Consider: What should I know about writing and be

able to do, as an English language arts teacher?

Leahs notes
[Discuss with your peers about what teachers need to know about teaching
writing, based on your readings so far in the text and your own thinking and
experiences.]
(from text)
writing

maintaining students postive attitudes towards

be writers themselves, competent

know the process of writing and be able to teach it.
Know different approaches
Know different kinds of writing (genres, purposes)
Keep current with new curricula, research, techniques
Use writing as a tool for learning
Be aware of what you already know and what works
for you and your students
They need to provide time to write
Choice
Authentic writing assignments
A variety of assessment tools
The power of writing
Different authors and literatures

There are 3 main components to a good writing curriculum, with process and
product:
Personal Writing
Literary Writing
Expository Writing
Appoint a recorder to write your findings, a topic convenor, to set that all
questions are discussed, a time keeper, and a speaker to represent orally
what the group talked about.
Use the programs of studies, Western protocol, new curriculum documents,
classroom experience--anything you have to assist your work on writing
curriculum.
Consider the following categories for your Grade levels:
What should teachers know about writing and about teaching writing at this
grade?
What should students know and be able to do at this grade level?
What does the curriculum guide say about writing at this grade level?
What strategies/activities for teaching writing are effective/appropriate
at this level?
What resources are available/helpful at this level? If not known, where could
you look?
What variety of tools are best for evaluating student writing?
The Curriculum of Personal Writing:
Establishing a community of writers, Confessions Of a writer, teaching writing
process, fun forms of writing, functional forms of writing out of need, writing for

personal reasons, journal writing and learning logs, developing and maintaining
positive student-teacher relationships through personal writing (dialogue journals)
The goal is to enabling writing (conditions, process, the writer and the writing)and
helping people set goals for their personal writing to develop fluency and voice.
Week Two The Curriculum of Literary Writing:
Engaging students in creative writing, literary writing of various genres
including poetry,compelling them to write within a larger writing community and to
take themselves seriously as authors writing in the worlds about narratives, using
poetic, descriptive, and disciplined writing with attention to thought and detail and
conventions used in the public domain. We should be teaching them to write as
readers responding to literature, giving them opportunities to entertain and be
adept with various forms and functions that contain human themes and cultural
knowledge. They should have the opportunity to study and approximate other great
writers and explore the writing process through to a product and know of and try
publishing sites. You can also teach them book making and class periodical projects.

Basic Elements of Story Structure to Study with Your Students as Writers:

Plot- Beginning, Middle, End, conflict, plot development
Setting mood/atmosphere, tonetime, weather, location, historical context
Character appearance, action, dialogue, monologue, growth, motivation...
Theme underlying truth or meaning of the story; a central concept of some
human truth (friendship, responsibility, courage, overcoming overwhelming
odds, difficulty of
the human rites of passage, the consequences of human actions on others,
history)
Point of View: Who holds the pen? First (eg. innocent eye), Omniscient,
Limited
Omniscient, Objective, who is the narrator, telling the story
Symbolism (signs, extended metaphors, layers of interpretation)
Guided fiction writing prompts: [I find using timed writing spaces help]
1. A selection of music- differ the mood...
2. Visual prompts of painting or object cartoons, sketches, film clips,
photographs...
3. writing stems from which to grow writing
It was just out of reach...
It was the last time....
Wish I have known then, what I know now...
It was a dark and stormy night; an ordinary day until, high noon...:-)
The thing I learned is from the whole story is...
When the lights went out...
My (her, his, their) life altered forever when...
There was no way out....(until I noticed) (but when the...)
or any others you can construct with your students you think they may enjoy.
4. Guided prompts from the elements of short storylike the one we do in
class.

