Vilseck Literacy Project

Teaching Effective Writing Strategies in the K-2 Classroom

K-2 Writing Strategies Study Group

Course Title: Teaching Effective Writing Strategies in the K-2 Classroom

Course Dates: Weekly class meetings from Wednesday October 1 to December 10, 2014
Location: Vilseck Elementary School Media Center
Number of participants: 12
Course Registration for University of San Diego and Ashland University:
Tuition: USD = $150.00 (2 credit hours) Ashland = $130.00 (2 credit hours)
University of San Diego: http://usd-online.org/studycourse.aspx
Course Number is EDC-X763H (Contact is Marilyn Green)
Ashland University: http://www.ashland.edu/pds/sp-offerings.php
Course Number is: 15/GW EDU 6260 G1 (Contact is Sarah Graham)
The registration deadline is October 10, 2014. (No later than ten days after the start of
the class as per the agreement.)
Facilitator: Gretchen Wall

E-mail: gretchen.wall@eu.dodea.edu

Course Description: This course is designed to help teachers in grades K-2 learn how to teach writing
effectively within a balanced-literacy framework, based on the Vilseck Literacy Project model. The goal
of this course is to support best practice writing instruction through a blend of research, practical teaching
support, observation and program implementation. Participants will learn about teaching writing utilizing
a variety of formats including writing workshop, mini-lessons, conferring, small group work, shared
writing and interactive writing. Teachers will also learn how to utilize well-designed phonics and word
study work to intersect with and support writing instruction.
Teachers will be introduced to tools for writing assessment that will help them analyze student work and
set goals for writing with students. Participants will gain an understanding of effective writing strategies
as they engage in a professional development program that includes text reading, video clips of expert
teachers and their students, as well as on-sight observation of teachers at Vilseck Elementary School.
Finally, teachers will develop their own unit of study for teaching writing which will include the launch,
suggested mentor texts, minilessons, a system for conferring, publishing and a celebration of writing.
Course Objectives:

Develop a deep understanding of effective writing strategies in the K-2 classroom

Collaborate with colleagues to develop a community of learners to support new learning

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GRADUATE CREDIT COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course Title:
Sponsoring Agency:
Instructors:
Audience:
Semester Hours:
Course Dates:
Course Meeting Times:

Autism in Literature Pt II
DoDDS-Europe
Chuck York, DoDEA Europe ISS-Autism
LeAndra Smith, DoDEA Europe ISS-Autism
All Teachers
2.0
October 14, 2014- May 8, 2015
4 book club meetings in October, December, February and April.
Specific dates and time will be chosen by the group and reported
back to the instructors.
Various locations throughout DoDDS-Europe
$130 Ashland for 2 credit hours, $150 USD for 2 credit hours

Location:
Tuition:
Course Code:
USD: EDC-x765H
Ashland: 15/GW EDU 6270 A6

A. Registration: To register for the course the participants must submit an online registration
form located at:
University of San Diego - Go to: https://pce.sandiego.edu and create an account
if it is your first visit to this site. Then go to 'Affiliations" Go to "DoDEA" find the
appropriate course (they are listed alphabetically).
Ashland University: https://www.ashland.edu/founders/content/autism-lit-part-ii
The registration deadline is October 24, 2014.
B. Description: This course will allow participants to gain a deeper understanding of autism
spectrum disorders (ASD) and gain perspective from individuals living with autism. Participants
will read and reflect on 4 books related to Autism through the course of the school year. They
will then discuss the book with a Professional Learning Team and make connections to their
lives and their teaching. A final reflection project will be submitted to the instructor at the end of
the course.
C. Course Outcomes: Participants will increase their understanding of:
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Perspective of individuals diagnosed with and living with autism.
Strategies that can be implemented into classrooms when working with students with
ASD.
D. Schedule: This course is divided into (4) face to face meetings and will start in October
2014 and end in May 2015. Each book club will last 2 hours and will be scheduled by the
group. Final projects will be submitted to the instructor by Monday May 8, 2015.
E. Course Requirements:
1. Read & reflect on the 4 assigned books (see list below). ( 24 hours)
2. Attend a minimum of 3 of the 4 group meetings. (6 hours)
3. Actively participate in the book discussion.
4. Complete final book club project. Due to Instructor by May 8, 2015. (2 hours)

