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Competency and Skill #2

2. KNOWLEDGE OF WRITING AND METHODS FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING.

  1. Identify and apply techniques to develop a supportive classroom environment for writing.
  2. Identify techniques for teaching students to make effective organizational and stylistic choices.
  3. Identify and apply knowledge of the various writing processes (e.g. prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, publishing strategies).
  4. Select individual, peer, and group activities that support writing processes.
  5. Identify effective responses to student writing.
  6. Identify a variety of methods to assess student writing.

STANDARDS

Standard 1: (6-8 and 9-12)

The student uses writing processes effectively.

  1. Selects and uses appropriate prewriting strategies, such as brainstorming, graphic organizers, and outlines.
  2. Drafts and revises writing that: is focused, purposeful, and reflects insight into the writing situation; has an organizational pattern that provides for a logical progression of ideas; has effective use of transitional devices that contribute to a sense of completeness; has support that is substantial, specific, relevant, and concrete, and/or illustrative; demonstrates a commitment to an involvement with the subject; uses creative writing strategies as appropriate to the purposes of the paper; demonstrates a mature command of language (word choice) with freshness of expression word choice; has varied sentence structure; has few, if any, convention errors in mechanics, usage, punctuation, and spelling.
  3. Produces final documents that have been edited for: correct spelling; correct punctuation, including commas, colons, and common use of semicolons; correct capitalization; correct sentence formation; correct instances of possessives, subject/verb agreement, instances of noun/pronoun agreement, parallel structure, and the intentional use of fragments for effect; and the correct formatting that appeals to readers, including appropriate use of a variety of graphics, tables, charts, and illustrations in both standard and innovative forms.

Standard 2: (6-8 and 9-12)

The student writes to communicate ideas and information effectively.

  1. Writes text, notes, outlines, comments, and observations that demonstrate comprehension and synthesis of content, processes, and experiences from a variety of media.
  2. Organizes information using appropriate systems (including alphabetical, chronological, and numerical systems).
  3. Selects and uses appropriate formats for writing, including narrative, persuasive, and expository formats, according to the intended audience, purpose, and occasion.
  4. Writes fluently for a variety of occasions, audiences, and purposes, making appropriate choices regarding style, tone, level of detail, and organization.
  5. Selects and uses a variety of electronic media, such as the Internet, databases, information services, and desktop publishing software programs, to create, revise, retrieve, and verify information.

THE WRITING PROCESS:

Pre-writing:

·  Generating ideas from multiple sources (e.g., brainstorming, notes, writer’s notebook, journals, discussion, research materials or other reliable sources) based upon teacher-directed topics and personal interests

·  Making a plan for writing that addresses purpose, audience, a controlling idea, logical sequence, and time frame for completion (research shows that effective writing employs various methods according to purpose and audience)

·  Using organizational strategies and tools (e.g., technology, spreadsheet, outline, chart, table, graph, Venn Diagram, web, story map, plot pyramid) to develop a personal organizational style

Drafting:

·  Developing ideas from the pre-writing plan using primary and secondary sources appropriate to the purpose and the audience, elaborating on organized information using descriptive language, supporting details, and word choices appropriate to the selected tone and mood. (e.g., Groups of 4 or more students share tables during the writing process. The teacher and students interact freely except during lecture and/or group discussion activities.)

·  Organizing information into a logical sequence and combining or deleting sentences to enhance clarity (Teacher responses: e.g., “I like your excellent selection of specific details. Work on establishing a clear thesis statement early in the essay. Why not ask a friend to check your paper for mechanical difficulties as your revise.”)

·  Establishing a logical organizational pattern with supporting details that are substantial, specific, and relevant

·  Analyzing language techniques of professional authors (e.g., point of view, establishing mood, figurative language, denotation, and connotation) to establish a personal style, demonstrating command of language with conviction of expression

Revising:

·  Evaluating the draft for development of ideas and content, logical organization, voice, point of view, word choice, and sentence variation (e.g., Students may read their papers aloud to get feedback on their content)

·  Creating clarity and logic by rearranging words, sentences, and paragraphs, adding transitional words, incorporating sources directly and indirectly into writing, using generalizations where appropriate, and connecting conclusion to ending (e.g., use of the circular ending)

·  Maintaining central theme, idea, or unifying point and developing meaningful relationships among ideas

·  Creating precision and interest by expressing ideas vividly through multiple language techniques (e.g., foreshadowing, imagery, simile, metaphor, sensory language, connotation, denotation) and modifying word choices using resources and reference materials (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus)

·  Creating precision and interest by elaborating ideas through supporting details (e.g., facts, statistics, expert opinions, anecdotes), a variety of sentence structures, creative language devices, and modifying word choices using resources and reference materials (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus) to select more effective and precise language

·  Applying appropriate tools or strategies to evaluate and refine the draft (e.g., peer review, checklists, rubrics; students may skim compositions to find areas of discussion for peer review)

·  Using portfolios to determine overall writing ability on both timed writing and in-process assignments

Editing for language conventions:

·  Spelling, using spelling rules, orthographic patterns, generalizations, knowledge of root words, prefixes, suffixes, knowledge of Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon root words, and knowledge of foreign words commonly used in English (e.g., laissez faire, croissant)

·  Capitalization, including major words in titles of books, plays, movies, and television programs

·  Punctuation in simple, compound, and complex sentences, including appositives and appositive phrases, and in cited sources, including quotations for exact words from sources

·  Punctuation, including commas, colons, semicolons, apostrophes, dashes, quotation marks, parentheses, ellipses, brackets, and underlining or italics

·  Grammar and usage, including but not limited to parts of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, conjunction, preposition, interjection), verb tense, noun/pronoun agreement, subject/verb agreement, pronoun/antecedent agreement, parallel structure, modifier placement, comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs; and unintended shift in person or tense

·  Varied sentence structure, including the elimination of dangling or misplaced modifiers, run-on or fused sentences, and unintended sentence fragments.

