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DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY
Fall 2009 Web -Based
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Course Number: 845-99
Title: Approaches to Teaching Writing
Credit Hours: 3
Time: Web-Based, Aug. 24-Dec.11, 2009
E-mail: sknell@pittstate.edu
Instructor: Dr. Susan Knell
Office Phone: 620-235-4506
Office: 112H Hughes Hall
Office Hours: By appointment
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I.
COURSE DESRIPTION (Catalog)
Foundations of Teaching Writing in PreK-12 classrooms using both direct instruction
and process writing models. Students are expected to practice instructional strategies
in classrooms and report on their findings.
II.
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
The purpose of this course is:
a. to introduce teachers to the modern views of writing instruction provided in the
current professional literature;
b. to provide an opportunity and a structure for translating information on writing
instruction into practice in the classroom; and
c. to provide opportunities for discussion of writing programs in progress to aid in
improving instructional techniques on the part of the teacher and writing
processes and products on the part of the students. The goal is that the teachers as
well as their students will become a community of writers and readers.
III.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
As a result of the course, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and
performance of the KSDE Standards for (Reading Specialist PreK-12) as addressed
in this course.
Standard 1: The reading specialist demonstrates knowledge of the foundations of reading and
writing processes and instruction.
Standard 2: The reading specialist demonstrates the use of a wide range of instructional
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practices, approaches, methods and curriculum materials sto support reading and writing
instruction.
Standard 4: The reading specialist demonstrates the use of instructional practices, approaches
and methods, curriculum materials, and the appropriate use of assessments to create a literate
environment that fosters effective reading and writing instruction.
Standard 5: The reading specialist demonstrates the importance and responsibility of
continuing professional development in increasing the knowledge and skills required for
teaching all students to read and write effectively.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Candidates are expected to follow the PSU Academic Honesty Policy, which speaks to unethical
acts associated with coursework or grades. The policy lists specifically, but is not limited to, the
following:
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giving or receiving unauthorized aid on examinations, preparation of notebooks, papers,
and other assignments:
handing in the same work for more than one course without instructor permission;
plagiarism (examples of plagiarism will be discussed in class)
Full text of the policy can be found in the PSU University Catalog.
Violations of the policy will be presented by course instructor to the University
Academic Honesty Committee for review and action.
If the instructor finds evidence of cheating of any kind, such as plagiarism (copying from
internet or other sources), copying work from other candidates, etc. the candidate will be
notified of the charge and will be immediately dropped from the class. A grade of “XF” will
be assigned to the student’s transcript.
Course Requirements
1.
HOMEPAGE UPDATE
Due: Wed. Aug. 26
This is a way for all of us to get to know each other online. If you have problems
uploading your photo, contact the Gorilla Geeks.
Please follow these instructions to update your Home Page:
Click on "Preferences" from the left sidebar > "Personal Information" > type in the
following information in the appropriate boxes and then submit:
A. About Me: Share any personal/professional information that will help us get to
know you.
B. Upload a picture of yourself. Photo will have to be saved as “email sized”.
To view others’ homepages, click on the "Communicate" tab, and click on "Course
Roster", then “Show Pictures”.
2.
“Writing” Lesson Plans: Conduct weekly classroom writing lessons. See guidelines
for content and due dates and rubric.
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3.
Write your personal plan for teaching writing to students. (See rubric)
4.
Discussion Forum Topics. Each week you will participate in on-line discussion with
your group members. See Discussion Forum Guidelines for more information.
5.
Tegrity Recordings. You will view four Tegrity lectures from Dr. Knell. These will
be announced through Angel and you will have one week to view each lecture. 20
points each.
IV.
Instructional Resources
Required Texts: Regie Routman, Writing Essentials, Heinemann, 2004.
Gail Tompkins, Sharing the Pen: Interactive Writing with Young
Children
Gail Tompkins, 50 Ways to Develop Strategic Writers
V.
Evaluation
1.
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5.
Upload Photo/info to Angel
20 pts.
