Literacy: Writing to Strengthen Content Mastery Presented by Susan Carmody

Teachers will increase

literacy instruction in order to lead students to deeper understanding of content.

Specifically, by the end of this session, teachers will be able to use informal writing intentionally to facilitate stronger understanding of the content objectives.

u v

w x

Writing to Learn
What is the role and value of writing in my content area?

Read the text for your content area. Respond to the questions in each square. Include evidence in support of your answer.
3 2

How
teachers implement writing* in your discipline?
4 1

Why
is writing* important and impactful?

What if
students routinely engage in writing* tasks in your discipline?

What
does writing* look like in your discipline?

*Language arts teachers, consider informal writing in your responses.

u v w x

Effect of Writing on Learning

What is the relationship between writing and learning?

Writing is perhaps the most powerful form of thinking, clarifying, and problem solving in any subject.
-Schmoker, 2011, pg. 211

According to Schmoker (2011), writing allows us to: see conceptual relationships, to acquire insights, and to unravel the logic of what was previously murky or confusing (p. 211) convert what we have learned into more coherent, logical and precise thought and language (p. 192)

Did NOT consistently require writing

Doug Reeves Leadership and Learning Center conducted a research study about the effects of writing in science classrooms. This research addressed the following question:

25 %
scored proficient or higher on state assessments
DID consistently require writing

Is there a difference in achievement between students in science classes that do not require writing and those in science classes that consistently required writing?

79 %
scored proficient or higher on state assessments
Schmoker, 2011, p. 192

 Zollman conducted research on 186 middle school math students to determine the effect of writing on math achievement.

This research addressed the question: Does math achievement increase when students explain and problem solve in writing as they learn the math concepts?

Writing?

In this research, students were given multiple opportunities to explain and problem solve, in writing, as they learned math concepts.

NO 4%
19% 8%

YES 75%
68% 68%

Math Knowledge Strategic Knowledge Math Explanations

Schmoker, 2011, p. 211

v w x

Two Types of Writing

What are the qualities of each type writing and how do they promote thinking?

Use the comparison organizer, documents and prior knowledge to describe two types of writing: persuasion and argument.

Use the top hat organizer to record key similarities

and differences between persuasion and argument.

How might you use one of the strategies in your classroom?

Identifying similarities and differences is associated with a 45 percentile gain. Marzanos research indicated it is the core to all learning, leading to deeper student understanding.

Are argument and persuasion more similar or different?

1. Review the possible claims.

Argument and persuasion are more similar than different. Argument and persuasion are more different than similar.

2. Pick the claim that has better evidence to support it.

3. Provide evidence to support the chosen claim.

Kinneavy and Warriner tell us that In a persuasive essay, you can select the most favorable evidence, appeal to emotions, and use style to persuade your readers. Your single purpose is to be convincingArgument, on the other hand, is mainly about logical appeals and involves claims, evidence, warrants, backing, and rebuttalsArgument is at the heart of critical thinking and academic discourse; it is the kind of writing students need to know for success in college and in life the kind of writing that the Common Core State Standards put first.
(Hillocks, 2011, xvii)

Gerald Graff was recently cited in Education Week as giving the following advice to college students: Recognize that knowing a lot of stuff wont do you much good, he wrote, unless you can do something with what you know by turning it into an argument.
(Hillocks, 2011, xvii)

The ability to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning, and relevant evidence is a cornerstone of the writing standards, with opinion writinga basic form of argumentextending down into the earliest grades.

 Gain access to college or a job Defend an interpretation (e.g., of a work of literature or of history) Recommend a course of action in the workplace or community

How is argument relevant in the goals you have for students, as well as in your content area?

v w x y

Informal Writing Strategies

How can implement writing in my classroom?

Stop & Jot: teacher stops mid activity and directs students to respond quickly in writing

Think-Write-Pair-Share: students think and write before pairing to share ideas

Admit/Exit Tickets: students respond in writing as permission to leave class or as admission to class Written Conversations: pairs or groups respond in writing to what another has written

Twitter/Text Messages: given a limited number of words or characters, students create a message
Learning Summaries: students summarize what they learned or how they performed a particular task 4-2-1 Free Write: students individually record four most important ideas; in pairs students share ideas and agree on two most important ideas; two pairs join and select most important idea, upon which each student expands in writing

Generating conclusions
1. Record observations (premises) 2. Use premises to generate conclusions 3. Support conclusions
After tracking the outcome of a series of dice rolls Student observes some numbers occur more frequently than others. Student also observes the most frequently occurring numbers are in the middle of the range of possible outcomes.

Premise 1: Certain numbers occur more frequently than others when rolling two dice. Premise 2: Numbers toward the middle of the range of possible outcomes occur more frequently than those toward the outer edges of the range. Conclusion: Certain numbers occur more frequently when rolling two dice because there are more possible ways to roll those numbers.
(Student also creates a chart to support the conclusion, illustrating ways to roll each possible number with two dice.)

Presenting and supporting claims

1. Use information to determine a claim 2. State the claim 3. Explain how support proves the claim
Claim: Lily is courageous. Evidence: For an act to be considered courageous, it must be a noble act. Attempting to save a family despite potential harm she would experience showed Lilys nobility. Evidence: Lily deliberately chose to risk her life for the family. Because the act was chosen, not done without thought or in panic, this shows her courage.

v w x y

Implementation
What will I do as a result of this session and how will it increase understanding of content?

Work on a lesson plan.

Explain how you will apply the learning from this literacy session in the classroom. When will you teach the lesson? How will you incorporate writing in the lesson? What impact do you hope this has on student achievement?