TEACHING INFORMATIVE
WRITING FROM SOURCES
Chapter 6 Best Practices in Writing Instruction
George E Newell
Jennifer VanDerHeide
Melissa Wilson
THE NEED FOR TEACHING INFORMATIVE WRITING
FROM SOURCES
In the effort to reform writing two major themes have emerged
1) The significance of teachers conceptions of writing
2) The role of writing in learning and critical thinking
THE NEED FOR TEACHING INFORMATIVE WRITING
FROM SOURCES
Across the subject areas, teachers now voice an understanding of
the ways in which writing can contribute to learning and see
writing as a valuable tool for assessing students’ understandings.
At the same time, the actual writing that goes on in typical
classrooms across the United States continues to be dominated
by tasks in which the teacher does all the composing and
students are left to fill in missing information, writing summaries,
or writing particular information the teacher is seeking.
THE NEED FOR TEACHING INFORMATIVE WRITING
FROM SOURCES
 “We believe that asking students to create their own texts from
other texts is a hallmark of what some educators have called
“high literacy” (Langer, 2002).
 This includes not just basic literacy, but “a
of
the ways in which reading, writing, and content work together”
and in the case of writing from sources, the ability to
,
, and integrate others’ ideas with one’s own writing.
 This is the kind of literacy we believe should dominate schooling
in all subjects.
DOK LEVEL ONE
 Recall & Reproduction
 Recall of a fact, term, principle, concept, or perform a
routine procedure
DOK LEVEL 2
 Basic Application of Skills/Concepts
 Use of information and conceptual knowledge
 Organize/display data, interpret/use simple graphs
 Use information to follow multi-step procedures
DOK LEVEL 3
 Strategic Thinking
 Requires reasoning, developing a plan, decision-making,
and justification
 Abstract, complex, or non-routine; often more than one
possible answer
DOK LEVEL 4
 Extended Thinking
 An original investigation or application to real world;
requires time to research and problem solve.
DOK IS ABOUT COMPLEXITY—NOT DIFFICULTY!
The intended student learning outcome determines the
DOK level.
 What mental processing must occur?
 While verbs may appear to point to a DOK level, it is
what comes after the verb that is the best indicator of
the rigor/DOK level.
AFTER THE VERB!
 Describe the information contained in graphics or data
tables in the text; or the rule for rounding a number
 Describe how the two characters are alike and different.
 Describe the data or text evidence that supports your
solution, reasoning, or conclusions
 Describe varying perspectives on global climate change
using supporting scientific evidence, and identify the
most significant effects it might have on the planet in
100 years.
THE ROLE OF INFORMATIVE WRITING IN
THE UTAH CORE STANDARDS
 35% Informational / Explanatory Writing in Elementary
 The Standards place a premium on students writing to
sources, i.e., using
from texts to present
careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear
information. Rather than asking students questions they
can answer solely from their prior knowledge or
experience, the Standards expect students to answer
questions that depend on their having read the text or
texts with care. www.achievethecore.org
TYPES OF WRITING
(Opinion)
(Narrative)
FUNCTIONS OF INFORMATIVE WRITING
Record
The writer records what is immediately present. (DOK 1)
Report
The writer retells one incident that occurred in the past. (DOK 1)
Summary
When writing a summary, the writer is retelling multiple events. The writer generalizes from a
number of events, procedures, or situations. (DOK 2)
Analysis
Informational writing that moves from beyond concrete or specific experiences to classifying and
categorizing. Logical and hieratical connections are made as well as relationships. (DOK 2-4)
WRITING FROM SOURCES
Sources
Informational
Text
Literature
Illustrations
Photos
Articles
Poems
Videos
Interviews
Graphs
Diagrams
Paintings
Audio
Recordings
WRITING FROM SOURCES
 Ownership- Students must feel that there is something of value to the assignment beyond simply
completing a series of tasks.
 Structured Activities- With clear and specific goals students are asked to consider an audience of
peers as they develop plans for their writing. The teacher must develop activities that move
students along a trajectory from an open-ended exploration to a sense of direction of what needs
to be examined and written.
 Collaboration- The use of considerable peer interaction and sharing are important throughout the
process.
 Appropriate Tasks and Materials-Tasks and materials appropriate for the students’ levels of skill
and knowledge. Strategies need to be taught explicitly and directly so students can employ them
on their own.
 Transfer of Control- Although the teacher retains the role of planner and
orchestrator, the activities provides students with tools to develop their own ideas.