Think of your favorite place in the world.....details....as much as you

can in 5 min.
Think of your favorite person ---details; what 3 best traits, one main
fault, what do they want, physical, social, psychological, spiritual
descriptions
Think of the enemy for this personsame...and WHY are they enemies.
Put your people and the place and lead up to a big conflict and then
deal with a
believe-able (or not) resolution to the conflictand next time?.
5. Literary prompts: read folk tales, fairy tales, fables, poems, story
beginnings, etc.
6. Interviews with someone...then invent a story
7. List the conflicts and things that happen to people....
8. Dialog outtakes.
Can start with character, theme, conflict, setting, narrator monologue about
why the story is being told...
The Curriculum of Expository Writing:
This teaches students to write to explain, inform, persuade, analyze, argue,
discuss. They also learn about form, purpose, audience, language structure of
vaious forms. Students need to use expository writing to learn and to share
information.
Graphic organizers can help students identify the patterns of non-fiction or
expository writing. Teach your students the cue words to help identify the form,
because each has a certain purpose for the audience. Five of the most common
structures (patterns) of expository text we need to teach are:
Description: Write about a topic listing characteristics, features, and examples.
Colour, shape, size, number, five senses, are a cue of this kind of writing
Sequence (process): Write lists or events in numerical or chronological order. Use
words like first, second, next, then, finally eg. math problems, life cycle, biography
Comparison (contrast): Explain how two or more things are alike or different, like
a book and a movie, two accounts of an historical event, insects with spiders, etc.
Cause and Effect: Write to explain one or more causes and the resulting effects.
Reasons why, if, then, as a result, therefore, and because are words that signal this
structure. Why did dinosaurs become extinct? What are the effects of pollution on
the environment and on people? How did Canada become a country?
Problem and Solution: Write a statement about a problem and provide one or
more solutions to the problem. Words include: the problem is....puzzle, solve,
question, answer. Why was money invented? Used in writing advertisements (got
dandruff...use...) and other persuasive writing (What you should support Amnesty
International).
Expository Forms or Types to Teach Your Students:
Give them opportunities to write non-fiction about the world:
1. All about.... Your students write entire booklets on a single topic.
(Usually one piece of information and a corresponding visual on the page.
sometime alone or with partner or the whole class, with each student
contributing a page.

Journal or class magazine/research periodical or newspaper for older

students
2. Collaborative Reports Shared writing of information often make
cluster and then divide up the work and bring it together again. [Note: watch
for the copying problemsimple answer is separate the reader from the
source. they can return to the source any time, but they need to carry the
information in their head and write it down on the paper or keyword
somewhere else.]
3. Individual Reports authentic research done by a student from a choice
of topics that interest them or to hunt for answers to questions that puzzle
them. (Help them find a radiant questionHow do animals survive the
winter? the answer varies depending on the animal, and there are multiple
answers.) Good to have your students writers do an author page on
themselves toowho they are, why they are interested in their topic and
future projectslike a real researcher locating themselves in their inquiries.
4. ABC books Use letters of the alphabet to organize information about a
topic. Students write the letter (sometimes large and ornate) in the corner,
draw an illustration, and write a sentence or paragraph to describe the word
or fact. Good for vocabulary buildingagain this could be an individual or
collaborative project.
5. Riddles Ask a difficult question with a series of clues (10 clues with
what am I ending) and then trade them with others in the class. Good for
problem solving and critical thinking exercises.
6. Posters, Diagrams, Charts Use to learn and share information...use
the five types:
-- description, sequence, comparison, cause and effect, problem/
solution
7. Cubes (with a topic on six sides of a cube) Great for vocabulary or
concept work --*hubris, hermeneutics, pedagogy, curriculum, grief, empathy,
jurisprudence, lepidoptra, candy*
benthic zone, myth, democracy, peace, ecology, microchip, tornado, drama,
law....
1. Describe it
- color, shape, size? quality?use sensory
adjectives if you can
2. Compare it.
-- What is it similar tosimile, metaphor or
different than...
3. Associate it.
-- What does it make you think of?
4. Analyze it. Tell how it is made or what it is composed of, structure,
function
5. Apply it. -- What can you do with it? How is it used? Significance?
6. Argue for or against it. Take a stand and list reasons supporting...
Teaching Students about Expository Writing:
1. Introduce the organizational pattern.
2. Analyze examples of the pattern in trade books.
3. Write sentences or paragraphs using the pattern
4. Repeat for each pattern, teach them to choose the topic and patterns and
write.
5. Learn to recognize the most appropriate pattern to communicate
effectivelyand go!