Final Project: Participants will choose one of the following activities to complete:
Prepare 1 discussion question for each book to share at the book club. Submit all 4
discussion questions along with a short summary of group discussion held on each
question you submitted.
Choose one of the 4 books and write a 1 page book review in your own words that can
be shared with future groups.
Share a Text-to-Self connection you made by reading these books.
Compare & contrast 2 of the books you read using a format of your choice.
Share how these book readings have impacted your teaching practices/interactions with
families
Recommend another book for a future book club. Provide a summary of the book in
your own words and your thoughts on why it would be good to read or use for a future
book club.
F. Course Materials: The following is the list of books and the order in which we will read
them. All book synopses are taken directly from www.amazon.com. Several of the books can
also be found at the base library, as e-books or for Kindle.

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Aspergers by John Elder Robison (mid October 2014)
Ever since he was young, John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a
teenager, his odd habitsan inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios,
and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, in them)had earned him the
label social deviant. It was not until he was forty that he was diagnosed with a form of autism called
Aspergers syndrome. That understanding transformed the way he saw himselfand the world. A born
storyteller, Robison has written a moving, darkly funny memoir about a life that has taken him from
developing exploding guitars for KISS to building a family of his own. Its a strange, sly, indelible
accountsometimes alien yet always deeply human

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki
Higashida (December 2014/January 2015)
Youve never read a book like The Reason I Jump. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very selfaware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that
demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine.
Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one
at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.

The Rosie Project: A Novel by Graeme Simsion (Late February 2015)

The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics,
whos decided its time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don
approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically
valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.

Group Choice (late April 2015)

Each group will be able to choose one additional book or video to read/watch & discuss. The group can
choose to all read/watch the same book or to have each member select a book/video of their choice and
report out to the group about their chosen selection. A list of recommended books/videos will be
provided.

Develop a repertoire of research-based teaching methods that can be implemented in the classroom to
support student success with DoDEA writing standards

Study and analyze student writing samples utilizing assessment tools aligned with DoDEA writing
standards

Use learning progressions to lift the level of writing instruction and accelerate student progress

Create a unit of study in writing to be utilized in the classroom that will promote deep student
understanding of the writing process

Required Text (Supplied by Instructor): One to One: The Art of Conferring with Young Writers, by
Lucy Calkins, Amanda Hartman, and Zoe Ryder White, 2005.
Suggested Text: Reading and Writing Connections in the K-2 Classroom: Find the Clarity and then Blur
the Lines, by Leah Mermelstein, Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc., 2006
Session

Topics

Assignments for the following week

Session 1

Introducing the course

October 1

Distribute and survey required and

(Hand-Out ) Contains the following:

supplemental texts

1.

Starting the Writing Workshop

Provide a brief overview of the stages

2.

Using Both Pictures and Words Like

15:00-16:00
Room 133

Read Launching the Writing Workshop

Famous Authors

of writing addressed in the course

3.

(supplemental hand-out)

Progress: Long-Term Projects

Watch DVD writing workshop clips

4.

from Big Lessons from Small Writers

by Lucy Calkins

Creating a Place for Writing-in-

Fixing Up Writing

Read (Hand-Out ): Provisioning A

Writing Workshop

Session 2

October 8, 2014
15:00-16:00

Provide an overview of the steps in

the writing process

Media Center

Read (Hand-Out) The Foundations of

Writing workshop

Share examples of provisions for the

Read (Hand-Out) Management Systems

writing workshop classroom

Read (Hand-Out) Pathways for Writers:

Watch DVD writing workshop

My Children Dont Yet Know Their ABCs.

management clips from Big Lessons

How Can They Write?

from Small Writers by Lucy Calkins

Watch DVD writing workshop

Read (Hand-Out) Inside the Minilesson

October 15

minilesson clips from Big Lessons

One to One: The Art of Conferring with

15:00-16:00

from Small Writers by Lucy Calkins

Session 3

Media Center

Young Writers, by Lucy Calkins, Amanda

Hartman, and Zoe Ryder White, 2005.