Writing Lesson Plans (12 @ 20 pts. each) 240 pts.
Tegrity Recordings (4 @ 20 pts. each)
80 pts.
Discussion Forums (15 @20 pts. each) 300 pts.
Personal writing plan:
100 pts.
25% grade reduction for late work
Writing is like breathing. I believe that. I believe we all come into life as
writers. We are born with a gift for language and it comes to us within
months as we begin to name our world. We all have a sense of
ownership, a sense of satisfaction as we name the objects that we find.
Words give us power.
---Julia Cameron, The Right to Write
Discussion Forum Guidelines
Students will be placed in small groups for discussion board topics.
Each student is required to participate in 15 discussion topics
and also respond to at least one other group member’s responses to the topics.
Each response should be thoughtful, in-depth, and reflect evidence
that the text has been read to assist in discussing the topics.
Responses should be grammatically correct with no spelling or punctuation errors.
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When responding to the other group members’ responses, discussions will remain professional
and thoughtful.
Remember, Great Minds Don’t Think Alike! You will not always agree with others’ responses.
Keep discussions polite and professional in tone. Do not use ALL CAPITALS when speaking to
someone electronically! This is very rude. As you will see after you have been working
electronically for a while, all capital letters feel as if someone were shouting at you. Do not write
in all bold letters, either. This is rude because it is very hard to read after awhile.
Be cautious with irony, humor, and satire. Do not jump to conclusions about others'
communications and try to mark yours appropriately. The :-) (or smiley) is one tool for this
purpose. Remember: You cannot see the people you are communicating with, and they cannot
see you. Because you cannot rely on visual cues, you need to exercise an additional measure of
care when you communicate online.
If you are truly angry, take a break before responding; get some perspective. Be polite. Dialogue
on a friendly basis. All discussion responses should be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. each
day.
All Discussion Forum Readings are from the Routman text.
Discussion Forum Topic #1
First, visit the author’s website at www.regieroutman.com, so that you will have some
background knowledge about her. Next, examine the Optimal Learning Model Across the
Curriculum, which is located on the inside cover of the text. The author will refer to this model
throughout the text. Then read chapter 1: Simplify the Teaching of Writing. Discuss parts of the
chapter that were important to you, then think about, then share your current beliefs on writing
with group members.
Due: Thursday, Aug. 27 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than
Friday, Aug. 28.
Discussion Forum Topic #2
Read chapter 2: Start with Celebration. Think about what, if any celebrations you do with your
students’ writing. Discuss aspects of this chapter that inspire you to create celebrations with
your own students’ writing. Be specific.
Due: Tuesday, Sept. 1 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than
Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Discussion Forum Topic #3
Read chapter 3: Share Your Writing Life. Discuss how, if at all, you bond as a staff by writing
together. Also discuss your personal life as a writer and how you can share your own writing
with your students, thus increasing your own writing enjoyment.
Due: Tuesday, Sept. 8 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than
Wednesday, Sept. 9
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Discussion Forum Topic #4
Read chapter 4: Raise Your Expectations. Reflect and discuss your and your school’s
expectations for student writers and how you can raise those expectations. Also discuss ways to
build success in all writers.
Due: Tuesday, Sept.15 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Sept. 16
Discussion Forum Topic #5
Read chapter 5: Do More Shared Writing. Discuss the importance of shared writing throughout
the grades, not just primary. Also share specific ideas you are doing with shared writing, or ideas
you learned about from the text that you can do with your own students.
Due: Tuesday, Sept.22 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Sept. 23
Discussion Forum Topic #6
Read chapter 6: Capitalize on the Reading-Writing Connection. Discuss whether writing has
been neglected in your school/classroom or if it’s still a vital part of literacy instruction. What
parts of this chapter were important to you? And how can you ensure that your students read
quality materials?
Due: Tuesday, Sept.29 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Sept. 30
Discussion Forum Topic #7
Read chapter 7: Be Efficient and Integrate Basic Skills. Discuss important ideas from this
chapter. Also discuss how you use minilessons or ideas you learned from the text about
minilessons. Discuss as well how you can teach your students to care about editing to produce
quality writing.