Students need to know how to find out about the world, answer their own
questions, and share the knowledge and information they learn. Basic writing
skills and basic literacy is developed in context for real purposes and real
audiences, so they are part of a researching, learning and engaged
community of scholars. It opens the world.
-

Writing is an act of hope. Isabelle Allende

Poetrys work is the clarification and magnification of being.

Jane Hirshfield

TeachingWritinginGrades1012Leahnotes
Teachersshouldknow:
functionalthingssuchasstructure,grammar,andconventionsofwriting.
thethreetypesofwritingpersonal,literary,andexpository.
thedifferentpurposesandudiencedforwriting,andwhentouseeachone.
howtoidentifyanindividualspotential.
thattherearedifferentgroupsintheclassroom(ex.thosewholiketowriteandthosewhodont;
thosewhofindwritingeasyandthosewhofinditdifficult)andhowtoworkwitheachgroup.
Studentsshouldknow:
howtousetechnicalandfunctionalwriting.
howtowriteagoodoutline;howtopickathesis;howtobuildanessay;howto
targetandaddressanaudience.
appropriatetoneandstyle(thelittlenuancesofwriting).
theselfdiscoverythatcomesfromwriting.
howtousemetacognition.
Curriculum:Thecurriculumforgrade1012hasafocusonanalysis.Itstatesthatstudentsshould:
experienceavarietyofgenres
beabletocomparetexts.
beabletorecognizeandanalysewordchoice
understandformsandtechniques.
evaluateplot,character,andsetting.
haveawillingnesstolivewithambiguity(toseemorethanonesideofastory).
StrategiesandActivities:
studentswanttowritesomethingthatisrelevanttothem.
makesomethingrelevantbymakingitcontroversial,andthenexaminethestudentresponses.
useallthreetypesofwriting(personal,literary,expository)
bringinguestauthors.
haveacollectionofprompts
dointerviewsofwriters,storytellers,familymembers,etc.
useautobiographies,orhavethemwritethem.
usemetaphorsforcharactersinliterature.
doworkshopsontechniqueandstyle.
publishstudentwork(onaclasswebsite,inaclassbook,etc.)
usesongsandadvertising,currenteventsandpopculture.
docooperativewritingactivities.
doactivitieswherewritingseemstobethesecondaryaspect,suchasdrawatitle
pageandwriteaparagraphexplaininghowitlinkstothebook.
usethemestolinkthelanguageartscurriculumelementstogether.
Resources:
avarietyofgoodliterature
stylemanuals;grammarbooks.
studentandteacherexemplars.
copiesofyearendexams.
textbooks

dictionariesofmythologyandsymbols.
booksonteachingstrategies.
writingprompts(music,photos,etc.)
worksbyCanadianauthors.
parentsandcommunity

Evaluation:
peerevaluation(teachtheproperwaytouseit)withchecklistsandrubrics.
markdifferentlyforeachtypeofassignment(ex.focusonlengthinoneassignment,focuson
organizationinanother,mechanicsinanother.)
informthestudentsofwhatyouarespecificallylookingforineachassignment.

developandhandoutunitsyllabuses.
includeveryspecificcommentsinmarking,andgiveallstudentsanequalamount.
havestudentskeepportfolios.

