Writing - What’s Hot,
& What’s Not
Amy Goodman
MS Literacy Support Teacher
Anchorage School District
AIM!
 To review six-trait writing and rubrics for
assessment
 To discuss current research on the
teaching of writing
 To brainstorm how to prepare students for
the SBA’s
 To introduce some new tips and tricks
What Is “Good” Writing?
Ideas
Organization
Voice
Word Choice
Sentence
Conventions
Fluency
P r e s e n t a t i o n
6 + 1 Traits
P r e s e n t a t i o n
“Presentation combines both visual and verbal
elements. It is the way we "exhibit" our
message on paper. Even if our ideas, words,
and sentences are vivid, precise, and well
constructed, the piece will not be inviting to
read unless the guidelines of presentation
are present…”
Northwest Regional
Educational Laboratory
Oregon Public Education
Network (O.P.E.N.)
Need practice scoring student papers using a
6-point scale?





Nine student papers
Several genres of writing
Electronic scoring
Anchor scores suggested
Justification provided
Me chan ics
4
M.
Organ ization
5
O.
Voice
Ideas &
Conten t
Effe ctive
Word Choice
S e nten ce
Flu ency
6
4
5
4
V.
I.
E.
S.
(Dec. 2006)
(2003)
(2004)
The Writer’s Notebook
1. What Should I Write? (brainstorming)
2. Writing & Literary Terms (explanations & examples)
3. Spelling Demons (personal word lists)
4. Craft (mini-lessons)
5. Editing (mini-lessons on correctness)
6. Writing (the heart of the notebook)
(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)
Improving Revision
S.
T.
A.
R.
Substitute
Take
things out
Add
Rearrange
(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)
M.
A.
P.
Move
Add
Prune
Levels of Revision
(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)
Surface
Deep
Changing a word,
phrase, or sentence
Changing the focus,
the purpose, the
sequence, the discourse,
or the point of view
Extreme
Makeover!
Surface Revision
with Sentences
Monday - The teacher walked across the room.
(Use drama and snake around the class for sharing)
Tuesday - The teacher sauntered across the room.
(Mini-lesson on strong verbs)
Wednesday - Laughing hysterically, the teacher
walked across the room.
(Mini-lesson on participial phrases)
(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)
Sophisticated Sentences
1. COMPLEX (subordinate conjunctions)
Although pizza is popular, it is not considered a
healthy snack for school parties.
2. COMPOUND (coordinate conjunctions)
Pizza is not considered a healthy snack, and it should
not be served at school functions.
3. HOWEVER (conjunctive adverb)
Pizza is popular with teens; however, it is not considered
a healthy snack.
4. TO + VERB (infinitive)
To follow district guidelines, only serve
healthy snacks at school functions.
Conjunction Posters
B.O.Y. F.A.N.S. or
F.A.N. B.O.Y.S.
Sentence Branching
Front Branch:
Hurriedly, I drove my car to
the mall.
Middle Branch:
I drove my car, radio blasting, to
the mall.
End Branch:
I drove my car to the mall,
praying the parking would be easy.
(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)
IMAGE GRAMMAR
by Harry Noden
The Basic Four
Brushstrokes
1. Painting with Absolutes
2. Painting with Appositives
3. Painting with Participles (3-in-a row)
and Participial Phrases
4. Painting with Adjectives Out of Order
(Retrieved from Image Grammar by Harry Noden)
Let’s
Practice!
 As a group, select one of the photos
 Have each person practice with
a different brushstroke
 Imitate the model sentence in order to
learn the brushstroke
 Share your sentences out loud
Conventions
(Quick Tips)
 Spelling (sp.) - Read the paper in reverse,
highlight errors in “blue”
 Paragraphing (¶) - Indent with change
time, place, and speaker
 Outside Punctuation ! ? .
 Inside Punctuation , : ; - ( ) “ ”
 S.M.I.L.E. (Sentences, Marks, Indents,
Letters, Editor)
Independent Correction Sheet
Teacher:
Highlight sentences with problems.
Point out no more than six errors.
If there is more than one error in a sentence, code it.
Student:
Read the highlighted error.
Fix it on the Independent Correction Sheet.
Unable to figure it out? Remember “three before me.”
If all four of you are unable to figure it out, you will all
attend a group mini-lesson.