·  Proofreading skills (e.g., pairing students to peer edit using a checklist)

Publishing:

·  Prepares writing using technology in a format appropriate to the purpose (e.g., manuscript, for display, multimedia)

·  Includes such techniques as spacing and the principle of design (e.g., margins, tabs, spacing, and columns) and graphics (e.g., drawings, charts, graphs) when applicable to enhance the appearance of the document

·  Shares with others, or submits for publication

STRUCTURE: (organization) (rhetorical structure)

§  Modes: argumentation, cause/effect, classification, compare/contrast, definition, exposition, description, narration, process analysis, etc.

§  Arrangement: chronological, flashbacks, full-circle, order of importance, spatial, informal, formal, etc. (e.g., Examine the arrangement of ideas in a paragraph to see if there is evidence of any pattern or structure.)

CREATIVE writing:

·  Writes narrative accounts with an engaging plot (including rising action, conflict, climax, falling action, and resolution) include a clearly described setting with figurative language and descriptive words or phrases to enhance style and tone

·  Writes a variety of expressive forms (e.g., short play, song lyrics, historical fiction, limericks) that employ figurative language, emotions, gestures, rhythm, dialogue, characterization, plot, and appropriate format

·  Creates an engaging plot that uses a range of appropriate strategies and specific narrative techniques (e.g., dialogue, internal monologue, point of view), employs literary devices (e.g., irony, conceit, imagery, flashback, foreshadowing, symbolism, allusion), and sensory description

INFORMATIVE writing:

·  Writes in a variety of informational/expository forms, including documents using precise technical and scientific vocabulary (e.g., manuals, summaries, procedures, directions, experiments, rubrics, assembly instructions)

·  Records information and ideas from primary and/or secondary sources accurately and coherently, noting the validity and reliability of these sources and attributing sources of information (e.g., observations, notes, lists, charts, legends)

·  Writes informational/expository essays (e.g., process, description, explanation, comparison/contrast, problem/solution) that include a thesis statement, supporting details, and introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs

·  Writes informational/expository essays that speculate on the causes and effects of a situation, establish the connection between the postulated causes or effects, offer evidence supporting the validity of the proposed causes or effects, and include introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs

·  Writes a variety of informal communications (e.g., friendly letters, thank-you notes, messages) and formal communications (e.g., conventional business letters, invitations) that follow format and that have a clearly stated purpose and that include the date, proper salutation, body, closing, and signature

·  Writes a business letter and/or memo that presents information purposefully and succinctly to meet the needs of the intended audience following a conventional format (e.g., block, modified block, memo, email)

·  Writes detailed travel directions and designs an accompanying graphic using the cardinal and ordinal directions, landmarks, streets and highways, and distances, and create an accompanying map

·  Writes a work-related document (e.g., application, resume, meeting minutes, memo, cover letter, letter of application, speaker introduction, letter of recommendation)

PERSUASIVE writing:

·  Establishes and develops a controlling idea and supporting arguments for the validity of the proposed idea with detailed evidence

·  States a position or claim, presents detailed evidence, examples, and reasoning to support effective arguments and emotional appeals, and acknowledges and refutes opposing arguments

·  Includes persuasive techniques (e.g., word choice, repetition, emotional appeal, hyperbole, appeal to authority, celebrity endorsement, rhetorical question, irony, symbols, glittering generalities, card stacking, testimonials, bandwagon, image association, transfer).

·  Attributes sources of information when appropriate

ASSESSING WRITING

·  Analytic Scoring – scores for particular aspects of writing (e.g. focus, organization, details, conventions)

·  Holistic Scoring – scores the essay as a whole as it considers all aspects at once; holistic scoring is fast and based on standards; it emphasizes the writer’s strengths and is applicable across many different disciplines

·  Primary Trait Scoring – focuses on a particular writing task (e.g., successfully writing a parody, persuasion, or including specific sentence structures etc.)

·  Rubric – scoring guide, which describes the levels of success with various aspects of the writing task and assigns a specific number of points to each element

·  Extended Writing: Assessing the Initial Stages of the Writing Process. Teacher should:

o  Focus efforts primarily on meaning, main idea, and organization

o  Comment on introduction

o  Identify major errors

o  Comment on irrelevant portions of the draft

·  Extended Writing: Assessing Later Stages of the Writing Process. Teacher should:

o  Comment on clarity and strength of details, organization, diction, and syntax

o  Generally comment on grammatical and spelling errors for student self or peer correction

o  Comment on cohesion/transitions

o  If appropriate, comment on documentation, citation etc.

o  Comment on strength of conclusion

·  Timed Impromptu assignments – assesses using holistic scoring guides/rubrics

·  Other assessments:

o  Ordering sentences – assesses grammatical word-ordering rules

o  Short Answer and Sentence Completion tasks – assesses the reading-writing connection

o  Reports (e.g., lab reports, précis, book reports etc.) – assesses format, purpose, organization, drawing conclusions, use of appropriate vocabulary

o  Summaries of Readings/Lectures/Videos – assesses paraphrasing, objectivity, use of quotation