STYLE, EXPRESSION, AND EVALUATION IN ESSAYS

NotesfromDr.WendyDonawa
Style and expression at a C level:
In the book Lyra has a daemon that goes everywhere with her and shows her moods.
Style and expression in the Bs:
In Lyras world, each character has a daemon, a soul-like animal companion. In childhood,
the daemon changes its form to reflect its humans feeling and needs; with puberty, the
daemon begins to settle, to take on its permanent form, an animal that expresses its
humans basic nature (like the evil Lord Boreal and his daemon serpent).
Style and expression in the As:
Pullmans Earth (geographically recognizable as ours, but historically, technologically, and
biologically skewed) is one of a potentially infinite string of worlds). Like each inhabitant
of this Earth, Lyras humanity is completed by her opposite-gender animal daemon.
Daemons etymological roots (Gr: deity) suggest a soul-like companion; the reader may also
interpret it as conscience, as alter ego, as animal familiar, as Jungian anima/animus, as
shadow. What becomes clear, however, is that each human is only made whole by its
accompanying daemon, and that forced separation of the two is a monstrous violation, a
horror more unthinkable than death.
Aother Example of Grading
Somehypotheticalessaysentences:
aCsentence:
Outofthedustisabookthathasakindofunusualstyle.Itiskindofpoeticanddifferentso
youdontgetitrightaway.Itisrealsadwhenhermotherdies.
aBsentence:
ThestyleofOutoftheDustisunusualbutexpressive;itiswritteninfreeverse.Thenovelis
toldfromthepointofviewofayounggirlgrowingupduringthe1930sDustbowl.BillieJos
poeticnarrativeconveysbothherinnerjourneyasshecomestotermswithpersonaltragedy,
andtheharshrealitiesoftheDepression.
anAsentence:
KarenHessesmultipleawardwinningOutoftheDustconveysayounggirlscomingofage
duringtheravagesoftheDepressioninDustBowlOklahoma.Theexternaldevastationofthe
farmenvironmentechoestheinnertraumaoftheimaginativeandarticulateBillieJo,who
copeswithbereavement,guilt,andrageasshestrugglestowardsunderstanding,healing,and
forgiveness.WrittenfromBillieJospointofview,theunusualfreeversenarrativeis
structuredbytherhythmofherthoughtsandsensations;theapparentsimplicityofher
languageisbyturnslyrical,poignant,andshocking.

ASSESSINGYOUROWNESSAYS:
Trytobeawareofyourownstrengthsandweaknesses.Beawarethatthereisnosubstitute
forcareful,thoroughwork(thisprobablymeansasystematicrewritingofearlydrafts,and
attentiveeditingandpolishing).Itsagoodideawhenyouthinkyourefinished,toreadyour
workaloud,andseeifyourearwillpickupwhattheeyemisses.EssaysintheAsandB+s
showclearevidenceofthisrethinkingandreworking.
Onabasiclevelofmechanics,beawarethatyourspellcheckisnotenough,exceptforyour
firstroughdraft.Spellcheckwillnotpickuptheconfusionoftheir/there,its/its,whos/
whose,for/four(allofwhichIfind).Nordoesitpickuperrorsofusage:realbad,afun
person.Gobacktoastyleguideorcompositionbookifyouarenotclearaboutwheretouse
punctuation,especially
ItisexpectedforanythingBandabovethatsentenceandparagraphstructurearecorrectand
effective,andthatanappropriatelevelofusageisemployed.
HerearesomeofthepositivecommentsIliketowriteonwellwrittenessays.Gooveryours
andseeifyoucouldapplythem:
clear,thorough,welldevelopedargument...clear,logicalanalysis...
ideasenhancedbyappropriateexamplesandillustrations...
interestingdevelopmentofideasdiscussedinclass...
wellchosenquotations...
showsevidenceofoutsidereadinganddiscussion...
thoughtfulandperceptivecomments...
goodintegrationoftext,theory,andyourownideas...
goodtransition/introduction/closure...
informationrich...expressiveandarticulate...
Alwayshaveadictionaryandathesauruswithinreach.Awordthatsortagetsthemeaning
aintgoodenough!
________________________________________________________________________

Tips for writing good:

[That would be well]

It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

Contractions arent necessary.
The passive voice is to be avoided.
Prepositions are not the words to end sentences with.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

courtesy of Readers Digest, February 2003