Due: Tuesday, Oct. 6 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Oct. 7
Discussion Forum Topic #8
Read chapter 8: Organize for Daily Writing. If you do writing workshop, describe your
procedure. If you don’t, discuss ways you could implement it into your own teaching
environment. Discuss the use of genre studies and ideas for students to publish more short
pieces.
Due: Tuesday, Oct. 13 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Oct. 14
Discussion Forum Topic #9
Read chapter 9: Conferencing with Students. Discuss your thoughts on Routman’s ideas for
effective conferencing. How do you go about handing over more responsibility to your students
in their writing?
Due: Tuesday, Oct. 20 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Oct. 21
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Discussion Forum Topic #10
Read chapter 10: Make Assessment Count. Discuss how you put high-stakes testing in
perspective. Also, how can you rely more on classroom-based assessments and student selfassessment?
Due: Tuesday, Oct. 27 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Oct. 28
Discussion Forum Topic #11
Read chapter 11: Build on Best Practice and Research. Discuss how you can advocate for
excellence and be knowledgeable about the current research in writing. How do you take
responsibility for becoming an effective teacher of writing?
Due: Tuesday, Nov. 3 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Nov. 4
Discussion Forum Topic #12
Read chapter 12: Make Every Minute Count. Discuss any aspect of this chapter that inspired
you or made you think about the teaching of writing.
Due: Tuesday, Nov. 10 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Nov. 11
Discussion Forum Topic #13
Read pages 292-304: Secrets of Second Graders-Narrative Writing Lesson and pages 305-315:
Heart Poems-Poetry Writing Lesson. Also view the dvd of these lessons. Discuss any aspect of
these lessons and/or dvd that taught you something. Was there anything in these lessons that you
can take back to try with your own students?
Due: Tuesday, Nov. 17 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Nov. 18
Discussion Forum Topic #14
Read pages 316-329: Procedural Writing-Informational Writing Lesson, and pages 320-335:
Persuasive Writing Lesson. Also view the dvd of these lessons. Discuss any aspect of these
lessons and/or dvd that taught you something. Was there anything in these lessons that you can
take back to try with your own students?
Due: Tuesday, Dec. 1 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Dec. 2
Discussion Forum Topic #15
View the dvd and Teaching Points, pages 336-350. What struck you about anything your
viewed? Comment on Regie’s style of teaching and how she nurtured each writer’s efforts.
What will you take back to your own classroom that will make you a better teacher of writing?
Due: Tuesday, Dec. 8 by 5:00 P.M. Responses to group members due no later than Wed.
Dec. 9
“Writing” Lesson Plans Guidelines
Each week you will “try out” a new writing strategy/activity in your classroom based on readings
from the Routman text or one of the Tompkins books. Writing strategies MUST come from ideas
in the texts for this course. Strategy needs to be something you’ve not tried before. No
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commercial writing programs, please. You will submit to Dr. Knell a weekly reflection that
includes the following:
Description of strategy/activity
Cite source of strategy/activity idea
Description of how you implemented idea in classroom
Include student responses, attitudes, anecdotes, as appropriate
Reflect on the success or problems with idea
Include a photo of the strategy/activity, such as you teaching/working with students, or an
example of student writing. 12 weeks total @ 20 pts. each possible.
Due Dates:
Fri. Sept. 4, 11, 18, 25
Fri. Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Fri. Nov. 6, 13, 20
Writing Plan Guidelines: Due Friday, Dec. 4
You will be designing your own writing plan for the upcoming school year. This plan should be
new or an expansion of what you’re already doing in writing, based on ideas and strategies from
the Routman text. You should include the following in your plan:
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How you plan to share your writing life with students
How you plan to incorporate shared writing
How you plan to organize for daily writing
How you plan to assess writing
How you plan to create an essential writing day (i.e. minilessons, writers workshop, writing
across the curriculum, etc.)