Share mentor texts and author studies

Chapter 1: The Essentials of Conferring

with Young Writers

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Session 3
(continued from P. 1)

Homework: The Architecture of a

Minilesson - Develop and implement one
minilesson. Discussion in class next week

Session 4

October 22
15:00-16:00

Model components from the Small

Moments Unit of Study

Media Center

Watch DVD writing workshop

Moment Story

conferring and small group strategy

lesson clips from Big Lessons from

Read (Hand-Out) Understanding A Small

Read (Hand-Out) Small Moments: Writing
with Focus, Detail and Dialogue

Small Writers by Lucy Calkins

One to One: The Art of Conferring with

Young Writers, by Lucy Calkins, Amanda
Hartman, and Zoe Ryder White, 2005.
Chapter 2: The Management That Makes
Conferring Possible

Session 5*

Today is an overview of Effective

October 27

Writing Strategies in a Balanced

Young Writers, by Lucy Calkins, Amanda

8:30-11:00

Literacy Program

Hartman, and Zoe Ryder White, 2005.

VES Annex

One to One: The Art of Conferring with

Chapter 4: The Research Phase

*This session replaces

Erika Finlay will provide in-service

Chapter 5: The Decision Phase

Wednesday Afternoon

training.

Homework: Work on student story writing

October 29

Session 6

example to be used with students.

November 5
15:00-16:00

Media Center

Discuss the management of writers

One to One: The Art of Conferring with

workshop

Young Writers, by Lucy Calkins, Amanda

Watch DVD writing workshop clips

Hartman, and Zoe Ryder White, 2005.

from Resources for Primary Writing

Chapter 6: The Teaching Point and the Link

by Lucy Calkins and Beth Neville

to Independent Work
Homework: Choose 1-2 different types of
writing conferences to implement.

Session 7

November 12
15:00-16:00

Media Center

Model and explain the various forms

One to One: The Art of Conferring with

of writing conferences

Young Writers, by Lucy Calkins, Amanda

Watch DVD writing workshop clips

Hartman, and Zoe Ryder White, 2005.

from Resources for Primary Writing

Chapter 7: Supporting Reading

by Lucy Calkins and Beth Neville

Development Through Conferring with

Introduce Unit of Study for Non-

Writers

Fiction Writing
Session 8

November 19
15:00-16:00
Media Center

Share ideas for planning lessons on

One to One: The Art of Conferring with

writing How to Books

Young Writers, by Lucy Calkins, Amanda

Watch DVD writing workshop clips

Hartman, and Zoe Ryder White, 2005.

from Resources for Primary Writing

Chapter 8, 9 or 10: (Kindergarten, First

by Lucy Calkins and Beth Neville

Grade or ELL)

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Session 9

Share highlights from individual units

December 3

of study that are being developed for

15:00-16:00

the final course project

Media Center

Watch 2 video clips on assessing

writing utilizing writing progressions

Session 10

Final Discussion and Reflection

December 10

Answer questions about final project

Launching a Writing Workshop (Due

15:00-16:00

Wrap up

December 30, 2014)

Complete final project Unit of Study for

Media Center

Final Project: Unit of Study in Launching a Writing Workshop

Participants will design a unit of study for launching a writing workshop. The project must
include an overview which describes the goals and expectations for student work. The project must also
include a list of at least 10 teaching points, accompanied by a brief synopsis of the work the students will
be expected to do during the related writing workshop sessions. In addition, the project must include two
sample minilessons relating to relevant teaching points. One of the minilessons may be the one developed
during the course for sharing with the group. Students should also suggest 1-2 mentor texts to support the
minilessons.
Evaluation:
Your final grade for the course will be based on these percentages:
60% - Class attendance and participation
40% - Final Course Project

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