For students to be able to: •Add relevant detail to their writing that illustrates or substantiates main points. •Select and use vocabulary that builds a precise picture in the reader’s mind. •Group main points into paragraphs. •Use basic sentence punctuation (capitals, full stops, question marks, exclamation marks) consistently and accurately.

3)

Ensure that students know exactly what is required of them through the setting of specific learning goals and learning tasks so that they can selfmonitor their progress with confidence.

LEARNING GOAL For students to be able to select a moment in time and write a vivid description that builds a strong picture in the reader’s mind. This will mean: - thinking of a moment that your reader will relate to; - including sufficient detail to give your reader a clear picture of the moment; - putting events in logical sequence; - selecting and using words and phrases that build a clear picture in the reader’s mind; - engaging the reader with a strong beginning and a satisfying conclusion.

4)

Involve students in the setting of writing tasks.

5)

Involve students in the setting of learning goals.

6)

Enable students to participate in task or topic selection from time to time. This might be through: - making class topics open-ended; - guiding students toward independent topics; - allowing for students to self-select topics from time to time.

SOME INDEPENDENT WRITING ACTIVITIES (from ‘Ask Me’ by Antje Damm) Which of your dreams do you remember? What happened in it? Why do you think you remember it? What do you do when you are bored? Where would you most like to live? Why? Which pet would you most like to have? Why? What would you like to most keep from your childhood for your own child? Why? Is there something you don’t like to eat? What do you do when you are served it?

What is the funniest thing you have heard about that you did as a baby? What can your mum or dad do really well? What can you do better than your mum or your dad? How do you make people laugh? What is the most interesting thing that your grandparents have told you about their childhood? What would you change if you were the queen or the king? Who do you never ever want to kiss?

SOME MORE INDEPENDENT WRITING ACTIVITIES: A WRITING UNIT ON ‘LOOKING CAREFULLY’ (with thanks to ‘How To Be an Explorer of the World’ by Keri Smith). Write or make notes on some of these topics. You might want to illustrate some of your writing with pictures as well as words. The pictures might be photographs you take or sequences you film. Remember – your job is to observe the world around you as closely as you can, for this is what good writers do. - Select a space in our classroom. Look at it really carefully and describe in words exactly what you see in it. Your writing should contain enough detail that others can work out what the space is. Remember not to give it a title!! - Describe an object that is very special to you. It can be at home or at school or somewhere else. Describe in some detail what it looks like and what it feels likes, and (if appropriate) what it sounds, tastes and smells like.

- Think about coming to school this morning. List and describe at least five people or places or objects that you notice. Will your readers get an idea of what your trip to school was like? - If you were to undertake an archeological dig for the future, list and describe at least five items that would go into the dig. The items must represent ‘what the world looks like in 2011’ for a child who might dig them up in 2061. - Look really carefully at an item in our room. Describe what it might be instead of the item that it really is. For example, a hanging curtain might turn into a set of gnarly fingers. - List at least 10 important points about walking around our school. What should others notice if they had their ‘eyes wide open’?

- Describe a character in a favourite book with as much detail as you can. What do they look like? What sort of person are they? Do they have any unique features. Try and write about a character that you think no one else would write about. I wonder if your readers could visualize that character from the clues you give? - Sit outside silently in one place for at least ten minutes. List all the sounds you hear and how many times you hear each type of sound. - Go to your favourite street. If you can’t go there in reality, go there in your mind. Map it out on a piece of paper then describe everything in detail: the shops, the houses, the trees, the street signs, etc. Can you make this street come alive for your readers?

7)

Encourage students to set developmental goals for themselves based on a variety of sources. These sources might (for example) be: - test data, eg, asTTle; - self-generated feedback; - feedback generated by teacher.

8)

Enable students to participate in learning situations that they take some responsibility for selecting according to their perceived needs.

9)

Ensure that direct instruction relates – over time – to all aspects of the writing process that writers have to use independently and strategically: - planning a text; - crafting a text; - re-crafting a text; - presenting a text.

10) Ensure that students understand, can articulate and can transfer any new learning that they have undertaken from direct instruction, eg. modelling.

A way of getting students to plan a descriptive or explanatory paragraph independently – using the PLEASE approach: P–

pick the topic and audience.

L–

list the ideas that might be included.

E–

evaluate the list to see if it is complete. Add to it if necessary.

A–

activate the paragraph by writing a short topic sentence that introduces the topic to the reader.

S–

supply or construct sentences that support the topic sentence.

E–

end with a concluding sentence that links back to the introductory sentence.

A way of getting students to plan a descriptive or explanatory paragraph independently – using the COPS strategy: - Have I Capitalised the first word of each sentence and proper nouns? - How is the Overall appearance? - Have I used Punctuation correctly? - Do the words look like they are Spelled right? Can I sound them out, or should I use a dictionary?

11) Ensure that students have sufficient time and opportunities to practise the transfer of knowledge and skills independently.

12) Ensure that any teacher-student feedback conversations focus on: - process rather than product; - students’ personal goals (as well as class/group goals).

FEEDBACK TO NOAH This is very good descriptive writing Noah. You have built a really strong picture in my mind of what must have been a great moment for you. I can just see you and your brother playing around in the water. You have mainly done this by: - including sufficient detail to enable me to see very clearly what is going on (the dive, the swim, the moment under the fall, what it meant to you); - using some vivid words and phrases that help to build this picture. I especially like the water ‘smashing as loud as a pounding-out-of-control drum beat’. This gives me a great picture of the power of the waterfall; - opening with a clear description and ending with a simple but powerful sentence. An ‘endless rain of water’ builds a very strong picture of the waterfall in my mind. YOUR GOAL:

To continue to think about the over-use of some detail and words, especially adjectives. Do we really need to know that your towel was ‘blue’ and ‘soaked’?

13) Encourage students to accept principal responsibility for monitoring and evaluating their own progress and achievement as writers. This includes requiring students to selfassess their progress and achievement in relation to goals and criteria they have helped to establish.

PERSUASIVE WRITING: SELF/PEER EVALUATION CHECKLIST Have you: Given your persuasive writing an interesting title? Stated your point-of-view or opinion clearly? Given at least three reasons for your opinion? Provided details (evidence) to support your reasons? Put your reasons in order from most to least persuasive? Used separate paragraphs for each reason? Used words, phrases and language features that will persuade your audience? Written a conclusion that summarises your reasons? Checked your writing in relation to the learning goal and success criteria? Asked someone else to read your persuasive writing and give you feedback (were they persuaded?)? Checked and corrected any grammar, spelling or punctuation errors? BUDDY COMMENT (2 Stars and a Wish) STAR ONE: ____________________________________________________ STAR TWO: ____________________________________________________ WISH: _________________________________________________________

14) Demonstrate and model themselves to their students as reflective, life-long learners who take responsibility for problem-solving and selfdevelopment.

SO WHAT NEXT? WHAT ACTIONS ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE TO MAKE YOUR STUDENTS MORE INDEPENDENT AS WRITERS?