(Retrieved from Gallagher, 2006)
Final Grading Is
Never Easy…
• Use six-trait, student-friendly
rubrics
• Ask students to self-reflect
• Focus on one or two traits only
• Grade one passage chosen by the
student and one random passage
• Ask students to showcase skills
by identifying them in the margins
Self-Reflection
(Example Questions)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Explain how you chose your topic.
What was the easiest part to write and why?
What challenges did you encounter in your writing?
Describe the feedback you received along the way
that helped you revise.
5. What part of your piece are you the most proud of
and why?
6. If you still had more time on this piece of writing,
what would you do next?
7. Please score your piece of writing using the six-trait
rubrics.
Me chan ics
Organ ization
Voice
Ideas &
Conten t
Effe ctive
Word Choice
S e nten ce
Flu ency
M.
O.
V.
I.
E.
S.
Students Showcase Skills
Can attending summer
school make a difference to a
failing middle school student?
I wasn’t sure I believed that;
however, now I am convinced it
was the best decision I could
make.
1. The Right to Be Reflective
2. The Right to Choose a Personally
Important Topic
Popcorn
3. The Right of Go Off Topic
Reading!
4. The Right to Personalize
the Writing Process
5. The Right to Write Badly
6. The Right to See Others
Write
7. The Right to Be Assessed
Well
8. The Right to Go Beyond
Formula
9. The Right to Find Your Own Voice
Step Up to Writing
Formulaic Writing:
• Beginning foundations
• Expository and persuasive writing
• Functional writing (4’s on the rubric)
• Need to move students beyond this
Training:
• Full-length training videos
• Video clips on the Internet
1. Vary & Bury
First, second, third
Initially, in addition, consequently
Initially the conflict began with…
The conflict initially began with…
(Bury the transition word in the middle)
2. Adding the Blues
I
N
T
R
O
D
U
C
T
I
O
N
Adding the Blues:
anecdote, quote, definition,
imagery, poem, etc.
Thesis + Projected Plan
3. Wrap-Around
Closings
C
L
O
S
I
N
G
Restate the thesis (use synonyms)
and add elaboration
Refer back to the blues from the
introduction
How Is Writing an Essay
Like Four-Square?
Four Square!
Transition
Word
Transition
Word
1st RDF with
elaboration
Transition
Word
2nd RDF with
elaboration
Writing Topic/Thesis
3rd RDF with
elaboration
Conclusion
Closing
Word
(Jeannette Mulholland, Jefferson County High School, Tennessee)
SBA Writing Test
What can we do to get our students
better prepared?
1. Practice Booklets - Use a test item each day as a
think aloud from which to model strategies
2. Test Item Writing - Ask students to create similar
test items and use these for practice
3. GLE Test Item Bank - Use these
as formative assessments
(ASD and State)
SBA Writing Test
More Ideas
4. Daily Prewrites to Prompts - Give students
practice with prompts in all modes of writing
Expository and Persuasive Prompts
http://jc-schools.net/writeaway/prompts.html
College
Essays
5. Test Writing - Teach this as a genre of writing
with its own set of unique characteristics
6. SBA Writing Skills Checklist Attach this checklist to all practice
writing
Finally…Too Good to Miss!
The Writing Teacher’s Strategy Guide
by Steve Peha
Teaching That Makes Sense (TTMS)
(Additional downloads available)
Pick a Card,
Any Card
1. Select a card from the deck.
2. Read through the teaching idea and
prepare an oral summary of it.
3. Mingle with others in the room sharing
your teaching idea and hearing theirs.
4. The cards are a preview of what you will
find in The Writing Teacher’s Strategy
Guide.
Thanks for your time!
Please stay and
browse through the
professional books.
Web Site References
Northwest Regional Laboratory
www.nwrel.org/assessment
O.P.E.N.
www.openc.k12.or.us/scoring
Step Up to Writing Video Clips
http://store.cambiumlearning.com/resource.aspx?
page=Video&site=sw&parentId=019005278
Image Grammar
www3.uakron.edu/noden/web/students/index.html
More Web Site References
EED (GLE Test Item Bank)
http://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/Assessment/FormativeAssess
mentResources.html
Expository and Persuasive Prompts
http://jc-schools.net/writeaway/prompts.html
Teaching That Makes Sense (TTMS)
www.ttms.org